Abi took their therapy sessions incredibly seriously. She had read the pamphlet a million times, whenever he came into her room she’d have a tab open with instructions to help new Guardians.

It was her dedication to her role, to making sure he was safe, that ultimately saved him.

The studies showed that the majority of Shrinkys that died in the home were killed by accident by those they lived with. A Guardian needed to be aware at all times, to take steps literally and figuratively to keep their Ward safe.

One such measure was to look down whenever you enter a room. Too many Shrinkys had died underfoot because their housemate or partner was distracted by their cell phone.

Her eyes widened as she saw him, matching the smile on his face as he leapt in place.

He was saved!

‘Oh fuck,’ she said, startled. The ground shook beneath her weight as she stepped backwards. ‘Oh wow, shit, man you’re small.’

He laughed at the absurdity of it, his new position seemingly absolving him of his previous night’s ‘crimes’. ‘Yeah, well I did say!’ he shouted up at her, unsure if she could even hear him clearly. He threw his hands up in exasperation.

She echoed his laugh, ‘Yeah, shit I mean I knew you were going to be small but dude, you are tiny. Let me look at you.’

A cold knot of fear swept over him as she crouched and reached out her hand. Her fingers were everywhere, a web that spread through the sky to close down upon him. He suppressed a yelp of fear as he was knocked roughly against the soft, warm skin of her hand.

Darkness engulfed him as she held him in her fist, the G force causing his stomach to flip. The feeling was so surreal, he had to stop himself screaming with madness. All around him was a prison of female flesh, a living creature large enough to hold him in her hand. He was pale and trembling by the time the light fell upon him.

He face filled his vision, her dark eyes pouring over him. That sweet smile was everywhere, her pink lips pulled into an innocent smirk. Even expanded to such monstrous size her bookish beauty was breath taking.

‘Um hi’ he said, standing uneasily on her palm.

‘Hi,’ she replied, ‘Sorry, I’m just, wow, you really are smaller than I was expecting.’

‘That going to be a problem?’ he asked, trying to remain calm and casual.

‘No, no,’ she assured him, her eyes never leaving him. She walked back into her room, closing the door behind her, ‘Not at all, I can work with this, no problem. I just need to think.’

She crossed the room quickly, cradling him in her hand. With a smooth motion, she lowered him to the top of her dressing table and deposited him in front of a mound of make-up brushes, jars and bottles. He stood, blinking with wonder at the mundane items blown up to such crazy proportions. A mirror rose above him though he was too short to see his reflection.

Abi’s mattress squeaked as she sat upon it. She flipped open her laptop and began to type. She had a file on what to do on day one, day two etc.

‘Find anything good?’ he shouted, cupping his hands to carry the sound, ‘Don’t tell me, I’m one of the lucky ones and this only lasts an hour?’

She chuckled at his joke, ‘I can check but I wouldn’t count on it dude. You’d be the first for sure.’

‘Bummer,’ he groaned theatrically, ‘so what does it say?’

‘No idea,’ she beamed, enjoying the joviality, ‘I’m just updating my Guardian profile.’

‘Glad to see you’ve got your priorities in order!’ he called back. He waited while she typed, the light from her screen illuminating her slender frame. She sat cross legged, a strand of hair tucked behind her ear. Her glasses sat on her nose, reflecting back the white rectangle of the computer screen.

‘And done,’ she smiled, ‘Open for Business again. Now, let’s get you sorted out.’

Open for business seemed an odd thing to say.

He pondered on it before speaking up, ‘Moving on already?’ He tried to sound cool and relaxed though was hurt that she would immediately take on another Ward even before they had come to terms with what had happened here. He was her first, he thought it might be special. Maybe he was just being stupid.

‘Or are you trying to find me a friend?’

Abi smiled back at him, ‘The more the merrier, no? You never know who is scrolling through, I don’t want to miss someone, do I?’

He replied with a shrug, watching as she bent over to take something out of her drawer. It was a camera, one of those SLR digitals. Abi swept up to him, dropping the camera to his right. Its weight sent a rumble through the wooden desk top causing him to stagger as she dropped heavily into her swivel chair. It creaked beneath her weight.

‘So,’ she began in her sing song voice, ‘first things first, let’s get a picture of you.’

For the first time, it dawned on him how completely naked he was. Nervously he covered himself with his hands, raising a giggle from the massive woman above him. ‘Err ok, could I have some pants first?’

They had purchased a grab bag for new Shrinkys though he struggled to remember if it contained pants small enough to fit him.

‘Aww, why so shy all of a sudden? Don’t worry, I’m not judging you. We just need to get a picture for your profile. Trust me, this is all normal. Everyone does it naked, it’s part of the process.’

‘Profile?’ he asked. He admitted that recently Abi had done a lot more research than he had managed, though Sofia was to blame for some of that. Had he heard of this before, it seemed familiar. The Agency matched Guardians and Wards, did they track this data? It seemed likely that they would.

She had opened another drawer as he thought on this and pulled out a white backdrop. It was a simple construction of card folded three times to stand behind him. In the middle there was a measuring bar. It was this part she asked him to stand beside. For the profile, she insisted again.

‘Are you sure I have to do this naked?’ he asked, raising an eyebrow, ‘I’m not going to lie, it seems a bit suspicious.’

‘Trust me,’ she replied earnestly, ‘it’s what everyone has to do. You need a front, a back and a side image next to the measure and you need to be naked for it. People need to see clearly how tall you are and that you’re healthy.’

‘People?’ he asked, his voice quivering before breaking into a shout, ‘What people? What the fuck is this, what’s going on?’

‘Calm down dude,’ she shushed him, ‘I promise you, this is all part of it. Everyone that shrinks goes through this, it’s normal to be scared or confused. Fuck, I know if I was going through what you’re going through I’d be shitting myself. Just relax and we can get it over with, ok?’

‘I don’t understand,’ he stammered. She was right, he was genuinely afraid. How had he missed this step, had they told him, was it in one of the pamphlets? He felt stupid, as though his brain still hadn’t adjusted. Abi smiled down at him, calm and collected. She told him to trust her, did he have any other choice? ‘I don’t understand,’ he repeated, ‘what people, the Agency?’

‘It’s ok,’ she said soothingly, ‘it’s a lot to take in. Just relax and we’ll get this over and done with then you can rest.’

He moved almost automatically, obeying her direction. The camera flashed, blinding him three times.

‘Perfect, good job,’ she cooed, ‘nice and easy. Sometimes it takes ages to get the right picture but you’re a natural. I’ll show you the pictures later if you like, they’re really clear, I’m sure you’ll get picked in no time even if you’re on the small side.’

She grinned down at him, ‘you had me worried for a second when I saw you, I thought you’d get chucked in with a multi pack but no, you’re just big enough to go out solo.’

Picked, multi pack, solo? ‘What the fuck are you talking about?’ he yelled up at her, his mind racing, ‘What the fuck is going on?’

Abi sighed, taking the screen away before looking down at him. Disappointment dwelled on her gentle features.

‘Still got some fight in you huh? That’s not too bad, some people like that, I’ll put ‘strong minded’ on your bio. You always get someone looking for a Shrinky that needs breaking. In fact, I don’t think we have many like you at the moment, Sofia normally finds a way to break our newbies before sale, she’s getting really good.

What did you think to the whole, ‘me walking in on you two’ thing? She told me about it the day before and I thought it was so funny I just couldn’t resist. Still, I hadn’t expected you to shrink quite so soon after. We’d figure you’d need another week before she got to you.’

Abi looked at the images again, ‘She still might yet, I think you’ll sell pretty well but if not I bet she’ll have space for you in one of her videos.’

‘You’re going to sell me?’ he cried, rage and fear catching in his throat, ‘but you can’t do this! You’re a Guardian, the Agency, they vetted you, this can’t happen.’

She laughed as though he was joking, ‘The Agency don’t give a fuck. They do one home visit once then take 10% of the transferral fee. Surely you can’t be surprised that they fell for my sweet as pie routine, you certainly did.’

He stood opened mouthed, his heart beating through his chest.

‘After that,’ she continued, ’they just trust us to do our jobs. Don’t get me wrong I bet most of the other Guardians do a great job but that’s not my style. There’s loads of money to be made selling you guys to bored housewives, spoiled teens, for crazy sorority parties. You wouldn’t believe how much of my client base is women, it’s like 90%. I guess for men it’s just too close to home since they make up what 70% of the afflicted?’

‘But your ad, you said this was your first time?’ he stammered, ‘You said you cared about people like me?’

‘Yeah,’ Abi chuckled patronisingly at him, ‘that was a lie, obviously dumbass. You’re like my sixteenth one this year, probably more if you count the micro Shrinkys that go into the packs of five. How do you think Sofia and I pay for this house?

I lure the afflicted in, wait until they’re about to shrink then agree to be their Guardian. Sofia works them over, gets to know them, gets into their mind and ensures they stick around. Once it happens, poof, I collect them and put them for sale on my website. You get two months, maybe three to sell at your size. Usually everyone sells but if not Sofia runs one of those fetish cam girl profiles where they torture and crush tiny people for money. Either way we get income so it’s all good.

Don’t worry though, as I said, I’m sure you’ll sell so maybe your new owner will want to keep you as a pet?’

She frowned at him, ‘Though if I’m being honest you are a bit small for that. Usually the three to six inch guys get the pet gigs and your lot get the ‘entertainment’ purchases. Still, who knows, maybe you’ll get lucky?’

Abi produced a glass jar and unscrewed the lid. ‘Anyway, I am going to get to work finding a new Ward, I’ll let you know when you sell.’

She dropped the jar onto its side, ‘Get in.’

‘No,’ he shouted, ‘no way, you fucking bitch, you can’t fucking do this! You-‘

The impact of her fist on the desktop silenced him. It knocked him from his feet, leaving him on his knees when she spoke down at him. The warmth had left her eyes, replaced by sheer dominance.

‘Listen dude, sorry to break this to you but I’ve already made my money. At your size, you aren’t a big ticket item for me but that’s the risk I take. Even if you don’t sell, I’m just shy of three grand up. Now either get into this fucking jar or I’ll crush you right here, right now. Is that what you want?’

She moved her thumb towards him, causing him to scuttle backwards, squeaking with fear, ‘Seriously, I don’t need this shit from you so you can either behave or die, I don’t care which one. I’m going to count to three then take that choice from you, ok?’

He had already scrambled over the glass threshold before she made it to ‘two’.

She tipped the jar vertically, sending him crashing into its base. There was a sound above him as the cap was screwed into place, the light shining like stars through the pin pricked breathing holes.

He sat helpless as she crossed the room and took out an engraved key. He could only watch as she inserted it into the lock and turned. The closet door opened wide, revealing rows of shelving. Each shelf was crammed full of similar glass jars, each varying in size. In every one cowered a shrunken person.

There was a buzz of fear as she beamed into the space, twenty or more voices gasping with surprise at the return of their massive captor.

Abi pushed the jar containing her newest acquisition into place between two others. To his left a woman five times his height sat with her knees tucked up to her chest. She was battered and bruised and sobbed quietly. To his left an older man, twice his height bristled as Abi smiled down at them.

‘Hi everyone, we have a new addition to the team. Please make him feel welcome. I’ll be back later to clean you out and bring food.’

Her hands gripped the huge door as she prepared to lock them away, ‘Laters.’

‘No, Abi, please, wait!’ he cried, one last ditch attempt.

She groaned, ‘What now? I’ve got shit to do little guy.’

He paused for half a heartbeat, ‘Please, you can’t do this, your brother, remember what happened to your brother. Please I’m begging you, don’t make the same mistakes. Don’t do to us what happened to him, it won’t fix it, it won’t bring him back. Please, think about what you’re doing, have mercy.’

Abi snorted with laughter, ‘My brother? Who the fuck do you think my first sale was? I got the bug from him. Yeah, try better next time.’

With that she closed the door, sealing them in darkness. He could still hear her laughter on the other side as she walked away, the sound fading until only the whimpers and sobs of his fellow captives remained.

He sat down on the cold glass, his head in his hands. This wasn’t possible, this couldn’t be happening.

He was now property of Abi, twenty, from Colorado.