Sammy cleared the fork with a running leap.
He stumbled the landing but bounced right back to his feet with barely a missed step. He dashed through the orange tinted shadow of a glass of a soda, laughing like a maniac every step of the way across the crowded dinner table.
"You can't catch me Nano Girl!" he yelled in glee.
"I'm gonna get you Mr. Tiny!" Danielle responded breathlessly in pursuit, nearly knocking over Derrick’s soda as she charged around it. She had finally found some doll clothes that sort of fit (rainbow leggings and a camo-shirt) and was delighted to be able to chase after Sammy without flashing her ass to all the giants at the dinner table. Sammy wore a bright orange pants & vest getup that used to belong to his monkey swordsman figure.
Far above Derrick watched them both skitter by and picked at his plate of spaghetti and meatballs. He didn't like Sammy's chances, Danielle was gaining on him. He shifted his attention back up to the higher plane where the his un-shrunk family members ate dinner. “I’m just saying I shouldn't have to sell all my stuff yet. What if I don't shrink for another 3 months, am I supposed to wear the same 2 outfits every day?"
His mother Marjorie took a sip of her iced tea and tried to ignore the chase happening across her dinner table. "You don't have to pack EVERYTHING up Derrick, but Erica's going to have enough to keep her busy. Think of it like moving to a new house, you get ready a little at a time.”
Sammy skidded to a halt at the edge of the table, Brittany's giant manicured hand to his left and her plate of spaghetti to his right. Looking up he saw Brittany gazing down on him like he was a bug who had interrupted her meal.
"Mom, Sammy's messing with my food!"
"Oh c'mon Brittany, let them play," Erica said from the opposite end of the table, next to Marjorie. "It's his first full day shrunk, I want him to have fun. And Derrick, do you really want me going through all your stuff after you get shrimpified? Even that box in the back of your closet, the one labeled 'school stuff’?”
Derrick was silent for several seconds as he narrowed his eyes at Erica. "Fine I'll pack up," he said and filled his mouth with spaghetti.
Down below Danielle was catching up to Sammy. Nowhere to run to, she had him cornered.
"Stay still Brittany!" Sammy shouted and scrambled onto her hand, climbing over fingers bigger than his entire 2.5” body.
“Ew, get off me,” Brittany said, but she suppressed the urge to shake the pest away.
Sammy ran up her arm like a suspension bridge and planted himself onto her shoulder. He crouched down and gripped the fabric of her blue sweater in one hand, a lock of her blonde hair in the other. Sammy loved the way his nanotech-saturated body never got dizzy or lost balance, something about more adaptive inner ear fluid.
Brittany roughly yanked her hand away before Danielle could follow. From up atop their big sister Sammy stuck his tongue out and blew Danielle a raspberry. "Can't get me, I'm on Planet Brit!!"
Danielle backed up a few steps from the edge and looked up at Planet Brit, which from her perspective consisted mainly of two enormous blue sweater clad moons orbiting below the usual ticked off face.
"Don't you dare," Brittany said between gritted teeth when Danielle flexed her knees.
"Sorry sis, the villain leaves me no choice." Danielle charged off the table with a leap and crashed into Brittany’s right boob. The immense cushion absorbed Danielle’s impact without much trouble as she briefly sank face first into a wall of jiggly flesh and furry sweater. Just before the massive breast repelled her tiny body Danielle managed to grab two handfuls of sweater and cling on. "Nano Lady's coming for you!" she shouted and climbed north rapidly.
The loose fabric of Birttany's sweater made for easy handholds, and the soft breast and bra underneath gave a pliable surface to grip her feet against. Thankfully Brittany was frozen in anger and disgust long enough for Danielle to reach the top.
Danielle closed in on Sammy atop the giantess' right shoulder. They could hear Brittany’s teeth grinding like a muffled stone mill through the flawless cheek that loomed overhead.
"Nowhere to run Mr Tiny, you're mine." Just before Danielle reached her prey a giant hand wrapped her up and the whole world was reduced to the familiar sensations of darkness and warm skin, this time oregano scented for a change of pace. 'Well that took longer than I figured,' she thought.
When the world expanded again she and Sammy were plopped onto their butts alongside Erica’s dinner. Danielle's left foot was soaked in a puddle of warm tomato sauce and her outfit was a stained mess.
"You two stay put," Erica said and stabbed her fork over their heads into her pasta, raining a little tomato mist onto them on the way back. "You keep bugging Brittany and she's gonna have a fit, don't make me regret letting you eat at the big kids table," the last bit paired with a bratty smile.
Danielle and Sammy shared a conspirators' grin and both said "Ok Erica", then teamed up on breaking off mouthfuls from a piece of warm garlic bread. As she ate Danielle looked around at the now familiar vista of the Rockwell family dinner. Meals at this size were messy work, but at least the view was impressive.
Sammy had shrunk down the night before. Contrary to the shock and fear that Danielle had felt her first night he just wanted to have adventures, and Danielle found his attitude seriously infectious. After days of boredom and worry she was happy to have some same sized company, and had to admit that having fun beat the hell out of moping around. Even if everyone was treating her like she was Sammy’s age.
As they had done all week the giants were talking over the logistics of their coming shrink. Marjorie did most of the talking and seemed intent on planning every aspect of their coming life, Harry only weighing in to placate conflicts and offer advice on things like housing and money, his areas of expertise in the family. Brittany still acted like none of this affected her, and Derrick and Cole alternated between being helpful and whining.
No one asked Danielle's opinion of course. She had gotten used to being a witness to the family meetings rather than a participant, even her twin Derrick had taken to talking about her in the third person when she was right there at her usual spot in front of Erica. She’d probably do the same, but Danielle wondered if they were going to regret so quickly ignoring her when they were the same size.
Danielle thought Erica was doing a good job trying to look comfortable with her growing voice of authority in the family, but was glad that only she and Sammy could detect the sweaty palms and trembling muscles that came with every confrontation. Erica the mouse still lurked beneath the surface, and Danielle knew that sometimes it was all her big little sister could do to not run away and hide.
"Derrick does have a point," Marjorie said once her shrunken children were safely squared away. "We don't know how long this is going to take and we can't just live in empty rooms waiting for…you know…"
"I can handle packing stuff up after," Erica said. "Gina & Lisa said they'd help out once Summer break starts, and it's not like we won't have tons of space."
"Erica I told you I'm not comfortable with your friends coming over."
"Mom, they've always hung out here, are we gonna make this house a monastery, no more visitors ever? Besides they've been babysitting since we were 11, they know how to be responsible."
"Whoa whoa, babysitting? You're not leaving us with them are you?" Cole said. He had a momentary vision of being looked down upon by a group of skyscraper-sized girls, girls that he and Derrick had been teasing since before they wore training bras. He took an audible gulp and looked over to see the same expression on Derrick’s face.
"Well I'll need help sometimes. I can't watch you guys all day every day, and those in home care services Mr. Arnold recommended are way too expensive. I can barely afford the mortgage on this place, I need to save money somehow."
"Why are we even staying here," Derrick said. "We won't need the space, shouldn't we move to an apartment or at least a smaller house?"
Harry answered. "We're underwater on this house as it is Derrick. After the housing crash I'm not even sure I could sell it for what's owed."
"And I don't want to live in an apartment, I'd always be freaked out thinking about strangers on the other side of the wall," Erica said. "Dad and I figured it out, this is our home, I'll just need some help."
Marjorie looked tense. "Erica, I said I don't want…"
"Mom, can we talk about this later? I don't want to argue again," Erica said. "What about that Small Comforts company, can we go through the catalogue tonight and put in an order? Danni & Sammy need real beds and I want to see how much we can afford."
Marjorie briefly broke eye contact. “Don't worry about that, I put the order in this morning."
"What….," Erica clanged her fork onto the plate, splashing Sammy and Danielle with sauce. "Mom, you said we'd go through it together! Oh my god, how much did you spend?"
"I said don't worry about that Erica. It's your father's and my money and I've been shopping for this family for a long time."
Down on the smaller scale Sammy looked over to Danielle as they wiped themselves cleanish. "I thought it was all Erica's money now, Mr. Arnold said so."
"Yeah, but don't tell Mom that. Pipe down, I think we're about to see a Godzilla fight."
Up above Marjorie crossers her arms. "It's all things we talked about, the beds and all of those kitchen & bathroom accessories we'll need, clothes for everyone and…"
"Mom, I said we could wait until everyone shrinks to order clothes! They're crazy expensive and we don't know everyone's measurements, and besides Gina & Lisa are gathering up a ton of doll clothes for us…."
"I told you I don't want your friends getting involved," Marjorie said in a voice that was very carefully not yelling.
"Mom! This isn't your decision, ok, once you're a shrimp I'm going to do this how I think is best! God, I wish you would just shrink already!”
No one said a word for a long ten seconds. Marjorie’s face looked like it had been slapped, while Harry’s just carried quiet disapproval, the kids a mixture of surprise and anger. Erica looked like she couldn't decide whether to apologize or double down.
“Mom, I…I didn’t mean…”. Erica grasped Sammy & Daniel together into one sweaty handhold, then stood and ran from the dinner table.
-----------------
“Well at least you didn’t cry in front of everyone,” Danielle said. Erica sat cross-legged and barefoot on the carpet in the girls’ room. Danielle was perched on her bare right knee. She’d changed out of her stained outfit and now wore a peach dress from an old Thumbelina figure, but still smelled like sauce. Sammy played on the ground, chasing an earbud that Erica absentmindedly dangled in front of him.
“Yeah.” Erica sniffled and wiped her wet eye with her free hand. “I made it all the way to my room before I started crying, huge progress.”
“It’s ok Erica!” Sammy shouted before diving for the white earbud. Erica flicked it out of his reach at the last second, leaving him to eat carpet. Sammy shook his head and looked up at his sisters. “I don’t care if you cry. It’s really cool looking, like big water balloons without the balloon part. Everything you do looks really cool.”
“Thanks little guy,” Erica said and dangled the earbud back overhead. He leapt right up to grab on but Erica raised it just out of reach. “I just…how do I do this Danielle? Mom acts like I can’t be trusted to do anything right and it’s driving me crazy, and everyone else but Dad just whines al the time. I know it’s for the best if I stand up to them but….I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. But then mom just starts going off and everyone looks at me like I’m supposed to do something and it’s like they’re watching to see if I mess up and I can’t breathe and….and…”
“Hey, hey, I know,” Danielle said. She rubbed her hands against Erica’s knee in a calming motion. “Look, it doesn’t matter. I promise you, once Mom is looking at you from this perspective the idea of bossing you around is going to feel ridiculous. You just need to keep calm, ok? Erica, ok?”
“Yeah, ok. Calm isn’t really my strong suit.”
“You’ll get there.” While Erica settled herself down and played ‘chase the earbud’ with Sammy, Danielle looked over at the giant foot that peeked out from beneath Erica’s crossed legs. It was long, probably 3 or 4 times the length of Danielle’s entire body, but it wasn’t crinkly or smelly like most feet. It looked so delicate for something so large, like a piece of art, but at the same time it seemed strong, mighty even.
“Ya know, you’ve got really pretty feet Erica,” Danielle said.
“Oh….um, thanks?”
“If you ever wanted me too I could rub them for you, I bet I’d do a super job at this size. I could get all up into the little spots.”
Had Danielle looked up she would have seen Erica’s cheeks turn a faint red. “I don’t…I mean I guess…I…”
“Or I could - OH!” Danielle was interrupted when a knock at the door gave Erica a start, the quick shake knocking Danielle off of her perch. She tumbled gently down Erica’s jean shorts and landed on her crossed leg, her face smothered in the flesh of Danielle’s thigh. Even in the chaos of her crash a part of Danielle’s brain still took the time to be amazed by how Erica’s skin could be so perfectly smooth even blown up 20 times. ‘Brittany got the boobs and Erica got skin like a model, wonder what I got except for small?’
“Hi sweeties,” Danielle heard Marjorie say. “Am I interrupting?”
Danielle pushed herself up with both hands and briefly saw her mother peeking her head into the room before a giant hand shoved her back into the dark.
“No! Yeah yeah, we weren’t doing anything,” Erica said a little too quickly. She barely noticed Danielle struggling out of sight underneath her palm.
Marjorie stepped in and gently shut the door. She noticed the tiny form of her youngest child Sammy trying to wrestle a cord out of one Erica’s hands. She had tried to accept it but the sight of her son reduced to something so insignificant bothered her to see.
“Hi Mom!” Sammy said, pausing his tug of war to look up to his mountainous mother. He could just barely make out the features of her face, but her dress was pretty.
“I thought we needed to talk,” Marjorie said to Erica. “I…well, I’m not proud of how that went downstairs.”
Erica closed her fist around Danielle and snatched Sammy up with her free hand. She sat up onto the foot of her bed and gently spilled them both onto the far end of the mattress behind her, completely unaware of the sour face Danielle gave her.
Erica was silent for a few moments, and then took a big breath. “Yeah, me neither. I’m sorry Mom, that was really shitty of me to say. I don’t want you to shrink, not ever, I just…this is really hard mom.”
Marjorie sat down next to Erica. Although neither full-grown woman noticed it, Marjorie’s weight caused a quake in the mattress which knocked Danielle & Sammy off of their feet just as they had stood up. The tiny siblings looked at the enormous backsides of their caretakers that seemed several hundred feet away and sat down in resignation, completely ignored and unable to do anything about it.
This was the part Danielle hated about being small. Waiting around for giants, nothing to do but listen to a conversation that she wasn’t a part of. The voices were too far away for her or Sammy to clearly make out, but much more telling was their view of the speakers’ towering backs. The body language of giants was always spoken at maximum volume.
Erica wore a skimpy aqua blue tank top, her brown hair spilling loosely across her pale, skinny shoulders. Marjorie was in a light brown housedress, her broader shoulders and taller back raised higher than the petite Erica.
At first they were a pair of flat blue & brown cliffs, standing straight up and screaming tension. Later both sets of shoulders gradually slumped down apologetically like a slow motion mudslide. After what seemed like hours but was probably closer to ten minutes the two women became a pair of collapsing buildings as they leaned into each other, signaling peace and surrender.
Danielle took a long jog across the mattress and around Erica, back into audible hearing range at her side, careful to avoid tumbling into the valley created by her butt. Erica was speaking.
“You’ll still be my mom, I’m going to need tons of help and advice on everything. It’s not like I’m going to be a tyrant, we’re in this together. Just right now I need your support Mom.”
“I’m going to try Erica,” Marjorie said. “It’s hard to let go, I wasn’t ready for all this. It’s just so scary.”
“Yeah, for me too.”
“Well I’ll see you downstairs when you’re ready.” Marjorie got up and left the room without so much as a glance for Danielle or Sammy.
Erica took a big breath in and out. She looked down to find Danielle and Sammy at her side, looking up at her with a pair of sour faces.
“Oh, what is it?” Erica slid off the bed and turned around, dropping to her knees facing the bed. She leaned down and rested her chin on the mattress about a foot away from her siblings. “Oh c’mon, don’t look at me like that, I didn’t mean anything. Sometimes I need privacy and it’s not like I can ask you to leave the room.”
“Yeah, like a lot of the time,” Danielle said and crossed her arms. Sammy did the same.
Erica opened her eyes as wide as they went. Danielle could swear there was a visible twinkle in them. “Pleeeeeeeeease don’t be mad at me. If you’re not mad at me I have a special surprise…..”
Danielle knew she was in trouble when Sammy leapt up and down, all annoyance at being ignored forgotten. It was just so damn hard to not be swayed by the emotions of a billboard-sized face, especially when it was broadcasting deadly levels of cuteness.
“Ooooh, oooh, what is it?” Sammy said. “Is it a little motorcycle?”
“Well…if you two promise to not be me mad. Mom and I were talking about how we’re all going nuts cooped up in this house, so we’re going to go grocery shopping! And I know two little dudes who are going to get their first trip into the great big world.”
Erica’s smiled broadly as Danielle’s breath caught, whether in fear or excitement she didn’t know.
-----------------
Danielle was jostled to her knees by the downward g-forces as Erica stood out of the car.
Although she was used to the feeling and was unhurt, she made sure to bury her head deep into the cottony breast pocket that she resided in for a few seconds longer until the car door slammed shut. Danielle tried to intellectualize that she wasn't in any danger, but when that towering metal wall went flying by it was difficult to not get scared. ‘Erica's got me, I'm safe, Erica's got me, I’m safe’ she thought as the harsh boom came.
Danielle stood back up and gripped both hands onto the lip of Erica's breast pocket, attached to Danielle’s favorite blouse. Well, Erica’s blouse now, the only part that Danielle could make use of were the pockets. Now that they were fully standing she enjoyed the gentle jostling that came with each of Erica's steps. Her back would bump backward against Erica's soft chest with each footstep, occasionally letting herself fall to her knees on bigger movements.
'No cushion in the world like boobs,' she thought, and briefly wondered what a ride in Brittany's shirt might be like. 'Probably like a bouncy castle. Shame they're gonna shrink down with the rest of her.'
Looking to her right she gave Sammy a big wave over the chasm of Erica's chest. He stood in the opposite breast pocket, close enough at hand for Erica to easily see and grab but snug enough to not be in her way.
The shopping trip had been mildly terrifying but once she felt safe Danielle had loved it. Traveling around the super market in Erica's pocket felt a bit like sitting in an airplane and looking out the window at the infinite vista. Erica wore her hoodie overtop, zipped up just high enough so that Danielle and Sammy weren't obvious, and if anyone gave them a curious glance they would duck down into their respective pocket. Erica would occasionally look down and give her little siblings a smile or whisper something to make them laugh, and they could always get her attention by giving a harmless slap to her chest.
Everything in the world looked amazing, although Danielle had to take an occasional pocket break to keep from being overwhelmed. She tried to imagine taking this trip without Erica and felt cold. It would probably take her 3 months to walk to the store & back.
Sammy seemed to have a great time, he had a big smile permanently stuck on his face and kept asking Erica to walk closer to things he wanted a better look at. He even made a friend.
After spotting Sammy a little girl of 5 or 6 anxiously tugged on her mom’s dress, telling her to look at the mouse boy, but when the mother ignored her Sammy just gave the girl a big wave and made her smile. Danielle was a little amazed at how calm Sammy seemed around giants, it was like he wasn’t even bothered that some little girl could probably make him into her dolly if she wanted.
It was actually the first time out of the house in a few days for Marjorie, Cole & Harry as well. Since the meeting with Mr. Arnold their driver's licenses had been revoked and the only member of the house with a working credit card was Erica. They’d all barely left home since Cole & Brittany had returned, afraid to shrink outside the safe confines of family.
The Rockwells kept busy during this time. They all did a lot of packing, dividing their possessions into things that they wanted to keep and things that could be sold. Lots of family meetings to talk over the logistics of meals, laundry, security and other details that would be important in their new lives, during which Erica tried her best to make everyone feel like their opinions mattered.
Every night she and confided their fears to each other, two whisperers in the dark to keep from waking Brittany. It took Danielle hours to calm Erica down enough to get her to sleep, and she knew that there were nights when her sister barely got any at all.
As they walked back to the house Danielle observed that everyone was in a better mood, much closer to the family she loved. Even Erica’s was relaxed, Danielle could feel the tension leave Erica’s chest as she got to just be her mom and dad’s shy daughter again for a little while. Harry and Cole were starting to think up some construction projects they could get to at 3”, they were coming up with some great ideas.
"We're home," Marjorie shouted to the empty seeming house. She carried grocery bags to the kitchen and placed them onto the counter, followed by Cole, Harry & an empty handed Erica. “Brittany, I got you those workout powders you wanted,” she shouted, and then busied herself putting groceries away.
Brittany stomped down the stairs in a rush and started rooting through the bags. “Oh thank god,” she said and retrieved a plastic jar that read ‘Zinc-Oxide Supplement’.
“Where’s Derrick at?” Erica said. “He said he’d help me study some of the books Mr. Arnold sent over.”
Brittany poured a clump of grey powder into a glass, followed by milk and water, forming a thick brownish drink. “I haven’t seen him, I think he’s upstairs.”
“Oh. Here, I found this gross little monster, hang onto him for me.” Erica plucked Sammy out of her pocket and placed him onto the kitchen table amidst a forest of groceries and towering brown bags, then left in search of Derrick.
“Ew, what is that?” Cole asked Brittany and cleared some safe table space for Sammy, who climbed up onto a box of green tea. “It stinks from here.”
“Zinc oxide, scourge of nanos.” Brittany took a big gulp and made a face like a dying yak. “That’s right you bastards, eat that. Oh god, it tastes like robot poop.”
“Why are you drinking it then? Are you gonna throw up? You look like you’re gonna throw up.”
Sammy looked up at Brittany’s queasy face. “If you throw up do it in the sink, you’re not allowed to do it near me!”
Brittany ignored them and added more milk to her concoction. “Zinc is the hardest element for nanobots to process. Well, hardest one that isn’t toxic. I’ve been reading a blog by a guy who was diagnosed with the Shrink Effect a year ago. He drinks 3 of these a day and he hasn’t lost an inch.”
Cole put his elbow onto the table alongside Sammy’s tea box and rested his head on his fist. “Oh yeah? I thought you were immune to shrinking, isn’t that what you said? You’re going to be a giant just like Erica?”
“Well just in case, I’m covering my ass. At least I’m not giving up and joining the flea circus like you two. God, it’s like you guys are almost excited to be Erica’s pet brothers, it’s pathetic.” Brittany grimaced and forced herself to take another sip.
“Oh right, the Effect has been hitting people for years, the government is spending billions to research it, but all we need is supplements from GNC. Face it Brittany, you’re getting little just like the rest of us, so quit acting like you’re special.”
“Yeah,” Sammy piped up. “Erica’s the special one!”
“Hey, get this straight both of you: I’m not shrinking,” Brittany said after a hard swallow. “I was out with friends half of Christmas break, the odds of me being home when the trigger signal hit are super low, and besides Dad’s test machine gave me a headache too. But tell you what, you’re happy being Erica’s foot warmer the rest of your life that’s fine, just don’t expect any help from me with bathroom time.”
Marjorie turned from loading a cabinet. “Oh just be quiet you two. Cole, stop rushing your sister, she’s working at her own pace. Brittany, if you can’t drink your shake without fighting we won’t buy more, it’s not cheap and I had to spend 10 minutes convincing Erica to get it for you.”
“WHERE IS HE?!”
Everyone in the kitchen turned to Erica, who stood holding a pair of crumpled pants. She was breathing in short, fast breaths. Danielle stood in her right breast pocket, looking equally distraught.
“I can’t find him!” Erica said. “Where’s Derrick!?”
“Ok, it’s ok,” Marjorie said and put her hands on Erica’s shoulders. “What is it, what’s wrong with Derrick?”
Erica took a breath and focused. “We found his clothes on the floor, this is what he was wearing when we left! And I don’t see Derrick anywhere, he’s not home. He shrunk! He shrunk when we weren’t here and now he’s gone!”
“Oh shit,” Brittany whispered.
“He’s gotta be here,” Cole said. “He’s here, we just have to find him.”
“I know, ok,” Erica said, still upset but recovering. “Everyone take a room and look. Just look all over the floor, under couches, in closets, everywhere. And watch where you’re stepping!”
-----------------
“Oh God,” Derrick said. He was in a dark, hot place and it felt like his body was going to explode. He was trapped, he couldn’t move and his breath caught in harsh gasps as the pressure just kept building until it felt like it was going to choke his whole body.
“Oh god, please…Oh baby.”
Derrick arched his back and ground his butt hard into the passenger seat of Judy’s car. His mind went blank for a precious moment and then the pressure in his groin gave with sudden, sublime release. Beneath the tangle of red hair in his lap he felt Judy’s warm mouth wrap tighter and tighter until she finally released his spent member back into the cold open air.
Judy nuzzled her cheek against Derrick’s chest and swallowed gently. They sat in her old Chevy parked in her family’s garage, the dark lit only by a little streetlight beaming through a high window. Derrick couldn’t have said how long they sat there; he just knew that none of his problems could reach him in that small, perfect space.
“So do you think that’s the last blowjob you’re ever gonna get?”
Derrick jostled her off of his chest. “Christ, Judy.”
“Well, first and last really.” Judy wiped her mouth with the sleeve of his t-shirt. “Or will there be little shrunk girls that you can hook up with? Other than your sisters, ‘course.”
Derrick stuffed his penis back into his jeans and looked out the passenger window away from Judy. “I don’t want to talk about this stuff.”
Even without looking he knew the expression she had on her face. The little exasperated smile she wore when she thought he was being dumb, those pretty blue eyes that looked amused and impatient all at once. Judy’s face was pixyish, freckled and slight and always tinged with a little mischief, framed by a short bloom of curly red hair that stopped well above her shoulders.
“Oh c’mon baby, don’t be like that. You can’t drop a bomb like this on me and then say you don’t want to talk about it.” Judy slid her hand underneath Derrick’s shirt and dragged her fingernails across his ribs, right in the spot she knew he liked. “And you could at least say ‘thank you’ after I made sure you don’t die a total virgin.’
Derrick whipped back to face her. “Hey, I’m not a virgin!”
“Uh huh, sure you’re not big man. So jeeze, this really is insane. I’ve heard about the Shrink Effect but it still seems like complete sci-fi. Just how small are you guys going to get?”
“Danielle is about 3” tall.”
“3”! Oh my god Derrick, your cock is bigger than that! That’s just so disappointing.” She let out a sigh. “So, do you think Erica will let me see you after you shrink?”
“I don’t need Erica to let me do anything. God, she’s going to take care of us, she doesn’t get to say who I hang out with.”
“You sure about that? What if she said ‘No, Judy’s a skank, she can’t come over.’ Think you could do anything about it? Maybe you and Cole could team up and unlock a window to sneak me in?”
“I…she wouldn’t even do that, she likes you and…wait, does that mean that you want to see me again? Tonight kind of felt like a goodbye”
Judy looked shyly down before returning eye contact with Derrick. “I don’t know, I mean yeah, that’s why I wanted to see you tonight. But, ya know, the idea of having you all cute and cuddly in the palm of my hand, I can’t say there’s not some appeal.”
She nudged him in the side gently. “Don’t get your hopes up Mr., I’m not your girlfriend anymore, but if you still wanted to hang out sometime and see what happens…yeah, that could be fun. But watch out, giant Judy might want to revisit that time I caught you and Amy going at it.”
Derrick laughed to himself a little. Judy never pulled punches, that was part of why he liked her. He held no hope that suddenly fitting into her purse was going to help him get the upper hand in their dynamic, but part of him kind of liked the idea.
“Oh please, I told you 30 times that wasn’t what it looked like, we…” Derrick’s voice caught as Judy turned her iPhone on and he saw the time readout. “Oh shit, it’s 8:20 already? Erica’ll be back from shopping by now! Quick, you have to drive me home!”
“Oh yeah,” Judy said as she fired up the Chevy. “I can totally see how independent you’re going to be.”
-----------------
Derrick slowly opened the sliding glass door in the back of the house, quiet as a mouse. The coast was clear, the house was quiet. ‘Oh thank god’ he thought and snuck to the stairwell.
“WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU!?” Erica screamed as soon as he rounded the corner. She was storming down the stairs and he couldn’t tell if she looked angry or relieved.
“I was…”
“You weren’t supposed to go out without telling anyone!” She poked him in the chest hard enough to hurt. Marjorie and Brittany both appeared behind her.
“We thought you shrank!” Another poke. “We thought a rat ate you or you just disappeared to nothing or…or….”
“Hey, no, ow!” Derrick stumbled back. Erica only came up to his chest and was 2/3 his weight but right now he was losing ground with every step she took. “I just went out to see Judy, it’s not a big deal.”
“Oh Derrick,” Marjorie said, “I told you I don’t like that girl.”
“That’s not the point Mom,” Erica said. “What if the Shrink Effect happened when he was out with Judy, would she have given him back to us? Would she have even told us? Or what if it happened when he was in the yard? He could have been lost out there all alone!”
“But it didn’t happen Erica, Derrick’s ok.”
“Yeah,” Derrick said. He gave Erica a big smile and waved his hands across his body as if to demonstrate the lack of shrinking. “I’m fine, no damage done, chill out.”
From her place at Erica’s chest Danielle could feel the giantess tense up, her body practically screamed ‘Mistake.’ There was heat pouring off of Erica while her soft flesh turned hard and muscly. Danielle’s pocket carrier tightened as Erica inhaled deeply, a rush of air that sounded like some great beast getting ready to roar.
“That’s it,” Erica said in a soft, measured voice. “That’s it, we need to have rules about this, Derrick could have died. No one is allowed to leave without me from now on.”
“What? No way,” Brittany said. “I’m not staying in here all day.”
Erica turned on Brittany and pointed a finger at her. “Yes you are too! If you shrink when you’re out of this house we’d probably never see you again. You’d die or get lost or snatched up by some pervert and it’ll be my fault!”
Danielle tried to get Erica’s attention with slaps but was completely unnoticed. If she could just calm her down…
“Everybody’s ok Erica, none of those things are going to happen.” Marjorie put her hand on Erica’s shoulder but Erica snapped it off. She took a step back and faced Derrick, Brittany & Marjorie.
“It could though! I’m serious, this is the rule now. If you guys want to go somewhere I’ll go with you and I’ll drive. I’m in charge Mom, you and Dad said so and so did Mr. Arnold and Danielle and the books and…and it’s my job to keep everyone safe and I can’t do that if nobody listens to me. This is my house now and I make the rules.”
Derrick & Marjorie were stunned into silence but Brittany still had something to say. “This is bullshit. You’re not the boss of me Erica and you can’t make me do anything”
Erica closed the gap between her and Brittany and looked up to her taller sister, mere inches away. Danielle flinched as her pocket carriage hurtled toward the bottoms of Brittany’s hot air balloon sized bust, leaving her vision almost totally filled by the two curvy behemoths that tented out against the blue sweater. ‘Death by bouncy castle’ she thought.
“Oh yeah Brittany? You’re right, I can’t make you do anything but pretty soon I’m going to be able to make you all do whatever I want, and if you don’t get with the program now I’ll make you wish you did. So if you don’t want to sleep in my shoe or…or get spanked then you’re going to do what I say.”
Brittany held Erica’s stare for what seemed like minutes, her jaw working like she had more to say than one mouth could handle. Danielle could almost see the waves of force coming off of the faces above her. Only she noticed that Erica wasn’t breathing.
Finally Brittany broke eye contact and looked away then stormed up the stairs. Danielle could feel the tension release from Erica’s chest, like a storm had broken. From her vantage point Erica looked exhausted.
Erica turned back to Derrick and Marjorie, who looked at her like she was some strange, fearsome creature that had appeared in their home.
“Mom, I…”
“I found him!” Cole yelled as he opened the garage door. He held both hands cupped in front of him, which carried a folded over grey buttoned shirt.
“We already found your bother,” Marjorie said, looking away from Erica with relief. “He just snuck out to see his girlfriend.”
“No, not him,” Cole said. He unfolded the shirt, and underneath sat Harry Rockwell, father of 6, 47 years old, 3” tall. He was nude but for the crumpled shirt that buried his lower body.
Erica stepped forward and looked at Cole’s handful. Harry’s neck tilted almost straight up as he was cast into shadow by his youngest daughter, his vision filled to the limit by her long thin torso, her cascading brown hair that tumbled down toward him, and the angelic face that he loved so much.
“Oh daddy.”
-----------------
Harry dug through the heap of clothes, tossing aside all manner of brightly colored doll outfits. Actually that wasn’t quite true, most dolls were too large for his new body, so much of the clothing that had been gathered were from figures like Rainbow bright & GI Joe, and most of those were still baggy. Thank goodness for elastic bands.
He finally found some pants and a sweater, more of a felt bag with holes for the arms and head but it fit and didn’t have a unicorn printed on so it was better than most of the options.
“Ok, I’m dressed.”
Erica opened her eyes and admired her father’s outfit, bright blue bottoms that hung well past his feet and a yellow fuzzy top. “Oooh, I like it Dad.”
Erica was on Danielle’s bed with Harry, lying across the side propped up on an elbow. The bed held a pile of tiny clothes that had been gathered over the past few days, with lots of donations from the childhood toys of the family and Erica’s friends. The pile leaned heavily toward bright girly colors, but it looked like her dad had at least found a few items without any frills or lace. Oh well, maybe another time.
Harry stood at the base of the pile and faced his daughter. If he didn’t look at her the bed looked almost like a strangely colored football field, but it was hard to maintain that illusion when his daughter’s body formed a 30 foot tall wall that stretched from one end to the other. Especially when most of that wall was built from was made from the naked flesh left uncovered by Erica’s shorts and tank top, a lot more bare skin than Harry had noticed when she was smaller than him. Those legs alone. He briefly wondered if this was a good time to tell her to put on something more concealing, then his mind drifted to what Marjorie’s body would look like at this scale.
Cole had found Harry in the garage just minutes after he’d reduced, still crawling out of his own clothes. Erica had taken him up to her room to get dressed and to ‘have a little talk.’
“You look good Dad, very sharp,” Erica said.
“Thanks sweety. My god, I knew this was going to happen but it’s so much to take in. Don’t take this the wrong way sweety but you don’t look quite like my little girl anymore.”
“I know Dad. That’s why I wanted us to have a little time to talk alone. I’ve had kind of a big day and I’ve made some decisions, but I need your help.”
Harry knew what it meant when his daughter bit her lip and looked down and to the side like that. It was the same expression she had when she had confessed to a speeding ticket 5 weeks earlier. Even at 60 feet tall this was his little girl.
“I’m screwing up Dad, I’ve been trying to make everyone feel like they’re still in control of their lives, but they keep making the wrong decisions and someone’s going to get hurt. And it’s going to be my fault.”
Harry walked to Erica’s hand. It was laid flat on the bed but the knuckles rose to his knee. He put one of his hands overtop of a small portion of her blue pinky nail. “Just tell me what I can do sweetheart. We’re family, we can do this together.”
Erica smiled. Her Dad was on her side. “We can. It’s not too late, I can still do this. And I’m really glad that you’re the one who shrank today…no no no, I don’t mean it like that. What I mean is, everyone is going look to you for how to behave, you’re Dad. I need you to set a good example. I need you to back me up and show me respect, to do what I say without arguing.”
“I think I understand Erica, but you’re still my daughter and…”
“I’m not just your daughter anymore, I’m your guardian and that means that I’m in charge, 100%." Erica lowered her head to Harry's level. "Do you understand me little man?”
Harry lifted his hand off of Erica’s pinky nail. Suddenly he wasn’t quite as confident that it was his little girl in front of him. He felt a chill as her eyes narrowed in front of him.
“Dad: Do. You. Understand?” Erica leaned forward, looming over her miniscule father until he fell backwards onto the clothing pile.
“I… do Erica, you’re in charge, I promise I’ll do what you say. Just…remember we’re your family, we love you.”
Erica watched him for a long few seconds. She took in the just miniscule body of her father lying on a pile of doll's clothes, looking up at her with just the right amount of fear and, she hoped, respect. He looked like a toy, her toy.
“I know, and I love you too so so much. I’m going to make sure that you’re always safe. You don’t have to worry about anything now Daddy, I’ve got this. Now hop onto my hand and let’s go say hi to everyone.”
Erica laid her palm out flat. Harry wondered what would happen if he didn’t climb aboard.
-----------------
“So I want everyone to give Erica the respect and gratitude that she deserves. She needs our help and our support, she’s giving up her whole life to take care of us and I expect you all to recognize that.”
Harry stood on Erica’s outstretched palm in the dining room. It was wobbly but he found that he had no trouble balancing on the smooth surface that smelled like skin lotion. Gathered around them were his children, Danielle and Sammy sitting on the dinner table’s edge, and his wife Marjorie. She looked weirdly beautiful at her towering size, like everything he loved about her multiplied. Right now her face was all concern, but Harry knew this was for the best.
“But Dad….” Brittany whined.
“But nothing Brittany. Erica’s in charge of this family from now on, and I expect you to do what your sister says. You’re an adult now Brittany, your safety is more important than some left over sibling rivalry. Any other objections?”
Cole & Derrick looked like they had plenty, but none were spoken.
“Great,” Erica said. She leaned down and gave her father a big wet kiss that covered his torso. “That’s a good Daddy.”
She closed her fist around Harry and handed him to Marjorie, who received him in a pair of anxiously cupped palms.
“Mom, Dad’s going to sleep with you until you’re both shrunk down. Make sure he has some tissues to sleep under and plenty of water. Brittany, give Sammy & Danni a bath, they stink like spaghetti. Take care of them and give them anything they need then get them into bed.”
Erica walked through the group and towards the living room. “I need to relax ALONE for a little while, I’m going to watch TV. Nobody bother me unless there’s an emergency or somebody shrinks, or else. I love you all.”
She didn’t look back before leaving the room, leaving no opportunity for questions or objections. Marjorie and Harry were staring at each other, neither quite processing the sudden transformation in the face that they knew best in the world. Cole and Derrick didn’t know what to do and just stood awkwardly, unsure whether to fight or surrender. In the background the mindless chattering of the TV came to life.
Brittany looked down to Danielle and Sammy and huffed. “So what, do I need to scrub you guys or can I just fill the sink? I am NOT not helping you with the toilet.”