* * * * *
Suddenly, I woke up.
I was disoriented, at first. Not knowing who, or where, I was. Then, slowly, it all came back to me. The movie offer; the plane ride to the audition; everything.
The last thing I clearly remember, before apparently blacking out, was Ramona's Twirlers demonstrating their dancing skills for me. Yet, now, I seemed to be sitting on a king-size bed with a purple blanket. Not to mention a footboard that seemed to have been carved into the semblance of the heads of two bald men, standing side-by-side.
Stranger still was the fact that this bed seemed to be center-stage of a big amphitheater! Sort of like the Hollywood Bowl. But, with a giant movie screen similar to New York City's Imax.
It was at this point that I tried to stand up. Only to find I couldn't. Due to the fact that my arms were pinned to my sides!
"Ramona?" I called out: "Ramona! Where are you?"
The acoustics in this amphitheater were really weird. They made my voice sound like I'd been snorting helium! Even so, at least I got someone to respond. Because, my shouted inquiry was almost immediately followed by a thunderous click. And, then a really loud electronic hum as something was projected on to the movie screen.
It took me a couple seconds to recognize myself standing in the center of the seven mysteriously missing majorettes, as they danced around me. First, clockwise; then counter-clockwise. All the while, never ceasing to twirl their batons. But, did I compliment them on their skill?
No! I just stood there, staring at them, open-mouthed (like Billy the Singing Bass with drained batteries). And, it was at this point that they stopped dancing.
"Is he under already?" asked Dolores (the short-haired co-captain).
Ramona, waving her left hand in front of my unblinking face, nodded.
"The pre-recorded subliminal stuff they played aboard the plane must have softened him up, even better than we could've hoped!"
That's when Ramona turned back to me and said (in as deep and authoritative a voice as she could manage):
"Thresher? Sit down on the floor, with your back against the couch."
And, I watched myself do just that, without the slightest hesitation. All to the tittering delight of the other twirlers!
"Now, assume a fetal position and suck your thumb, while making baby noises."
More tittering followed, as I complied. A muffled "goo-goo/gah-gah" issuing from my thumb-sucking lips!
Fortunately, for me, Ramona soon ordered me to stop. She then went off-camera for a moment. Only to return with what I quickly recognized as...a baby bottle.
"Now, be a good boy, and drink this all down, Thresher."
There was even more tittering at this. What happened the instant I finished the contents of that bottle, however, was the most shocking experience, yet. Because, incredible as this might sound?
I shrank.
That's what I said. I shrank! Down to six inches in height!!
Ramona then picked up my shrunken form, and tucked it behind the silver-plated buckle of her white pleather belt. Following which, she sat down on the couch. Looking straight into the camera I hadn't even known was there.
And, that's when the chill of realization went down my spine.
"If you're finally awake and watching this, Thresher, then you know what happened to you. As to how it happened? Two words: shrinking potion!"
"The skim milk you wolfed down was laced with a fish-liver oil derived from Chiasmodon niger. A deep-sea fish more commonly known as 'the black swallower,' from its ability to devour other fish up to five times bigger than itself!"
"How it was able to do so has always been a zoological mystery...until now."
That last part was uttered in what I initially thought was stereophonic sound. That is; till the giant "movie screen" went dark, following another thunderous click. Then, the familiar female voice spoke up again.
"And, I guess congratulations are in order. Because, you're the first human being that we tested it on!"
I looked up. And, sure enough; there, grinning down at me (while her left hand held a giant TV remote control), was the lovely giant face of Ramona Magsaysay.
tbc
Giantess World
