6 months earlier:

The house wasn't the largest home on the block nor was it particularly beautiful, but Harry Rockwell always felt pride whenever he pulled into the driveway. 

            It was a faded blue American Colonial in a quiet Maryland neighborhood, 2 stories and 3 bedrooms.  It had more space than he and Marjorie knew what to do with when they moved in, Marjorie 6 months pregnant with their first child Cole.  Now Harry's family of 8 filled every inch of the old building and although they'd talked about finding something larger he was always happy having his family so near. 

            "Dad, I wish you'd just tell me what's going on," Brittany said from the back seat, stuffed into the space that wasn't filled by her and Cole's luggage.  Harry looked in the mirror and took in his 2nd oldest child.  Just 20 years old but grown into a beautiful young woman, Harry smiled remembering the skinny teenager who couldn't wait to leave home.  "What's so important that Cole & I had to come home from college?  It's May, we have finals coming up." 

            "Yeah Dad," Cole said from the front seat.  21, tall, square jawed and handsome, Cole took after his father and looked every inch the college quarterback.  "If you or mom are sick just tell us, it'll be better to know."

            "I'm sorry kids," Harry said and parked the car.  "I promised your mother and this will be a lot easier if you just see for yourself.  Nobody's sick and everything's going to be ok, there are just some things that a family has to handle together.  Get your butts inside, everyone's dying to see you."

            Brittany and Cole lugged their bags up the driveway and through the doorway to the old house.  'Oh my god it looks smaller every time I come home'  Brittany thought as she stepped inside.  'I better not get stuck sleeping with Danielle & Erica again'.

            As soon as they were through the door Sammy jumped onto Cole.  "Cole Cole Cole!" Sammy yelled and wrestled Cole's arms.   

            "Hey Maniac!" Cole said and half placed half dropped his bags to the ground to keep from dropping Sammy.

            "That's right, just go ahead and wreck my house," Harry said as he and Brittany squeezed past. 

            "What are you doing here Sammy," Cole said.  "Dad told me he was gonna trade you for a weed whacker."

            "Did not!  Want me to help you take your bags up to our room?"

            "Thanks buddy.  Back to the boys bedroom with Sammy and Derrick, huh?  I think I might have to squeeze you into the closet or something this time, I need your bed to put my feet on."

            "Don't worry, we're gonna have plenty of space really soon!" Sammy said and ran upstairs with one of Cole's smaller bags. 

            Meeting Cole at the top of the stairs was Derrick, Cole's younger brother.  Derrick and his twin sister Danielle were both 16 and took a little more after their mother with softer, kinder features. 

            "What do you want ass-burglar?" Cole said and swung a bag at Derrick angrily.

            Derick grunted as he caught the bag in his chest and returned Cole's glare.  "Is that really the best throw you've got fuck-let?  And they actually let you play on the team with that weak ass arm?"

            Cole and Derrick maintained their angry standoff for nearly 4 seconds before Cole cracked and started laughing.  Cole used his free arm to pull a smirking Derrick into a hug.  "Wow, and I almost missed you for a millisecond.  Fuck-let, that's a new one, thanks.  Look, can you tell me what's going on?"

            Derrick led Cole into their bedroom and said "I…you'll find out in a minute, you wouldn't believe me if I told you.  Things have gotten weird around here man."

            Brittany dropped her bags onto her old bed with a sigh and took the room in. 

            Just like she'd left it, 3 beds for three girls.  After a claustrophobic Christmas 4 months earlier she had hoped to never sleep in this little room again.  Her father insisted she rush home though, and even at 20 she had trouble saying no to him when he used the Dad Voice.

            Brittany looked herself over in the mirror hanging next to her bed.  She was tall for the women in her family, 5'9 with a curvy body that stood out from her mom and sisters.  She tugged her sweater up a bit to cover everything but the creamy tops of the breasts she was so proud of, DD's that peeked out above a black and maroon terrapin, mascot to the University of Maryland where she and Cole attended. 

            She parted her long blonde curls (dyed religiously from its natural Rockwell brown) which framed a pretty face, smooth skin with high cheekbones and eyes that always spoke volumes about their owners' confidence. 

            Satisfied that she was looking her best after the car ride she looked around the room that she had shared with her sisters' for 16 years.  Danielle's area on the opposite side was like she remembered, all soccer gear and a big autographed Les Miserables poster.  Erica's bed in the middle was just as drab as always, messy and unmade with CDs scattered amidst a couple of stuffed animals.  Brittany picked one up to see what little sis was listening to and rolled her eyes at a picture of Katy Perry.  'Way to grow up Erica'.

            Underneath the CD was a pamphlet that stood out from all the teenage crap, A Nanotechnolical World and Its Byproducts.  Brittany picked it up and looked inside, it was all about Nano Day, when the US had officially approved the use of nanotechnology for the civilian population about 10 years previously.  It had seemed like a huge deal at first but the only difference for most people was that Americans didn't get sick much anymore.  All of the fun applications like physical enhancements or cybernetics were way out of the price range of the Rockwells. 

            Brittany was just reading the next page's title, The Shrink Effect and the American Family,  when a tiny voice behind her said "Uh, Brittany…".

            "Jesus!" Brittany yelled and spun around to see her little sister Erica looming in the doorway, half hidden behind the wall.  Brittany took in her little sister, looking every inch the shy mouse she remembered, barely making eye contact.  Erica was a skinny 5'2 and buried the few curves she had in her usual baggy grey sweatshirt.  She had a pretty face that was usually hidden behind her long brown hair.  "Erica, don't sneak up on people, god."

            "Sorry," Erica said and retreated a bit further behind the doorway.  "Mom…Mom said she wanted you to come downstairs."

            "Yeah, ok.  Hey, sorry, I didn't mean to yell," Brittany said and pulled Erica out from behind the doorway and into a hug.  "You just startle me when you creep around like that you little weirdo."

            Erica sunk into the hug, trying and failing to avoid being squished against Brittany's chest.

            "But Erica, c'mon, I've told you before," Brittany said and held Erica at arms length with a hand on each shoulder.  "Stand up straight, look people in the eye when you talk to them, you'd be so pretty if you didn't dress like an old man.  I guess you're not going to tell me what this is all about either?"

            Erica forced herself to look Brittany in the eyes and smiled with secret knowledge.  "You're gonna have to see this one to believe it, just come downstairs when you're done going through my stuff."

            Harry & Marjorie Rockwell looked at their family, 7 of their 8 children gathered at the dining room table.  The only one missing was their 18-year-old daughter Danielle, usually a bright presence in any room.  Sitting in front of Marjorie was a blue tissue box.  Along with his coffee mug Harry had a plain white disk about the size of 3 poker chips stacked on each other. 

            The kids all looked at their parents, both in their mid-forties.  Harry was a loving but tough man who tended towards the stern.  6' tall with a firm jaw and a deep gravelly voice, he was the authority in the household. 

            Marjorie balanced him out, a smaller woman at 5'4 who made sure her children always knew she was worrying over them.  She was relatively fit for a mother of 6, with neck length brown hair and a warm face.   

            Harry sipped green tea out of his black World's Greatest Dad mug, a birthday present from Cole & Brittany back when they were his only children, as he searched for a way to begin.

            "Ok, what's the big news?  You're killing us Dad," Cole said.  

            "It's your sister Danielle," Marjorie said.  "She's ok, she's not hurt or sick or anything, but 2 days ago she…well, we found her and…."

            "Just let her out Mom," Derrick interrupted kindly.

            Marjorie pushed the tissue box forward and pulled back the lid.  Cole and Brittany both leaned in from across the table as the box shook a bit, then out sprang Danielle, all 3" of her.  Danielle was dressed in a little velvet rag with arm & leg holes, far short of her usually bright and outgoing sense of fashion.  She was a vibrant and pretty girl, somewhere in the middle of her younger and older sisters. 

            Brittany and Cole stared silently, eyes wide and searching.  Looking around the room for confirmation they found their siblings uniformly unsurprised.  Cole looked to Derrick who just pursed his lips and nodded with an expression that said 'Yep, told you so'.

            "Ta-daa!" Danielle's tiny voice finally said with a wave of her arms to break the silence.  "I know, I changed my hair, don't you like it?" 

            "I don't understand," Brittany said and walked to Danielle, leaning over to get a better look.   "I don't understand, what's going on, why is no one freaking?  Is this a trick?!  It's not funny!"

            Brittany slapped her hand down on the table, scarily close to Danielle.  "Mom, what happened to Danielle!?  Somebody say something!"

            Erica put her hand lightly on Brittany's shoulder and pulled her back a bit, much to Danielle's relief.  "It happened 2 days ago Brittany.  We all felt the same way but it's real, no one's tricking you.  Just calm down a little, you're scaring her, ok?"

            Brittany snapped her attention back to Danielle who had partially retreated into her tissue box.  "I'm ok Brittany, I'm not hurt or dying, I'm just…wee.  You have to be careful, no big movements, it's like being in a room filled with Godzillas."

            Seeing Danielle's tininess compared to her own hand Brittany realized what she'd done and crouched down while pulling her arm away.  "I'm sorry Danni, this is just….what happened?"

            Danielle stood back up, happy to be talking to Brittany at eye level even if the eyes were massive.  It was better than trying to ignore a pair of gigantic breasts hovering above ready to crush her.  "It was 2 days ago.  I was reading and I got really hot, I thought I was burning up.  I passed out and when I woke up everything was gigantic, like one of those over sized fun house rooms times a 1000. I actually thought I was normal and everything had grown, like our house had expanded or something.  I was freaking out thinking we must have crushed our neighbors, but then…"

            "I found her!"  Sammy yelled proudly.  "I was looking for my shoes and when I looked under the couch she was right there looking out at me!  It was so cool!"

            "Giga-Sammy over there took me to Mom and I realized that I was the one that was different, not everything else.  Since then, you know, we've all been dealing with it.  We went to Doctor Samuels and he sent us to this other doctor and he told us that this was…"

            "It's the Shrink Effect!" Cole interrupted, breaking out of his stunned silence for the first time.  "Yeah, there was an article in Wired about it, it's been happening all over the country.  But it's only supposed to effect like .0001% of the population, how….?"

            "C'mon Cole, you know I'm 1 in a million!" Danielle shouted. 

            Cole laughed, "Oh my god, Danielle, I can barely hear you, it's like talking with Tinker Bell."

            "Hey, don't' make fun of her!" Brittany snapped.

            "It's ok Britany, it's ok," Danielle said.  "Just stay calm.  Remember:  Godzillas.  And I'd rather people joke than feel sorry for me, this isn't a pity party."

            "Ok Danni," Brittany said, "Sorry."

            "Brittany, sit back down, there's more to talk about" Harry said in the dad voice that allowed no argument. 

            Brittany returned to her seat next to Erica and said, "What was Cole talking about?"

            "It's called the Shrink Effect Brittany," Harry said.  "The doctors who reviewed Danielle explained it to us.  The government's kept it mostly quiet until a few months ago but It's been happening around the country for the last 3 years. 

            "They told us that it's the nanotech that we've been exposed to.  They were put in our food and water to fight illnesses, and that's mostly what they do, but sometimes something goes wrong with the way the bots communicate and they become obsessed with the idea that they have a project that's worth using up almost all of the body's mass.  They replicate out of control and once they've reached critical mass they burn up in a flash of heat and all that's left is what you see here.  Once the process begins it can take up to a year, but it's not stoppable."

            "There's like thousands of people around the country in the same situation," Derrick said.  "It's pretty scary, you feel normal until it just happens."

            Marjorie picked up the thread.  "Until recently all the victims have been taken away and sent to live in institutions, but thank god the doctors have made sure that it's not contagious.  It's a stupid machine glitch, not a virus.  So long as the victim has a family member that can be appointed their guardian then she can stay at home" she said and unconsciously cradled her arms protectively around Danielle's tissue box.

            "And I have plenty of those," Danielle said.  From her perspective in front of her mother her family was like a council of gods, but as much as they could be a pain she was happy to have them all with her.  The thought of spending the rest of her life in some tiny prison terrified her.

            "That's so….oh my god," Brittainy said.  "It's not enough that only rich people get the cool enhancements, but now we have to deal with shit like this?!"

            "Brave new world sis," Derrick said.  "Kind of a rough trade off for no more flu, although I bet cancer survivors would probably say different."

            "So you and Dad are her guardians now, like permanently?  Danni will stay living with you?" Brittany said ignoring Derrick.

            "Yup, I'm a homebody from now on," Danielle said.  "Aside from the obvious sucking it won't be SO bad, I'm never going to have go without mom's cooking and I'm so full of nanotech at this point that I could probably jump off this table and heal right back up.  I've been doing a lot of research and I can still go to college online and get some kind of work-from-home job.  Or maybe I'll just play videogames, I haven't figured it all out yet.

            "And I'm definitely the cutest kid in the family now, wayyyyyy cuter than Sammy." Danielle stuck her tongue out at her youngest brother who returned the gesture happily.

            "Actually that's not right," Harry said with a stony look on his face.  "Your mother and I can't be guardians."

            "What?" Danielle spun to her father.  "Dad, no, I won't be trouble, don't send me away!  Those institutions are supposed to be like prisons!  Daddy please!"

            "I would never do that Danielle, all I want in the world is to protect you," Harry said with a slight crack in his deep voice.  "But…I'm so sorry kids, I don't know how to say…."

            "We're all gonna get little too!" Sammy shouted with a grin. 

            "I heard mom and dad talking this morning," he continued sheepishly when he had everyone's attention.  "They said we're all gonna shrink too, we get to be like a tiny family together…no It's gonna be super cool, we can go on adventures and play with big people and ride birds and stuff!"

            "Sammy that's enough!" Harry shouted. 

            Sammy flinched in fright, their father was never cuddly but he was kind and not prone to anger. 

            "Sammy, it's not…this isn't funny" Harry said in a softer voice.  "Kids, nanotech is all about getting millions of little robots to communicate, they don't do anything on their own.  The shrink effect happens when one of them gets the wrong idea but they send that wrong idea to as many other bots as they can.  The effect can be localized as far as 90 feet once a trigger signal is sent."

            Marjorie started to cry quietly as she saw her children begin to understand, each face aghast as they looked back and forth from their father to Danielle.

            "No way," Cole said with a hint of panic in his voice.  "I've been at college most of the year, I wouldn't even have been around."

            "The doctors were able to extract a timestamp from Danielle, they know when the signal went out.  4 months and one week ago, almost exactly."

            The math was easy and it hit everyone but Sammy right away.  4 months and a week from May 3rd. 

            "Christmas," Erica said softly.  "It was Christmas break, we were all here, Brittany you and Cole were home and…."

            "Oh my god Danielle," Brittany said, "What did you do!?"

            "I didn't do anything!" Danielle yelled.  The giant faces around the table were suddenly staring at her, covered in mixtures of angry accusation and fear.  "Don't look at me like that, I didn't do this, it's not my fault!  Please, I'm sorry, I didn't…"

            "That's right," Harry said firmly.  "Danielle's the first victim, not the cause.  If anyone wants to blame her then you and I are going to have a very long talk about responsibility.  Everyone understand?"

            Everyone nodded and Danielle sank into her velvet dress in relief as the giant faces turned from anger to guilty apology. 

            Harry continued.  "So that's our problem.  If we all shrink then there's no guardian and we could wind up in some kind of institute, and I'm not having that.  So I'm sorry, but this next step is necessary".

            Harry pressed two fingers down onto the white disk in front of him, which yielded an audible click. 

            "What is that dad?" Erica said.

            "We don't know for sure that you were all affected.  Some of you kids could have been at a friend's house, out to a store, anything.  That's why the doctors gave me this."  Harry gestured to the disk.

            "It's a white noise generator, a powerful one.  It emits subsonic frequencies that can cause nausea, migraines, they can even make a person pass out if they're exposed for too long.  If the shrink effect has started then your body is saturated with enough nanotech that it will counteract this signal, you won't feel a thing.  Your mother and I already tested it and it's too late for us but if one of you missed the trigger signal then you're about to have a very bad time."

            Everyone sat silently, afraid of what the disk would make them feel but more afraid of feeling nothing.  For several minutes they all exchanged tense glances, trying to detect any kind of discomfort or pain in themselves and each other.  Danielle looked out at her family and started to pray, palms together in front of her mouth.  "Please please please Jesus, please someone be saved, please let us stay together."

            "I feel it!" Brittany said and stood up.  "Like a little tingle on your skull.  Does anyone else feel something?  I know I feel it, it's like a tightness and a hum and….I feel something, I'm not going to shrink oh thank…."

            That was when Erica lurched forward and vomited onto the table, a loud and messy torrent that went on and on. She fell to the ground as her mess spread across the table and everyone jumped to their feet and backed away.  Marjorie lifted Danielle and her box up just in time.

            "Oh baby," Marjorie said as Erica pulled herself into a ball and moaned on the ground.  "Harry turn it off!"

            "Not yet" Harry said and closed his hand around the disk.  "I'm sorry, we have to know."

            "Daddy it hurts" Erica screamed and knocked her chair over with her body. 

            Marjorie ripped the disk away from Harry with her free hand and clicked it.  Instantly Erica stopped shaking and lay curled up into herself. 

            "We know, Harry," Marjorie said angrily. 

            "I'm…I know I felt something" Brittany mumbled as her siblings gathered around Erica. 

            Cole helped her sit up as Derrick and Marjorie knelt down on either side.   

            "You ok sis?" Cole asked, kneeling in front of Erica with one hand on each of her shoulders.   "Look me in the eyes Erica."

            Erica looked up at her big brother, then to the table behind him.  "Ohhhhhhhhhh yuck" she said. "Did I barf on Danielle?"

            "That's good sweetheart, chew each bite 20 times then swallow,” Marjorie said as Erica ate a saltine.

            "Mom I'm seriously ok," Erica said.  "I just have a little headache."

            Erica sat on her parents' bed holding a glass of water.  Marjorie had removed Erica's mess covered sweatshirt, leaving the skinny girl in a faded blue tank top. 

            Next to her was a plate of saltines alongside Danielle in her tissue box.  Marjorie stood over Erica doting and Harry stood in front of the closed door 5 feet away, his thick arms folded.  Downstairs the rest of the kids were waiting for their parents and trying to not freak out. 

            "She's ok dear," Harry said in his steady voice.

            "Don't you even say anything," Marjorie snapped.  "Letting our baby suffer, you…"

            "Mom she's ok, Dad had to see if anyone else got sick," Danielle said, her neck strained almost straight up to look at her towering mother.

            "Danni shush, your father and I are talking," Marjorie said and danced her fingers above Danielle's head, who retreated into the tissues.  Erica pulled the box closer to her lap and whispered comfortingly to Danielle. 

            "The important thing is that Erica missed the trigger signal," Harry said.  "I hoped it would be more than than just one but this gives us a chance to stay together Marjie, we'll stay in this house and be a family."

            "I don't understand" Erica said nervously.  "They won't let me take care of everyone.  I'm only 16, how can I…."

            Marjorie sat on the bed next to Erica and put her arm around her shoulder, causing a sudden rolling earthquake for Danielle inside of her box.  "We talked it all over with a man from the government agency that's making the rules, Mr. Arnold.  He was a nice African American man and he had a kind face, and he said that they passed a law to help take care of people like us…"

            "Passed a law to prevent people like us from suing their asses," Harry interjected.

            Marjorie ignored Harry and continued in a louder voice.  "….they made a law and people who shrink can stay with their family so long as someone who's at least 16 is able to sign some paperwork and become their guardian."

            "But mom, it's just me.  I'm not like Danielle and Brittany, I don't know how…I can't handle…."

            "Erica, no one is going to make you do anything.  But if we don't find some solution they could take us away."

            "What about Aunt Jolene, couldn't she…."

            "Jolene said no" Marjorie stated flatly, remembering the conversation with her sister.  All concern and nice words, but when she asked for salvation Jolene's voice became cold and distant. 

            "It's not just paperwork or a title, we're all going to need help for the most basic things.  Help in being fed and someone to do the shopping and take care of the house and take us to doctors and keep anything bad from happening and…..and if you can't my babies will…."

            Marjorie voice choked up and she started crying.  Erica held her mother's hands but couldn't think of anything to comfort her.  "Mom, c'mon, please…"

            Harry approached and lifted Marjorie to her feet and held his wife in his arms.  "Marjorie you stop it, you're not being fair to Erica, she needs to make this decision with her brain, not her heart."

            He looked down to Erica who had moved her hands to the tissue box, Danielle poking out with tears of her own.  Letting go of Marjorie he knelt in front of his daughters.  "The government man, Arnold, he said that we'll each qualify for disability payments through his agency if we have a guardian.  It won't be much, around $7,000 each per year, but I can teach you how to use it smart.  This would be a full time commitment Erica, you couldn't go to school anymore or get a job when you're older, you'd be responsible for your whole family all day every day.  This would be your life from now on. 

            "I would never ask this of you if I had any other way my sweetheart, but I've gone over it again and again and I've got nothing."

            "How can I dad?  I'm not big and strong like you."  Erica looked down to Danielle, scared to make eye contact with her father.  "I couldn't even keep Mr. Beagle from running away.  Dad I'm scared."

            "Yeah, me too.  It's hard for me to look past the little girl I raised but you're almost a woman now, and I'm so proud of that woman.  You're stronger than you think you are Erica, I don't think there's a damn thing in this world that you couldn't handle.  And...I wasn't going to ever tell you this...Mr. Beagle didn't run away.  I ran him over in my car."

            Erica' snapped her head up to her father and her eyes went wide.  "You killed Mr. Beagle?!"  She frowned for several seconds.  "Oh thank god, I thought he ran away because I hated him.  He was the worst dog ever."

            Marjorie and Harry stood at the base of the staircase and looked at their living room filled with Cole, Brittany, Derrick & Sammy.  Erica crouched behind her father's broad back, 3 steps up the staircase with Danielle's tissue box cradled in her arms. 

            Cole and Derrick were arguing about something and Brittany was furiously typing into her phone but they all turned to attention when their father spoke.

            "Kids, we've had a big talk with Erica and we've made some decisions.  I know this is scary but we're going to stay together and take care of each other as a family, just like we always have.  Tomorrow Mr. Arnold is going to come here with paperwork for each one of us to sign, and Erica is going to be registered as our guardian.  When we all shrink Erica is going to step up and take care of us.  No one is going to go to any institution, we're going to stay in this house as a family."

            Harry stepped aside to reveal Erica, who stood a few feet up the staircase above the family.  She was frozen as everyone looked up to her, like they expected her to say something that would make sense of it all. 

            They all looked either scared (Cole), horrified (Brittany and Derrick), or excited (Sammy) as they were clearly imagining what it would be like to stand in front of her at just 3" tall.  For a scary moment Erica could see her entire family shrunk to Danielle's size looking up to her, helpless, needing her for everything, completely at her mercy.  She shivered.

            Erica pushed the thought away and forced on a plastic nervous smile underneath a pair of scared eyes. She raised her right hand and timidly waved. 

            "Hi guys," she said.  "Ahmmm…sorry I puked back there.  Nobody shrink until I clean up, ok?"