Rachel’s evil mind would have scared away most people but it was exactly what attracted Beth to her. What others saw as inhuman, Beth saw as creative and pragmatic.

This had been no clearer than in the days following the disappearance of Sylvia Packard and her class.

‘We need to do it again,’ Rachel had declared the following morning as they watched Beth’s former classmates being discussed on TV, ‘we need to take someone else.’

‘School is closed though, there’s cops everywhere. How could we-‘

Rachel’s finger on her lips silenced her.

‘I’m not saying we take anymore from the same place. There will be plenty of time to collect anyone else you wanted from there. First we need to make it seem safe, like the class was just the beginning. We need to lure them back and distract the cops.

Tell me, what’s two of the main reasons serial killers get caught? And that’s what we are now by the way, I hope that’s ok with you?’

Beth nodded, a childish smile on her lips, ‘Sure, just ask my Netflix list. To answer your first question though, pattern and family. If the cops don’t figure out the killer’s pattern or area of operation, a family member usually comes across something strange and rats them out. Why, what are you thinking?’

‘Oh so many things,’ Rachel purred, ‘but for the moment, we need to Shrink down a bunch of people on the other side of town, take the focus off the immediate area. Then we need to get the fuck outta here.’ She gestured to her father’s spacious suburban house, ‘I’m sick of living here, sick of him and that bitch he married. If we’re gonna do this, we need our own place, we need privacy to be able to explore our new power and…well…to be together.’

That was it, that last word was all she needed to convince the younger girl. Rachel stifled a smile as she saw hope bloom in her friend’s eyes. She knew exactly how Beth felt about her and wasn’t above using that to get what she wanted.

‘If that’s what you want, we need to strike tonight and not just at random. We need money to get our own place, we need to shrink someone rich. And by rich, I mean cash rich, valuables. A big bank account won’t help us with cctv at every atm.’

Beth chewed her lip thoughtfully. Her dad had a hundred clients that could afford to lease them an apartment, but cash rich? He mostly dealt with businesses, with capital. Still…

‘Err I guess my dad mentioned someone, a few miles away.’ Beth’s stomach fluttered with nerves. When they took the class it didn’t seem real, it was a game. To go out hunting, to risk approaching someone’s house, invading their home to rob them. The prospect was terrifying, exhilarating, exciting. ‘Yeah, let’s do this.’

The girls left the house less than half an hour later, dressed in gym gear and light jackets. They had found the address of their victim easily enough online and had resolved to use the journey as an opportunity to get a workout.

A slight bulge showed where the Sizer had been zipped away in Rachel’s jacket pocket. Beth felt a similar lump beneath her toes, albeit one much more malleable. She had blown James a kiss as he was dropped into her sneaker, her foot quickly following him, sealing him in darkness. It was a warm evening, the low sun painting the matching houses gold as they jogged through the neighbourhood. Beth could only imagine what the crushing weight, the heat, the burning air inside her shoe must have felt like. Beneath her sports bra, her nipples hardened.

They arrived an hour and a half later, their faces as pink as the evening sky. Sweat prickled across their skin, the light breeze cooling them. The home of their target couldn’t have been better suited to their needs. It sat away from the street, the trees and bushes in the front yard grown large with lack of care.

The gate was locked but scalable, both girls doing so quickly after making sure they were not being watched. The gravel crunched beneath their sneakers like so many bones as they walked up the pathway towards the front door. A single light shone in an upstairs window.

The man was old, a loner, curmudgeon and collector of fine watches. Beth’s dad had arranged coverage for him around a year ago. She recalled him bemoaning the man’s refusal to invest in properly secured remote storage. Apparently he preferred to keep everything in glass cases, better to keep an eye on them he reasoned. Her dad had shrugged, his loss he had decided. The man’s premium was through the roof.

No doubt there would be cash and other valuables in the house. How likely was it that a man who didn’t trust security firms would instead trust the bank?

They were a few feet from the doorstep when a sudden burst of movement startled them. Rachel moved like a gunslinger, drawing the sizer and depressing the trigger with lightning reflexes. The burst hit the snarling Doberman in the chest, catching it mid leap as it raced across the unkempt lawn. It disappeared immediately, crashing among the tree sized blades of grass at their feet. A second later and it would have been on them, it was a foolish mistake not to check the perimeter.

Rachel arrived at the place it had fallen in two steps, Beth behind her.

The dog was just under two inches in height. Beth had set the sizer before they left, two inches would be an ideal height at which to interrogate their victim if needed.

The dog rose on shaking legs, throwing its head left and right as though trying to clear its mind. It looked up at them startled before bursting into a flurry of barks.

Rachel’s foot moved without a word, the huge running shoe obscuring it from view. She looked down without pity and would have crushed the yapping creature into the dirt had Beth not intervened. ‘No don’t,’ she pleaded, grabbing her friend’s ankle and wrenching her foot away.

The older girl recovered and laughed, ‘Don’t tell me you’re one of those people who can watch people die in horror films every day but lose their shit if the dog dies? How cute. Leave it then, let’s get this done.’

Beth smiled down at the small creature. She crouched above it, extending a finger and delighting as it snapped and barked at the massive digit. She leaned forwards, blowing it off its feet and sending it scampering into the tangle of grass. There was no chance of it posing a threat at its new size.

Rachel handed over the sizer as they got to the front door. Though they were counting on the old man delighting at having two gym clad young women appear at his door there was no denying that Beth appeared the more innocent of the two. Rachel had deliberately rolled up her top, exposing her bare midriff to tempt the eye.

It took two rings of the doorbell before a light appeared in the hall. A gruff voice sounded beyond the door accompanied by the sound of keys jangling.

The door opened a crack, the chain pulling taught across it. ‘Yes, what?’

He stood over a head taller than Rachel though stooped by age. His face was ruddy, a patchy beard covering his jowls. His hair had long gone to balding, a thick pair of brown glasses perched on his large nose, ‘Who are you two, what do you want?’

‘Hi,’ Beth smiled sweetly, a harmless cherub, ‘I’m David Warden’s daughter. He asked me to deliver a package to you, it’s heavy though so I left it in the car. This is my friend.’

The man sniffed, ‘Impossible. I’m expecting nothing from your father. Besides, the gates are locked, how did you get to my door?’

A look of confusion blossomed on her face, ‘Oh, I’m sorry I thought there had been an accident. The gate was open, it looks like someone hit it with a car.’

His face reddened, a growl of irritation in his throat. There was a click as the chain was released, the door opening wide as he tried to push past them. The red light consumed him in an instant, the Sizer whirring in her grip.

He fell backwards into the house, the boom of Beth’s footstep echoing into his ears as she crossed the threshold.

‘You don’t mind if I have a look around do you?’ she tittered as her long legs strode over him, ‘I hear you’ve got some really interesting shit.’

Rachel followed, stooping as she enclosed him in her fist. He was brought sputtering with rage to her impassive face. ‘What is this,’ he coughed, his face purple, ‘what are you doing?’

The sound of a display case opening caused his head to snap in the direction of the drawing room. Beth had already reached inside and withdrawn a gold watch, holding it up to the light to inspect it. ‘This is my house,’ he reeled, forgetting that he sat in the palm of a nineteen year old woman, ‘put that back immediately. How dare you, I’ll call the police, I’ll-‘

‘Oh shut up,’ Rachel moaned, smashing his face with the slightest of taps from her finger. Blood exploded across her hand, his copious nose broken, one eye already shutting with a bruise. ‘We’re robing you, it would go better for you if you helped us with that.’

It took them just under an hour to clear the house.

When they were finished, the old man was placed upon the kitchen table, his possessions rising like a mountain beside him. He was shirtless, blood covering his chest from the broken nose. His lower back had received a vicious slash, the deep wound still weeping from where Rachel had threatened to cut him in two with her thumbnail. He’d given up halfway through and given them the combination to his dollar store safe along with the locations of the wealth that had been squirreled away in his tumbledown manse.

Fifty thousand dollars had been kept in the safe with a further two hundred and fifty hidden beneath mattresses and underneath chair cushions. The girls had counted it out gleefully, stacking it in rows as the man wept with both the pain of his injuries and grief for his lost wealth. The watches had taken longer. Neither girl knew anything about the trade so made him go through item by item, Beth noting down the name, origin and value of each one with a pen and notepad.

They could barely contain themselves as he listed off price after price. In one night they had netted over a million dollars. With that money they could do anything, they would be free to live as they wished.

Both girls had brought a small backpack with them, each containing a water bottle for their run. The man could only watch, helpless as they piled the money into one and the watches into the other. His entire life’s collection was taken from him in minutes while he was powerless to stop it.

When they were finished, Beth volunteered to do a sweep of the house. There was a tiny drop of blood in the hallway, no doubt from where it had fallen from Rachel’s fingers and more in the downstairs den. She made short work of the evidence with a damp cloth, the blood coming up easily from where it had splashed on the tiles.

Rachel was stood by the sink when she returned to the kitchen, washing her hands. ‘What do you want to do with him?’ The younger woman asked, ‘You wanna keep him or shall we get rid of him? He’s pretty beaten up, I’m not sure how much fun he’ll be now.’

‘Oh,’ Rachel turned to face her, a picture of innocence, ‘I didn’t even think about that. I’ve already gotten rid of him.’ She gestured towards the sink, ‘Turns out the garbage disposal is super good at getting rid of sad, old fucks like him. Chewed him right up and then washed him away, really quick. I’m glad too, his bellyaching towards the end was driving me crazy.’

Beth laughed, ‘Got everything?’

The switched off all the lights, going room by room a second time to make sure nothing was missed. The door clicked behind them as they jogged down the now dark pathway and climbed over the gate into the street.

Orange fluorescent light illuminated the streets as they walked towards the nearest bus stop, excitedly chattering about the next part of their plan. Beth scrunched her toes as she walked, reminding herself with each step of the young man who had made her a millionaire.

The bus arrived with a rumble of noise and light, the only vehicle on the road at this time. They each bought tickets towards the city and sat at the back. The direction was important, Rachel insisted. It would help to throw off the pattern.

The first victim was a woman in her mid-thirties, clearly coming back from work. Beth sat next to her, pulling the Sizer from her pocket and surreptitiously pressing the trigger. She vanished and was quickly transferred to a jacket pocket. Immediately the man sat in front was taken, followed by a two older women. They moved carefully, casually, from seat to seat. The driver drove on as they did so, oblivious to the crimes occurring just feet behind him.

The girls were ever alert, careful to act quickly and quietly taking people only from the back. As they approached the city more people got on and in turn ended up shrunken in the possession of the two monstrous vixens.

The bus was empty by the time they were finished. Beth depressed the bell, calling the bus to a halt. Only then did the driver notice something was awry. He turned, a look of confusion on his fat face. ‘Hey,’ was all he could manage before he was shrunk, reduced to an inch high on his still warm seat.

Rachel caught him, throwing him into her pocket and sealing him away with their other captives. They had eighteen in all, a wide demographic. The doors were already open as they rushed through them, their hearts beating with exhilaration as they sped down the street to vanish around the corner.

By the time they reached the park they were in fits of laughter. They collapsed onto a bench, hugging and gossiping about the rush of adrenaline they felt. First a classroom vanished and now a whole bus, mid route. The news would have field day with it, old Mr. Aldridge would barely get a mention.

It was getting dark by the time their Uber arrived. A week ago the idea of waiting in a park after sundown would have made both of them nervous. Now they almost relished the idea of some creeper trying something with them. Whatever he had in mind would be child’s play compared to the torture they would inflict upon him.

They spoke in hushed tones as they rode towards home, the driver busy talking on his phone. Beth wanted to shrink him too, to either take him or kill him; she didn’t care either way. Rachel counselled against it, it would be too easy to trace it back to them.

The car arrived at Rachel’s house first. The lights were on, a second car in the drive. Her father and step mother were home early. They agreed that Beth would take both bags lest Rachel’s parents stop her and question her. The Sizer and her half of their captives would be safe in her jacket pockets.

Rachel waved the car off as it disappeared into the night, watching until she stood alone on the sidewalk. She had slipped her hands into her pockets, one closed around the Sizer, the other resting among her inch high captives.

They squirmed against her, their bodies buffeted out of the way by fingers more than twice their size. She tickled them gently, delighting at how easily she could manipulate them. It was unlikely any of them would survive longer than two days, less depending on how the next hour went. She tapped her foot nervously, urging herself to go forwards. A small human found themselves pinched between her fingers. She squeezed, not hard enough to kill but with sufficient pressure to cause great pain.

She was powerful, she reminded herself, she was a god.

Her jaw set as she started up the drive way, better to get it over with.

It started as soon as she walked through the door. ‘And where have you been?’ Her step mother’s voice was shrill, perfectly suited to her waspish features. They had never got on, both blaming the other for the poor relationship. She had entered Rachel’s life two years after her true mother had passed, since then barely a week had gone by without one or both of them blowing up.

Whatever preparation Rachel had made, failed her immediately. The sight of this woman stood on the stairs of her house, daring to demand her whereabouts like she had some right to know?

The fight escalated quickly, both women drawing up accusations and slights long forgotten. Her step mother advanced down the stairs, Rachel bristling towards her until they stood a foot apart. The older woman said something cutting, the younger replied with something unforgivable.

The sound of the slap echoed in her ears, stinging warmth spreading across her cheek. A tear prickled her eye though she could not say whether it was born from pain or anger. The next few seconds were a blur, a blur that changed her life forever.

Without thinking her hand closed about the Sizer, drawing it from her pocket. The red light slammed into her step mother’s chest, knocking her back against the stairs. The woman had no time to react, no time to realise what had happened before Rachel was above her.

She moved without thinking, hatred clouding her mind. Her foot lifted, the sneaker sole flashing through the air. There was barely time for the shrunken woman to scream before the foot came down, obliterating her against the stained oak step. At her size Rachel felt nothing as the woman was liquefied by her weight. One moment she was the harridan that destroyed the relationship between her and her father, the next she was nothing but blood and powdered bone; a stain on her shoe.

Rachel lifted her foot slowly, revealing the red ruin beneath. She thought she should feel something, some anger or some sorrow for the woman who had been in her life almost ten years. Instead she felt nothing, she felt nothing because her step mother was nothing. She had been an insect in the end and had died like an insect. The beginnings of a smirk fluttered across her lips.

‘Rachel! What the fuck? What have you done?’ Her father’s voice squeaked with anger, the words catching in his throat. He stood at the top of the stairs, his face white with horror. He had seen everything.

The Sizer took him before he had taken his first step, barrelling him back into the hallway. Rachel jogged up the stairs, knowing her footsteps would sound like encroaching thunder to the shrunken man. She was crossing a line here and she knew it. Her act of passion in the heat of the moment had changed her life forever.

She walked slowly down the hallway, her eyes fixed on the shrunken man that had raised her. There was no going back now, this she knew. The only question remaining was how far would she go?

Her foot slammed down next to him, silencing his voice and causing him to stagger from his feet. Could she do this? Did she even want to?

At less than an inch high it could be over in seconds, her father leaving her life the same way as his vile wife had a minute before. A tear trickled down her face, splashing onto the hardwood beside him. This was her father, her dad, what was she thinking?

He recoiled in fear as she crouched towards him, scooping him up in her hand. He weighed nothing, his movements against her skin feather light. Was this really her father anymore? His voice failed to penetrate the prison of flesh that enclosed about him. He had seen his daughter kill his wife, he had seen how she shrank her. Could she really believe there would be no retribution, that he would forgive her and let her continue with her plan? Would she be free to live the life she knew she deserved with him alive?

Her hand opened like a flower, exposing the man who raised her. Rachel’s eyes were red, tears flowing freely down her cheeks. This was too much, she had gone too far. She sniffed and brought him to her face so she could hear his voice.

‘You evil, cold hearted little bitch!’ He screamed at her, his face red, his fists closed in anger. His words shook her from her malaise, this was all a test.

‘How fucking dare you,’ she hissed at him, keeping her voice low, ‘after all these years, you still take her side. I had no choice, I couldn’t take it anymore. For ten years I have begged you to leave her, cried to you about how she treated me. You didn’t give a shit, you only cared about her and Nat. I was too much like mom, that was my problem wasn’t it? How could you run off and play happy families with your whore while being reminded of your dead wife every time I spoke?

Well it’s all over now, that’s two wives you’ve lost. She deserved what happened to her but I hoped, I hoped that with her gone we would have been able to fix things. I never wanted it to happen like this, I never wanted you to be around when I got rid of her. Still, it’s never about what I want is it? You’ve always been a selfish prick but now you don’t get a say. The only thing that matters now is what I want.’

That was the question that burned in her mind; what did she want? Her fingers were iron hard compared to him, with little effort she could close her fist and silence him forever. He would deserve it too. He wasn’t worth these tears, he hadn’t earned them. When she needed him, when mom died, he was too busy with her sister to care. She was the younger one he said, she needed the support. When the woman that was to become his next wife entered their lives, Rachel was practically forgotten.

She wiped a tear from her face with her free hand and brought him close enough to hear him with her other.

‘You’ll fucking fry for this! I’m calling the police, you’re going to change me back this instant young lady and we are going straight to the station. My own daughter, a murdering bitch! I want you out of this house, I want you gone. I don’t want you infecting my Natty with your lies and crap attitude anymore! You’re done, you’re finished-’

Bastard. She closed her fist, silencing him. He didn’t care about her, he hadn’t for years. All he cared about was his precious ‘Natty’. The pet name made her sick. Bastard.

Rachel walked down the long hall as though moving through a dream. Her room was up on the left.

She should kill him, he deserved it. The thought lodged itself in her mind. It was too late, she had gone too far, she had no choice. Her father would have to die.

It would have ended there and then, the tiny man given no last remark, no final goodbye. She would have closed her fist and destroyed him had she not heard the sound of running water.

The bathroom door was closed but the shower was powerful enough to be heard through the wood. She wasn’t alone.

She crept along the hallway, avoiding those floorboards she knew held a notorious squeak. The door opposite to her own room was ajar, warm honey coloured light spilling across the dark floor. Her sister should have been out by now, why was she still here, what had she heard?

The sound of water shutting off cracked through the quiet house like a gunshot. ‘Rach?’ her sister’s voice sang from the bathroom, ‘That you? I heard shouting?’

Fuck. Nat shouldn’t have been part of this, hell this wasn’t even part of her plan. Though clearly her father’s favourite, she held no animosity towards her sister. She was a sweet thing, innocent, two years her junior. They were as close as sisters could be, similar in looks but a world apart in temperament. Nat was taller by a hair, her slim willowy figure designed for a life of art and dance. Where Rachel was fire, impulsive and quick to anger; Nat was water.

The death of her step mother had been unpleasant but inevitable. The impending death of her father was breaking her but again, could not be avoided. Her sister though.

‘Yeah, it’s me,’ Rachel called back, ‘it’s ok, they’ve gone out again.’

A flurry of noise vibrated from her hand, she opened her fingers again, curious as to what the doomed man had to say.

‘You fucking keep away from her,’ he screamed, ‘you fucking lost cause, you keep your sister out of this. She’s nothing like you, she’s-‘

Rachels thumb cut him off. Gone were the tears, darkness replacing them. She crushed the air out of him with a single digit, pushing into his chest hard enough to silence but not enough to kill.

‘Y’know, you’re right,’ she whispered to him, stealing into her sister’s room. ‘I’m not, Nat wouldn’t have to deal with your shit, Nat wouldn’t have been made to feel so helpless that she lashed out and stole just a bit of power back. Nat wouldn’t do what I’m about to do.’

The bed squeaked as she sat upon it. She would have to work fast, Nat would only be in the bathroom a minute or so longer. Beside her, a slinky black dress had been draped across the bed. Her sister was going out with her friends, no doubt into the city for a night of dancing. On the floor, a pair of elegant black heels waited patiently for their owner to occupy them.

Rachel wasted no time. The Sizer leapt back into her hand, the machine feeling natural against her palm. She aimed it at her father and fired, reducing his height to less than a third of an inch.

Whatever threats or promises he was now making went unheard as Rachel spoke over him, her voice soft and calm. ‘I can’t live like this anymore Dad, I’ve got an opportunity to have a new life, a better life. I had hoped we could make things better but we just can’t, you won’t let us. Your bitch wife is dead and I’m not sorry about that. You’ve made it clear that you just want it to be you and your darling Natty so that’s how it’s going to be. I love you dad but I’m not going to miss you. Good bye.’

The man’s eyes bulged as she upended her hand and sent him falling through the air. The fall was long but not life threatening. Her deep brown eyes watched as he landed hard against the inside of her sister’s shoe, sliding down the slope of the heel and into the darkness. From what she saw it looked like he had broken a leg. That was good, she decided, less chance of him being spotted.

This should have been risky, should have had the potential to expose her, but she knew it would be fine. She was calm, collected, and confident. Her eyes watched him disappear into the toe section of the shoe. He would still be cursing her but now his voice was too small to hear. Soon it would be silenced forever.

‘Rachel,’ her sister’s voice rang through the doorway, a note of light surprise lifting her words, ‘you startled me. You ok?’

Nat crossed the room, towelling her hair as she did so. She had already changed into a matching set of black underwear, the darkness stark against her pale skin.

‘Yeah fine,’ Rachel sniffed, ‘just those two on top of everything that has happened is just getting to me you know?’

Nat sank into a chair and began to apply her makeup, ‘Yeah I heard the argument. I couldn’t make out what was being said but to be honest I didn’t want to.’ Nat had always hid when Rachel and her parents quarrelled. ‘What set it off this time?’

‘Same old shit,’ Rachel lied, her voice glum, ‘with everything that’s happened with that missing class I just didn’t need to come home to that. Beth is in pieces.’

Nat’s nose wrinkled, ‘Since when do you give a shit about people? I’m the one that does the crying here, not you. I was in floods when I saw the news. Is Beth going to be ok? It was her class that went missing wasn’t it?’

Rachel’s shoulders shuddered, crocodile tears streaming down her pink cheeks. She brushed them away with a hand as her sister sat beside her, crumpling the dress and throwing an arm around her. Rachel could barely stifle a laugh as she imagined what her father must be seeing down there. In the darkness, in pain, his two daughters massive beyond comprehension, one of whom killed his wife, the other about to kill him. It was priceless.

‘Yeah, she’s fine. We’re all just blown away by it y’know? Wondering what happened and what we can do.’

We’ll I know what I’m gonna do,’ Nat beamed, her smile the sweetest thing imaginable, ‘I’m going to go out and dance. Me and the girls are all heading into the city to shake this off and cheer ourselves up. Want to come?’

She stood, taking up the dress and smoothing out the wrinkles before slipping it on. Rachel helped her with the zip.

‘Thanks, but I’m ok. I’m going to lay low here for a while, maybe try and sort things out with Dad and the beast when they get back.’

Nat tutted and chuckled, despite herself, ‘Don’t call her that for a start, there’s no wonder she’s always pissed at you.’ Rachel’s heart skipped a beat as her sister slipped on the first of her shoes, her father was in the other, it would be over in the next few seconds.

‘I know you’ve tried but you should keep on at it, for dad’s sake,’ Nat rested a hand on her shoulder for balance as she slid her foot into her other heel. Within the shoe, Mr. Coppice could only scream impotently as the massive foot of his youngest daughter sped towards him. Her red painted toes hit him like a freight train, shattering bones and sending him flying into the tip of her shoe. Darkness fell upon him as her foot filled the space, flesh stealing the light. He spent his last seconds choking on blood, sobbing as a massive form moved above him. Nat felt nothing as her father was annihilated beneath her toe, that first step removing all trace of him.

‘He does love you, you know that right?’ she asked her older sister as she made for the door, ‘Last chance, you sure you don’t want to come?’

Rachel sniffed again, knuckling the last tears from her eyes, ‘No, its ok, I’m good. Probably going to spend the rest of the night locked away in my room, having some time for myself.’

They exchanged smiles, Nat leaving her sat on the bed.

Rachel let out a long sigh. Tomorrow her parents would be reported as missing, a week later legal proceedings would begin to transfer their property to her and Nat. A month later they would both be free to do as they please and with the wealth she had stolen earlier, nothing could stand in her way.

A warm smile lit her face as she crossed the hall and entered her own room.

Bruised and battered the people in her pocket were thrown roughly onto the floor, screaming as they took in the smiling titan that stood over them. Not one would survive to see the morning.