Ugh, I thought as I slowly came back to the world, my head light, my vision filled with fog. My body felt sore and weak, my eyes were tired. What the hell happened? I silently asked as I tried to move my hand to my head.

            I couldn’t. Though I tried my arm simply would not move. My muscles didn’t tense, my fingers did not flex. Now panic started to find its way into my mind. My entire body seemed to be deaf to my wishes. The only thing I could feel working was my breathing, coming in and out slowly, rhythmically, as if I was asleep.

            My panic only grew as the surrounding area came into focus. It was impossible, yet it was there. A mountain of wood stood above me. To my right was a porcelain toilet that looked to be thousands of times my size. The tiles I lay on were many feet across, the lights on the ceiling… miles away.

            Shit, I said to myself as I tried to move, again to no success. Come on, come on! Nothing.

            So there I was, stranded, trapped within my own body, shrunken down to an amazingly small size. What a way to start the day. Time ticked by slowly and my panic died down quite a bit. Perhaps this wouldn’t be the horrible situation I thought it would be. I mean, I was shrunken! That had been one of my fantasies since… well, ever.

            As I relaxed some of my smaller muscles started to respond. First my eyes started to move. This led to the next of my horrifying realizations. When I looked down at my own body I saw that it was changed, and not in a good way.

            Six! I practically shouted to myself as I counted my arms and legs. Six different appendages sticking out of the center of my brown, shell like body. I then glanced up noticing the two antennae hovering above me. Oh great, I thought. I’m a damned bug.

            I noticed my surroundings more after that. The high brown wall was actually my counter. The sink was undoubtedly on top of it, though it was out of sight. I was just glad no one was using it.

            That’s when I noticed two other bugs lying motionless on the ground. Somehow this made me feel a little better about the situation. At least I wasn’t alone in this.

            That’s when I heard the door open. Instantly I moved my eyes to see what it was. My heart jumped into my throat at the sight of it. Standing hundreds of feet tall, his shaggy brown hair hanging loosely around his head, his dark eyes not even glancing down, was my thirteen year old younger brother, Tommy.

            Hey! I shouted, but nothing came out. Tommy, I’m down here! The boy didn’t here my internal screams. He simply turned, shutting the door behind him. I felt each of his footsteps as he came closer, his shoes stamping on the ground. If he stepped on me now… I didn’t want tot think about it. Tommy! I shouted again.

            I cringed as his foot smashed into the ground only a few feet to my left. His other one then came down to my right. My breathing was faster now, fueled by the fear of being crushed by my own little brother.

            For a moment I simply sat silently, starring up at his giant form. He was moving about a bit, reaching for something on the counter. Thankfully his feet stayed in place. He was wearing his favorite pair of Nike basketball shoes. Why did he have to be wearing those? There wasn’t any safe spot under them. If he were wearing running shoes I would at least have a chance to fit in between one of the grooves.

            He started fidgeting a bit then, moving his feet around slightly. He slid his left one slightly, moving it closer to me, then back away, then closer again. It was torturous, watching as he absentmindedly shuffled about. Only a few inches to either side and he’d crush me. Come on Tommy, I practically shouted inside my skull. Don’t crush me. Please don’t crush me.

            My stomach dropped as a shadow fell over me. I looked up just in time to see his sole pass overhead. It continued to move though, leaving me behind as it crashed into the ground some feet away. He was simply walking a bit to his left.

            The relief I felt obviously wasn’t the same in the other ants. The one to my left seemed to be taking things well, but the one to my right, the one that was now trapped between my brother’s two feet, was on the verge of hysteria. Even from where I was I could tell that it was panicking.

            My brother continued to move about, his feet sliding as he did whatever he was doing above us. I heard the water turn on once or twice throughout the time. My attention was drawn back to my brother’s shoes as I heard what could only be described as a small yelp. Had the other ant spoken?

            Even if the answer wasn’t apparent, the cause of the shriek was. Tommy’s foot was so close to him now. Only an inch to the side and the bug would be crushed flat. Nothing more than a little speck on the ground, lifeless just like the rest of the little particles of dirt. Then I saw Tommy’s foot lift again, moving away from the bug, taking a step to his left once again.

            I could feel the relief of the small ant. It was only for a second though. Tommy’s other foot lifted as well. The shadow fell over the poor bug. The next moment his life was crushed out of him as the shoe came down. I could here the slam, feel the ground vibrate under me, and even the tiny yell as the creature’s life was ended.

            My eyes quickly went up to Tommy, desperately searching for any sort of a reaction. There wasn’t any. He had just crushed an innocent bug to death under his foot and he didn’t even know. He didn’t look down, he didn’t even lift his eyebrow. No, we were just too small for him. Too small to see, too small to feel, too small to matter. Tommy, I said again, my mouth moving the smallest, tiniest bit. Please look down. Please don’t squish me.

            He took a step back, his foot coming off of the tiny bug, now crushed flat against the tiles. It wasn’t a pleasant sight. The poor thing was completely flat, save for some parts that had been molded to the light grooves of his shoe. I saw a leg almost hovering in the air. It was probably the only part of the insect that hadn’t been completely destroyed.

            I heard the boom again as my brother stepped over to me, his feet coming dangerously close to my tiny form. His right foot slammed down only a little bit to my right. Suddenly I was overcome with thoughts of being crushed myself. Trampled, mercilessly, under my own brother. The worst part was that he wouldn’t even know. He would go the rest of his life wondering what had happened to his older brother. I’d be trapped, smashed, squished, and most likely stuck to the underside of his shoe. How could this be happening? This was my own brother!

            Again he took another step, his foot once again hovering over me only to crash down at my side. My heart was beating astoundingly fast now. My breathing was quicker than it had been. Was the tile heating up, or was that just my nerves? I don’t know.

            I couldn’t help starring at his foot as he fidgeted around, moving it bit by bit. A little closer to me, then a little farther away. A little closer, and then right back to its original position. This was worse than just being stepped on. It was like he was toying with me. Making me watch as his feet came so close to crushing my entire being, then simply pulling them away. Why couldn’t he just leave, or crush me now and be done with it?