“Get away from me,” I said coldly, my voice mirroring how dead I felt inside.

Heather tsked disapprovingly. “Is that any way to talk the girl who gave you the greatest moment of your life?”

“Fuck you,” I snarled, and struggled to get out from beneath her heavy tits.

Heather laughed. “If you’re lucky.”

I finally extracted my body from beneath Heather’s enormous rack and lurched to my feet. My limbs trembled like wet noodles, completely devoid of strength. Shrinking and exertion had pushed me far beyond my limits and I teetered at the foot of her bed. Heather reached towards me.

I recoiled, pressing myself against the wall. “Don’t touch me,” I warned.

Her hand stopped and she pouted, “It doesn’t have to be like this, Mikey.”

“Like what? Like making me sick and weak? Like turning me into a midget? Like ruining my fucking life?”

Heather wrapped the bed sheet around her torso to cover her newly enlarged assets. “That’s a bit dramatic,” she said.

“You’re not even going to deny it? You’re not going to pretend like I’m crazy?”

Heather shrugged. “Would it make any difference if I did?” When I did not respond right away Heather continued with a sigh, “I’ll give you credit, Mikey. You’re the first one . You must have done your homework,” Heather’s eyes narrowed. “Or you had help.”

“How many people have you done this to?” I demanded. “Crystal. You did this to her! too”

“No,” Heather replied. Something like sadness briefly shadowed her face before being replaced by a hard eyed stare. “You don’t know anything.”

If she had altered other people I should remember it… Only no one seemed to realize I was changing, reality had simply adjusted to fit the new situation. Was there anyone terribly small that I could remember? The girl I’d dreamt of. The girl on the swing. She had been so tiny. Heather must have gotten to her. There were probably others but maybe they had moved away or Heather had…

Had she killed?

My legs were already trembling from weakness or they would have shaken at that thought. Heather was dangerous. I needed to get away from her- now.

I bolted.

Blasting by Heather with strength born from pure terror I skidded into the hallway then half ran half stumbled down the stairs. I escaped the girl’s dorm into the chill night air. A frigid wind struck my exposed junk and I frantically zipped up my pants, becoming aware of the huge wet spot on my crotch as it chilled. I turned, expecting to see the Heather pounding after me like the T-1000, but the dorm foyer was empty. I was alone in the parking lot.

When I got back to my room I locked the door, crawled into bed, and curled into ball.

And the nightmares began.

***

The boys pushed the girl on the swing while she screamed. Young, shrill screams that could have been delight or terror. They pushed her higher and higher. “Make her fly,” one shouted. The others laughed and pushed harder. Then she did it- she flew. There was no mistaking her scream this time, it chilled me to the bone. I had to catch her. I ran but everything seemed to slow. The swing twisted, empty. The boys faces frozen in cruel delight. The girl spinning through the air. I wasn’t going to make it.

I was being hugged.

Surrounded by soft, comforting warmth. Then I was pulled away. I stretched out my arms, unable to hold on. It was Heather. Her lips were moving but I couldn’t hear anything except the beating of my heart. She became frustrated, then angry. Something terrible lit the darkness in her eyes and she let go.

I was falling, pinwheeling towards the ground. Only the ground was not getting closer. Everything getting further away- larger. I was shrinking! Shrinking so quickly that I was falling into eternity. Heather tilted into view, massive beyond belief. A colossus. Bigger than that. A titan, still growing. A goddess, the lines of her body stretched to unfathomable lengths. My vision dimmed and I screamed soundlessly. The ground rushed in.

I woke up still screaming.

Sweat slicked my body from head to toe and I huddled beneath the blankets to fight the chill. Outside it was dark, I’d probably only slept for a few hours. Try as I might, I could not get back to sleep.

***

Heather had to be avoided at all costs.  

Except I couldn’t abandon Crystal. Not after she had tried to warn me. Heather had obviously lied about shrinking her, but she had also slipped up. Heather had said I was the first one to use a ward which meant Crystal could still be saved. All I had to do was find a way to get her alone. Unfortunately, Heather and Crystal might as well have been joined at the hip. The only times they were separated was when Heather sent Crystal on an errand, and that was unpredictable at best.

Setting the issue of Crystal aside I had another major problem to manage. I was now 4’9” tall and shorter than every person I knew, except Crystal. My weight had diminished to a pathetic 93 pounds, and though I hadn’t stopped by the gym I doubted I would be able to lift my own body weight. My limbs had shrivelled into pitiful stick-like things. My school bag was noticeably heavier, like lugging a sixty pound backpack instead of the fraction of that it had been only weeks before. The biggest difference was how hard it was to stay warm. The chill autumn weather wasn’t helping, but even indoors I found myself wearing an extra layer of clothing to keep from shivering.

Every night brought a fresh batch of nightmares, a menagerie of horrors that I forced myself to forget after waking. The nightmares took their toll in rest and I was never far from dozing off in class. I think the fear of dreams kept me awake as much as the coffee did.

Class became my only slice of normality and I poured all of my waking effort into completing assignments. Unfortunately when photography class came around I had a choice to make. I skipped Monday’s class, unwilling to contend with Heather up close, but skipping again would mean falling far behind. I considered dropping the class entirely, yet it was my best- maybe only chance to talk to Crystal. In the end I decided to muster my courage and entered the dingy photography building.

Crossing the threshold into class took as much courage as anything I’d ever done. Heather was there, of course, sitting casually in a chair that was far too small for her larger-than-ever body. She wore a high-fashion long-sleeve top with a square that revealed a large portion of her shoulders and the upper slopes of her breasts. It wasn’t slutty by any means, but the way her massive mounds stretched her fabric made the outfit more than a little provocative. Below that a thick belt cinched her waist and the rest was hidden beneath the desk. It felt as though she should have horns, or long sharp teeth- some outward sign to indicate the devil inside, but she was the same trendy sexpot she had always been. At least on the outside.

I couldn’t look at her as I walked over through the class towards my seat. Every instinct screamed at me to run. Instead I slid into the chair next to her, fixing my eyes on the front of the class. “Mikey, so nice of you to join us.” Heather said sweetly.

I ignored her.

“Silent treatment, huh?” Heather waited for me to respond before finally saying,
“Suit yourself.”

Mr. French began lecturing and minutes went by. Was that it? For some reason I had been expecting some grand confrontation, an epic battle of wills. Maybe even a harrowing game of cat and mouse. ‘Suit yourself’ was almost disappointing. I shook my head and focused on Mr. French’s instruction. The rest of class passed without incident and when it was time to leave I was quick to stand up, determined to get out of the room before the students dispersed.

“Mike?” It was Crystal’s voice. I hesitated a moment before turning to face her. “Are you coming to study group tomorrow?” I searched Crystal’s face for a sign. Some hint that would tell me she needed my help or was trying to warn me away- anything at all. There was nothing there- or at least nothing I could discern.

“Sure,” I said reluctantly.

“Don’t forget your negatives, we’re gonna get a batch developed.”

“Right, okay.” I said awkwardly. “See you then.”

Heather ignored the entire exchange, tapping her phone with a bored look on her face. Baffled by her behavior I walked back to my room trying to figure out what her game was. She wasn’t going to give up on me just like that was she? That seemed very un-Heather-like. Maybe she was trying to make me complacent. Lure me into a false sense of security before… Before… Something. There was no way to predict Heather’s next move.

Focus on getting Crystal alone, that was my best option.          

***

I was late to study group.Reluctance played a role in my tardiness, as did fear, uncertainty, and host of other unpleasant emotions. I was happy to see Crystal typing away on her laptop then I turned and saw the face of my nightmares; Heather. Without the protective buffer of a full class I felt naked, vulnerable to her seductive arsenal. And what an arsenal it was.

Heather was outfit held no regard for the season. She was poured into a form-fitting red dress that hugged every curve of her enormous body. The dress stretched over her impossibly wide, projecting bustline before splitting into a large oval that revealed her taut abdomen and navel. Below that her hips flared so prominently that her legs appeared forced together by the constricting patterned red fabric. A sort of shawl covered the lower part of her thighs with a translucent red patterns; floral threadwork that emphasized Heather’s thick, powerful thighs rather than concealed them. The phrase ‘dressed to kill’ lept to mind and I shuddered.

“Took you long enough,” Heather complained absently. She was sifting through a small stack of fancy-looking boxes, careless discarding sheaves of tissue paper. “I thought you might want to see the bras you bought me.”

“Whatever,” I replied, determined not to let her seduce me.

“I think you’re going to like this one, Mikey.” Heather said casually, pushing a box to the side. “We’ll save that one for last.”

I took a seat close to Crystal, facing the window so that I could keep watch on Heather out of the corner of my eye. “What makes you think I want to see any of them?” I muttered irritably.

Heather’s hearing was better than anticipated and she replied, “It might be hard to take pictures without looking at me. Besides, it’s not like taking pictures *costs* you anything.”

Ignoring Heather I spoke to Crystal, “I brought my negatives from the last couple sessions, there’s a bunch.”

Crystal looked up from her screen. “Oh, good. The dark room should be ready to use.”

“Sorry to ask but could you bring them down for me,” I hesitated, fighting a fresh surge of fear before speaking in a rush, “I need to talk to Heather for a minute.”    

Crystal snapped her laptop closed and shrugged. “Sure,” she said.

I waited for Crystal to leave with my negatives before turning to face Heather. There was something different about her tonight, something I’d never seen before. The sexiness of her dress had overwhelmed my earlier impression but I saw now what I’d missed. Uncertainty. I wasn’t what I’d done to knock her off balance, but I was happy for it. If she decided to come after me I would likely not be able to escape. The difference in our size and strength was simply too great. I wasn’t sure how far she would go to keep her secret, but the fact that she had allowed me to run from her room gave me some hope. Could she be oblivious to the lives she was destroying? Maybe she knew no one would believe me... hell I barely believed it.

“Well?” Heather said impatiently, interrupting my thoughts. “Did you have something to say?”   

I squared my shoulders and spoke with as much confidence I could muster. “Give back what you stole from me.” Even I was impressed with how calm I sounded.

Heather’s eyes widened slightly before an arrogant smile flashed her perfect teeth at me. “I think you got a more than fair exchange,” she said.

“Fair? You rubbed me off a couple times and took a foot of height. How is that fair?”

“Don’t forget the date,” Heather said nonchalantly.

“You mean the date where I bought you over three hundred dollars worth of clothing?”

Heather barked a mirthless laugh and said, “Oh please, Mikey, that’s nothing.”

Three hundred dollars was two months of food on my budget and I needed every penny of it. Anger started boiling to the surface and I stamped it down through force of will. “It’s not nothing to me, Heather,” I said stiffly.

Heather sighed and stood to her full, imposing height.. “Mikey, Mikey, Mikey,” she said, shaking her head. “Don’t you get it? You told me yourself on the first day of class, don’t you remember?”

“What?” I said, confused.

“You told me you weren’t anybody,” Heather explained in a condescending tone. “And you were right. You were a nobody in high school and you would have been a nobody in college, except for one thing.” Heather approached as she spoke, dripping with arrogance as she sashayed across the room. “You started dating me. You think I couldn’t have the captain of the football team? Or even seduce Mr. French? He is kind of cute. The point is I can have anyone, Mikey.” Heather loomed over me and I stepped back nervously. “You see this dress?” Heather bent over, presenting her fathomless trench of cleavage. “Kenny bought me this.” In spite of everything a surge of jealousy rose in my chest. “I was too big for anything off the shelf so he had to get it custom made,” Heather paused briefly for effect before saying,  “Fourteen. Hundred. Dollars.”

Holy shit, that was my food budget for the entire year. “Good for Kenny,” I retorted. “What else did it cost him, fourteen inches?”

Heather laughed and her tits jiggled provocatively. “Kenny hasn’t changed. He bored me in high school and he bores me now. Not like you, Mikey.”

“Oh now I have value? Weren’t you just telling me what a nobody I am?”

“Socially speaking, you don’t matter. Don’t bother getting offended, you know it’s true. Even with a college education you can’t get anywhere in this world without knowing the right people. People like me, Mikey. Money, fame, even talent, I can get anything and anyone I want,“ Heather declared confidently. And she was right. That was the probably the most irritating part of her self-absorbed diatribe; she really could get anything she wanted. Whatever was unattainable through beauty alone she could simply steal with magic. It seemed horribly unfair but also begged the question…

“Then why do you want me?”

Heather stood up straight, and I was chagrined to find I could no longer see her eyes because of the overabundant shelf of her bust. Looking up at the underside of her breasts hardly bolstered my confidence. “The only boys brave enough to ask me out are obsessed with impressing me,” Heather began. “You’re different. You understood on that first day at class how insignificant you are.”

“We’re all just dust drifting through the cosmos,” I said, summoning my last line of defense; humor. I hoped she took it black.

Heather ignored my comment and said ,“I need someone who will do anything to make me happy,”

DId her arrogance have no limit? “You think I’m going to suffer for a lifetime so you can have a few laughs, Heather? You’re out of your mind.”

Heather turned to face the window, presenting her profile. Anger and lust waged war in my heart- I wish I knew which was winning. She was beyond compare in beauty and sensuality, but I feared her heart was blacker than a starless sky. After a long silence Heather said, “It doesn’t have to be forever.”

“Huh?”

“I could give you your size back.”

My entire body tensed expectantly. “Please-” I began.

“If,” Heather cut me off. “You agree to give me what I want.”

“What do you want?” I asked cautiously.

“A year.”

She wasn’t making any sense. “A year?”

Heather turned her head, and her eyes held mine,“Do what I want until the end of the school year and I’ll give you what you want.”

“You’ll give me back my size?”

“If that’s what you want.”

I weighed her words carefully for a moment then replied, “No.” Heather’s eyebrow arched in silent question and inwardly I breathed a sigh of relief. The hardest part was over. I continued, “How can I trust you, Heather? Why would I risk shrinking away into nothing on the slim chance that you would keep your word?”

Heather turned away. She stood watching leaves blow in the autumnal winds for a long time. The silence stretched until finally she said, “Even if I wanted to give you your size back now, I couldn’t.” Her resigned tone made me almost believe her. “That’s not how the spell works. The ward you put up is weak, I can feel it- it’s like a frayed knot barely holding together. If you get sick or injured or even let finals get under your skin you’ll start shrinking again.” Why was she telling me this? The certainty I’d felt moments before began to dissolve. “We could have been good together,” Heather said sadly. “I could have made getting smaller really, really amazing for you.”

Was Heather… crying?  

A solitary droplet sparkled on Heather’s flawless cheek. I was ready for seduction, pleading, petulant rage, and everything in-between. Making Heather Vance cry, however, was not something I was prepared for. I turned away and moved towards the door, unable to face her. Some part of me, in spite of everything, wanted to rush over and console Heather. But I had to stick to the plan.  “I need to use the restroom,” I said, and escaped into the hall.

I had to move fast. Walking quickly, I pushed the bathroom door open as I passed so that it would bang shut and help diffuse any suspicion. Then I raced down the stairs towards the darkroom. When I arrived, Crystal was hanging the first batch of photos on a line.

“We need to talk,” I said urgently.

“What’s wrong?” Crystal said.

“I finally understood your warning. I know what Heather is.” Crystal looked at me wide eyed for a long moment.

And burst into laughter.

I grabbed her by the shoulders, “This is serious Crystal!”

Crystal shook her head. “You don’t get it.”

“No, I’m telling you I do. I found help, I have a way to stop Heather.”

Crystal’s demeanor changed. “What? How? Who?”

“This guy on the internet gave me a spell, it prevents her from stealing my size.”

“Which guy? You can’t trust anyone Mike. You have no idea what you’ve gotten yourself into,” Crystal said. Not exactly the vote of confidence I had hoped for.

“Blood magic,” I replied.

Crystal shook her head again. “If you know that much did you stop to ask yourself why someone would know anything about the blackest art?”

I paused, suddenly uncertain. That couldn’t be right though, he had helped me. “His spell worked, even Heather admitted its working.”

Crystal looked down and spoke with heart-wrenching sadness, “With magic there is always a price, Mike. I wish you didn’t have to learn that the hard way, like I did. What was his name?”

“Does it matter? Let me use the ward on you, it can save you.”

“Nothing can save me. What I said before was just to scare you away. Give me the name.”

Why was she being so difficult? None of this made any sense. “It was Andy I think. Yeah, I’m sure it was Andy.”  Crystal appeared thoughtful for a moment and I added, “I didn’t get a last name.”

“Probably a fake name, or maybe someone overseas.” Crystal muttered to herself. “I know most of the witches stateside.”

“Heather could show up any minute. Please Crystal, just let me use the spell on you.”

Crystal looked me in the eyes and I could see the worry lining her bony features. Brushing a strand of flaxen hair aside she said, “Explain the ritual.” I spoke as quickly as I could, practically stumbling over my words in my rush to tell Crystal the details of the spell. She nodded along but as I went on her worried look didn’t fade. If anything, it intensified.

“You’ve been marked,” she said when I’d finished. “Whoever gave you that spell can find you.”

“That doesn’t mean he is bad,” I argued. “He said he wanted to help more but-” I suddenly remembered something else Andy had told me. “He mentioned his girlfriend. The way he said it made it seem like she knew a lot more than he did. Damn,” I said wracking my brain. “What was her name. Carly? No… Callie?”

“Caley? As in Kay Lee?” Crystal enunciated the name.

“Yeah! That was it. Do you know her?”

Crystal’s bony face drained of what little blood it had left. “Caley Prentice is a daughter of the Thirteenth House.”

“Is that supposed to mean something?” Before I could finish speaking Crystal began to frantically pack up pictures, ripping them from the line. “Hey wait, tell me what’s going on!” I I demanded. Outside the darkroom I could hear heavy footsteps approaching down the stairs. Heather was coming. “Damnit, Crystal we don’t have time for this!”

“Run, you idiot!” Crystal hissed shoving a stack of photos into my hands. “The Prentice House is cursed!” Spittle flew from her lips. Her eyes were half-crazed with fear.

I stumbled back, stunned by Crystal’s vehemence. “I don’t understand…”

“To exorcise a demon you summoned the devil herself!” Crystal screamed. She pushed past me and was nearly out the door when she collided into Heather, who scooped the tiny girl into her arms and cradled her protectively.

“Lillian,” Crystal sobbed. “She’ll come for us.” Wait, who the hell was Lillian?

“Shhhhh,” Heather whispered. “Shhhh, it’s okay. She doesn’t know where we are.”

Crystal was inconsolable, her body shaking with force of her cries. “She’ll find us,” she moaned.    

“I’ll send you away. Remember that house we found in the woods? You’ll be safe there.” Heather said, stroking Crystal’s hair.

“What about you?” Crystal managed between sobs.

“I’ll be okay. Mike is gonna take good care of me, aren’t you Mike?” Heather looked up and our eyes met. I could not begin to guess what she was thinking.

“Yeah. Of course.” I lied. At that moment it seemed like the right thing to say.

Heather turned away, still cradling Crystal to her bosom and walked off without another word.

I was left holding a half developed stack of photos and a fully developed sense of confusion. Crystal’s warning was just to scare me? Was Heather telling the truth about not shrinking her? Why was Crystal so afraid of Caley? Or was it Lillian? Maybe Crystal had a few screws loose...   

Whatever the case, tonight had made one thing clear: I knew almost nothing, and understood less.