GENETITECH/BIOENG. confidential file
SUBJECT: --GOLDMAN, David
A.U. No.: --NC 654 55 D
S.C.I.D. No: --7474HHD
SUPERVISING DOCTOR: --Dr. Terrence LYNCH

ITEM: --Transcript of recorded testimony regarding subject's current condition. File for ASSESSMENT/INFO

[cont.]

You know, Eddie used to get pissed off any time anyone referred to his invention as a "shrink ray." He kept insisting that it was a "matter proportioning matrix." I always thought he was just being pedantic.

But now, the more I think about it, the more disturbed I get. I mean, his machine didn't really shrink us, right? Basically, it destroyed us and then created a duplicate that was thirty-something times smaller.

So the way I figure it, I'm just a copy. The *real* Dave Goldman was killed last June, when Carolyn zapped him with that shrink ray.

I mean, matter proportioning matrix.

Jesus...

***

The week went by in a bit of a blur, with one day running into the next. I spent my mornings with Carolyn out in the garden, either tucked in her pocket or clinging to her sandal where she could keep an eye on me. After the incident with the grasshopper, she wasn't taking any chances.

When the sun was high and it became too hot to work, Carolyn would bring me inside for a bath. Our afternoons were spent watching TV or just relaxing on the patio. Sometimes Carolyn would bring my convertible downstairs with us, and she'd delight in watching me race along the brick patio.

I felt totally isolated from the others. The only time I saw them was twice a day during mealtimes. Breakfast was usually a harried affair, with Carolyn standing and waiting impatiently for us to finish. But dinners tended to be more leisurely. Carolyn would either sit on the edge of the bed or occasionally down on the floor, where she'd watch us eat. Usually she'd let us eat in peace. But sometimes, after a couple of glasses of wine, she'd get playful.

She always put down far more food than the seven of us could ever eat, and then she'd chide us teasingly for leaving so much on the plate. Usually, she'd make a big production of polishing it off in a bite or two. It was a daily reminder of just how tiny and helpless we really were. Just one of Carolyn's little games to keep us in our place.

***

Each day that ticked by brought us closer to Sunday. That was the day that Linda's husband Randy would be getting home from his fishing trip. When he discovered his wife missing, he'd eventually get around to calling Carolyn. And then she would know we had lied to her.

Well, technically, Eddie had lied to her. Julie and I had simply gone along with it because we didn't want to rat him out and get him in trouble. We were walking a thin line, trying to maintain plausible deniability so that when Carolyn learned the truth, we could claim we were duped as well. And hopefully, she'd go easy on us.

Yeah, I know. Any plan that hinged on Carolyn's mercy had to be seriously flawed, right? That's why I'd been hoping we might be able to escape before the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] hit the fan.

Carolyn had nailed a two-by-four along the doorjamb of the guest room. Even with the door open, it was a pretty imposing barrier. But with the door closed, they were effectively sealed inside the room.

Denny and the others had started digging a hole in the wall behind the dresser. It was slow going, but at the moment, it was our only hope.

***

"We're screwed," Denny said to me.

It was Thursday night, and Carolyn had served us a cold frankfurter and a pile of bread for dinner. At our size, the insides of the wieners were coarse and mealy. But we'd run through our supplies of snacks in the dollhouse, so it was either eat what Carolyn offered or starve.

Carolyn had set the plate on the floor, and then run back downstairs to get her wine. It was one of the few chances I'd had all week to speak with Julie and Denny, so they were bringing me up to speed.

"It's an old house," Denny explained. "Wall's made out of plaster. If it was drywall, we'd probably be through it already. But plaster, dude. It's like digging through stone."

I shook my head. "Sorry I haven't been more help."

"Yeah, well," Denny snorted, "Giganta's keeping you busy. I wouldn't trade places with you on a bet, dude."

"So, no way we'll be out by Sunday," Julie said.

"Shawshank Redemption, dude," Denny said. "By the time we tunnel out, we'll be older than Morgan Freeman."

"Still, digging through that wall is our best hope of escape," Julie said. "Assuming we survive the weekend."

"Actually, I think our first idea was better," Denny said. "If we could get up and over that [EXPLETIVE DELETED] board, we could make for the phone and call for help."

"Too bad Carolyn never leaves that door open," Julie said.

"It's open now," Denny said. We both glanced over and saw he was right. Carolyn had left it ajar.

"Sometimes she goes off and leaves it open," Denny told us. "Like, if she's coming right back or something. Next time she does, we should be ready to make a break for it."

"We need to work on that plan," I told him. "You get over that barricade, and you're stuck on the other side. Then what do you do when Carolyn comes up those stairs?"

"I kick her ass," Denny said, with a wink. "I'm all, 'Get your gigantic ass down in that kitchen and make me a sandwich, bitch.'"

Julie and I both snickered. She slapped his arm and said, "You're a horrible human being, Denny. You're lucky you haven't gotten stomped to death."

Just then, we heard Carolyn's footsteps on the stairs. Julie moved away from me, because seeing the two of us together always seemed to sour Carolyn's mood.

Carolyn appeared in the doorway, a bottle of wine in one hand and a glass in the other. She stepped over the barricade, kicked off her sandals, and took her usual place on the edge of the bed to watch us eat.

***

When we were done, Carolyn looked down at the plate and shook her head.

"The way you little people waste food," she said, reaching down and taking the rest of the hotdog. She polished it off in two bites and washed it down with a gulp of wine. "But I guess I shouldn't complain. If you guys ate too much, I couldn't afford to feed you. I'd have to start getting rid of you."

She winked to let us know she was only kidding, but that did little to comfort us. I thought of the grasshopper crushed so effortlessly beneath her sandal, and I shivered.

"Davey, take off your shirt," Carolyn ordered. "Julie, go ahead and lock him up." I slipped off my t-shirt and held out my wrists for Julie. Looking apologetic as always, she approached me with the novelty handcuffs.

"Sorry," she whispered as she slipped them around my wrists and snapped them shut. A shadow fell over us as Carolyn's hand reached down. She scooped both of us into her palm and lifted us to her face.

"Let's see it," Carolyn said, her breath warm and thick with wine. Julie held up the tiny, silver key. Satisfied, Carolyn set her back down on the floor and stood up, holding me in her fist.

She touched me to her lips, then whispered, "Hey there, handsome." Setting me on her shoulder, she knelt down to pick up the paper plate. I clung to her hair with my cuffed hands to steady myself. She tucked the half-empty bottle of wine under her arm and grabbed her glass.

"Good night, little ones," she said cheerfully as she slipped back into her sandals. She stepped over the wooden barricade, snapped off the light, and closed the door behind her.

***

I tended to divide my evenings with Carolyn into "good nights" and "bad nights."

On a good night, Carolyn would take a valium before going bed. She'd hook the clasp of her necklace to my cuffs, and I'd spent the night tethered to her wrist or ankle. But she'd be asleep in minutes and, barring any unexpected tossing or turning, I'd get to sleep through the night as well.

On a bad night, Carolyn would skip the valium and climb into bed naked. Sometimes she'd dangle me from the chain, dragging me across her [EXPLETIVE DELETED] again and again until she finally came. Other times, she'd set me astride her nipple or down between her legs and order me to watch while she pleasured herself. The games would go on for hours, until Carolyn finally got tired of them. Even then, odds were I wouldn't get much sleep, as I'd spend the night hanging from her toes or some damn thing.

In her mind, there was nothing cruel about it. It was just quality bonding time with her special little guy. It was all a game, one Carolyn imagined I was enjoying as much as she. And as long as it kept her in a good mood, I was all too willing to go along with it. Like a good little pet...

That Thursday night was one of the good ones. Carolyn had popped her pill, and had fallen asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow. I was lying on the bed next to her, chained to her wrist and listening to her snore. But as tired as I was, I couldn't sleep.

The digital clock on her nightstand read 2:19, bathing everything around it in ghastly red light. Next to the clock stood a small wooden frame that held a picture of Carolyn and Eddie dressed to the nines and laughing. Carolyn was dressed in a slinky red gown, and Eddie was wearing a suit with a festive red and green tie. A golden caption beneath the photo read "GenetiTech Yuletide Bash 1999."

The people in that picture were happy, carefree strangers, and I just couldn't reconcile that image with what they had both become.

A drinking glass stood next to the photo, still a quarter full of water. In the light of the digital clock, I could see Carolyn's fingerprints all over the glass, and smudges of lipstick along the rim. Next to that was a dogeared paperback of TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE, which Carolyn had neglected since she'd started spending her evenings with me.

Lying in front of the whole tableau was the brown plastic bottle with a pharmacy label. Valium, if you want to get specific. Valrelease(tm) if you want to get downright pedantic. A couple of blue and yellow capsules, each as long as my forearm, had spilled out of the bottle and now lay next to the childproof cap.

As I lay there, staring at Carolyn's medication in the eerie red glow, I suddenly got an idea. It was crazy, to be sure. Probably wouldn't work in a million years, and there would be hell to pay if Carolyn caught on. But still, it was enough to give back my glimmer of hope.

***

The next morning, Carolyn carried me into the guest room. As everyone ran out to stand in formation, she knelt and set me down on the floor. As always, Julie was there with the handcuff key to unlock me.

"Go ahead and get dressed, Davey," Carolyn said. "I'll go get you little guys some breakfast." She stepped over the barricade and into the hall, leaving the door ajar. I waited until I heard her footsteps on the stairs, then I motioned for Denny and Julie to follow me into the dollhouse.

"I've got an idea I need to run by you guys," I told them eagerly.

Denny grabbed a pair of sweatpants off of the kitchen table and tossed them to me. "Dude, like cover your shame first."

I slipped into the sweats, and grabbed a Spongebob t-shirt. As I was pulling on my socks and shoes, I told them what I had in mind. They were skeptical at first, but I finally managed to convince them that my plan had merit.

"If nothing goes wrong," I told them, "we should be out of here by Saturday."

"Jesus," Julie muttered as we went back outside to wait for Carolyn. "Fingers crossed."

***

We only spent a couple of hours in the garden that morning. It started clouding up around eleven, and I heard thunder in the distance.

I was tucked in Carolyn's shirt pocket, holding myself up with my arms so I could peek out over the edge. Sometimes when Carolyn caught me doing this, she'd take perverse pleasure in shoving me back down. And I know for a fact she enjoyed doing it because I could always feel her rigid nipple pressing against me.

But this time, she let me stay out. I watched her hands slide through the soil below, expertly yanking the weeds from the row of onion plants and tossing them into a plastic yellow pail.

"Gotta finish this up and get inside," Carolyn said, glancing up at the darkening sky. "Can't do [EXPLETIVE DELETED] out here when it's muddy."

"That's too bad," I said. "I really like it out here."

"I know," Carolyn said, stroking me gently with her dirty index finger. She was sweating pretty profusely in the heat, and the fabric of her shirt was starting to get damp. "You poor little guys spend so much time cooped up inside. Ought to bring all of you out here one day."

"Really?" I asked. "That would be great."

"Sure, why not?" Carolyn looked down at me and gave me a magnanimous smile. "Maybe I'll make up some sandwiches and shrink 'em down. You little guys can have a picnic."

There was a flash of lightning, and the thunder rolled again.

"Weather permitting, of course," Carolyn said. "You think they'd like that?"

"I'm sure they would," I told her. "It sounds nice."

She stopped pulling weeds for a second and sat up. She took off her straw hat and ran her fingers through her sweaty hair.

"It could really be nice for you guys here," Carolyn said. "I mean, I know none of you would have chosen for things to work out like they did. Hell, it's not what I wanted either."

She plucked me from her pocket and held me up to her face. There was more lightning and thunder, and the wind was starting to pick up.

"I just wanted you, Davey. My special little guy, all to myself. But your friend Julie had to stick her nose in, and then Eddie was going to spoil it all by going to [EXPLETIVE DELETED] GenetiTech. And then my [EXPLETIVE DELETED] sister had to go and shrink half of Midland. And when I think about what she did to her husband..."

I shivered in Carolyn's hand, and she stroked me with her massive fingers.

"All I'm saying is, it doesn't have to be a bad thing, you guys being here and all. Once things die down with GenetiTech and my parents and all, I can... I mean, I'm going to take real good care of you little guys. I can make sure y'all are happy. But I'm gonna need your help, Davey."

It all sounded totally reasonable, and I have no doubt she was sincere. But Carolyn's moods were mercurial, especially when she skipped her meds. And any offer of kindness would be null and void the next time she started feeling angry, or even playful.

The problem was, Carolyn never saw us as people. To her, we were pets. Or playthings.

"Just tell what I can do, okay? Whatever you guys need, just let me know."

Before I could reply, Carolyn brought me even closer to her face.

"And if you say a [EXPLETIVE DELETED] word about turning y'all over to GenetiTech, I swear to God I'll pinch your little head off."

I nodded. "A picnic sounds great."

"Good boy," Carolyn said. She pressed me to her massive lips and kissed me noisily. "Let's go get cleaned up."

***

By the time we finished our shower, it was storming outside. Carolyn slipped into her pink robe, then carried me down the hall to the guest room to check on the others. Satisfied that all was as it should be, she announced she'd be back up in a few hours with dinner.

I glanced down at the others from Carolyn's hand, hoping Denny or Julie would give me a sign that our plan was still on. But they didn't even look at me. I guess I can't blame them for that. Even in a good mood, Carolyn could be quite imposing.

Afterwards, we went downstairs. Carolyn poured herself a glass of wine, then carried me into the living room. She grabbed the remote and turned on the TV to watch General Hospital. Text scrolled along the bottom of the screen to let us know that the Permian Basin was under a flash flood warning and a tornado watch.

Carolyn was lying on the couch, holding me in the palm of her hand and stroking me with her fingernail. Her tan legs stretched out from under her robe, and her bare feet were crossed prettily at the ankles. When Carolyn caught me looking, she wiggled her toes playfully.

"You know who else likes my feet?" she asked me.

I shrugged.

"That little fat [EXPLETIVE DELETED]. What's his name? Nick something?"

"Nichols," I said. "His name is Charles Nichols."

"I see him staring, every time I bring you guys your food," Carolyn said, giggling. "He just sits there, stuffing his face and looking at my feet."

I shrugged. "Well, usually that's the easiest part of you to see. We're all sort of, you know, at foot level."

"Nah, it's not like that," Carolyn said. "That little Denny kid, he's got a mouth on him. I see him watching too, but only because he's scared I'm gonna stomp the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] out of him. But the fat one, I think he'd like it."

God, poor Mr. Nichols. He wasn't my favorite person in the dollhouse. In fact, I'd have to say he placed just above Linda as far as popularity went. But somehow, the thought of him at Carolyn's mercy just seemed too cruel.

"And when I had you guys give me a pedicure the other day, I could feel his little [EXPLETIVE DELETED] sticking me in the foot." Carolyn laughed. "I swear, I thought he was gonna start dry-humping me."

"I don't think it's like that, Carolyn," I told her. "I think he's just scared. Linda was pretty rough on him when she shrank him, and he's probably afraid you're going to do the same. He's just..."

"Waiting for the other shoe to drop?" Carolyn said with a wicked grin.

I laughed, desperate to keep the conversation light. "Yeah, something like that."

"I think you're jealous," Carolyn said. There was such glee in her voice.

"It's not that," I began, but gave up. Carolyn bent one leg and crossed the other, letting her ankle rest on her knee. I knew what was coming.

Carolyn pressed me against the bottom of her foot and rubbed me up and down along the thick, wrinkled sole. The tip of her finger was against the back of my head, pushing my face between her toes. Her flesh was still warm and damp from the shower, and smelled like lavender soap.

"Don't you worry, Davey boy," she said. "I may play around with those others, but you'll always be my special little guy."

***

For dinner, Carolyn served a couple of slices of turkey and some saltines. After days of ham, bologna, and hot dogs, the turkey was a welcome respite. It actually looked appetizing, which was a rare thing at our size.

Carolyn had set the plate down, and gone to get her wine. As soon as she stepped over the barricade and was on the stairs, Julie and Denny ran up to me. Julie held up a small steel eyebolt.

"Found a bunch of 'em at the bottom of the toolbox," Denny said, jerking a thumb towards Eddie's pickup truck. "This one's just about the right size."

Julie held the eyebolt so that the flange was concealed in her hand. In her other hand, she held up the key to the handcuffs. They weren't identical by any stretch. But as tiny as both items were to Carolyn, I was counting on her being unable to tell the difference. Especially after a glass or two of wine.

If I was wrong, there would be hell to pay.

We heard Carolyn coming back up the stairs, so Julie tucked the bolt and the key in her pocket and the three of us made our way over to the plate.

Eddie had torn into the turkey and was gorging himself on it. Mr. Nichols was eating with only slightly less enthusiasm. Chad and Linda stood as far from Eddie as they could. Linda scowled at the rest of us as Chad offered her a chunk of white meat.

Carolyn came back into the room, carrying a bottle and a glass. She took her usual seat on the edge of the bed and watched us eat. Her robe did little to conceal her from our vantage, but I guess we were well past the point of modesty by then.

Our cars were parked on the floor, just under the edge of the bed. Carolyn reached down with one foot and began toying idly with them. She gently caressed Mr. Nichols' Honda Civic with her bare toes, cooing with delight over the tiny car.

Mr. Nichols stood on the edge of the plate, still chewing a mouth full of food as he watched her foot. His eyes were wide and his cheeks were turning pink. And I began to suspect that Carolyn had been right all along. Poor guy...

Despite our enthusiasm, we barely put a dent in the turkey. When we were done, we stepped away from the plate and awaited Carolyn's usual chiding.

"Are y'all full already?" she asked, shaking her head. She leaned over and snatched up the rest of the turkey. Her eyes were on us the whole time as she rolled it up and shoved it into her mouth. She chewed with loud, smacking bites.

"You little guys don't eat much, do you?" she said, grinning. She took a gulp of wine and wiped her hand across her mouth. "Y'all must think I'm a real pig, huh?"

Of course none of us answered. Even Denny had finally learned to keep his mouth shut. We just watched her warily, hoping she'd get bored and call it a night.

But no such luck. She snapped her fingers and pointed at Mr. Nichols. Terrified, he pointed at himself and asked, "Me?" Grinning wickedly, Carolyn nodded and pointed to a spot on the floor between her feet.

Mr. Nichols walked slowly towards Carolyn, his stubby legs trembling with each step. Carolyn flexed her toes, and he let out a quiet whimper. When she raised her foot, he began to back away slowly. Carolyn nudged him, knocking him down. Mr. Nichols fell to his hands and knees with a thud and tried to crawl away.

"Where do you think *you're* going, Tubby?" Carolyn picked him up with her toes and crossed her leg, lifting him high into the air. "Do you think I'm a pig, little man?" She grinned down at him. "Do you think I'm a big, fat pig?"

Mr. Nichols shook his head desperately, his chubby legs flailing as he dangled from Carolyn's foot. She began to wiggle her toes slowly and deliberately. Mr. Nichols squirmed and writhed, then let out a moan.

"Oh my," Carolyn giggled. "You like that, don't you? Naughty little thing."

He spasmed almost immediately with a loud grunt, then hung limp in her grasp. Carolyn gave him one more playful pinch before finally plucking him from her toes.

"Mercy," she said, holding him up to her face. He hung his head, unable to meet her gaze. "That was quick." She looked down at me, still smiling that infuriating smile.

"I told you, Davey. He likes these pretty toes almost as much as you do."

She leaned forward and set Mr. Nichols on the floor between her feet. He tugged at his disheveled clothing, struggling to pull the tight t-shirt down over his white belly. He noticed the dark, wet stain at his crotch and tried desperately to hide it. The poor guy was absolutely mortified. And as bad as the rest of us felt for him, we were all probably thinking the same thing. "Better him than me..."

"Well, Davey, looks like your job is safe. Poor Tubby there didn't last five seconds, did he?"

Carolyn ordered me to remove my shirt and, once it was off, she had Julie cuff me. Julie did so with her usual apologies, but this time she slipped the handcuff key into my hand.

Carolyn reached down and grabbed Julie by the waist. She lifted her up and said, "Show me." Denny and I both held our breath as Julie showed Carolyn the steel eyebolt.

My heart was about to pound out of my chest, as Carolyn held Julie for what seemed an eternity. Finally, she set her down on the floor and she hooked her finger through my cuffs. She lifted me into the air and set me in her palm.

"Tubby kinda got me worked up," she said with a wink. "I'm gonna put you to work tonight."

***

She wasn't kidding.

When we finally went up to bed, she hooked the clasp of her necklace to my cuffs and spent an hour or so dangling me and dragging me all over her body -- across her belly, along her breasts, and down between her legs -- while she squirmed and moaned with delight.

I kept hoping she'd just give up and pleasure herself, as she had done the last few times, but she just kept dragging me along the coarse, wet hair of her [EXPLETIVE DELETED] again and again. Finally, she reached down and pressed me against her slit. For one horrifying second, I thought she was going to force me inside her. But something finally gave inside her, and she came so hard that she dropped me.

The key slipped from my hand and bounced on the mattress. Horrified, I looked to see if Carolyn had noticed. But she had her head back and her eyes closed, still gasping from her orgasm. I grabbed the key and slipped it into my mouth for safekeeping.

"Oh, Jesus," she said breathlessly, placing a hand to her chest. "That was the best one yet, baby doll." She reached down and scooped me up, then pressed me against her breast so I could feel her heart beat. Her flesh was hot against mine, and salty with sweat.

Finally, she held me up and pressed her finger between my legs. She flicked my erection with her fingernail and said, "You poor little thing. I can't believe how selfish I was. You want the toes?"

I couldn't answer with the key in my mouth, so I just nodded with as much enthusiasm as I could muster. I was ready for the whole ordeal to be over, but Carolyn was still going strong. She placed me on the bed between her feet and played with me relentlessly with her toes. She grasped me, pinned me down, and stroked me gently.

I finally climaxed, much to Carolyn's satisfaction. Giggling, she wiped her foot on the bed sheet. Then she threaded the necklace through my arms and lifted it up around her neck. Once the clasp was fastened, I found myself dangling by my cuffed wrists between her breasts.

"Mmmm," she said, tucking me into her cleavage and stroking me. "Jackpot, little guy."

She turned off the lamp and slipped under the covers. For half an hour or more, I just laid there between her mammoth breasts, feeling her heart beat and listening to her breath. When the breathing turned to snoring, I pulled myself up by my wrists and spit the key into my hand.

Nervously, I unlocked the cuffs. As I squirmed free, her snoring faltered and she shifted beneath me. I held my breath, waiting to see if she would wake up. A few seconds later she began snoring again and I exhaled with relief.

With the cuffs dangling from my left wrist and the key back in my mouth, I grabbed the necklace and used it to rappel down Carolyn's shoulder. She was still snoring when my feet hit the mattress.

I ran to the edge of the bed and peered down at the floor far below. It was about an 80 foot drop for me. For one crazy moment, I considered abandoning the plan and just making a run for it. I might be able to climb down the bedspread to the floor. And assuming I didn't fall and break my neck, I could run to the stairs. I might even make it all the way to the bottom before Carolyn woke up.

But Carolyn had left the phone in its cradle in the kitchen, and I knew I'd never be able to climb that cabinet, let alone get the phone out and dial for help, before morning. And if Carolyn discovered I was missing, the first thing she would probably do is take it out on those poor people still trapped in the guest room.

No, Julie had summed up best. Either all of us escape, or none of us escape. So with that in mind, I walked along the edge of the bed until I was standing across from the nightstand. I checked to make sure Carolyn was still sleeping soundly. Then I took a running jump and leaped across the gap.

I landed on the hard wooden table with a thud. Carolyn's snoring stopped and she murmured something. Once again, I found myself holding my breath and trembling with anxiety as Carolyn shifted in her sleep. She rolled onto her side and, within seconds, was snoring again.

The digital clock read 12:14. Carolyn's pill bottle still lay on its side. The label, illuminated by the clock's red glow, read "Valrelease(tm) Diazepam 15 mg," along with instructions to take one capsule daily.

A couple of capsules had spilled from the bottle and were lying on the nightstand. However, I was afraid Carolyn might notice if these were missing, so I crawled into the bottle and grabbed a couple from within. The blue and yellow capsules were just over a foot long, and weighed about five pounds each. I carried one under each arm, walking past the clock and the lamp to the back edge of the nightstand. With a furtive glance towards Carolyn, I tossed both pills. They bounced off the wall and landed on the carpet below. I made two more trips to the bottle, until I had six pills lying on the floor between the nightstand and the wall.

Carolyn was still lying on her side, facing towards me. The clock was behind me, casting its red light and my shadow across her features. I ran to the edge of the nightstand and jumped across the gap once again, landing on the bed.

I ran over to Carolyn, placed my arms around the necklace, and locked the cuffs back in place. Then I laid down on the bed as far from her as I could manage, and I waited for morning to come.

***