Panic was all that filled my mind as I read the warnings over and over again, making sure I didn’t misconstrued or misinterpret the ominous writing wrong. I must’ve wasted a good ten minutes re-reading it just to make sure how screwed I really was. I could feel my body shrinking even more and I just had to hope I could get Sam’s attention and bring me back, reverse this whole mess. But a lingering thought remained with me even if I tried as many times as it took to push it out. Was I so small now that I would be impossible to be spotted by the naked eye? That thought filled my brain, sank it’s claws on to it and never let go no matter what I did to get it out of my head. There was that fear of knowing what I would have to overcome to even get a passing glance thrown my way by one of these towering goddesses that were unaware of my predicament down at their feet. They knew I was small but I highly doubt Sam read the label before spiking my drink with it and how I was constantly shrinking. I just had to hope at least one of them had a keen eye when it came to spotting bugs.
As I made my way back to the light of the outside world, I was soon met with the shock of my life just as I was about to exit the underbelly of the couch. A massive shoe fell from the sky with the same force that rivaled that of the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs. I jumped back instinctively to avoid being crushed by the massive shoe. Looking up at it, it was a checkered pattern shoe on the top showing very obvious signs of heavy use. Cloe had long taken off her shoes as evident when she stepped on me repeatedly, and I knew that this was neither Sam’s nor Tabatha’s. It could only belong to one person. Alexis.
I’d known Alexis for only a short time before I’d quit but in that time, I’d known her to be a sweet and really innocent girl with some ‘gothic’ or ‘punk rock’ styling cues. All black clothing, torn up jeans, dark makeup and blue tips on her hair. To me, she was scary at first but she turned out to be the nicest person I’d ever gotten the pleasure of knowing. In the week or so that I did work with her, she brought cookies, cake and even ice cream for everyone. Super nice girl that now seemed to rule me and my entire existence by just dropping her used and worn shoe down onto the ground. I don’t know if it excited or terrified me that a regular sized girl could do so little and yet still hold so much power over me. That a simple action like ditching a shoe could do so much for my shrunken form shook me to my very core.
Yet it also excited me a bit, quite a bit actually. Being this small was terrible in many ways but to experience the level of intimacy I’ve had was incredible. Getting teased for my height was never something I experienced growing up since I was decently tall for my age but this height made me wish I was. The feeling of having Cloe put her feet just on my face would’ve been something to remember, especially with how they came off when I was first introduced to them. The stale and near toxic air that surrounded her every step would’ve made for a great introduction to her feet at normal size, filling every cavity of my lungs but at the size I found myself and would continue to find myself, I felt something inside me, ‘awaken’ I guess you could call it. As much as being this size frustrated me to my very end, it also made me think. What if, just for a second, I was meant to be like this. Maybe it was whatever brought me to this height that made me think I wanted to be like this. That thing might be playing mind games with me. Who knows, that thing has a warning label saying it causes people to shrink to nothing, anything is possible.
As I crossed the threshold of the couch I was tossed under, I was soon met with a sight comparable to seeing either a beautiful woman for the first or witnessing a horrific disaster. What stood before me was a massive, white sole that seemed never ending. From where I stood, it seemed the toes that were on the floor were like massive cities compared to me, as for the soles themselves, it was like I was looking at a full blown state. My jaw dropped as it was further cemented that these girls towered over me like I was nothing, which I was to them. And what would a simple speck like myself do to get the attention of a girl that seemed to be the size of a planet? Run up to the nearest one of them, and begin to punch as hard as I physically can and just hope they feel it.
As I ran, faster than I ever have before, I suddenly and mysteriously began to seem lighter. At first it was just the small boost of lightness but then it became more apparent what was happening to me. Somehow, I was caught in a draft from the A/C. I felt the cold embrace of the air lift my tiny body up high past my intended target of who’s ever foot I was set to punch and into the sky. For the first time in what seemed like hours or days, I finally got to see all their pretty faces rather than their feet which I had been seeing and experiencing since I woke up. In a near slow motion state, I looked at all of them as quickly as I could, studying to see what they were doing. I was far too small to even begin to decipher what they were saying because to me, it just seemed like mumbling gibberish. They were massive to me and so were their words. If they were talking about finding me or even bothering to look for me, I wouldn’t have known. I could see Sam and Tabatha laughing on the couch, their mouths wide open each the size of New York City. If I had one choice in this small life I now lived, it would be to avoid getting sucked up in one of their massive and expensive bodies. For that would lead to a one way trip to being nothing more than a very, very light snack for one of them. Or worse, get trapped in a very unpleasant place like the lungs, bloodstream or somewhere I had zero chance of getting out of. Was I that small that I wouldn’t even be a single calorie for one of these girls?
Then, without warning, I landed on a soft surface and stuck to it almost immediately. The air in my lungs was pushed out in an instant, leaving me somewhat disheveled as I looked around to see where I had ended up. I attempted to turn my head only to be met with my head actually sticking to whatever surface I had found myself on. I was high up still as I could still see everyone of the girls, except for one. To my far left, I saw Sam and next to her, Tabatha. I then looked as far left as I could see and saw the sweet Cloe laughing along with Sam. That was when I realized who I couldn’t see. The one who’s feet I haven’t properly experienced.
Alexis.
“Come on Sam, where is the little guy? Both of us were promised massages from Tabatha’s little foot lover.” Cloe spoke in a semi sarcastic manner as she propped her feet on the coffee table on full display for the two girls sitting on the couch. “If he doesn’t show up, and start massaging my feet, I’ll make you do it, Samantha.”
“Look, we left him in my bedroom until you guys got here. He has to be here somewhere, I just don’t know where. Besides, there is no way in hell am I touching either of your feet in an attempt to please either of you. Especially after yours made Tabatha pass out.” Sam was nervous as hell as she tried her best to remain calm around the girls but also find the loose and tiny man she had brought into this world. If it wasn’t for her being so curious with things she found online, Jesse would still be here, worshipping all of their feet. She knew how much he would’ve loved being the size of an ant who was nothing compared to their feet and she was right! Up until they lost track of him, he was enjoying himself which just made Sam all the more worried for her little friend's new place in the world. They had to find him, no matter how small he was to them, Sam was going to bring him back.
“If he doesn’t show up...then what? What do we do?” Alexis asked as they all felt the A/C begin to kick in, thankfully due to the temperature of the apartment beginning to rise a bit. “He can’t stay at that size forever, can he? Would we have to go looking for him?”
“If anyone is going to look for my little Jesse, it’s Samantha. She’s the one who shrunk him in the first place. What say we shrink her to find him?” Tabatha interjected, making a roar of laughter fill the room as everyone but Sam began to laugh at her expense. It wasn’t what she wanted, to be small like she made Jesse. One the list of things she’d rather do than be shrunk around three of her friends, she’d rather lick Cloe’s nasty and disgusting feet than be tiny looking for Jesse. But she was the cause of this, she had to accept the consequences, even if it made her vomit a little bit just thinking about being around her friends feet.
“You three want me to go looking for him? What if I disappear looking for him?” Sam stood up as she looked around the apartment, looking for the growth serum she bought along with the shrinking serum. She wasn’t certain it would work but with how the shrinking version performed on Jesse, Sam had almost no doubts it could bring her and Jesse back to normal size. She just had to hope none of them had any ill intentions when it came to her being that size. In theory, they should all have the same goals in finding Jesse who might be far too small to even see or might be hiding in the apartment, scared out of his little mind. Maybe the stress and abuse her and Tabatha had thrown his way caused him to run scared. Sam’s heart felt heavy as she tuned out her friends as they laughed at their jokes while walking towards the other bottle she bought, right next to the growing solution. She thought about kicking the three out and finding Jesse by herself but knew she nor Jesse wouldn’t be able to get back to their original heights without one of them present to help them.
“Fine, I’ll go but the only one I trust to handle me at that size is Tabatha.” Sam turned around as she handed Tabatha the vial of solution and popped the cap off with her thumb as she stood tall in front of the three girls. If this didn’t work, this would be the last time she’d look down at them slightly, instead she’d have to crane her neck near vertical to even look at their legs. Just imagining the feeling of being the size of an ant made her legs feel like jelly and her stomach tensed up at the thought of being that size. She was terrified, even though it seemed to have been somewhat painless to Jesse, Sam was scared if this one would backfire on her. Too much and she’d shrink even beyond what the small Jesse would be able to to see. Even the best microscopes ever built would only barely be able to see her. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder. It was Tabatha who was reaching for the bottle still in her hand.
“If you’re scared, I can go look for him down there.” Tabatha got close to Sam’s ear as she whispered to her. “I trust you with me more than I do Cloe or Alexis. Just make sure to get us both back to normal. Can you do that?”
Sam stuttered a bit as she looked at Tabatha who had already taken the bottle out of her own hands without her noticing. It was either a trick to force Sam to go down to that size or maybe, just maybe, Tabatha was set on doing this in replacement for her. She was shocked at the notion as Tabatha popped the cap off the bottle with her thumb as she started to read the instructions on the back of the bottle. How much to take and what Jesse had read on the bottle under the couch mere minutes ago. How if someone was that size for too long without the antidote, they would shrink down forever. “Tabby, you don’t have to do it. I’ll do it.”
“No I don’t Samantha. I don’t have to. I could make you take this and make you find Jesse yourself but I won’t. If any of us is going to be the first to find him, it’s gonna be me. His girlfriend.” Tabatha said as she toasted the shrinking to her friends as she downed the foul scented liquid down her throat before passing out within seconds of the liquid entering her body. Cloe gasped as she backed up in her chair as they all soon watched Tabatha’s unconscious body begin to shrink before their very eyes.
“Good luck Tabby. We’ll keep an eye on you.”
I screamed as loudly as I could as I watched Sam and Tabatha argue who would be drinking the bottle that would bring them down to my level in an effort to find me. I yelled and tried to raise my arms to get one of their attention only to be met with ignorance and watching as my girlfriend drank the whole bottle with her collapsing on the floor, much like I did before I wound up here.
What was done was done and I couldn’t control what was happening. All they had to do was look at Alexis’ face and they’d find me but without some sort of clue as to where I somehow ended up, I might as well have been on the other side of the planet because sitting on Alexis’ face was not going to be on the top of the list of areas to look for me. I yelled, screamed and tried punching the soft skin I was still attached to in an effort to get Alexis to notice me. Although, I still had no idea where on her face I had ended up. Did I somehow end up on her cheek? Perhaps. While I witnessed the girls talking, Alexis’ voice wasn’t exploding my ears like I expected it to. Like the rest of the girl’s voices, hers was still like a low rumbling just a bit closer and louder. It did seem fairly warm compared to the places I had become accustomed to like some shoes or a pair of feet. The warmth I was now experiencing was something that seemed welcoming and inviting. I calmed down a bit, given my recent adventures around these girls, I deserved a brief rest. Even though in the back of mind I was losing valuable time with my size, I felt this would be worth it in the end. Feeling warmth for the first time in what felt like an eternity was a change of pace. Alexis, the girl I barely knew and the amount of time I did know her, she was a soft and sweet goth girl that baked cookies in her free time. I felt at peace.
Until, a new threat arose. In the distance became something so alien to my meger form that it seemed otherworldly when in reality, it was a threat that I should’ve realized would find me, for better or for worse. And worse it did. It was Alexis’ finger coming to scratch the irritation I was causing her cheek. That was when the bliss I was enjoying and soaking up was quickly and almost instantly shattered as I screamed out in terror in a futile effort to be noticed by this colossal woman I was attached to. Her nail seemed as though it was the size of a small city and it was heading my way. I closed my eyes as I shielded myself from knowing just when it would happen. I’d been in scary spots at this size but none had gotten close to the level of fear I had in this moment. Her nails were sharp enough to just severe my whole body in half. I screamed once more as her nail got close to me and suddenly the fear went away as her finger actually went over me. A sigh of relief went over my body, which lasted not even a second before I scooped up by the underside of Alexis’ nail and pulled off the prison I’d been trapped against only to be put in a new and possibly worse prison.
In a matter of seconds, I was already looking at an even worse place to be than on the floor or tossed in a random shoe. What proved to be a new challenge of getting off Alexis’ face proved to be just the first step of escaping this colossus that was my friend. As I readjusted myself to this new world, I was soon met with another even more frightening place that now filled my vision.
The mouth.