Chapter Seven


"Hmmm, we'll need to hire contractors to fix the windows. No structural damage as far as I can see, but the woodwork will be an issue... I'll look up some carpenters..."

Daniel could barely hear Winston thinking out loud about how to solve the Nell-sized hole in the side of the mansion. He had two other tasks keeping him busy: first, crunching sums in his head to try to figure out the exact protein fold that would occur if he added a diluted nitrogen blend to the solution for his antidote, and second, avoiding looking out the window's remains at the gigantic girl who was sitting in the backyard.

Winston had fetched some of the dust jackets from the numerous sportscars filling the Winthrop garage. Nell had tied two of them into a makeshift bikini, while Daniel stared pointedly away and Bill Winthrop stared pointedly at Daniel. So far, Nell's new wardrobe had yet to malfunction. She sat on the grass just next to the rear patio, her back to Daniel. At his distance of around twenty feet, she appeared normal-sized - that is, until one noticed that she was of equal height with the gazebo next to her. That shapely back was easily as tall as he was...

Damn, staring again. He needed to figure out some way to stop thinking about her. Bill would not be happy in the slightest if he realized Daniel was crushing on his darling daughter. Was a crush even the right word for it? Daniel just felt protective of her, that was all. And why shouldn't he? The poor girl's sudden gigantism was largely his fault, for leaving her alone in the lab without supervision. She'd handled it so bravely thus far, even leaping from a second-story window to avoid demolishing the house. He just wanted to help her.

A rhythmic beeping sound shook Daniel from his reverie. Why was there a truck backing up out here? He breathed in sharply - they could see Nell! Daniel dashed down the stairs and out to the front law, where Mr. Winthrop stood waving an eighteen-wheeler into the driveway.

"That's it, just a few more inches. Stop!" Bill turned to see Daniel approaching, and Daniel tried to catch his breath.

"Won't the driver see Nell?" Daniel panted. "He could tell people... We have to keep this a secret!"

Winthrop gave him a tight grin. "I appreciate the concern, Daniel, but this is a company man. Been with us for 20 years, usually transports top-secret prototypes. If he had loose lips, he could have spilled the beans on any number of other lucrative projects and made a mint. And gotten himself fired and permanently blackballed on the spot, of course. He won't be talking about this to anyone." Winthrop glanced over his shoulder at the backyard. "Just to be safe though, I'll have him come inside for a quick chat. Get Winston and work on making Nell comfortable in the back. Have Winston text me when you're ready." Winthrop clapped him on the shoulder and went around to the cab.

Daniel looked at the truch's trailer and did some quick mental math. It was roughly 30 feet long, and eight feet high. Plenty of room for Nell to lie down and even to sit up, but she wouldn't be able to stand. And if she grew again...

All the more reason to hurry. He dashed back upstairs and found Winston, measuring tape in hand, still surveying the damage to Nell's bedroom. Winston turned. "Ah yes, the truck is here. I will fetch some materials to spruce up the cabin if you will bring Nell over."

Daniel nodded, feeling for some reason as if time was working against them. He suddenly realized that could be the case - how long had it been since Nell's last growth spurt? And how long would she need to remain in the trailer? He rushed back down the stairs.


***


Nell sat back and watched the clouds drift across the sky. They didn't seem any closer than before, no bigger or smaller. Since they were thousands of feet away, she realized that would probably never change. The sky would always be there to make her feel normal. Unless she kept growing and growing. Nell had a sudden, horrible vision of growing large enough that her head literally scraped the clouds. Would she even be able to breathe that high up? She'd seen a documentary on climbers who scaled Mount Everest, and they'd needed oxygen to climb past a certain height.

She chuckled softly. If she was taller than Mount Everest, would people try to climb her? The summit of Mount Nell, rising way above their heads. They could take pictures of themselves, resting just above her bangs, on top of the world. Would they talk to her while they were up there? Would she even be able to hear them, or would their tiny voices sound like insect chatter? It would be terribly lonely.

Nell heard a creaking sound behind her, and turned with a start to see Daniel running toward her. The little guy looked flushed and totally out of breath, like he'd been running all over the house.

"The truck's here!" He gasped, waving an arm frantically toward the front of the house. "Your dad's talking to the driver, but he was hoping we could get you onboard before he finishes."

Nell nodded and stood up. As she did so, she marveled once again at just how tiny Daniel looked - even standing on the porch, he barely came to her waist. His anxiousness was apparent, but also kind of cute. Like a puppy trying to make her follow him outside.

She lingered a second, and looked back at the mansion. This had been her home almost all her life. She'd barely ever left it. And now she could no longer fit inside of it. She wondered if she'd ever come back.

Daniel had stopped frantically leading her forward, and came back to stand quietly next to her. "They're going to fix up your bedroom, you know," he said softly. "By the time you get back, it'll be like nothing has changed."

She looked down at him. "No, it'll never be quite the same. Not after all this."

Before she knew quite what was happening, he had literally placed his hand in hers - his tiny fingers wrapped around her thumb. She smiled, and closed her hand gently around his much smaller one. Funny how something so simple could still be comforting.

He craned his head upward, looking searchingly at her. "If you need to take a moment, you can. But we need to move soon, before, well..." He trailed off.

Nell frowned at the unpleasant reminder. How long had she been waiting for the truck? And how much bigger would she get once she hit her next growth spurt? She released Daniel's hand and made her way around the house, trying to step carefully to avoid leaving her footprints embedded in the lawn.

Winston was already next to the trailer, loaded down precariously with a pile of blankets and pillows nearly as tall as he was. Nell laughed and took the top of the pile out of his hands. "Are these to keep me comfortable? Oh Winston, you're so thoughtful!"

"I do my best, Miss Nell," Winston said mildly. "Given the circumstances."

Nell crawled on her hands and knees into the back of the trailer. She could hear the metal squeal in protest under her weight and stopped, embarrassed. Was she really that heavy?

"Spread your weight out!" Daniel's voice echoed off the walls of the metal container. Nell felt herself blush, but spread her hands wide and tried to shift position so she took up even more of the floor's space. Moving forward didn't feel terribly natural, but at least the truck didn't seem ready to collapse.

She made it to the back of the container and set the pillows against the wall, spreading one of the blankets across the floor. She recognized them as being from the King Suite, which had one of the largest beds she'd ever seen. When she was little, she'd loved to roll around on it - the mattress felt as though it were endless. Now her feet extended well past the end of the covers.

Winston stepped briskly aboard the trailer with several more pillows and blankets in hand, which he distributed about the space, fluffing the largest comforter before spreading it over her. Nell giggled. Winston always made such a fuss about tucking her in. He still did, even now that she was twice as big as him.

"How long will the trip be?" She whispered to him.

Winston paused in thought. "The factory is about fifty miles from here. Might I be so bold as to suggest you catch up on the sleep you lost, Miss Nell?"

Nell nodded, and tried to think sleepy thoughts as the doors of the trailer clanked shut. The last few hours had been pretty eventful, after all. She closed her eyes and tried to drift off, just as she heard the truck's engine rumble to life.

***

"We'll follow along in the sedan," Winthrop said as he walked away from the semi's cab. "Winston, you drive. Make sure no one tries to pull alongside the container." He motioned Daniel into the backseat.

Within a few minutes, they had pulled out of the estate and were headed along winding country roads. Daniel watched the container sway slightly as the eighteen-wheeler turned, and tried to imagine Nell filling its space. Thankfully, she wasn't that big. Yet.

Daniel, struck by a thought, pulled out his worksheet. "How large is the warehouse again?" He asked.

Bill frowned. "Why do I get the feeling I should be worried about this conversation?" He growled. Daniel opened his mouth to reply, but Winthrop waved him quiet. "Rhetorical question. It's got a 5,000 square foot floor. I've ordered them to clear away the production line to make room."

"Er, sorry, not area. Height?"

Bill's frown only deepened. "I believe it's a three-story building. Surely you don't think -" He stopped himself. "She could lie down, right?"

"It would get uncomfortable for her fairly quickly," Daniel replied. "For one thing, it would be hard to move her in and out of the space once she got too tall for it. And then there's the matter of her claustrophobia."

"Er, speaking of that, sir," Winston interrupted. "You may want to take a look at this."

Daniel peered out the windshield to see the container shaking violently, rocking back and forth, almost to the point of toppling over.

Winthrop yanked a walkie-talkie from his pocket. "Gus! Stop the truck! Quickly!"

***

Nell's dreams had been vague and anxious - she couldn't remember the details. Just a feeling of being smothered. When she woke up, the walls were literally closing in.

She could tell from the fevery, floaty feeling that she was growing again. "Not now," she said out loud, "Oh please not right now!" When she'd first entered it, the container had been too small for her to stand up in. Now it seemed to be shrinking around her. She could feel it pressing in on her. Her breathing quickened. There wasn't enough air.

She had to stop this. Nell started banging fists against the walls, feeling the container's thin walls shake. "Let me out!" She cried, barely in control of herself.

She barely felt the truck pull over, but she knew it had stopped when the back door swung open. Taking a deep breath, she willed herself to flatten, and stay still. She could feel herself trembling. Daniel, Winston and her Daddy all got in. Her Dad walked over to her side, his expression filled with concern.

"Are you okay, sweetie?" He knelt by her side. She stayed on the ground, unwilling to get up and make the space feel even smaller.

"I grew again," she whispered. Her voice sounded hoarse to her own ears. "How big am I?"

She saw Daniel look briefly around the container. "I'd estimate you're around sixteen, maybe sixteen and a half feet tall now. That's a huge spurt -" Her dad turned and waved his hand in a chopping motion to cut Daniel off.

"It's okay, Daddy" Nell said, feeling herself starting to calm down. "I don't mind him saying it."

"Okay Nell-bell," he said soothingly. "Now I know this is hard for you. But we don't have any other way to get you there. There's maybe another thirty miles to go."

Nell sighed. "I don't suppose I'm big enough to walk yet?" She said, with a lopsided grin.

Her dad reached out and ruffled her hair. She was used to the gesture, but surprised by just how small his hand felt - not much larger than Daniel's felt just a little while earlier. Her Daddy had always seemed so big and solid, but now he looked like an oversized doll. "Not yet, sweetie. Is there anything we can do for now though?"

Nell shut her eyes for a second. "Could someone ride with me? Just to make the space feel bigger."

"I'll do it." Daniel said, before her dad could even respond. "I'm pretty small, so next to me the container will seem huge." She was pretty sure she saw him wink at her.

Her dad rubbed at his beard. "Okay. You keep an eye on her. We don't have far to go, so just sit tight."

***

Daniel watched as they closed up the container, then walked toward the end where Nell lay. Her latest spurt had clearly ramped up the process. She was almost half again her previous height. As he passed her hips, they came up to his waist. She practically filled the trailer. No wonder her claustrophobia had been acting up. If she didn't stay calm, they'd all be in a world of trouble.

As he passed her belly, the truck started up again. He felt himself losing his balance, and tumbled on top of her. He felt a huge, soft weight on his back, and looked over his shoulder to see her hand gently pressing against him.

"Don't fall," she said softly, her voice almost musical.

"I'll, er, try not to," he murmurred, flustered. He stood, and she brought her hand up behind him, guiding him up toward her face.

"Thanks for being here with me," she said, eyes shining. "It really does help."

He sat cross-legged across from her. "Of course," he replied. "You needed some kind of distraction."

She sighed deeply. "Yeah, I guess. I dunno." She turned toward him, her massive frame shifting and causing the entire container to shake slightly. "I feel kind of, um, safer, when you're here."

Daniel could easily see the irony in this - Nell was at this point over three times his size. But he could also see it making some kind of strange sense. "Yeah. I feel safe when I'm with you too. And stronger, somehow. More capable."

He suddenly felt incredibly self-conscious. She was looking at him intently. He broke his gaze away and looked off to the pillows. "Hello Kitty, huh?"

"Oh, those are from when I was eight," Nell mumbled. It was fairly dim in the container, but he could have sworn she was blushing. "I'm not into that so much anymore."

"Haha, no worries. I'm a bit of a Japanophile myself." Daniel grinned, but cursed himself inwardly. He generally liked really nerdy anime, mostly related to giant robots. Not the kind of thing a teenage girl would be interested in. So instead of pursuing the conversation he just let it trail off awkwardly.

"You don't have to sit against the wall," Nell said after a moment. "It's metal, so it's cold, right?"

"Oh, it's not so bad," Daniel replied with a wave of his hand.

"Come over here," Nell insisted, patting a spot on the pillows next to her.

Daniel swallowed. She was asking him to come awfully close. You're here to comfort her, he told himself. It's just being professional. Well, being a good friend at least. He nodded slightly, and crawled over to the spot she indicated near her shoulder.

Nell stretched slightly and curled a massive arm over the pillow, and wrapped it around him. There was a faint sweet smell coming from her skin as she pulled him closer. Daniel could feel his heart pounding in his chest, and briefly wondered if he could feel hers as well.

She yawned widely. "I'm glad you're here," she said, then closed her eyes. Daniel watched her breath grow shallow as she fell asleep.