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Author's Chapter Notes:

I think I messed up the 'Warnings' part. This story might be innappropriate for younger readers as there is nudity, sex, and graphic scenes later on. Don't see hoe to fix that though, so be warned. Thanks for the Rating and Review. Much appreciated.

Jennifer watches helplessly as the Tinies take over her apartment...

 
2 The Take Over

Jennifer Monroe stared in wide-eyed fascination at the tiny figure slowly approaching the spot where she lay gagged and hog-tied, naked on the floor of her apartment. It was a Tiny! A real Tiny! And not just one, but several; a dozen at least that she could see crawling out from under her stove.

Of course she had heard of the little people. Who hadn't? It had been all over the news and in the papers for months when the first cases of the shrinking virus came to the attention of the world. It had apparently been kept a closely guarded secret for some time as government scientists and doctors studied the phenomenon, trying to find a cure. Back then it had been just a curiosity in the weekly tabloids as laughable as flying saucers and Bigfoot. It was only when a politician- some congressman, Jennifer thought- had dwindled away to four inches on live national television and in front of dozens of eye witnesses, not to mention the media, that people knew it was all too real and deadly serious.

After that it was a media blitz for months. On every channel and everywhere on the internet all the time. People crying on the news over loved one's gone missing, or worse, accidentally killed, usually crushed unawares underfoot. Scientists were trying to explain why it was happening and why only to certain people only, but there seemed no connection between the victims. Young or old, fat or thin, race, creed and sex did not seem to matter; though all of the victims had gone through puberty. That seemed the only constant.

As to the cause, theories ranged from a mutant gene to radiation from a solar flare to some new type of bomb tested by any number of terrorists or foreign countries. The most accepted theory was that it was indeed a new strain of virus, though again no one could as yet determine why only certain people were afflicted. Conspiracy Theorists knew that it was some disease concocted by the Russians in the Cold War of the 50’s. The religious zealots knew that it was the Will of God and preached from almost every corner in the city that the Last Days were coming. Whatever…

The fact was that it was real.

It had been over five years since the Congressman had shrunk, and for the Tinies things had progressively gotten worse and worse. At first they were treated with care and compassion as a cure was desperately sought. Jennifer supposed that the Powers That Be were still seeking a cure, as no one wanted to be a Tiny. But for those already afflicted…

The Tabloids had turned to horror stories of Tinies that were being experimented on to find a cure. There were rumors of shock treatment and vivisection, blurry pictures of Tinies taped to operating tables in secret laboratories being poked and prodded with sharp instruments. Too, there were stories of a growing slave trade in Third World countries. Tinies were being bought and sold by the rich around the world as pets; some pampered and well kept, while others were simply kept in cages like hamsters, or worse. There was one story in particular that Jennifer remembered reading in the check out line in the supermarket. A man in Columbia bought Tinies by the bushel to feed to the exotic snakes that he raised and sold.

Even in the United States, little by little the Tinies were seemingly losing their rights. It was debated and decided that since the little people could no longer fend for themselves that a Guardianship Program should be started. Most families suddenly finding a Tiny in their midst would of course control their diminutive family member. Those without family or abandoned would be assigned a Guardian through the courts from a long list of exuberant and willing applicants. Jennifer imagined that some of the Tinies went to good and loving homes, but she had heard stories…

Jennifer shuddered as another drop of icy water hit her skin, dripping from the melting could that was suspended above her on a thin thread. She focused again, wishing for the keys held within the ice to drop so that she could free herself from her self-bondage and chase these invaders of her home away.

She stared at the small figure approaching her, seemingly bold as she walked across the vast expanse of carpet, strolling through the fading light seeping through the window blinds. It was a woman Jennifer could tell as she drew near, maybe six inches tall. Her long, brown hair was about the same color of Jennifer’s, but hers looked greasy and flecked with dust. Her whole body seemed filthy, including what she wore, which seemed to be a pink Barbie’s dress trimmed down to fall to mid-thigh and belted with a string at the waist. Her feet were wrapped in bits of leather and tied at the ankles with string as well. She seemed covered in dust and dirt, and her skin was pale but she seemed fit and trim, not an ounce of fat on her body. Eating scraps and garbage as Rogue Tinies did, Jennifer imagined she would be skinny.

The woman was carrying a small sword, which Jennifer assumed had been a letter opener at some point. It seemed longer than the woman was tall but she held it easily enough and Jennifer could tell that it looked sharp and probably deadly in the little woman’s hands. The tiny woman stopped about a foot in front of Jennifer’s befuddled face and planted the tip of her sword into the floor, leaning on it as she peered curiously at the larger woman.

“Linda!” a tiny voice shouted from somewhere off to the side and Jennifer’s gaze flicked to the right to see a tiny man running forward.

He was maybe three inches tall and filthy, his hair wild and in disarray and dressed in a piece of cloth that had been fashioned like a toga. He was brandishing a small nail as he charged up in excitement.

“See?” he shouted, breathing hard. Like the woman he was thin and lean but half her height. Jennifer knew that the virus affected everyone differently. Some had only shrank a few inches while others had dwindled until they vanished from sight and everything in between.

“It’s just like I said!” Jennifer saw now that he was closer that what she had thought to be a man was actually just a boy, maybe thirteen years old. “She’s totally stuck! Been like that for a couple hours.”

“I see, Johnny,” the small woman said as she stared at Jennifer’s huge, bound form. “You did good.” The woman glanced up above Jennifer briefly, then turned her gaze onto the boy. “And she did all this to herself?” she asked.

“Yeah!” the boy replied. “I saw the whole thing. She hung that ice up into the ceiling, then gagged herself and put on the cuffs. I watched her for awhile and she seemed, like, really excited over something. When I saw she wasn’t going nowhere I ran back to the holt and got you.”

“Good boy, Johnny.” The woman ruffled a hand through the boy’s greasy hair then turned towards the other Tinies. Jennifer saw that there was fifteen or more of them now standing at the edge of the gap under the stove. They ranged between what Jennifer figured was half an inch to five inches, though none were taller than the woman with the sword that stood before her. They were all filthy and ragged looking, all lean and some appearing half-starved, dressed in rags and bits of cloth. She saw that some held small weapons; a razor blade affixed to a matchstick, nails, toothpicks and tiny plastic swords used to skewer olives and cocktail onions. Johnny seemed to be the youngest as far as she could see, and there was a woman with gray hair and a small sliver of wood that she was leaning on like a cane who had to be at least sixty.

“You all know what to do!” the woman called out to her group. “Let’s get it done!”

Jennifer watched as all the Tinies scattered save for the older woman. She hobbled forward as Johnny dashed away. The taller woman- Linda- turned back to stare at Jennifer again. For some reason Jennifer blushed with embarrassment and squirmed in her bonds as water hit her back again with a splat.

“Well, here’s a sight,” the old woman said with a chuckle. Jennifer could see that her leg had been broken at some point in her life and not set well as it twisted at an odd angle. Her gray hair was pulled back into a tight bun and she was squinting as though she needed glasses. Otherwise she was handsome for her age, though filthy with dirt and dust like the rest.

“I’ll say,” the taller woman said smiling down at the older who was maybe an inch shorter. “Johnny said that she did this to herself. Can you imagine?” The woman shook her head, giggling. “I had a friend back in college that was into bondage, but I don’t think she ever went this far.” The woman shrugged. “Or maybe she did. Doesn’t matter. That was a lifetime ago.”

The older woman nodded in understanding and Jennifer supposed that she did as well. For the Tinies, their old lives were gone, done. When they shrank it was all new.

“This is a hell of an opportunity though.” The older woman smiled up at Jennifer, a wicked gleam in her eyes.

“Mmm-Hmmn.” The woman Linda nodded in agreement. “I figure it’s Friday night. Odds are she doesn’t go back to work until Monday, and even then it’ll be a day or two before someone comes round to check on her. We’ve got a good three or four days here, provided she doesn’t get loose.” The older woman laughed out loud at that.

“Look at her. She can’t get away.” Both women laughed.

“Yeah. It’ll be nice to live in a little luxury for awhile.”

Jennifer’s mind was awhirl at what she was hearing. The woman, Linda was right in that she did not have to go back to work until the weekend was over, and Jennifer suspected too that it would be a couple days after that before anyone was concerned enough to come look for her. ‘My God!’ she thought. ‘They’re going to keep me here like this for four days, bound and gagged while they ransack my apartment!’

Jennifer raged into her gag and thrashed about in her bondage as the implications of that hit her fully. She’d need water and food, and what about the bathroom? God, she’d die of dehydration before the Tinies finally left and they probably would not care in the least after what they had probably been through since shrinking. Jennifer’s eyes went wide as she finally calmed; breathing hard again as she realized that her kidnap fantasy had come true.

Jennifer noted that the two little women had backed away a few steps while she had been writhing in her bonds. They didn’t look afraid, just cautious as they watched her. Finally Linda stepped forward again, her eyes boring into Jennifer’s for a quick moment before she turned away.

“Go check the door locks, Claire. I doubt she did this and left her apartment unlocked, but better safe than sorry. I’ll check on the others.”

Jennifer watched as the two women turned away. The older hobbled off and out of sight along the length of her body heading for the hallway and the front door. As slow as she was moving in her tiny steps Jennifer figured it would be awhile before she got back.

Linda trotted much quicker across the carpeting and back towards the small kitchenette where the other Tinies seemed to be working. She saw a man about four inches tall whirling a weighted rope about in a wide arch, finally tossing it high. The huge weight on the end fell short of the sink by a few inches and the Tinies scattered as it came crashing down again.

“Let me try,” Linda said as she approached, gathering the rope as the smaller man in the loincloth stepped back to give her room. Linda took up the thin, knotted rope and whirled it about a few times, finally flinging it skyward. Jennifer watched as it went up and up, arching at its apex and landing in the sink with a heavy thump. The Tinies cheered as Linda tugged on the rope and somehow it held. Jennifer realized that the weight on the end had to be a magnet that was now affixed to her metal sink.

“Here you go,” Linda said as she handed the trailing end of the rope back to the smaller man. “Get the ladder secured and the water running. Then we’ll work on the cupboards.”

“On it, Boss,” the man said with a quick salute before shimmying up the rope like a monkey with a pair of bundles slung over his back and shoulders. Within seconds he was on the countertop and moments later had turned on the taps so that water was running into the sink.

Jennifer’s attention turned to the refrigerator and several Tinies that were gathered there. There were four of them ranging in size between three and five inches all holding pens and pencils and prying at the bottom of the refrigerator door. They were all struggling, sweating and straining but working hard and together, shouting out numbers then heaving as one. After three more tries Jennifer saw the door pop open, light bathing the Tinies and the floor in a thin beam. Another cheer rang out at their little victory.

“Get the pushpin in place!” Linda called out even as one Tiny clambered up onto the back of another, tack in hand. The one piggy-back stretched up and slammed the point of the pushpin into the rubber seal lining the edge of the refrigerator door, thus ensuring that it would stay open a crack. Just enough to keep the contents cool and enough to prevent the effort of having to pry the door open again.

Watching the well-coordinated group of little people, Jennifer was certain they had done this time and again. It seemed they had their various duties down to a science. She watched as the back riding Tiny stretched and then hoisted himself up into the refrigerator.

“Jack pot!” the little man called out. “The veggie bin’s full and there’s plenty of soda, water, juice and even a couple beers. Party tonight!” Jennifer fumed at the little man’s words. Of course the fridge was full. She had gotten paid the day before and went grocery shopping just that morning. “Hamburger too. Maybe we can get the stove going.”

“Maybe, but party tomorrow. There’s still a lot to get done.” Linda said watching as the first Tiny unrolled a long rope ladder made of yarn and sent it uncoiling over the edge of the counter to pile at a heap on the floor. Obviously he had secured it somewhere on the countertop. “Get up there and get the cupboards open,” Linda said to a few Tinies that had gathered awaiting her command. The four surged forward and one by one started climbing the rope ladder heading for the countertop.

“There’s a microwave up here!” the first Tiny shouted down.

“Good!” Linda answered. “Get the utensil drawer open too. Let’s see if we can scrounge some more weapons.”

Jennifer jumped in her bonds as something thumped onto the floor right behind her. She turned her head to look at her small, twin bed- basically just a mattress and box set on the floor. One of her pillows was on the floor and she saw a small group of Tinies heaving on her other pillow, dragging it towards the edge. She saw that there was a knotted thick string that appeared to be attached to a grappling hook made out of paper clips and taped together embedded in the edge of the mattress with another rope ladder dangling beside that.

Craning her neck even farther she saw two more little people scaling her CD Tower. They were a black man that appeared mostly naked save a loincloth at three inches and a skinny white woman with cropped hair and a toga seeming a couple inches taller. Once at the top the pair separated, the man scrambling onto her chest of drawers on the left while the woman crawled up onto the bookcase on the right. Jennifer imagined that they would find plenty on both pieces of furniture that they could use.

“Four steak knives,” one of the Tinies on her counter shouted down even as Jennifer heard a clatter on the floor. She turned back to see the other Tiny up in her kitchen cabinets, shoving plastic containers from past deliveries of food out and onto the floor. There were more Tinies standing back and away as the containers fell, waiting for the signal to charge forward. “A can opener and a carving knife, spoons, forks, butter knives and straws.”

“Drop the steak knives and the straws,” Linda ordered, “Leave the rest. We’ll take the knives back to the Holt tomorrow, and if we can’t cut ‘em down for weapons we’ll add them to the defenses. Canned foods?” Linda called up.

“Plenty!” the Tiny shoving the containers shouted back. “Four cans of tuna, corn, chili, beef stew, tomatoes, baked beans… We’re gonna be set for awhile.” The Tiny beamed and Jennifer saw Linda nod.

“We’ll deal with that tomorrow too. Get the water flowing.”

Linda turned and strode back towards Jennifer’s huge face. Her gaze spanned the bed, dresser and bookcase, then glanced towards the hallway and the front door where Claire had gone. Jennifer heard the other pillow hit the floor and jerked again.

“We can’t all climb that well, so we’ll be sleeping on the floor tonight,” Linda planted her sword point first to the floor and leaned on it again. “And the next few nights.” She smiled then shrugged. “I’m sorry we’re robbing you but it’s how we survive. If we had money I’d give it to you, but what do we need with money anymore.” Jennifer stared at the tiny woman and was surprised to see that she truly seemed sincere.

“Water flowing!”

Jennifer heard the shout and turned her attention to the sink. She saw a long bit of surgical tubing dangling from the sink and down to the floor and the plastic containers that were lined up there. As she watched she saw water flowing through the thin rubber tubing and she realized that they were siphoning water from the sink down into the containers like someone stealing gas from a car’s gas tank. Again she marveled at their ingenuity.

“Door’s locked,” the older woman Claire’s voice sounded. “Deadbolt and a standard. There’s a chain, but it’s not in.”

“And the hall?” Linda asked and Jennifer saw Claire shrug.

“Boxes lining the wall. Shelves way up high. Gonna be a bitch to climb to see what’s on top. Her purse is by the door too.”

“Maybe we won’t need to.” Linda replied referring to the boxes as she looked to Jennifer, then back to the older woman.

“Closet door’s open a crack,” the woman said. “She’s a shoe horse, that’s for sure. There’s a toolbox but it has a lot of shit piled on top of it. Couple file cabinets too.”

“Good, Claire,” Linda said scanning the main room again. The Tiny on the dresser was tossing down safety pins, paper clips, earrings and small paper clamps. The one on the bookcase was throwing pens over the side from Jennifer’s cup where she stored her extras. One of the Tinies on the bed had swung onto the middle shelf of the bookcase and had found her box cutter that she used to open care packages from her parents on her birthday and at Christmas and to cut up pizza boxes more often. He tossed it to the floor to clatter on the carpet.

Jennifer squealed into her gag as something hard, heavy and cold suddenly landed in the middle of her back. She realized at once that the keys to her cuffs and padlock had finally melted from the ice and dropped. Immediately she started rocking her body, trying to topple onto her side and drop the keys to the floor where she could get at them and free herself.

“Oh no you don’t!” she heard Linda shout as the little woman charged forward. She felt the Tiny grab onto her sweaty hair and swing upwards to clamber up onto her shoulders. Jennifer squeaked from the sharp tug and soon felt the tiny feet padding along her slick skin sending strange thrills through her body and making her tingle. She tried to rock and buck but all too soon she felt the tiny woman in the small of her back, the cold weight of the keys suddenly gone.

“Nnnngggh…” Jennifer moaned as she felt the small woman padding across her bare skin again, a moment later dropping to the floor. Jennifer watched helplessly as the Tiny strolled in front of her again, her sword eased on her shoulder, her left hand holding the small ring with the three keys that meant her freedom dangling in her right hand. Linda held up the ring and jangled the keys with a wicked grin on her face.

“I’ll be keeping these for the next few days,” the little woman mocked, then smiled. “I’ll put them where you can get them when we leave, but for now consider yourself kidnapped.” Linda smirked and Jennifer moaned.

Her greatest fantasy had come true in a way she never could have imagined…

Chapter End Notes:

Jennifer remains helpless as the Tinies settle in. What will become of her?

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