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

2003.02.27
16:30:12

How do I feel? Look at me! I'm two inches tall, for Christ's sake!

Sometimes I can put it out of my mind. For a brief, blissful moment, I can forget about everything that's happened over the past year. But then, reality intrudes and I'm reminded that I'm doomed to spend the rest of my life the size of a plastic [EXPLETIVE DELETED] army man.

That's how it was when we were Carolyn's prisoners. I mean at first, before the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] hit the fan. She kept us in a dollhouse--this plastic, three-storied monstrosity that was scaled just a little too big for us to be comfortable. But after a while, you could put the fact that it was a dollhouse out of your mind. You could forget that the pictures were actually painted on the wall, frame and all. You could lay there on the oversized plastic couch, staring at the grandfather clock with its sticker face that always said ten after one, and you could pretend that your life was still normal. Then you'd hear the thudding footsteps from outside and feel the house shake slightly. You'd screw your eyes shut and try to hold onto that normal feeling just a little bit longer. Everything in the house would shake as it was moved away from the wall, and you'd find yourself staring at a bare foot the size of a Citibus...

God, there are some things I just don't want to [EXPLETIVE DELETED] remember. But the indignities we suffered at the hands of Carolyn won't stay buried. She didn't just imprison us, she methodically crushed our spirit and our will to resist until we were no longer prisoners, but pets. I wish I could say that my mind was too strong for her games, that I only played along with her until I could make my escape, but it wouldn't be true. She broke us, poor Eddie most of all. He was out of his mind by the time she killed him.

Okay. From the beginning...

***

Julie was the one who got me the job with Eddie. I knew her back in 2000, before you guys recruited her. She was a graduate student at SMU, teaching classes for Dr. Brauva. I was a sophomore, struggling through my computer science courses. It was obvious I wasn't cut out to be a computer scientist, but my trust fund stipulated that I had to major in either business or engineering. With the benefit of hindsight, I should have just sucked it up, gotten a job and transferred to a less expensive college. I'd be a poverty stricken English major today, but at least I'd still have a life outside this [EXPLETIVE DELETED] lab...

I'm sorry. I guess I shouldn't complain. The room is very nice, and you guys have been very accommodating. I just miss my friends and family...

Anyway, I have to admit that I was pretty smitten with Julie. She wasn't bombshell gorgeous, but she was smart and funny and pretty in a fragile, gamin kind of way. And after I scored horrendously low on my first Digital Logic exam, she kind of took my under her wing. Under her gentle tutelage, I raised my paltry F to a respectable C+.

In May 2001, Julie graduated with her M.S. in Computer Engineering. She had gone off the board with her thesis and concentrated on Biometrics. I'm still not sure I understand just what the hell her thesis was about, but it attracted a number of recruiters from all over the country. Including you guys. Of course it was no contest.

So Julie went off to GenetiTech. We vowed to stay in touch, and actually did to some extent. We talked on the phone a couple of times a month, and she even popped in to have dinner with me occasionally when she was on her way home to visit her parents. It was during one of these dinners that she told me about the job with Eddie MacManus.

"He's a freelancer," she explained around a mouthful of burger. "Lives in a farmhouse outside of Midland with his wife and his dog. Comes across like an utter hick, but I'm telling you he's the most brilliant man I've ever met."

"What's the job?" I asked, wondering why a super-genius living in proximity of a think-tank like GenetiTech would be interested in recruiting a B- college student.

"Ergonomic enhancements," she said. "Interface work. Maybe some documentation. I can't be any more specific than that."

"How come?" I asked. "Top secret stuff?"

She blushed a little bit. "Well, Eddie's very secretive. He doesn't trust the other developers at GenetiTech, and he doesn't trust management. Hell, he barely trusts me, and I've been his liaison for the past six months."

"So why does GenetiTech put up with him?"

"Because he gets results, Dave. This guy can take a piece of abandoned technology and do things with it nobody ever imagined. About two years ago, he started working on a project that had been shut down in '95. GenetiTech just packed up the necessary equipment and delivered it to his home lab, and he's been working in relative seclusion. Since I seemed to get along with him better than anybody else on the staff, they made me his liaison. So I check in on him every week or so to see if he needs anything, but I don't have a clue what he's doing."

"So, why me?" I asked. "Why not one of the interns at GenetiTech?"

"I told you, he doesn't trust them," she said. "He doesn't want them 'spying' on him. He asked me if I knew anybody 'untainted by the corporate machine,' and I told him I might." Julie grinned. "So, what do you say? We're talking $10,000 for two months employment, plus free room and board."

"Room and board? Really?"

She nodded. "Eddie wants you staying with him and Carolyn, where us 'evil corporate types' can't get to you. But it won't be so bad. It's a beautiful old house. And Carolyn is a wonderful cook."

Two months in seclusion seemed a small price to pay. The money was good, and I would be able to list GenetiTech on my r‚sum‚. I mulled it over for a few seconds, then grinned back at Julie. "When do I start?"

***

On June 16 of last year, I drove the 325 miles from Dallas to the thriving community of Midland, Texas, population 95,000 (SALUTE!). I followed her directions and had no trouble finding the GenetiTech complex. Very impressive, like an island of glass and steel in the midst of the meadowlands. The security guard called Julie, then waved me through. She was waiting for me in the circular drive in front of the main building.

I followed Julie (who was now driving a BMW 3... nice!) out to Eddie's place. I understood now why she had agreed to meet me and lead me there, rather than just give me directions. I would have never seen that driveway off of Highway 349 if she hadn't made the turn first. Nothing but an old, rusty mailbox to mark it amidst the high grass and metal fence.

The driveway, such as it was, meandered through the woods, occasionally lapsing from blacktop to dirt, then back again. The pavement was cracked by tree roots and weather. Her car had no trouble with the bumps, but the springs on my little Fiat convertible groaned painfully with each bounce. We went over two cattle guards (despite the cattle guards and the fence, I don't think I ever saw a cow on that property) and finally came out in a clearing. It was a small patch of civilization in the rustic wilderness. The heavy woods suddenly gave way to a well manicured lawn and a beautiful house of brick and wood. The rough pavement became smooth concrete as we pulled up into the driveway. There was an immaculate red Saturn in the garage. A battered green pickup was parked to the side.

I noticed Julie's professional business attire for the first time as we walked to the front door. I was suddenly self-conscious in my untucked bowling shirt and jeans. I asked Julie if I was underdressed, and she just laughed. "Eddie doesn't trust anybody that wears a suit."

Eddie answered the door, and I must admit that all of my mad scientist preconceptions were dashed. He was in his mid-forties, with a black pompadour and sideburns that almost made him look like Elvis. He was wearing a wrinkled flannel shirt over a t-shirt, jeans and boots. He smelled faintly of beer and Aqua Velva. His face broke into an easy grin when he saw us.

"Hiya Julie," he said, stepping back to let us in. "Is this my new lab partner?"

"This is Dave Goldman," she said. "And he's going to help you out for the next couple of months on your super-secret project." She said the last part very melodramatically, and I got the feeling that it was a running joke between her and Eddie.

"Eddie MacManus," Eddie said in his pleasant drawl, shaking my hand.

"It's good to meet you, Mr. MacManus."

"Please," he said, winking. "Call me sir."

We followed him into the living room, where the TV was on but muted. I sat next to Julie on the couch, and Eddie fell back into his recliner.

"Where's Carolyn?" Julie asked.

"Out in her garden," he said. "We're getting some beautiful tomatoes and sweet corn this year."

I turned and glanced out the sliding glass door and saw a woman in the distance, crouched on a railroad tie and plucking weeds. A large, red Irish setter bounded back and forth, stopping occasionally to bark.

"I filled Dave in as best I could on your project," Julie was saying, "but you'll have to give him the details yourself."

"Well hell, I know that," Eddie said. "But we both know that's not gonna happen while you're here."

"Fine Eddie," Julie said. "You can share all of your secrets with Dave as soon as I leave."

"Not too soon, I hope. Carolyn's counting on you staying for supper."

***

We were chatting with Eddie about college football when Carolyn came in from her garden. It's hard now for me to remember her as she was then, but I do recall thinking there was something quite striking about her. She was petite and very tan. Her hair was dark and short, matted down with sweat where she had worn her straw hat. Her legs and feet were grimy from her work in the garden, but still quite shapely. It was hard to tell her age, but I would have guessed mid-thirties.

I suddenly realized that I had been staring at her sandaled feet just a little too long. I glanced up guiltily and flushed when she met my gaze and smiled.

"You must be Dave," she said. "I'm sorry I'm such a mess, but I really didn't expect you until later tonight."

"Oh," I said, shifting uncomfortably. "I mean, I didn't mean to inconvenience you..."

"Don't be silly," she said. "I'm going to go shower, and then I'll start dinner." She looked at Julie, her smile still firmly in place. "You're staying for dinner, aren't you sweetheart?"

"I'd love to," Julie said. She held Carolyn's stare for several seconds, before finally looking away.

"Wonderful," Carolyn said, walking past us and up the stairs. "The more, the merrier."

***

Julie helped me carry my suitcases up to my room. It was a guest room, decorated with nice, but mismatched furniture. We tossed the cases on the large oak bed, and I poked around a little. The dresser was empty, but the closet was full of quilts and towels.

"So, what was that?" I asked Julie. "Is Carolyn pissed at you about something?"

Julie shrugged. "Not that I know of, but that was kind of weird. Maybe she and Eddie have been fighting."

I got a bad feeling. "Do they fight a lot?"

She shrugged. "I don't think so. I've only seen them go at it a couple of times, but..." She trailed off, then whistled. "This was before my time, but I remember a couple of people at work talking about the time Eddie brought Carolyn to the Christmas party. I think this was back in the mid '90s. But they said that Carolyn just got drunker and drunker as the evening went on, and Eddie was mortified. He tried to quietly get her out of there, and she tore into him as loud as she could. She accused him of sleeping with everybody from Rachel Foster to Anne in Payroll. Anyway, they say that's why Eddie never goes to company parties anymore."

Julie must have seen the worried look on my face, because she reached over and took my hand. "Don't worry about it, Dave. It's just a story. I've been coming here for six months, and I've only seen them exchange a cross word maybe once or twice. Besides," she added, grinning, "she really seems to like you."

I found out just how much Carolyn liked me during dinner...

***

There was enough food for an army. Fried chicken, potato salad, turnip greens, and corn on the cob fresh from Carolyn's garden. She had also sliced some tomatoes and onions and set them out. The tea was too sweet, but I sipped it politely as I munched on a wing.

Eddie and Julie sat to either side of me, and Carolyn sat straight across. Every time I glanced in her direction, she seemed to be watching me, smiling this little smile. I came to know that predatory smile intimately during the months we spent as Carolyn's prisoners... pets... playthings... but at the time, it just seemed sort of playful. Every time I passed her something, her fingers would brush against my hand. I told myself I was just imagining things.

"I was telling Dave how much GenetiTech values your ability to think outside the box," Julie said, tearing the meat from her piece of chicken with a fork.

"Outside the box?" Eddie said, then laughed. "I think outside the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] room they keep the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] box in!"

"Nice language, honey," Carolyn said, winking at me. "We've got company, remember?"

"Aw, hell. He's gonna be around a couple of months. He better get used to it. Right, partner?" The last was addressed to me.

"Abso-[EXPLETIVE DELETED]-lutely," I said, grinning. Eddie laughed out loud.

"Boys," Carolyn muttered, still smiling at me as she shook her head. I felt her foot brush up against my leg, and I shifted back, hoping it had been an accident.

"I'm dying to see what you've done with Reynold's old project," Julie said. "He was so close to succeeding, I hear he actually broke down and cried when they pulled funding."

"Not hardly," Eddie said, shoveling a forkful of greens into his mouth. "Reynold lucked into that project. Greg Garret was the real brains behind Project Scotty, and when he died, you guys lost any chance of making it work."

"Project Scotty?" I asked.

"As in 'Beam me up, Scotty,'" Julie said. "Garret and Reynold were working on matter/energy conversion."

"Holy crap!"

"Reynold wasn't working on [EXPLETIVE DELETED]," Eddie snapped. "Reynold is a hack who remains employed only because of his prodigious ability to kiss ass. Garret WAS the project, and when he died, Scotty died with him."

"Are you sure?" Julie asked, arching an eyebrow.

Eddie grinned. "You're not getting a word out of me about it."

"The problem, Dave," Julie said, "was reassembly. Garret got the first part of the equation down, and actually demonstrated by zapping some crates and storing them on his hard drive as a sequence of data. Of course, it was all pretty academic, since he couldn't convert the stored data back into matter."

"It was only a matter of time," Eddie said. "The problem was that the energy use was prohibitive. You couldn't reconstruct without pumping an ungodly amount of energy into the signal. And you couldn't pump that much energy into the signal without breaking it up. Sort of a Catch-22."

"Still," I said, astounded by the prospects. "The ability to disintegrate the target. Imagine the military applications..."

"We really shouldn't discuss that," Julie said.

"Oh, don't worry about me," Carolyn said. "I don't have a clue what you're talking about."

I felt her foot again. This time it deliberately slid up my leg and came to rest in my lap. I squirmed uncomfortably, trying not to draw too much attention to myself.

"Carolyn's got security clearance," Eddie said, laughing. "They investigated her and made her sign an NDA back in '92, when they built my lab. Not that it matters... she couldn't care less about what I'm working on."

Carolyn pressed against my groin with her toes, and I gasped at the sudden tightness. I reached down, as if going for my napkin, and tried to push her foot away. Her toes grasped playfully at my fingers.

"I know you're a damn genius," Carolyn said. "I don't have to hear you talk about it every day."

I bit my lip to keep from moaning as Carolyn's foot mercilessly kneaded my erection. Eddie and Julie were still talking shop, but all I could hear was my heart pounding in my ears. Carolyn licked her lips, then took a sip of tea, her eyes on me the entire time. The pressure built, my heart pounded, my face burned...

And then, release. A spasm of relief and, despite my efforts to the contrary, I must have moaned softly.

"You okay there, Dave?" Eddie asked. Both he and Julie were watching me intently.

"Uh, yeah," I stammered. "The chicken is just, um, really good."

"Thank you, sweetie," Carolyn said as she stroked my leg with her foot one last time.

"No," I said, blushing as I looked at her. "Thank you."

***

I guess I should tell you now what it took me a couple of weeks to figure out. Carolyn wasn't exactly playing with a full deck. Her slinky was a bit kinked...

She was as [EXPLETIVE DELETED] up as a football bat.

The thing is, somewhere along the way, Carolyn had become convinced that Eddie and Julie were sleeping together. And based on the story Julie had told me about the Christmas party, I can only assume this was pretty standard behavior on her part.

And the sick part of it was, Eddie knew this. He knew how she felt about Julie. But he also knew that the only time Carolyn paid any attention to him was when she thought he was cuckolding her, so he did nothing to dissuade her. He simply feigned ignorance and basked in Carolyn's jealous attentions.

And so this game had gone for years... Julie was simply the latest unwitting player. But this time, Carolyn had decided to try a different tact. She was going to teach Eddie a lesson.

By seducing me.

***

As I mentioned, I knew nothing of this at the time. I was both confused and excited by the ferocity of Carolyn's flirtation. And I was hoping she would say something--anything--to me to explain just what had happened between us. Because I honestly had no idea how I was supposed to react.

After Julie left, Eddie asked me if I would like to see the lab.

"Sure," I said, glancing at the mess on the dinner table. Carolyn sat there, smoking a cigarette and sipping her iced tea. "Uh, can I help you with these dishes?" I asked her, my voice on the edge of breaking. I felt awkward and nervous.

Carolyn smiled at me as she tipped her ashes into the ashtray. "That's okay, sweetie," she said. "You boys go talk science or whatever. Don't worry about the kitchen."

I glanced down and saw her run her bare foot along the table leg. I looked back at her and blushed when she winked at me.

"Yeah, that's women's work," Eddie said, half kidding. "Let's go."

I followed Eddie through the living room and past the stairs, to a closed door at the end of the hall. It was a white wooden door, just like every other door in the house, except for the numeric keypad on the doorjamb.

"That's an awful lot of security for just a wooden door," I said as Eddie nimbly punched the keypad. The door unlocked with an incredible metallic snick, and Eddie pushed it open.

"The door is solid steel," Eddie said. "They just put the wood on that side so it would match the rest of the house."

Again, any mad scientist preconceptions I had about Eddie were dashed the moment I entered his lab. I suppose I had expected to see wild machinery and Tesla coils... test tubes and brains in jars... I don't know.

It looked like the workshop my dad had kept in the garage. There were a couple of workbenches against two of the walls, and stacks of uncovered PCs and electronic components on shelves against the third wall. There was a blackboard next to the shelves, covered with Eddie's indecipherable scrawl. Some messy schematics were tacked to the wall above one of the benches. And oddly enough, there was a jagged hole in the carpet right in the center of the room.

A portion of the workbench had been cleared and somewhat organized. On it sat a bulky computer, a network server that had been gutted and retooled. Some holes had been cut in its casing to accommodate the additional components. Some of these components looked slapped together, with pieces of circuit board exposed and wires messily soldered in place. Several of these wires were connected to a large, camera-shaped device that rested in a customized docking station. The "camera" had been heavily modified as well, and was held together by several pieces of electrical tape.

"It's... really interesting looking," I said lamely, unable to even imagine what function the thing served. It was difficult to imagine that this clunky contraption was the same sophisticated piece of equipment that Eddie and Julie had been discussing at dinner.

The door slammed shut behind us. I turned and was startled to see the smile had faded from Eddie's face.

"Let's get something straight," he said, without a trace of the former humor in his voice. "I work for GenetiTech, but I don't trust them. Too much politicking and too many cliques for my tastes. Especially with people like Reynold heading up the projects. You know what I mean?"

"I... guess so," I answered, not sure if I did.

"And despite what our friend Julie might have told you, I do trust her. If I were dealing with her exclusively, I would have no problem keeping her apprised. But I know how things work at GenetiTech, and I don't want to put her in a position of having to choose between me and them. So I don't tell her anything."

I nodded. "Right."

"Unfortunately, you're not going to have that luxury. If you're going to work with me on this, you're going to have to understand just what it is we're doing. And I'm going to have to ask you to say nothing about it to Julie. Again, not because I don't trust her, but because I don't want to put her in a bad position with GenetiTech. Understand?"

"Totally." I was a little moved by this earnest outpouring from Eddie, and I wondered if Julie had any idea just how highly he thought of her.

"Okay, then," he said, and the grin returned to his face. "I guess a demonstration is in order."

"A demonstration? Really?" I was thrilled by the prospect, and I think Eddie was excited to finally be able to show his brainchild to someone.

"Always show, then tell," Eddie said as he rummaged around on the shelves. He pulled down an old monochrome monitor and sat it down on the floor, right in the center of the hole in the carpet. "You can shut the skeptics up a lot easier that way."

Eddie crossed over to the machine on his workbench. He flicked the switch on the power strip and the computer whirred to life with an ungodly roar.

"Had to totally rework the power supply," Eddie said loudly to make himself heard. "If we were in the city, just turning this thing on would probably dim the neighbors' lights."

The computer ran through its opening diagnostics, then finally brought up a screen of streaming text. Eddie watched it for a few seconds, then reached over and flipped a switch on the camera. It beeped twice as an LED on the front switched from red to green.

"Okay, first we scan it," Eddie said. He tapped the keyboard, and red light shot from the camera, bathing the monitor in a web-like pattern. The pattern spilled over onto the floor, and Eddie hit a couple of keys. The red grid of light receded. Eddie continued pressing keys, expanding and contracting the grid until it covered the monitor exactly.

"It took me a few tries to figure this part out," Eddie said. "The first time, I got part of the carpet by mistake."

The text on the monitor scrolled up at a blazing speed. Eddie's eyes darted as he watched it stream by. "And here we go... now!"

Eddie punched another key, and a blinding white light flashed from the camera. I blinked my eyes rapidly, trying to disperse the temporary blindness, eager to see what had happened.

The monitor was gone! And in its place was...

"Wait a minute," I muttered, stumbling over to the bare spot in the carpet. Resting in the center where the monitor had been was a tiny replica, exact in every detail. I picked it up and stared in amazement at the tiny buttons and the small CRT. Even the video cable dangled from the back.

"Is this..."

"Yep," Eddie said, quite pleased with himself. "It's like Julie said. The problem with reconstruction was the amount of energy required. So I figured out just how much energy we could pump through the signal without distorting it, and adjusted proportionally. That proportion, as it turns out, is somewhere around point-oh-two-seven."

I stared at Eddie, gaping with astonishment. "It's a shrink ray! You've invented a shrink ray!"

He looked pained. "It's a matter proportioning matrix, okay? It's not a [EXPLETIVE DELETED] 'shrink ray.'"

"This is incredible!" I blathered on, oblivious. "I mean, Jesus! This is like some kind of human destiny milestone! Like inventing the airplane, or discovering the wheel! Or penicillin! You're going to be famous!"

"I hope so," Eddie said. "If I can keep Reynold and his toadies from getting the credit. As soon as I unveil this thing, they're going to start claiming they were in on its development from the beginning."

"So, that's why you're so secretive about it?"

Eddie nodded. "You're damned right. When it's time to go public, I'll bypass the usual development model bull[EXPLETIVE DELETED] and get Julie to set up a meeting with the board of directors and the old man himself."

I could barely pay attention to what he was saying, because I had suddenly realized that I might be famous too, as Eddie MacManus's lab assistant. Any contribution I could make to this invention would secure me a place in history. My head was swimming with the possibilities.

"So, when are you planning on unveiling it?" I asked him.

"Not for a while," Eddie sighed. "I still haven't figured out how to return something to its original size. I'm running into the signal degradation problem that Garret was having."

"But still," I said, pointing at the thing. "It's incredible, Eddie!"

"It still needs some work. But that's where you come in." Eddie walked over and shut the machine down. "We'll get you started bright and early tomorrow morning."

***

I was in bed, reading a dog-eared Clancy paperback, when I heard a soft knock at the bedroom door. I didn't even have time to answer before the door swung open and Carolyn poked her head in.

"Just wanted to make sure you were all settled in, sweetie," she said, walking in. She was wearing a short pink robe that barely came down to mid-thigh.

"I'm fine, Carolyn," I answered a little nervously as she slowly approached. What in the hell would I do if she just got into bed with me?

She walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed. Her robe hung loosely, offering tantalizing and teasing hints of her breasts underneath. She brought her long, tan leg up on the bed and rested her foot next to my elbow. "You like my pretty feet, don't you?" she cooed. I stared at the wrinkled sole of her foot and at her long, elegant toes as they wiggled seductively.

My throat was dry when I croaked, "Yes, ma'am."

That predatory smile was back on her face as she slid her leg back down and stood up. She leaned in close, and I could smell the wine and cigarettes on her breath.

"If you're a good boy," she whispered, "maybe I'll let you paint my toenails for me."

She left my room, winking at me over her shoulder as she went out the door. She closed it softly behind her, leaving me to my own impure thoughts.

***

A fetish? I guess so, although I never really thought of it like that. To me, it was always like I had a crossed wire in my head. Bad conditioning. You know, like Pavlov's dogs? He'd ring a bell when he fed them, so eventually they'd start salivating when they heard a bell ring.

When I was in high school, I had a girlfriend named Cheri who was partial to foot rubs. I mean, she loved them! I have this memory of sitting on the couch, watching a movie with her. Her feet are in my lap and I'm massaging them. Cheri moans softly and begins flexing her toes. While I'm rubbing one foot, she slides her other foot up and presses her sole to my cheek. I feel her toes rub at my sideburn and then grasp playfully at my ear. I bring her other foot up and touch my lips to her toes, and she gasps. I kiss her foot, her ankle, and work my way up her leg, and her moans grow more and more excited. By the time I reach her inner thigh, she's...

Well, I'm sure you can guess where it all led. But the point is that it became a ritual with us. And somewhere along the way, my wires got crossed. Feet... toes...

It could have been worse. Thank God it wasn't farm animals or anything like that.

***

The first two weeks passed with almost no incident, other than the occasional flirtation from Carolyn. I spent most of my time in the lab, trying to worm my way through lines and lines of spaghetti code. Garret might have been a genius, but he wasn't the most organized programmer. And on top of that, Reynold had gone through adding hundreds and hundreds of comments that served no purpose other than getting his name in the program.

Eddie had made a few modifications as well, but his programming knowledge was pretty basic. Which explained all that horrible streaming text on the monitor.

My first task was to incorporate something known as a "border circuit" into the process. The way Eddie had things set up, he had to meticulously adjust the scanning matrix so that only the target was shrunk. He had miscalculated once, early on, and accidentally shrunk a piece of the carpet along with the target.

The border circuit was a five-foot square sheet of plastic provided by GenetiTech. It had thin wires running along the edges and woven through the center like a web. And its function was to provide a reference point to the scanning process. In theory, the item to be shrunk could be placed on the plastic sheet, and the scanning and shrinking process would stop as soon as it encountered the circuit. This meant no more manual adjustment. Just aim, shoot, and shrink.

Of course, all this would be purely theory until I wrote the code to make it happen.

***

"I swear to God, she's totally pulling a Mrs. Robinson," I told Julie. We were sitting on the floor of her living room, eating pizza and drinking Coors Lite, waiting for the Sopranos to come on.

Julie was dressed in sweats and a t-shirt, with her hair pulled back in a ponytail. I had thought she might be concerned that the wife of GenetiTech's top freelancer was hitting on me, but she just seemed amused by the whole thing.

"Better get started on your letter to Penthouse," she giggled.

"Dammit, I'm serious," I said. "Every time I turn around, she's..."

"She's what?" Julie asked, leaning in.

"I don't know... brushing up against me and stuff," I finished lamely. I had never told Julie about my particular fixation, and really wasn't in the mood to start sharing right then.

Julie just smirked. "You thought I was hitting on you back in college, didn't you? Back when I offered to tutor you?"

"No," I said, then smiled at her. "I just kind of wished you were."

She laughed and patted my arm. "Don't worry, Romeo. Even if Carolyn is flirting, I'm sure it's all totally harmless. Just ignore it, and she'll eventually get bored."

***

My contributions to Eddie's "Matter Proportioning Matrix" were minor and relatively cosmetic, but I still wanted to make a good impression.

I spent about four days writing and debugging the routines involving the border circuit. I had to program the machine to stop scanning as soon as it encountered the circuit signature, so that it wouldn't actually shrink the plastic sheet along with the intended target. Just to be extra cautious, I even added an additional failsafe routine that would shut the machine down if it didn't detect the border circuit.

Eddie spent his days musing over the arcane drawings on his blackboard, or pouring over the reams of printed reports. Although he tried to hide it, it became painfully obvious that the stress and long hours were taking their toll. His face grew more and more lined with each passing day as he struggled to unlock the mystery of re-enlargement.

On Tuesday, about two weeks before the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] hit the fan, Carolyn came into the lab with coffee while Eddie was on the verge of some sort of epiphany. She set the tray down on the workbench, then came over to watch me work.

"So, what are you boys working on, anyway?" she asked, standing a little too close behind me. I could smell her perfume, cloying and fruity.

I glanced over at Eddie, who seemed oblivious. He stood with his back to us, studying the chalkboard. I wasn't sure just how much I was supposed to tell Carolyn. I knew she had clearance as far as GenetiTech was concerned, but Eddie was awful secretive about his work.

"Your husband can explain it better than I can," I told her, hoping that would satisfy her. Unfortunately, it didn't. I returned to the numbers scrolling up the screen and made some notes, all too aware of her still behind me.

"Eddie doesn't tell me anything," she said with a pout. "He thinks I'm too stupid to understand all of this science bull[EXPLETIVE DELETED]."

"I don't understand most of it myself," I told her. "I'm just trying to clean up this display to make it easier to read."

"You boys and your secrets," Carolyn whispered, her lips surprisingly close to my ear. Her breath was warm on the back of my neck. I felt her fingernail as she traced it up my back.

"Jesus [EXPLETIVE DELETED] Christ, Carolyn!" Eddie shouted, throwing a piece of chalk against the wall. "We're trying to work in here! Why don't you quit seducing Dave and go work in your [EXPLETIVE DELETED] garden?"

Carolyn's eyes brimmed with tears, and she gave me the most pitiable look I've ever seen as she ran out of the lab. Eddie stared at the door as it shut with a metallic snick. He shook his head and sighed.

"[EXPLETIVE DELETED]," he muttered under his breath. He walked to the door and opened it. "Carolyn," he called in a voice heavy with regret. He followed after her, letting the door close behind him.

Feeling awkward as always, I returned to my work.

***

After about twenty minutes, they both came back into the lab. Eddie came in first, rolling a spare tire from out of his pickup. He gave me a wink and said, "Let's get her fired up. We're going to give Carolyn a demonstration."

Carolyn seemed in much better spirits, although she had obviously been crying. She watched as Eddie rolled the tire onto the border circuit and let it fall over. It revolved a couple of times, then fell onto the floor with a thud.

"Why don't you stand over there, honey," he said to her, pointing to the far wall, next to the blackboard. "Try not to stand on the plastic when the machine is on."

"Okay, sweetie," Carolyn said, grinning.

Eddie aimed the scanner at the tire and hit a key. The tire was bathed in a red grid, and a series of numbers representing the tire's dimensions, density, chemical composition, weight, and about a zillion other things scrolled across the screen. I watched the red grid, satisfied to see that it had automatically terminated when it hit the circuits in the plastic sheet beneath the tire. Only the tire had been scanned.

"Now watch this," Eddie said, hitting another key. This time I knew what to expect, so I looked away from the bright white flash. I turned back in time to see the tire shimmer and vanish.

"Where did it go?" Carolyn asked as she approached the plastic sheet. Eddie was beaming with pride, anticipating Carolyn's awed response.

He wasn't disappointed.

Carolyn gasped as she approached the shrunken tire, and dropped to her hands and knees to get a closer look at it. She poked at it with her fingernail, then gingerly picked it up between her finger and thumb. She stood up, holding the spare tire in the palm of her hand.

"That's [EXPLETIVE DELETED] incredible," she whispered, staring at the tire with wide eyes. "I had no idea you were... that something like this was... I mean, this is wonderful!" She ran over and threw her arms around Eddie's neck, covering his face with kisses.

"You're going to be famous," she said, planting another kiss on Eddie's mouth.

"And rich," Eddie added with a grin. "Don't forget rich."

"So, when are you going to unveil it?"

Eddie sighed. "Not for a while, I'm afraid. I'm still trying to figure out how to make things big again. And mum's the word, Carolyn. Nobody knows what this machine does except for the three of us. Not a word to anybody, okay?"

"Of course not, sweetie." Carolyn poked and prodded at the tiny tire with her fingernail, rolling it around in her palm. She looked up at Eddie, as if suddenly inspired. "Can you shrink... anything?"

"I think so," Eddie said. "As long as we've got enough border circuits to put under it, and we don't fill up the buffer."

"What about people?" Carolyn asked as a familiar smile crept across her face. With the benefit of hindsight, that should have been a sign of things to come. But at the time, it seemed like a reasonable question.

"We haven't tried it on anything living yet," Eddie told her, enjoying the attention. "But it should work. I'm going to ask Julie to requisition me some test specimens from GenetiTech when I meet with her on Thursday."

"You are so clever," Carolyn cooed. "When can we shrink something else?"

"Later," Eddie told her. "Right now, Dave and I have a lot of work to do."

"Of course you do. I'll let you boys get back to work." Carolyn walked out, leaving Eddie and me to our tasks.

***

Eddie was in pretty high spirits after that, until we went into the kitchen after deciding to call it a day. There was a tall woman with long, blonde hair sitting at the table, drinking one of Eddie's Budweisers right out of the bottle.

"Oh, [EXPLETIVE DELETED]," Eddie muttered under his breath. He forced a smile on his face and said in a weary voice, "Hello, Linda."

"Eddie!" the woman squealed, leaping out of her chair and rushing over to him. She pressed her sticky red lips to his cheek, leaving an obnoxious print.

"Linda's going to join us for dinner," Carolyn said as she lit a cigarette.

Linda giggled. "If it's no trouble." Her eyes fell on me, and I stared back. Her tan face was pretty, but worn. She wore way too much makeup. "Ooh, who's this?" she asked, taking a step back and crossing her arms across her Lynyrd Skynyrd t-shirt.

"Dave Goldman, meet Linda Greenwood." Eddie sighed and added, "Carolyn's sister."

"Younger sister," Linda added as she reached out to take my hand. Her fingernails were obnoxiously long and pink. "And what do you do, Dave? Are you helping Eddie with his invention?"

I shrugged, uncomfortable with Linda's closeness. "I guess. I mean, I'm just trying to make it look nice."

Linda brayed laughter at this, as if it were the funniest thing she'd ever heard. She slapped playfully at me, letting her fingers linger just a little too long on my arm.

Eddie cleared his throat. "So, where's Randy?"

"Oh, that [EXPLETIVE DELETED] bastard's working late tonight," Linda said, "so I figured I'd just pop by and see if my two favorite people were available for dinner."

"Lucky us," Eddie muttered, fishing two beers out of the fridge. He offered me one, along with an apologetic smile.

***

While the girls cackled madly in the kitchen, Eddie and I went out on the back porch to drink our beers. His Irish setter, a beautiful dog named Sire, came bounding up to us, his tongue lolling gleefully out of his mouth. It had taken a couple of days for him to get used to me, but now Sire treated me like a member of the family. In fact, he seemed to prefer me to Carolyn, who made no secret of her distaste for the dog.

"I've had Sire since he was a puppy," Eddie told me, scratching the dog gently behind his ears. "I really wanted to keep him in the house, but Carolyn put her foot down. I think that's why he still barks at her." His voice got playful as he shifted his attention from me to Sire. "Isn't that right?" he said in baby talk, playfully slapping the dog on the neck. "Does the mean old lady make you live outside? Huh?"

Eddie really loved that dog. If he hadn't, he might still be alive today.

But I'm getting ahead of myself...

***

All through dinner, Carolyn and Linda blathered on about a bunch of names that meant nothing to me. Someone was getting divorced, someone was [EXPLETIVE DELETED] a cashier at Kroger's, someone was getting botox injections... I glanced at Eddie, who stared ahead as he ate, as if on auto-pilot. I got the feeling that this was how he endured Linda's infrequent visits.

So I concentrated on my meat loaf, and tried vainly to shut out their incessant gossiping and giggling. Linda made a comment about how quiet I was being, and at that exact moment, I felt somebody's sandaled foot caress my leg. I looked back and forth between her and Carolyn, wondering which was the culprit. They both gave me playful smiles as the teasing continued under the table.

I finished my meal and excused myself, all too aware of their stares as I carried my plate to the sink. I told them I had a bit of a headache, and I was going to turn in early. Then I headed upstairs and into the safety of my room. I closed my door and collapsed on the bed, relieved to be alone at last.

***

Monday morning, Eddie and Julie had a meeting with GenetiTech Finance. It was the price Eddie paid for his privacy and autonomy. Once a month, he had to appear before a committee and remind them of his track record before they would allocate him any more money, even if it had already been budgeted. It was precisely the sort of mindless bureaucracy that Eddie hated, the reason he preferred to remain a contractor rather than join the GenetiTech rank and file.

It was the first day of July, and even though it was barely nine in the morning, the temperature was already in the lower nineties. The air-conditioner was blasting away full time in the lab, but I could still feel the heat. Of course, a lot of that probably came from the rattling monstrosity of a computer that powered Eddie's "Matter Proportioning Matrix."

My task for the past week had been to take the stream of data returned by Eddie's scanning process, and somehow wring some visual sense out of it. After five days of frustrating tests and constant debugging, I finally had an impressive display to show for all my troubles. I rolled Eddie's ergonomic chair onto the plastic sheet and pressed the button on the camera. The red web of light fell across the chair, adjust automatically for the border circuit.

Then, to my delight, a wire-framed rendering of the chair appeared in a window on the monitor. The image rotated slowly, as the pertinent information was displayed next to it in an easy to read format. Dimensions, density, chemical composition, weight, and so on... these figures were now updated in real time on the display, rather than just scrolling madly across the screen.

Hardly rocket science, especially compared to the sheer enormity of Eddie's invention, but still I was proud. And Eddie had so far been pleased with my performance. All in all, things were going good.

Except for Carolyn's awkward flirtations. Every meal was spent with her foot in my lap, her toes teasing me mercilessly as she regarded me with a playful grin. I can't even count how many times she brushed up against me, her hands always lingering just a little too long, her face always too close to mine. And last night, she had come into my room to tell me good night, and her robe had come open, granting me a glance at the nakedness beneath before I averted my eyes. She played it off as embarrassing happenstance, and offered a shy apology as she covered herself back up. But we both knew it hadn't been an accident.

So I was kneeling on the carpet in the lab, making minute adjustments to the border circuit, when the door opened and Carolyn came walking in. I didn't look up as she walked over to me. She slid her sandaled foot onto the plastic sheet, into my field of vision. I looked up as if startled, pretending I had been too engrossed in my work to notice her.

She was dressed in white shorts and a cropped red t-shirt that showed off her tan midriff and legs. She wore red flip-flops to match her painted toenails. And despite my frustration and discomfort, I found myself reluctant to look away from her playful, wriggling toes.

"As long as you're down there," she said with a giggle, "why don't you make yourself useful?"

I sighed and looked back up, into her smirking face. "Carolyn, I'm really busy right now. I can only work on this stuff when Eddie's not on the machine, and I've only got a couple of hours until he comes back."

"Fine," Carolyn snapped. Then added, as an afterthought, "You know he's cheating on me, don't you?"

"What?"

"Eddie and your little friend Julie. They're having an affair. So you don't have to feel guilty about anything that's happened between us."

"Oh, for God's sake." I climbed wearily to my feet and regarded her. "In the first place, there's nothing going on between Eddie and Julie. And in the second place, nothing has happened between us."

"I've seen the way you look at me," she said, her hand on her hip. "The first day you came here, I caught you staring at me like some lovesick little boy."

I slapped my hand to my forehead. "Jesus, what is wrong with you?"

"What's wrong with me?" Carolyn repeated angrily. "What the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] is wrong with you?"

My mind raced, desperately searching for something to say that would placate her and send her on her way. Unfortunately, nothing came to mind. "I'm just trying to do my job," I finally stammered lamely. "I don't know why you have to make things so complicated."

She glared angrily for a few seconds. Then, surprisingly, her eyes softened and she offered me a sheepish smile. "I'm sorry, sweetie," she told me. "I guess I got a little crazy, just thinking about Eddie cheating on me."

"You don't have anything to worry about," I told her. "Julie and Eddie's relationship is purely professional."

She sighed. "I hope so. But even so, I had no right to take it out on you. I just..." She looked away from me, smiling embarrassedly. "I guess I was just excited by the thought of a young, handsome man like you being attracted to an old woman like me. I got a little carried away."

Once again, I felt myself blushing, ill-equipped to deal with this situation. "You're not old, and I'm not that handsome," I told her, and her eyes lit up as she gave me a pretty smile. For an awkward minute, we both just stood there, grinning at each other.

Finally, Carolyn broke the silence and offered her hand to me. "Friends?"

"Absolutely," I said, shaking her proffered hand. I felt a great sense of relief that this conflict had finally ended.

"So, what are you working on?" she asked me. "I mean, if you can tell me."

"Sure," I said, happy to have a willing audience. "My stuff's not classified and you already know about Eddie's stuff, so I guess there's no point in keeping secrets."

She listened raptly as I explained the user interface I had designed, and marveled at the graphical display, at the wire-framed model of Eddie's chair rotating on the screen. Then, she pushed the chair off of the plastic sheet and stood in the red light, letting it spill over her from head to toe. The image on the screen blinked and flickered, then a wire-framed representation of Carolyn appeared on the monitor, rotating slowly as her vital statistics printed out on the monitor.

"Oh my God," Carolyn exclaimed, running over to the monitor to get a closer look at her image. "Do I really look that fat?"

"No," I told her. "But your shape is a little more... complex than what I've been working with. I've still got to make some adjustments."

"Okay, sweetheart. I'll stay out of your way and let you work."

I was all too conscious of her standing over me, watching me as I knelt on the circuit to punch in some minute adjustments. Even so, I had no real inkling of danger until the red web of lighting spilled over me. I glanced up and saw her reaching for the button on the keyboard.

"Carolyn!" I shouted as a white, blinding light slammed into me like a speeding truck. For an instant, time seemed frozen and the image of Carolyn's cold eyes and cruel, predatory grin was burned into my brain. Then everything went dark.

***

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.]

I don't know how long I flitted on the edge of consciousness, trembling in the dim light as indistinct voices argued in the distance. It was like some kind of feverish dream, surreal and inexplicable. I was lying in the middle of a strange, featureless room made entirely of cardboard.

The air was dank with the stink of piss and puke. From the state of my clothes, it was obvious that both were my own. My soiled shirt and pants clung to my damp, clammy skin. I was so cold, I couldn't quit shaking. My teeth were chattering, my mouth tasted sour and stale, and my eyes were burning every time I blinked. I felt like I had the flu.

And somewhere beyond the walls of my cardboard prison, I could hear the voices of Carolyn and Eddie arguing. I strained to hear what was being said, but their voices were muffled and distant.

I shuddered violently at the memory of Carolyn's cruel smile, just before she had pressed the button. And I suddenly realized just where I was and what had happened. This room, my prison, was a shoebox. And I was, as near as I could tell, barely two inches tall.

"Hey!" I screamed, my throat raw and stinging. My pitiful cry went unanswered. I doubted they would have heard me even if they'd been in the room. I crawled out from under the giant washcloth and ran shivering to the side of the box. I pounded on it with my fists, screaming until my voice was hoarse.

Nothing.

I huddled in the corner, shivering miserably as I awaited my fate.

***

I sat up when I heard the sound of someone approaching. Over the last half hour or so, my fever and chills had abated. Probably just temporary side-effects of the shrinking process. So I was still two inches tall and covered with my own filth, but at least I didn't have the flu.

I heard the muted beeps of the lab door keypad, and a loud metallic snick as the door unlocked. The ceiling light was snapped on, bathing me in bright fluorescent. Heavy footsteps, and I could smell the cologne and the whiskey in the air. I braced myself, but was still unprepared for the sight of Eddie's massive face peering over the edge of the box.

"You're awake!" he whispered, grinning down at me. "Thank God! How do you feel?"

I backed as far from him as I could, glaring up apprehensively from the corner of the box. "Look what your [EXPLETIVE DELETED] wife did to me!" I screamed at him.

He sighed. "Carolyn told me what happened, and she's really sorry about the accident."

"What accident? She did this to me on purpose!"

Eddie gave me a placating smile. "Now, you know that's not true. Why would you think something like that?"

"Because she's a [EXPLETIVE DELETED] psycho, that's why!" I screamed at him, forgetting my fear for the moment. "She thought you were screwing around with Julie, so she tried to get back at you by [EXPLETIVE DELETED] me! And when I wouldn't, she got pissed and turned that [EXPLETIVE DELETED] ray on me!"

Eddie's face was suddenly cold. He frowned down at me and for a horrible moment, I imagined him reaching in and crushing me. My fear returned and I retreated to the safety of my corner.

"That's not the way she tells it," he told me. "She says you were showing her your work on the scan display, and you asked her to hit a button, but she hit the wrong one."

"That's bull[EXPLETIVE DELETED]!" I screamed at him, furious that he would choose to take her side. Hell, just the other day he'd made a snide comment about her trying to seduce me, so why was he all of the sudden convinced his wife was a [EXPLETIVE DELETED] saint?

Eddie slammed his hand on the table outside the box, but the jolt knocked me off my feet. And as I lay there trembling on my hands and knees, Eddie said in a strained voice, "That's enough. I know you've been through a lot, and you're probably still in shock or something, but I won't tolerate that kind of talk about my wife. Understand?"

I didn't look up and didn't respond, so Eddie nudged the box a bit roughly. "I said, understand?"

I nodded. "Yes."

"Okay, Carolyn and I were talking about the best way to deal with your situation, and we've decided it wouldn't be prudent to involve GenetiTech just yet. I'm too damn close to just hand this project over to Reynold and his [EXPLETIVE DELETED] flunkies."

"So, what are you saying?" I asked him. "You're going to keep me a secret until you figure out how to make me bigger?"

Eddie nodded. "I hope you understand why it's necessary."

"Necessary? Look at me!" I shouted. "I'm a freaking action figure and you're worried about somebody stealing your credit! I want to see Julie!"

Eddie shook his head. "Come on, Dave. Just think about it. You and me, we'll both go down in history. You're the first living thing to have ever been subjected to the reduction process! And you'll be the first to be restored, as soon as I can figure out how. When this is all said and done, you're not going to just be some footnote in a scientific journal. You're going to be a celebrity! You'll be on Letterman, Leno..."

"I don't care," I insisted. "I want to see Julie!"

"Okay, okay," Eddie said, sighing. "Just give me some time to figure out how best to explain the situation to her. I'm sure she'll agree that we need to keep you under wraps right now."

"I doubt it," I said.

"Just think about it, will you?" Eddie said, smiling once again. "I don't think things are as bad as you think. You'll feel better once Carolyn gets you cleaned up."

I thought again of Carolyn's cruel, vindictive smile when she pressed the button, and I shuddered at the thought of being in her care.

"I want to see Julie!" I called again to Eddie as he moved away. I don't know if he heard me or not, but he didn't respond. He walked off, letting the door shut behind him.

***

I'm no expert on the workings of the human mind, but with the benefit of hindsight I've been able to piece together the following:

I think Eddie's first inclination was to turn me over to GenetiTech, and to make the results of his project known to them. Even though it might have meant losing credit for his discovery, I personally believe Eddie would have been willing to make this sacrifice. Despite his shortcomings, he was always a decent person.

But, Carolyn wanted to keep me a secret, so she convinced Eddie it would be in his best interest to do so. And although he felt it wasn't right, he knew that this way, he'd get the credit and recognition (and money) that he so desperately wanted. So, only slightly reluctant, he went along with the idea.

Personally, I think that's why he believed Carolyn's story over mine. Because if he accepted the fact that his psycho wife shrunk me on purpose, his flimsy justification for concealing me would be torn to shreds. He'd feel compelled to hand me over to GenetiTech, along with all of his research because, as I mentioned, he was always a decent person.

So as long as what happened to me was an accident, Carolyn would be blameless and Eddie could still think of himself as the good guy while he kept my condition a secret and worked to finish his invention. In his mind, it was a win/win situation for all of us.

Of course, poor Eddie had no idea just what Carolyn was capable of.

***

About ten minutes later, I heard someone coming. From the slapping sound her sandals made on her approach, I knew it was Carolyn even before she punched in the code.

The sight of Eddie had been terrifying, but I felt nothing but bitter, impotent anger when Carolyn's massive face loomed into view. She puckered her lips into an affectionate, playful gasp, and let out a quiet "awwwww" as she regarded me. I struggled vainly to take her in all at once, my mind reeling as my eyes darted from her monstrous, blinking eye to her cavernous mouth. Imagine looking at an actress when you're standing less than a foot from the movie screen.

Her warm, wet breath assaulted me with the acrid smell of cigarettes. I could smell the greasy odor of her makeup, caked and powdery on her monstrous cheeks. I could see tiny particles of black mascara lose themselves each time she blinked, flittering in the air in particles too small for her to even notice. There were tiny, white hairs along her upper lip, invisible to all but me.

"Leave me alone," I snapped, turning my back on her.

Carolyn made a tsking sound. "Don't be like that, sweetie. I'm sorry about our little accident..."

"It wasn't an accident," I said angrily, my arms crossed, my back still to her. "You [EXPLETIVE DELETED] liar!"

She exhaled loudly, and I felt her breath wash over me. I could sense her nearness, feel the heat from her, but I refused to look at her.

"Such language," Carolyn said in an amused voice. "Looks like we may have to wash your little mouth out with soap."

"You won't get away with this," I told her, walking away from her. "Eddie may not believe me, but Julie will. She already knows about how you've been..."

Carolyn nudged the box with her hand, jarring it violently. I stumbled forward and landed on my hands and knees with a grunt. As I was climbing to my feet, she chuckled and bumped the box again. This time I lurched into the cardboard wall.

"Stop it!" I screamed, whirling to face her. "Just stop it!"

Carolyn pressed her face in closer, and I scrambled backwards to get away. She sniffed a couple of times, then wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Why don't you get out of those dirty clothes?" she offered sweetly. "I'll give you a bath."

I just stared at her, shaking my head in disbelief.

"Either you take them off, or I will," she said. Then, she suddenly bared her teeth in an evil grin that made my blood run cold. "Ooh, that's not such a bad idea."

Trembling with anger and frustration at my own helplessness, I kicked off my shoes and yanked off my socks. Carolyn raised her face from the box and peered down, watching me undress. I peeled off my damp shirt and pants, and slid off my underwear. When I was done, I stood naked and shaking.

She placed her hand inside the box, palm up. I stared at the giant, intruding hand, imagining how it might feel to be grasped between those tree-like fingers. Her fingernails were red and shiny, reflecting my silhouette in their shield-like curve.

"Come on, Dave," she chirped, making kissing sounds as if calling a dog. I approached her hand and stepped up onto her palm, trembling with the sensation of her warm, thick flesh beneath my bare soles. I walked slowly across her lined palm, watching her fingers twitch slightly with every step. At last, her hand shifted beneath me, and I struggled to keep my balance as she lifted me from the shoebox.

Once free of the confines of the makeshift cardboard cage, the sheer enormity of the room overwhelmed me. We were still in the lab, but its dimensions were inconceivable. The walls were blurry and indistinct, as if part of some distant landscape. I stared in awe at this terrifying scale, struggling to contain my vertigo as I stood in Carolyn's palm. I turned and gazed up into her face, wincing at the smile she offered me.

I would eventually come to dread that smile, playful and predatory, in the months to come. It was a smile that would evoke such feelings of helplessness and impotence, a smile that would forever consign me to the role of Carolyn's possession, something to be petted and played with. But for the moment, the smile was merely infuriating and I wanted so desperately to slap it off of her face.

"This is going to be fun," she whispered to me, just before her massive fingers closed around me.

***

I squirmed and kicked as Carolyn held me under the faucet and let the warm water sluice over me. Then she held me tightly, gripping me around the waist with her finger and thumb while she covered my body with two dollops of liquid soap. The smell of the stuff tickled my nose and made my eyes water. I sneezed twice as she rubbed my soapy skin with her index finger.

"Bless you," Carolyn giggled, holding me under the water once more. When I was rinsed off, she wrapped me in a green wash cloth and buffeted me around inside the rough fabric, drying me off.

"There now," she said, smiling down at me as I shivered in her hand. "That wasn't so bad, was it?"

I just glared at her, saying nothing as she caressed me with her index finger.

She sighed and shook her head. "Don't be like that, sweetie. I'm going to be taking care of you until Eddie figures out how to make you big again, so you might as well stop sulking."

"Stop sulking? LOOK AT ME!" I screamed, pounding on her finger with my fist as it stroked my chest. "Look what you did to me, you colossal [EXPLETIVE DELETED] bitch!"

"Poor baby," Carolyn said, ignoring my outburst as she continued to pet me. "I think I know something that might cheer you up."

I stopped shouting and glared at her suspiciously, distrusting her sympathetic smile and pleasant voice. "What?" I asked.

She glanced over towards the open bathroom door. She closed it partially, not letting it latch, then carried me over to the toilet. The lid and tank were adorned with green doilies that matched the guest towels, and a green candle gave off an overwhelming pi¤a colada smell. She sat down on the closed lid and crossed her leg. I stared down over the edge of her palm, marveling reluctantly at the sight of her monstrous foot. Her sandal dangled, swinging back and forth as she flexed her long, slender toes. Her toenails were red and shiny, just like her fingernails.

I gasped at the sudden onslaught of my erection, unbidden and unwelcome. And all too obvious as I lay naked in Carolyn's palm. She flipped me on my back and toyed with it, flicking at it with her fingernail until I moaned out loud.

"You want this, don't you?" she whispered to me. I heard her sandal fall to the floor with a thud. She picked me up with her finger and thumb and held me, dangling, above her foot. I stared at her toes, wiggling slowly and seductively, spreading slightly as I was lowered towards them. My heart was pounding, my breaths were short and quick, and my erection was throbbing so hard I thought it was going to snap. Closer and closer... Her toes spread to grasp me, and I braced myself for the sensation...

"Carolyn!" Eddie called from the hallway. "What are you doing in there?"

I was yanked roughly through the air as Carolyn leapt to her feet and grabbed the wash cloth from the basin. "Just drying him off," she said, once again dabbing at me with green rag.

"Well, hurry up. I need to get some work done today."

Carolyn looked down at me with a playful pout. "Too bad, sweetie," she whispered. "Maybe next time."

I didn't answer. I kept telling myself again and again that it was a close call, that Eddie's intervention had saved me from humiliation. But deep down, as much as I hated to admit it, I was disappointed that we had been interrupted.

***

"Was there any kind of discomfort at all?" Eddie was asking me. The reel-to-reel was rolling, and the massive microphone was set on the workbench next to me, to capture my every word.

"Not until I woke up," I told him. "I felt like I had the flu. Fever, chills, and really dizzy. Plus, I apparently threw up and peed all over myself while I was out." Carolyn had washed my clothes and returned them to me just an hour ago, taking perverse delight in making me climb into her hand to retrieve them.

Eddie nodded and scribbled some notes on his legal pad. "Do you feel like you're suffering from any adverse effects right now?"

"What? You mean, besides being the size of a [EXPLETIVE DELETED] mouse? Other than that, I think I'm healthy."

Eddie sighed. "As soon as I figure out how to explain this to Julie, we'll see about securing a doctor to check you out. But in the meantime, you appear to be okay."

"When can I see Julie?"

"I'm still trying to figure out how to bring her on board without alerting Reynold and half of GenetiTech what I've been up to." He snapped off the tape recorder and offered me a conciliatory smile. "Next week, okay? After the Fourth of July weekend. I promise."

"I'm not comfortable with this situation," I told him. "I'm not comfortable around your wife."

"Aw, come on, Dave. She just wants to help take care of you. She feels partially responsible for what happened..."

"Partially?" I jumped to my feet. "I told you what happened, and it was no accident!"

Eddie shook his head. "Be reasonable, Dave."

"Reasonable? I think I'm being more than [EXPLETIVE DELETED] reasonable by going along with you on this. The least you can do is keep your wife away from me!"

He just looked at me, obviously discomforted by the idea. His mouth opened, but he didn't say anything.

"Just humor me, Eddie. Okay?"

Resigned, he slumped his shoulders and exhaled slowly. "Okay, Dave. I'll see what I can do."

***

I paced around the workbench while Eddie focused on the schematics taped to his blackboard. The spare parts scattered about the surface were now massive structures, piled like cars at an automotive graveyard. In the midst of these parts stood Eddie's machine--his pride and joy--towering like an office building.

The gigantic monitor still displayed my image, rotating slowly in rendered 3D, with my modified statistics blinking in red. In front of the entire assembly was the keyboard, as big as a [EXPLETIVE DELETED] tennis court. I estimated that, were I to lay across the keys, I might be able to span four of them. I imagined myself hopping from letter to letter, like Archy the cockroach, slowly but deliberately typing out a message for help.

The phone rang somewhere in the distance. Eddie didn't have a phone in the lab, and he never kept the portable with him. He hated to be disturbed, and Carolyn was always under strict orders to take his messages and leave him alone unless it was an emergency.

Which is why he was startled and a little annoyed when Carolyn punched in the security code and came into the lab.

"What is it?" he growled, throwing a piece of chalk against the blackboard in disgust.

Carolyn looked a little agitated. "It was Julie, calling from GenetiTech. She said she wanted to say goodbye to Dave before she left for the holiday, and when I told her he couldn't be disturbed right now, she said she'd swing by on her way out of town to visit."

I felt a sense of elation at the news. Julie would be coming here. My secret would be out, and I wouldn't have to endure any more of Carolyn's games. She'd notify GenetiTech, and they'd notify my family. It wouldn't solve all my problems, but it would certainly make them more bearable.

"What did you tell her?" Eddie asked, his voice shaking.

"What do you mean, what did I tell her?" Carolyn demanded. "I didn't tell her anything!"

"[EXPLETIVE DELETED], she's coming to visit Dave!" Eddie shouted. "What the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] are we going to do?"

I stood there, watching the exchange with growing anxiety, seeing my chance at freedom slipping away.

"Hang on," Carolyn said, holding up a finger to silence Eddie. "Let me think for a second."

"What's to think about?" I shouted. "You tell Julie what happened, and you deal with it! Game over!"

"Okay, how about this?" Carolyn said. "We take your machine outside and set it up in the garage. Then we roll Dave's car onto some of those little plastic sheets and we shrink it. Then, when Julie gets here, we tell her Dave drove home to see his family for Independence Day."

"What? No!" I screamed.

Eddie nodded. "Okay. It'll buy us some time."

"Right," Carolyn said, smiling nervously at me. "Plenty of time."

"You can't!" I screamed. "This is [EXPLETIVE DELETED] kidnapping!"

"I'll deal with him," Carolyn said, walking towards me. "You start carrying stuff outside."

Eddie gave me an apologetic glance and shrugged helplessly, to let me know it was out of his hands.

I thrashed desperately as Carolyn picked me up. She held me up so that her mouth was terrifyingly close, and she whispered, "You be a good boy, and I'll let you play between my toes until you come your little brains out."

I was still screaming when she tucked me into her shorts pocket.

***

I spent about twenty minutes jammed in the tight confines of her pocket, feeling the warm flesh of her thigh through the thin cotton of her shorts. I could hear the muffled sounds of them working frantically, and it wasn't long before I was drenched with both her sweat and my own. I finally gave up my struggles and lay still, defeated.

At one time, I felt her fingers stroking me through the fabric, making sure I was still there. I feigned unconsciousness, hoping she would be moved enough to pull me out of that miserable prison at least long enough to check me out. But I guess she and Eddie were too preoccupied with keeping me a secret to see to my well-being.

Finally, light spilled into her pocket as her two fingers slid in and groped for me. She grabbed me by the arm and gently pulled me free. I blinked in the bright afternoon sun and sighed in relief as she held me up to her face. It was streaked with sweat and grime, and her makeup was smeared.

Glancing around, I saw Eddie's shrinking machine--sorry, "matter proportioning matrix"--sitting on an old washing machine. We were in the garage of their house. Carolyn's Saturn had been backed out into the driveway, and the concrete floor was covered with the plastic sheets containing border circuits.

"We need your keys," Carolyn informed me, breathing heavily from exertion.

I snickered. "Yeah? Well you should have thought about that before you [EXPLETIVE DELETED] shrunk me. They're in my pocket!"

"Yeah, I was afraid of that," Carolyn said, sighing wearily. "Do you have a spare key? Like in case you lock yourself out of your car?"

I did, in fact. In a little magnetic carrier fastened to the underside of my rear bumper. But I figured, why make things easier for them? So I shook my head and said, "Sorry."

"Oh well," she said, then called out to her husband, "We're going to have to push it in with your truck!"

"Dammit," Eddie muttered. He called back, "We're running out of time!"

"Then get busy," Carolyn barked back at him. She sighed at me, rolling her eyes as if we were co-conspirators. "I swear, that man wouldn't last two days without me telling him what to do."

"Carolyn," I said, struggling to keep my voice reasonable. I was still dangling in front of her face, my arm stretched overhead and pinched between her two fingers. And truth be told, it was starting to hurt.

"Yes, sweetie?"

"Please call this off. Just tell Julie what happened when she gets here, and let the doctors at GenetiTech..."

She exhaled, blowing right into my face and grinning when she saw me wince. "I swear, Dave. I'm starting to take this personally." She lowered me into the palm of her hand and tickled me with her fingernail. "You can't tell me you're not enjoying this a little."

Outside the garage, Eddie's truck started up noisily. The engine revved a couple of times, then I heard a crunch and the sound of tires scraping pavement.

"I better go see if Eddie needs any help," Carolyn said, wearily. Ignoring my protests, she shoved me back into her pocket.

***

I missed most of what happened next, but I got the whole story from Julie later.

Thanks the miracle of anti-theft steering, Eddie and Carolyn couldn't turn my steering wheel without the ignition key. So Eddie was using his truck to shove the back end of my car around, so that it was pointed towards the garage. It was lined up, and he was in the process of pushing my little Fiat onto the plastic sheets when Julie came driving up.

It was quite a scene that followed. Julie asked where I was, and Eddie panicked and told her that I was gone. So Julie asked what any logical person would. Why was Eddie shoving my car into the garage?

Eddie started to stammer, desperately trying to think of something to say, and Julie grew more and more suspicious by the minute. She didn't know the exact nature of Eddie's experiment, but she knew the nature of the project he had inherited, and she was suddenly struck with the horrible suspicion that somehow, Eddie had accidentally made me disappear.

Like I said, I found out about all of that later. At the time, I was tucked in Carolyn's pocket and couldn't hear anything more than a muffled, indistinct exchange. I thought I recognized Julie's voice, and I struggled and screamed desperately. Of course she didn't hear me.

But it was about that time that Carolyn suddenly ran into the garage. I was knocked about inside her pocket, the rapid slaps of her sandals accenting each jarring thud. I heard her rummaging around, knocking things over, spilling things on the floor. I heard metallic drawers open and slam as she searched for something.

According to Julie, she and Eddie were screaming in each other's faces when Carolyn came walking out of the garage with a revolver. Eddie's eyes grew wide and he asked Carolyn what the hell she was doing, but Carolyn told him to shut the hell up. She commanded Julie to drop her keys on the ground, then led her at gunpoint into the garage.

Long story short, Carolyn finally pulled me out of her pocket. We were in the lab, and I trembled in the sudden chill of the air-conditioning. Carolyn was flushed and breathing heavily, her face streaked with sweat and grime. But she was grinning triumphantly, like a cat that's cornered a mouse.

"Well, that went better than I had hoped," she said, looking down at me in her palm. She brushed my damp hair out of my eyes with her fingertip, then set me down inside the shoebox.

Right next to the crumpled, unconscious form of Julie.

"Tend to her, Dave," Carolyn told me. "I've got to go outside and help Eddie shrink y'all's cars."

***

Poor Julie hadn't thrown up like I had, but she had emptied her bowels as well as her bladder. That [EXPLETIVE DELETED] machine was hell on the bodily functions. I hated for her to wake up like that, on top of everything else. I just hoped she'd come to in time for me to talk to her before Carolyn came back in.

I nudged her and shook her, but had no luck reviving her. She just lay there, breathing slowly and deeply. I finally rolled her on her back and stretched out her legs, thinking that might be more comfortable for her. Between Julie's mess and mine from that morning, the shoe box smelled pretty rank.

I heard approaching footsteps and sighed, wondering what ignominy lay ahead for me and Julie. Hopefully, it would be nothing more than another bath in the sink.

The code pad beeped, and the door snicked open. Carolyn came walking in and peered down at us. "She still sleeping?"

I nodded. "Yeah. That machine knocks you out for an hour or so."

"Oh well," she said. "I've got something I want to show you."

I eyed her nervously. "What?"

"Hang on." She knelt down, out of sight. Then, suddenly she popped back up into view and reached down for me. Grasping me by the waist, she lifted me out of the shoebox. She knelt and set me down on the carpet.

She stood up quickly, looming over me and peering down. I looked straight ahead and saw Julie's BWM and my Fiat. They were tiny, fragile toys next to Carolyn's dirty sandaled foot.

"Aren't they adorable?" she asked, giggling. There were several dents in the rear fender, and one of the front headlights was broken. "I swear, they're just the cutest little things."

"It was the funniest thing," Carolyn said. She slid her foot out of her shoe and prodded my car with her big toe. "Poor Eddie had so much trouble getting your car into the garage. First he'd knock it this way..." She demonstrated by sliding my car along the carpet with the side of her foot. "And then he'd bump it this way..."

I watched bitterly as she toyed with my car, my resentment towards her boiling up. My stomach was knotted, and I could taste bile in the back of my throat.

"When he finally got it lined up, he hit it from behind and knocked it into the garage." At this point, she kicked my car and sent it skipping across the carpet. It came to a stop, bouncing on its groaning springs.

"I guess he hit it a little hard," she said. "I told him to just push it, but it's been a stressful day for poor Eddie. Anyway, you'll never guess what came falling off the bumper."

I glanced up, feeling a sense of dread. Her playful mood had faded, and now Carolyn looked pissed. In her hand, clutched between her finger and thumb, she held my spare key.

"Carolyn..." I began, desperately searching for something to say that might appease her. She stepped over the cars, and her bare foot slammed down on the carpet, just inches from me. The force was enough to make me stumble backwards. Her toes were streaked with dirty sweat and grime.

"I ought to make you lick it clean," she snarled, nudging me hard with her toe. I fell flat on my back and stared up helplessly as her foot slowly descended. "Would you like that? Huh?"

"I'm sorry!" I screamed, my face muffled by her thick, wrinkled sole. I squirmed frantically, trying to loose myself as she pressed down harder and harder.

"Be still!" she snapped, and I ceased my struggles. "It would be so easy to squish you right now," she told me. "And the only thing that's stopping me is I don't feel like explaining it to Eddie." She moved her foot slightly, uncovering my face. I peered up through the crack between her toes at her scowling face.

"You and your little friend Julie won't be going anywhere for a while," she said, "so you might as well make the best of the situation. And you'd better start working really hard to get back on my good side, or I'll shove you down the garbage disposal. You understand?"

I nodded weakly. "Yes."

She mashed down, making me cry out. "Yes, what?"

"Yes, ma'am," I said. Suddenly, her foot was gone. I lay there, heaving and trembling, trying so hard not to cry while she was still standing there, watching.

She knelt down and gathered up the cars, then scooped me up in her other hand. Standing, she dropped me roughly into the shoe box. Then she reached down and plucked up Julie's limp form.

"I'm going to go give Miss Julie a bath and wash her nasty clothes," Carolyn told me, setting the cars down on the workbench. "And I want you to remember one thing... it's your fault we had to shrink her. If you hadn't lied about your [EXPLETIVE DELETED] key, we would have had your car out of the way long before she showed up."

Carolyn turned and walked away, leaving me sobbing in the shoe box.

***

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.]

I paced around the inside of the shoebox for about fifteen minutes, waiting for Julie to be returned. I felt horrible for her, unable to even imagine the terror she would feel if she woke up and found herself tiny, naked and helpless in Carolyn's grasp. At least I'd known about Eddie's device and, on some level, I had been mentally prepared for the shock of finding myself barely ankle high. But how would poor Julie manage to get her head around this?

I heard the sound of Carolyn's footsteps approaching, the slap of her sandals as she marched down the hall towards the lab. They keypad was punched and the door opened. I could hear Julie's frantic screams as Carolyn approached the shoebox and looked down at me with her smirk intact. I was so angry, I could taste the bile in the back of my throat.

"Put her down, for God's sake!" I shouted. "You're scaring her!"

With an exasperated roll of her eyes, Carolyn lowered her hand into the box and dumped poor Julie right in front of me. She was naked and shivering, still wet from her recent "bath." I knelt next to her and touched her arm. "It's okay," I whispered, in what was probably the biggest lie of my life. "Everything's going to be okay."

Julie looked up at me with red, swollen eyes and suddenly threw herself at me. Her arms wrapped around my neck and she buried her face against my shoulder. I stroked her wet hair and shushed her as she sobbed bitterly.

"Poor little thing," Carolyn cooed, brushing Julie's bare back with her fingernail. Her face still pressed to my chest, Julie let out a muffled scream and clung desperately to me. "Don't you worry, sweetheart," Carolyn said. "I'm gonna take real good care of you."

"God, haven't you done enough?" I screamed at her. "Leave her alone!"

Still grinning, Carolyn flicked the two of us with her monstrous finger and knocked us off our feet. We hit the cardboard wall with a painful thump and slid to the bottom of the box. She lifted her hand from the box and giggled as we climbed nervously to our feet.

"I'm going to go start dinner," she told us. "Hope you like meat loaf."

The lab door slammed shut, and Carolyn's footsteps receded into the distance until the only sound left was Julie's sobbing.

***

It took Julie about ten minutes to pull herself together after Carolyn left, but the transformation was startling. Once she grasped the severity of the situation and understood that this wasn't a nightmare, she quickly got her tears under control.

"As long as Eddie's keeping us a secret, we're going to have to deal with Carolyn," she said, blinking the last of the tears from her eyes. "So the first thing we need to do is convince Eddie to take the project to GenetiTech."

Since Carolyn hadn't returned her clothes, I'd given her my t-shirt to wear. It hung loosely on her petite frame, coming down to about mid-thigh. "What's his frame of mind on this? Have you discussed it with him?"

I shrugged. "He's paranoid as hell about GenetiTech stealing the project and the credit from him. I thought I just about had him convinced, but then he and Carolyn went ape-[EXPLETIVE DELETED] and hit you with the damn shrink ray."

"That was more Carolyn than him," Julie said. "I think Eddie was a reluctant participant. Unfortunately, now it makes our job twice as hard. We have to convince him not only that he can trust GenetiTech, but that you and I won't implicate him or Carolyn in any wrongdoing."

"[EXPLETIVE DELETED] that," I sneered. "No way I'm letting her get away with what she's done!"

Julie shook her head. "I'm not suggesting that, Dave. Hell, there aren't even words to describe how violated I'm feeling right now. I'm just saying we need to tell Eddie what he wants to hear. We need to convince him that we don't bear any ill will towards him or Carolyn for what happened. Once we're safely at GenetiTech, they can lock her in a cell and throw away the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] key as far as I'm concerned."

I nodded. "Okay. I'll go along with that."

***

Carolyn set the shoebox down on the dinner table and gently tipped it on its side. "Come on out, little people," she said sweetly, tapping on the box with her fingernail. "It's okay. We're not going to hurt you."

Julie and I inched out of the box, reluctant to leave the safe confinement of the cardboard walls. Both Carolyn and Eddie watched us as we walked across the dark wood of the table. Carolyn was smiling and making playful "aww" sounds in a high-pitched baby voice. Eddie just looked mortified.

"Look, guys," he said softly, obviously quite uncomfortable around us. "I know you hate me right now, and you have every right to. All I can do is promise that I'll make it up to you. I swear to God, just bear with me until I figure out the enlarging process, and I'll make it worth your while."

"You don't have to worry about a thing," Carolyn said. "I'm going to take really good care of you two."

Julie pulled closer to me, and I threw a protective arm around her. Eddie glared at Carolyn and muttered, "Why don't you go finish dinner?" Carolyn gave us a playful wave with her pinkie, then headed into the kitchen.

"We're prisoners, Eddie," I said. "You can phrase it as nicely as you want, but it all comes down to the fact that you are holding us here against our will."

"Please, Dave. Julie." He looked absolutely pained by the accusation. "Just tell me what I can do to make things better for you, and I'll do it."

"Take us to GenetiTech," Julie said, her voice trembling. "Bring Reynold and the rest in on the project."

He sighed and shook his head. "I can't."

I felt Julie straighten next to me, actually felt her strength gathering. She slid my arm from her shoulder and took a step forward. "Eddie, listen to me for a minute," she said with a surprising tone of authority. "It's not too late for this thing to have a happy ending. Right now, you can tell GenetiTech that what happened to me and Dave was an accident, and we'll back up your story. But if you keep us here against our will, it's kidnapping."

He hung his head and shook it. "Guys, please... you know you're not prisoners..."

"You're keeping us in a [EXPLETIVE DELETED] shoebox, Eddie!" I shouted at him. "Like a pair of [EXPLETIVE DELETED] hamsters!"

"That's for your protection," he said defensively. "I can't just let you run around on the floor. You might get... you know..."

Carolyn came walking back in with a couple of plates and set them down. "Dinner is served," she said. Then grinning at me and Julie, added, "I'll be right back with yours."

As she returned to the kitchen, Julie waved to get Eddie's attention. "Make the call to GenetiTech, Eddie," she told him. "You know it's the right thing to do."

He gnawed his upper lip for nearly thirty seconds, obviously struggling with the ultimatum Julie had just given him. He blinked rapidly, nervously, then finally exhaled a long, martyred breath. "I'll make a deal with you," he told us. "Give me a few days to see if I can figure out the distortion problem myself. Most of GenetiTech's shutting down for the Fourth of July anyway, so just give me the rest of the week. If I still haven't restored you guys by Monday morning, I'll take you to GenetiTech and hand the project over to Reynold myself."

Julie sighed and looked at me. "Is that acceptable, Dave?"

I nodded. "I suppose, on two conditions. One, find us someplace other than this shoebox to stay."

Eddie nodded, a relieved grin on his face. "You got it, Dave. I'll get you guys fixed up tomorrow. What else?"

I was about to ask him to keep Carolyn away from us, but she came walking back in carrying two paper plates piled high with meat loaf and mashed potatoes. I realized that such a request would best be made out of Carolyn's earshot, so I just shrugged and said, "We can talk about it later."

"Here you go, Eddie," Carolyn said, handing him the plates. "Why don't you go shrink this down so these poor little guys can eat. I bet they're starving."

Eddie took the plates and headed off to the lab, giving us a friendly grin as he rounded the corner. As soon as he was gone, Carolyn placed both hands on the table and peered down at us. "I can't get over how adorable you two are," she told us. "I swear, I could just eat you up."

"Could I have my clothes please, Carolyn?" Julie asked.

Carolyn's mouth hung open in an exaggerated gesture of surprise. "God, I'm such a ditz," she said, reaching into her pocket. "I totally forgot." She set her hand down on the table, palm up. Julie's clothes and sandals were in a crumpled pile in the center of her hand. "There you go, sweetie," she said.

Julie stiffened and held her breath as she stepped toward Carolyn's hand. Her massive, treelike fingers twitched slightly as Julie climbed up into her palm. Eying Carolyn warily, Julie inched across her palm, her bare feet sinking slightly in the thick skin. When she at last reached her clothing, she dropped to her knees and gathered the pile to her chest.

I saw Carolyn move her other hand slowly towards Julie, extending her index finger to caress her tiny form. I called out as I bolted towards Carolyn's massive hand. Julie let out a startled scream as Carolyn's fingertip gently stroked her.

"Such a pretty little thing," Carolyn cooed as she pressed Julie onto her back with her gigantic finger. She moved her finger back and forth slowly, petting Julie through the t-shirt I had given her. As I scrambled up onto Carolyn's palm, I could hear Julie's pathetic whimpers. She lay there, her eyes screwed shut, crying softly as Carolyn pulled up the shirt with her fingernail and pressed her finger between Julie's legs.

"Stop it!" I screamed, throwing myself at the monstrous finger. "Leave her alone!"

The lights dimmed for about three seconds, then came back to normal. Apparently, that happened every time the shrink ray was used. Carolyn glanced up at the flickering ceiling light, then down at us. She stopped her molestation of Julie and lifted the two of us to her face.

"I don't know what kind of lies you've been telling Eddie, but he seems to think that you're scared of me," she whispered. "He told me to keep my distance until you get used to your new size. But frankly, I don't feel like waiting."

The lab door opened in the distance, and snicked shut. Carolyn signed and dumped us on the table, along with Julie's clothes. "We'll finish this conversation after dinner," she said. "Not a word to Eddie, or I'll make you pay."

Julie sobbed as she clung to me desperately, as if I might somehow protect her from Carolyn. I glared angrily at the giantess as I cradled Julie's head and stroked her hair. Carolyn gave me an amused look, as if she and I shared some joke.

Eddie came back, carrying two tiny plates of food in his hand. "Dinner is served," he announced cheerfully, setting the plates down in front of me and Julie. He paused and looked at us, wrinkling his brow at the sight of Julie still sobbing.

"What's wrong?" he asked, then whirled towards Carolyn. "What did you do? I told you to leave them alone?"

"I didn't do anything!" Carolyn snapped, convincingly indignant. "Why does everybody in this house think I'm some kind of monster?"

Eddie leaned down, his face just inches from us. "Guys, what happened?" he whispered. "Did Carolyn hurt you?"

I hesitated, glancing past Eddie at Carolyn's scowl. She was shaking her head, and the threat was quite explicit. Even so, I was on the verge of blurting it out and taking my chances. I swear, I was just about to tell Eddie the truth...

But Julie spoke first. "No," she said, still sobbing. "Carolyn didn't do anything. I'm just... upset about everything that's happened."

Eddie couldn't see it, but Julie gave me such a panicked, horrified look, and I realized she was completely terrified of Carolyn. And with all she'd been through in the last few hours, I could hardly blame her. I nodded almost imperceptivity, just to let Julie know I'd go along with her choice.

"See?" Carolyn demanded, slapping Eddie on the arm. "I think you owe me an apology."

Eddie sighed as he walked around the table and took his seat. "Okay, Carolyn. I'm sorry."

Carolyn looked at us as she muttered, "That's better." She took her seat, and the two of them fell to eating without a word.

***

This was definitely one of those cases where hindsight is 20/20, and I'm sure Julie would have reacted differently had she known how things would eventually turn out. However, at that time, we were still counting on the fact that Eddie would turn the project over to GenetiTech in a week. And Julie was afraid that Eddie might renege on the deal if he thought we meant to implicate his wife.

So the plan was simple. Endure whatever ignominies Carolyn handed out for the next week, until we were safely in the hands of GenetiTech. Then, and only then, would we tell all. We knew it was unlikely that you guys would take legal action, but Julie said you'd probably detain Carolyn for interrogation. And she was certain that her friend Rachel Foster would make that interrogation as long and painful as possible, as a personal favor.

But like I said, if we'd known what Carolyn would eventually do, we might have behaved differently. If we had, Eddie might not have been caught off guard like he was. And he might still be alive today...

***

Julie and I had both emptied our stomachs during the shrinking process. I was ravenous, and fell on the food, greedily shoveling it into my mouth. Julie, however, just picked at hers and barely ate anything. She was still upset about Carolyn's little game, and no doubt dreading what might lay ahead in the week to come.

Eddie ate and drank noisily, while Carolyn cut her meat loaf into dainty bites and nibbled. Her eyes cut back and forth from us to Eddie.

"I'm going to run to Wal-Mart in Odessa tomorrow," Eddie announced. "I'll probably be back sometime after lunch."

"Why Odessa?" Carolyn asked, sipping her wine. "There's a Wal-Mart like five miles from us in Midland."

"I'm picking up a dollhouse for Julie and Dave, so they'll be more comfortable. I'm also getting them some books, clothes, stuff like that. If I go here in town, it might get back to GenetiTech and... I just don't feel like answering their questions right now."

Carolyn shook her head. "You are so [EXPLETIVE DELETED] paranoid."

"You don't know these people like I do," Eddie said. He nodded toward us and added, "Isn't that right, Julie?"

Julie looked up but said nothing.

"We're going to be rich, Carolyn," Eddie said around another mouthful of meat loaf. "Rich and famous."

She sighed. "I've heard it before, Eddie. I'll believe it when it happens."

"Jesus!" Eddie snorted, pointing at me and Julie. "What more proof do you need?" Carolyn just shrugged and returned to eating. Eddie sighed. "I swear, you people have no appreciation for what I've accomplished here. Reynold may be a jackass, but at least he'll be impressed when I show him."

"I'm impressed, I'm impressed," Carolyn said impatiently. Then, in a suddenly sweeter tone of voice, she said, "You look exhausted, sweetheart. You should get some sleep tonight."

Eddie shook his head. "I've got too much to do before..." He trailed off and yawned, blinking his eyes. "God, I am sleepy."

"You've been working too hard, darling," Carolyn said. "Why don't you go on to bed? I'll be up in a little bit, after I clean up the kitchen."

"I really..." Eddie yawned again and rubbed at his eyes. "Man, it hit me pretty suddenly. Maybe I'll go lie down for a few hours."

"Good idea," Carolyn told him, standing up and walking over to him. She kissed him gently on the cheek as he rose from his chair. "Sleep tight, darling," she called to him as he lumbered off toward their bedroom.

"Wake me up when you come to bed," he said in a drowsy voice. "I've really got to get some work done tonight." I felt Julie stiffen next to me, and heard a quiet cry escape from her throat as the bedroom door closed.

Carolyn looked down at us, grinning wickedly. Her hand came down, hovering over us like a monstrous bird of prey. She flicked at Julie with her massive finger, scooting her toward the upturned shoebox. Julie backed away from her, crawling like a crab and gasping in terror. Carolyn picked up Julie's clothing between her thumb and finger and tossed it into the shoebox on top of her. Her skirt and blouse fluttered down gently, but one of her sandals smacked her in the head. The other struck the cardboard with a hard thunk.

"Okay, little girl," Carolyn said, tilting the box right-side-up and trapping Julie inside. "Why don't you go ahead and change your clothes. I'm going to go have a talk with your little boyfriend." She glanced toward me and, licking her lips, brought her hand down on top of me and caught me in her fist.

***

"Poor little guy," Carolyn whispered, stroking me with her index finger. "You've had such a long, hard day, haven't you?" I'm not sure what I was expecting, but this sure wasn't it. We were in the living room, on the couch. Carolyn's bare feet were resting on the coffee table, crossed at the ankles. Next to them sat an ashtray that held her smoldering cigarette, and her half-empty glass of wine.

I don't know how long I laid there in her palm, staring absent-mindedly at her feet as she rubbed my back with her massive fingertip, listening to the soothing whisper of her voice. Eventually, she figured it out. She chuckled as she wiggled her toes playfully.

"You still think they're pretty?" she asked me, flexing her toes and spreading them for my benefit. Her red polish was chipped, and there was a small indention along the top of each foot, left by the leather strap of her sandal. I rolled onto my back and looked up into her face as she continued to rub my stomach with her finger.

"Yes, ma'am," I told her, and she smiled. Not that horrible predatory smile I'd seen earlier, but a sweet, sincere smile.

"I'm surprised," she whispered. "After what I did to you."

My mind raced, trying to narrow down exactly which offense she meant. Since she had shrunk me this morning, I had been taunted, teased, stuffed in her pocket, and nearly crushed beneath her foot. I finally decided that was the incident she was referring to.

"I'm really sorry about that, Dave," she told me. "About saying I was going to squish you and everything." She quit petting me, and lifted me up. I lay helplessly in her palm, staring up into her massive, looming face. Even with her pleasant smile, her visage was terrifying in its vastness. I fought the urge to roll over and bury my face.

"I was just really angry," she told me. Her breath was warm and stank of cigarettes and wine as it washed over me. "But you have to believe me, I would never hurt you in a million years. You do believe me, don't you?"

I wasn't sure, but the only sane response was to nod enthusiastically. Her lips peeled away in a wide grin that revealed her teeth. At my size, every imperfection was visible in horrible detail. I could see the tiny pieces of meat still stuck between her teeth, and the fine yellow streaks of nicotine along her gumline. It was horrifying, but I forced myself not to look away.

"You're my special little guy," she whispered, then puckered her lips together. Her hand moved me upwards towards her mouth, and my heart raced as I suddenly imagined myself being sucked into her mouth and ground between her teeth. I think I actually whimpered when her red, sticky lips touched me in a gentle kiss. Her warm breath trickled from her nose as her lips parted slightly with a soft smack. Then, mercifully, she lowered me away from her face.

"I'm going to take really good care of you," she told me. "I really think you're going to like it here."

"What about Julie?" I asked her. The smile faltered slightly, then returned. Somehow, it seemed less sincere.

"What about her?" Carolyn asked me.

"Just be nice to her," I said. Her eyebrow rose at the tone of my demand, so I grinned up at her and added, "Please? For me?"

Carolyn tickled my stomach with her fingernail. "As long as you and Miss Julie behave yourselves, she has nothing to worry about," she told me. "Okay?"

I nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

"Good." She cut her eyes towards the dark hallway, then looked back at me. "Since we've finally got some time to ourselves, why don't we have a little fun?"

"What about Eddie?" I asked a little hopefully. "Will he be... I mean, what if he wakes up and..."

"Don't worry about Eddie," Carolyn told me. She winked, looking inordinately pleased with herself. "I slipped him half a valium in his meat loaf."

I stared up at her, incredulous. "What?"

"I do that sometimes when I know he's in the mood for sex," she told me, giggling. Her smile suddenly faded. "You won't tell him, will you?"

I shook my head. "No, ma'am. Mum's the word."

"Good boy," she said, smiling once again. She plucked me from her palm with her thumb and finger and leaned forward, dangling me above her gigantic toes. "I think you've earned this." She tucked me between her toes and clenched them together, holding me snuggly. She began wiggling them together slowly, her warm and leathery flesh rubbing against my bare chest and back.

God, it felt incredible. I found myself moaning and squirming in spite of myself, and Carolyn gave a delighted giggle as she brought me to reluctant orgasm. I spasmed and sputtered, and collapsed limply in her grasp. Carolyn whispered, "[EXPLETIVE DELETED], that was quick," then plucked me from between her toes. She kissed me once again, then returned to stroking me with her finger.

***

It was sometime after nine when Carolyn set me back in the shoebox. Julie watched warily from the corner, then ran to me as soon as Carolyn's hand withdrew. She looked so concerned, almost in tears, as she hugged me and gazed into my face. "I was so worried about you, Dave," she whispered. "What did she do to you?"

I shook my head. "I really don't want to talk about it."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah," I sighed. "I'm fine. I just... it's just kind of embarrassing."

As Carolyn busied herself outside, cleaning the dishes off of the table and rinsing them off in the kitchen, Julie and I walked over to the corner of the shoebox and sat down. "Poor Dave," Julie said sympathetically, laying her head on my shoulder. "Just six more days, and I promise that bitch'll pay for everything."

"I know," I whispered, feeling oddly guilty, as if I were somehow betraying Carolyn. I knew it was ridiculous, that I had every reason to be angry with her. But for some reason, after spending the evening with her, my anger had abated somewhat. All that was left was a lot of shame, and a guilty longing...

***

The next morning, Eddie and Carolyn woke us up with their bickering. Julie and I were sacked out in the shoebox, which was still sitting on the dining room table. We'd fallen asleep sitting up against the cardboard wall, Julie nestled underneath my arm. She stirred at the same time I did, and I lifted my arm from around her shoulders. I hissed at the sensation of needles as circulation returned.

"Why didn't you wake me up?" Eddie was standing at the kitchen doorway, arguing with Carolyn. We couldn't see her from inside the box, but we could hear and smell the bacon frying.

"I'm sorry, okay?" Carolyn shot back. "You've been working so hard lately, and you were exhausted. I figured you needed the sleep."

Eddie sighed wearily. "I can sleep next week, okay? I'm fighting a deadline here."

"Why?" Carolyn asked. "What deadline?"

"Never mind." Eddie walked over and looked down at us. "Morning, guys. Did you sleep well?"

Julie shook her head. "No, Eddie. We spent the night in a [EXPLETIVE DELETED] shoebox."

Eddie gasped and stormed back toward the kitchen. "Why didn't you give them something to sleep on? A rag or a sponge or something?"

"Didn't think to do it," Carolyn answered back. "Sorry."

Eddie came back over to us, smiling apologetically. "I'm sorry, guys. I promise, it'll be better tonight. I'll find you guys something nice to live in."

Julie and I both nodded without much enthusiasm.

***

Eddie carried us into the lab, and Carolyn followed with our plates of eggs and bacon. He set the shoebox down on the workbench and upturned it gently, allowing Julie and I to walk out ourselves. I'll say this for Eddie... he never once picked us up or tried to handle us. I don't know if it was guilt, an aversion, or respect for Julie and me. Perhaps a combination of all three.

"Here," Eddie said, taking the two plates from Carolyn and setting them in the floor, on top of the plastic border circuit. Carolyn stepped back against the door, and Eddie walked over to the console. Julie and I both crept to the edge of the workbench and watched as Eddie took aim at our breakfast and shot it with a blinding white ray. The two plates were enveloped in a lingering white light for about five seconds. Then, they seemed to simply break apart in a cloud of luminous vapor. When the glowing cloud faded, the two breakfast plates remained at 1/30 of their original size.

I still have no idea how it worked, even though Eddie tried to explain it to me. Even Julie never fully understood it, and she's a lot more on the ball than I am. I know Carolyn didn't have a clue. She only knew how to operate the machine because I'd worked so hard to make it user-friendly and intuitive.

God, I was an idiot.

"Okay, I'm off to the store," Eddie told us, setting our paper plates down on the workbench. It was scrambled eggs, toast and bacon, along with two plastic cups of water. "And Carolyn's going to work in her garden this morning, so you guys'll be on your own until I get back. Anything else you need?"

I shrugged. "I don't know about Julie, but I've really got to pee. Bad."

Julie nodded a little shyly. "Me too."

Eddie slapped his forehead. "Damn, I didn't even think of that." He sighed, apologetically. "Just... um... just..." His eyes brightened as he reached over our heads to one of the shelves. He pulled down a half-empty bottle of water. Unscrewing the white plastic lid, he set it down inside the shoebox. "Just use that for right now," he said. "I'll try to think of something a little more pleasant when we get your new house set up."

He reached up to the shelf again, and plucked a tissue from the dispenser. He folded it up and set it down next to the bottle cap. "Just... you know... tear off what you need to..."

Julie sighed. "I'm not wild about these accommodations, Eddie," she said, shaking her head.

"I know, I know," Eddie said contritely. "I promise, I'll think of something better." He turned to leave, walking past Carolyn. She stepped toward us, grinning playfully as she bent down to regard us. Her grin faltered when Eddie grabbed her by the arm and pulled her out of the lab. "Come on, Carolyn," he insisted. "Leave them alone, okay?" The two of them left, and the door latched shut behind them.

***

It was Julie's idea to hang out in her car after we finished breakfast. It was amazing how, after only a day, seats our own size seemed absolutely luxurious. In fact, it was something of a relief to be in an enclosed area, somehow insulated from the vast expanse of the giant world outside. We sat and listened to 10,000 Maniacs (her CD, not mine) and tried, if only for a moment, to forget our situation.

We were reminiscing about Dr. Brauva and the rest of the gang at SMU, when we heard the beep of the keypad. A panicked look flashed across Julie's face, and she mashed the autolock button. The car doors locked with a loud click. She grinned nervously, a little embarrassed. "I guess that's not going to help, is it?" she joked bravely.

The lab door opened, and Carolyn came bounding in. Only, this time she held the door open to admit a second visitor.

Her sister, Linda.

"That's it?" Linda said, her voice tinged with disappointment. She was looking at Eddie's machine and hadn't noticed us yet. "I thought it would look more... I don't know... Star Trekky."

"Don't be stupid," Carolyn told her. "You don't know [EXPLETIVE DELETED] about science."

Linda snorted. "Oh, and you do?"

Carolyn approached the workbench, poking through the stacks of spare parts looking for us. She knocked them over effortlessly, calling in a singsong voice, "Come on out, guys. Linda wants to see you."

"Oh my God," Linda giggled. "You're serious? You've really got them here?"

"Somewhere," Carolyn said, lifting circuit boards to check beneath them. She slid the upturned shoebox around to look behind it. "I know you're in here somewhere, guys. You better not be hiding from me."

Julie and I watched her peer over the component pile. Her hand hovered overhead, her fingers flexing, eager to snatch us up at the first sign of movement. She sighed and slapped the workbench with the palm of her hand. We felt the car jolt beneath us as the wooden table shook.

"Should we go out there?" I asked Julie as we nervously watched Carolyn through the windshield. "I mean, it might be worse if we make her find us."

"I know," Julie said, her voice trembling. "But I can't."

Carolyn's eyes fell on the two of us, and her angry scowl quickly became a cruel, twisted smile. Julie and I both slumped down in our seats, wishing we could somehow make ourselves even smaller. We stared helplessly as Carolyn's massive palm came down over the windshield. Her fingers pressed against Julie's door, and her thumb against mine. The BMW's springs groaned softly as the car was lifted from the workbench.

Julie grabbed my hand and clutched it tight as we felt ourselves being moved through the air. "Hold out your hand," Carolyn said. "No, flat. Yeah, like that." The car tilted back slightly, then came to rest. The shadow of Carolyn's palm yanked away quickly, and we found ourselves staring into the wide-eyed, grinning face of Linda.

"Oooh," she squealed, tapping on the windshield with her bright pink fingernail. Her voice was so loud and piercing that Julie and I both clasped our hands over our ears. "They're so itty bitty!" She tapped again and continued in that grating, high-pitched voice. "Hello! Hello little people!" She moved the car in for a closer look, and her eye filled the entire windshield. Julie gasped and buried her face, unable to bear the scrutiny.

"Oh my God," Linda said again. "Is that really Dave?"

"I told you," Carolyn said. "He's my special little guy now." Her face appeared on the passenger side, leaning in for a closer look. "Aren't you?"

Linda giggled. "Can we... you know... play with them?"

"Sure," Carolyn said. "Put them down on the floor."

There was a falling sensation as Linda knelt and set us on the carpet. Carolyn stood directly in front of us, her sandaled foot tapping impatiently on the carpet with a muffled thump. Aside from that, the only sound was the music softly playing from Julie's stereo. And, I suddenly realized, the sound of Julie's quiet, desperate laughter.

"Come on out of there, guys," Carolyn said. "We just want to look at you."

"Yeah, come on out, little people," Linda added, giggling. "We're not going to hurt you."

Julie clicked the ignition key once, killing the stereo. She looked at me with a crazed grin and whispered, "Hang on."

I shook my head. "Julie, don't," I pleaded. "I swear, we'll be in so much trouble if she catches us."

"[EXPLETIVE DELETED] her," Julie snapped. She turned the key and the BMW's engine roared to life.

"Hey!" Carolyn yelled as we shot forward across the carpet. The ride was bumpy, like a road in ill repair, and we were going at least 60 when Carolyn slammed her foot down right in our path. I think I actually screamed, but Julie yanked the wheel hard to the left and we narrowly missed colliding.

"Julie!" I shouted, but she was oblivious to me. She clutched the wheel in both hands, grinning maniacally as she avoided Linda's foot and Carolyn's grasping hand. It was only a matter of time before they caught us; Julie's defiance was little more than an empty gesture. But after the way Carolyn had molested her last night, she wasn't going to relent willingly.

The frustrating thing was, I should have felt the same way. But, shamefully, I didn't.

A flash of pink as Linda stepped down in front of us. Her toenails were bright pink, just like her beaded sandals. We swerved to the right, and again to the left as Carolyn's foot slid into our path. Another hard left, and suddenly it was all over. Julie screamed as the red, rubber sole of Carolyn's flip flop covered the windshield.

"Get the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] out of there," Carolyn barked. "Right now!" She mashed down with her foot, easily buckling the car's roof enough to crack the windshield and shatter the back window. I fumbled for the door handle and got the door open, but Julie just sat there, staring helplessly as tears of frustration poured down her cheeks.

"Julie, get out of here!" I screamed, shoving at her. She didn't respond. I grabbed her arm and desperately yanked her free of her seat, dragging her over the middle console and out the door on the passenger side. We tumbled onto the carpet and lay there, powerless to do anything as Carolyn crushed Julie's car flat. The tiny BMW groaned and creaked, then finally snapped beneath the weight of her monstrous foot. She did it slowly, twisting her foot as if grinding out a cigarette. Warm water and antifreeze spilled from the broken radiator and puddled on the carpet, and the tires popped and hissed flat as the wheels buckled.

Finally, she reached down and picked up the ruined car gingerly, as if it were a toy, and dropped it into the trash can. It landed with a loud, ear-splintering crash that didn't seem to faze either of the giant ladies. Carolyn looked down into the wastebasket, smiling as thin plumes of white smoke billowed upward. She grabbed Eddie's open bottle of water and poured it into the metal can. An angry hiss, a lot more smoke, and the tiny fire was out. Carolyn dropped the empty bottle into the trash, on top of the car.

"You little [EXPLETIVE DELETED] bitch," Carolyn said, her grin menacing and hateful. She stomped down just inches from us, so hard that the wind actually knocked us back a little. Kneeling, she reached for Julie with excruciating slowness. And poor Julie offered no resistance. She just sat and cried quietly as Carolyn grasped her between her finger and thumb.

"Please don't hurt her, Carolyn," I pleaded, rushing towards her massive hand. I made a running leap for her thumb, but missed and landed flat on my face on the carpet. Carolyn stood up and held poor Julie up to her face.

I leapt up and ran to her. I scrambled up the side of her flip flop and climbed onto her foot. Desperate and shamelessly, I prostrated myself along the top of her tan foot and began covering her big toe with kisses. The usual smell of sweat and lavender soap was mingled with the acrid scent of burning oil and antifreeze.

"Don't hurt her, Carolyn," I repeated, craning my neck to stare into her distance, smirking face. "I'll do anything you want. Just let her go."

Carolyn sighed, then shook me off of her foot. I landed on the carpet with a thud. "Here, Linda. You can play with this one," she said. Then looking down at me, she added, "You'll like him. He's got a thing for feet."

"Really?" Linda asked, looking down at me with a gleeful expression. She knelt down and tentatively wrapped her fingers around me. She lifted me gently into the air, up to her lips, and whispered, "I can't wait to put you to work on mine."

"Let's go in the living room," Carolyn suggested. "Eddie won't let me smoke in here." She gazed at Julie and licked her lips. "And I'm really going to need a cigarette before we're done."

***

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.]

"God, you are so precious," Linda squeaked as she smiled down at me. I stood near the edge of the coffee table, eyeing her nervously. I was still trying to figure out if she would prove more reasonable than her sister. After all, so far she hadn't struck me as particularly cruel. Just playful and, understandably, fascinated by my tiny size.

She sat on the couch with her leg crossed, and made a big production of unbuckling her sandal straps. She slid the shoe from her foot and let it fall to the carpet with a thud with the other. She then moaned theatrically as she rubbed lotion on her foot and wiggled her toes. "God, I don't know why I bought those [EXPLETIVE DELETED] shoes," she said to me, shaking her head. "They hurt my feet every time I wear them."

"Well, you're in luck," Carolyn called over to her. "Little Davey there just LOVES to give foot rubs." She was slumped in Eddie's recliner, with one bare leg draped over the arm. She held poor Julie by the ankle and dangled her upside down, stroking her breasts with the tip of her monstrous index finger. Poor Julie was no longer crying or squirming, but simply hanging there and stoically waiting for Carolyn's petting to end.

Linda gasped and clapped her hands together, as if suddenly remembering. "Oh, that's right," she said, her smile growing wide as she regarded me. She leaned back and set her bare beet on the table's edge, lowering them so that her toes rested just inches from me. "Go for it, tiger."

I kept telling myself that there was nothing I could do, that I was only going along with this because I had no choice. But the sad, embarrassing fact is, my heart was pounding at the sight of Linda's amazing toes, round like boulders and meticulously pedicured. Her nail polish was pink, the same bright shade of pink as the beaded leather sandals that now lay discarded on the floor.

She giggled delightedly as I climbed onto her foot, and was soon moaning with pleasure as I massaged the red indentions that crisscrossed her flesh, left there by the straps of her shoes. "Oh God, Carolyn," Linda sighed. "I think I'm in love."

I glanced over at Carolyn, and felt my stomach knot. She held Julie in her cupped palm, cradling her against her tummy and hiding her from my sight. In her other hand, pinched between her finger and thumb, she held the shredded remains of Julie's blouse. She let it drop, watching with a smile as it fluttered down to the carpet.

"Ooh, look at those adorable little titties," Carolyn cooed, poking her index finger into her cupped palm. I couldn't see what was going on, but my imagination more than filled in the details. And the thought of poor Julie squirming and crying as Carolyn's massive finger fondled her was more than I could bear.

"Stop it!" I screamed. I slid down the side of Linda's left foot and bolted across the glass tabletop towards Carolyn. She looked up from Julie and watched with some amusement as I scrambled over the TV Guide, cursing at her. Then, Linda's right foot slapped down on the table in front of me, too close for me to miss it. I plowed into her instep and fell backwards, knocking my head on the glass.

"Where do you think you're going?" Linda asked in a teasing voice. She raised her foot slightly so she could grasp at me with her toes. They were still slick with lotion, so it took her a couple of tries before she got a good grip. And as she crossed her leg again, lifting me slowly into the air, she chuckled. "Now I've got you."

All my rage, all my frustration just burst and I let out a vicious, primal scream. "We're people!" I wailed, punching at her foot as hard as I could. "You can't do this to us! It's not fair!"

Rather than being intimidated, or even moved by my outburst, Linda just looked amused. She grinned and relayed my message to Carolyn. "He says it's not far," she said, giving me a playful squeeze with her toes.

Carolyn laughed. "I know it's not fair, sweetie," she said sympathetically. "Better get used to it."

***

And so it went. The morning dragged on with excruciating slowness, and Linda's games passed from torturous to merely tedious. She eventually got tired of foot massages, but decided it would be fun to drop me down the front of her shirt. I don't know how long it went on. Minutes, hours -- it seemed like days since Eddie had taken off and left us at the mercy of Carolyn and her sister.

I was drenched with sweat, and my muscles were aching from my long stint on foot duty, but I had no say in the matter. I squirmed helplessly between her breasts, occasionally feeling her fingers pressing me through the cotton of her tank top, mashing my entire body against her warm flesh. It was dark, and the heat and smell were overpowering. Just ten more minutes, I kept telling myself. I can do this for just ten more minutes.

Then finally, mercifully, she plucked from under her shirt and held me to her face. I actually shivered in the chill of the air-conditioner as I dangled there helplessly between her finger and thumb. She took the cigarette from between her sticky, red lips and exhaled, letting the smoke trickle from her nose.

"Having fun?" she said softly, before baring her teeth in a slow, terrifying smile. I stared in horror at her cavernous mouth, at her enormous teeth smeared with lipstick and stained with nicotine. It was so disconcerting at this size, the way a person's minor flaws were exaggerated to epic proportions. This close to her, I could see the blemishes on her chin that were camouflaged beneath a thick layer of greasy makeup. I could see tiny, white hairs along her upper lip and chin, and the wide pores along the bridge of her nose.

"Poor little thing is worn out," Linda said, giving me a gentle shake. From somewhere in the distance, I heard Carolyn's voice. "Mine too. Think they've learned their lesson?"

"I don't know," Linda said, winking at me. "I think this one enjoyed himself." Her voice took on a grating tone of baby talk as she addressed me. "Isn't that right? You liked playing on my pretty feet, didn't you?"

I nodded weakly because, come on! What the hell else was I going to say? My response apparently pleased her, because she squealed with delight and pressed me against her cheek in some kind of approximation of a hug. Or maybe she expected me to kiss it. "Ooh, I might just take you home with me, you little darling."

"The hell you will," Carolyn said with a chuckle. "I told you, he's my special little guy."

Linda made a pouty face. "Too bad." She looked down at me and wiped her makeup off of me with the tip of her finger. "You'd have a lot more fun with me, Davey boy." She smiled as she added playfully, "And my feet are a lot prettier than Carolyn's, aren't they?"

"Hey," Carolyn called. It was difficult to tell from her tone of voice if she was really annoyed or just playing along. "Stop trying to brainwash him!"

"Yes, they are," Linda continued, oblivious to her sister. She held me over her bare foot once again, dangling me just above her twitching toes. "Bare feeeeeeet, Davey," she said teasingly. "Sexy bare feeeeeet!"

"Linda." Carolyn's voice was stern and humorless. "Stop it."

"What's the matter?" Linda asked. "Afraid of a little competition?" She suddenly pressed me against the bottom of her foot, mashing my entire body against the pale, wrinkled flesh of her sole. She rubbed me along her arch and up under her toes. "Oh yeah, that's the stuff," she said with a giggle. "He's getting himself some foot now!"

"Put him down, [EXPLETIVE DELETED] it!" Carolyn snarled. I heard heavy footsteps as she marched across the living room.

"Oh, just another few seconds," Linda said as she slid me along the bottom of her toes, then down her instep. "I think he's about to pop his cork."

Then, suddenly, it stopped. I screamed as I was jerked rudely through the air, pinched painfully between Linda's finger and thumb. I kicked and thrashed, wondering if my brains were about to be dashed out against the wall.

When I worked up the nerve to open my eyes, I saw Carolyn's fingers wrapped tight around Linda's wrist. I could feel Linda's entire hand trembling as she struggled against Carolyn's grip.

"Ow, [EXPLETIVE DELETED]! You're hurting me!"

"Let him go," Carolyn demanded. "Drop him!"

Linda's fingers opened, and I fell about six stomach-churning inches into Carolyn's palm. Her fingers closed over me, almost protectively.

"God, what is your problem?" Linda asked angrily. "You said I could play with him."

Carolyn sighed. "We've played with them enough. I need to get them back in the lab before Eddie gets back."

"Oh," Linda said, not completely convinced. Then, with a trace of urgency, "Oh god, how are you going to explain that little car you stepped on? He's gonna freak when he sees that."

Carolyn opened her hand and looked down at me, her expression unreadable. I was still mad about everything that had happened this morning, but I felt a wave of reluctant gratitude to her for rescuing me from Linda. Seriously. I know how [EXPLETIVE DELETED] up that sounds, but I wanted so desperately to feel safe again.

She gently set Julie down in her palm, next to me. Julie was trembling, hugging her arms across her chest to hide her nakedness. I sat there awkwardly, unsure of what I should do. If there is such a thing as a chivalry gene, it must have skipped my generation. I finally touched her gently on the shoulder and asked if she was okay.

Julie looked at me, her eyes brimming with tears, and suddenly threw herself into my arms. She buried her face against my chest and wept, her arms clinging tightly to my neck. I held her and comforted herthe best I could as Carolyn carried us back to the lab.

"Um, Carolyn?" Linda asked, following behind us. "You're not pissed at me, are you?"

"No," Carolyn said a little too emphatically. "Don't be stupid."

"Okay, that's good." Linda's voice trailed. It was obvious she had something to ask, and was simply searching for the best way to ask it. Finally, she said, "I was thinking, maybe Randy..."

"No," Carolyn said. We reached the lab, and she punched in the code with her free hand. The door unlocked with a metallic snick and she pushed it open.

Linda gave an exasperated sigh. "No, what? You don't even know what I was going to ask."

"You were going to ask if we could use Eddie's machine to shrink your husband," Carolyn said. "And the answer is, no."

"But why?"

"Because Eddie would never stand for it," Carolyn said.

"Well..." Linda stood at the doorway, watching as Carolyn set us on the lab table. "Maybe you could shrink Eddie too. Then we could use the machine all we wanted."

Carolyn's face remained inscrutable. "You'd probably better head on home, Linda," she said. "If Eddie finds out I showed you his lab, he'll [EXPLETIVE DELETED] a brick." She kept her back to her sister, looking down at us the entire time as we stood on the table between her hands. "Besides, I've got some stuff to take care of before he gets back."

Linda nodded. "If you say so, sis. I'll call you, okay?" She grinned at Julie and me, giving us a playful little wave with her index finger. "Bye bye, you adorable little things. I hope Carolyn lets me play with you again real soon." She walked off down the hallway. Carolyn said nothing, but simply stood there, listening as Linda rummaged around for her shoes and her purse. The front door closed, and Eddie's dog Sire barked from the back yard until the sound of Linda's car was long gone.

Carolyn continued to look down at us, drumming her fingers nervously to either side of us. Finally, she knelt down so that her face was directly in front of us. "Okay," she said softly, her warm cigarette-tainted breath washing over us. "I think the best thing for all of us it to just pretend like this morning didn't happen. I'm willing to forgive if you are. Okay?"

Julie couldn't even look at Carolyn. She gave a slight nod as she stared down at the table. I was relieved, because some part of me had dreaded yet another confrontation between them. So I looked into Carolyn's impassive face and managed a smile. "Okay."

"Good," Carolyn said. "Now, here's the deal. When Eddie asks about your car, Julie, you're going to tell him that you forgot to set the parking brake and it accidentally rolled off the table while you were eating breakfast. Got it?"

Julie nodded again, but I could see the frustrated tears running down her cheek.

"Good girl," she said. "Are we clear, Davey?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Carolyn smiled then, a warm and gentle smile. "Glad to hear it." She stood up and added, "Because if either of you tries to get me in trouble with Eddie, I swear to God I'll take a lit cigarette to you."

She stood up then and fished Julie's blouse out of her shirt pocket. She waved it playfully a couple of times over our heads before dropping it onto the table in front of us. Then, she turned and left us alone, stopping at the door just long enough to blow a kiss in our direction.

***

"I hate her," Julie snarled angrily, pacing back and forth between the stacks of electronic parts. Carolyn had torn the buttons from her blouse when she'd yanked it off, so Julie held it closed in one trembling fist. "I swear to God, I'm going to [EXPLETIVE DELETED] kill her!"

"You're not going to tell Eddie, are you?" I asked, suddenly nervous. The last thing I wanted was for Julie to give Carolyn another excuse to torment us.

"Yeah, like that would do any good," Julie said bitterly. "She'd probably flush us down the toilet and tell Eddie we escaped." She shook her head angrily and let out an exasperated yell. "God, I hate being at her mercy!"

"I know," I said. "Me too."

"Really?" Julie said. "From what I could hear, it sounded like you were enjoying yourself." Her voice shifted into a high-pitched drawl, a near-perfect impression of Linda. "Bare feeeeeeeeet, Davey. Sexy bare feeeeeeeeeeeeeet."

"Hey, it's not like I had a choice in the matter," I shouted, feeling my face flush. It was embarrassment rather than anger that burned my cheeks, but I wasn't about to admit that to Julie. "You think I wanted any of that to happen? Jesus!"

Julie said nothing for a few seconds. Then, her anger melted somewhat and she offered me an apologetic smile. "You're right. I was out of line."

"I've got enough [EXPLETIVE DELETED] to deal with, you know?" I yelled. My arms and legs were trembling, and my voice was raw and shaky. "The last thing I need is you turning on me too!"

"I know," she said, hanging her head. "I swear, I didn't mean that, Dave. I was just... you know... lashing out or something. Taking out my frustrations on you." She looked up and walked over to me, taking my hand. And in spite of everything else that had happened that morning, I felt my heart race when Julie gave me a sweet, teary smile.

"This is all my fault, Dave," she said, giving my hand a gentle squeeze. "I'm the one that dragged you into this mess. And I swear, I'll get you out."

***

We were both calm and composed by the time Eddie got home. He was understandably upset about Julie's car, and asked us several times exactly what had happened. The entire time, Carolyn stood behind him, watching us with a tight-lipped smile. Julie and I both explained to him that Julie had forgotten to set the parking brake, and the car had rolled off the edge of the table. Carolyn, we claimed, had been outside in her garden when it happened.

Eddie's suspicions finally vanished, and he accepted our account of things. He apologized to Julie about her car, but promised her that she could afford a fleet of BMWs with the money she was going to make once he went public with his invention. This was, of course, assuming he could figure out how to reverse the process. He didn't mention that part, but it went without saying.

Afterward, he took us into the living room and set us down on the coffee table. "I'll be right back," he told us. "I've got a surprise for you two." While he went out to the car, Carolyn knelt down and whispered, "Nice job, guys. I'll think of some way to reward you." She didn't get a chance to elaborate, because Eddie came staggering in with a massive dollhouse in his arms.

"Where should we put it?" Eddie asked, glancing around the living room.

"How about right here, on the table?" Carolyn suggested.

Eddie shook his head. "We need to push it up against the wall, so these guys can have some privacy."

"But if we put it on the floor, they might get out," Carolyn said.

Eddie set the dollhouse down in front of the wall that separated the living room from the dining room. He pushed it back until the open side was flat against the wall. "They're not prisoners, Carolyn," he said. "If they want to walk around, let them."

"Okay, okay," Carolyn said. "Just don't blame me if they get stepped on."

Eddie walked over and scooped us into his hand. Unlike Carolyn, he was nervous and self-conscious about holding us and never did it for a second longer than necessary. He carried us over to the house and set us on the carpet, at the front door.

The house was, I may have mentioned, a garish thing of plastic. It was scaled for the three-inch plastic family that came with it, which meant it was just a bit large for us. Julie and I almost felt like children as we explored the gaudy, oversized rooms. An orange fireplace, complete with the decal of a burning fire, decorated the living room. The kitchen was equipped with a plastic refrigerator and stove, each of which held pieces of foam rubber food.

Each room contained furniture, which was still wrapped in a plastic bag and taped to the wall. We made our way up the ridiculous pink staircase, climbing on our hands and knees like children to the top. There, we found a bedroom, complete with a closet to hold the dolls' snap-on wardrobes. There was also a bathroom, complete with a blue toilet with a movable lid. One of the house's many gimmicks was a small button on the floor in front of the toilet. When pressed, a hidden sound chip provided the flushing sound.

"Well?" Eddie called from outside, peering through the window. "What do you think?"

"It's kind of dark in here," Julie said. She had a point. With the open side blocked by the wall, the only light came through the windows.

"There are some lamps and things in there," Eddie said. "They plug into the floor and the whole place lights up." He was far more enthusiastic about it than either Julie or I. "And it makes sounds, too!"

"Yeah, we found the toilet," I told him.

"Toilet, doorbell, radio, and I think a crying baby."

Julie sighed. "We might be able to do without that one."

"So, what do you think?" Eddie asked us again. "Better than that shoebox?"

"God, yes," Julie said. "Much."

"Good." Eddie stood up. "I bought you some other stuff, too. I'll be right back."

Carolyn took two steps towards us, but stopped when Eddie called over his shoulder for her to come help him. She rolled her eyes and tromped after him, her flip flops slapping angrily with each step.

Julie spread her arms melodramatically and gestured at our bright and tasteless new digs. "You know, Dave? This is the most [EXPLETIVE]-up day I've ever had. And it's not even lunchtime yet."

***

Eddie did manage to get back on our good side with the rest of his gifts. He and Carolyn carried several boxes into the lab. A few seconds later, we heard the angry buzz of his machine warming up. The lights dimmed momentarily, and we knew something else had been shrunk.

Eddie returned with new clothes for Julie and me. Nothing fancy -- just assorted jeans, shorts, t-shirts, and sweats, as well as lots of clean underwear and socks. He also handed us a box full of remaindered paperbacks, mainly spy novels and romance stuff. There were some magazines tucked into the box as well. A deck of cards, a couple of jigsaw puzzles, a cheap Walkman and a dozen CDs from Wal-Mart's bargain bin. But you know what they say. It's the thought that counts.

Another box held paper plates and cups, napkins, and plastic silverware. Yet another held toiletries, a bed pan, and several rolls of tissue paper. But by far, the most popular gift was the final box, stuffed with bags of potato chips, Oreos, Twinkies, and beef jerky. And sitting at the bottom of the stash was a case of Coors Light.

"Hope that'll help you pass the time," Eddie told us as we carried the stuff into our house. "I can't tell you guys how much I appreciate what you're doing for me. You've both been really good sports about this whole thing."

"Monday, Eddie," Julie told him sternly. "Don't forget. One way or another, you're taking us to GenetiTech on Monday."

"I know, I know," he said, then grinned sheepishly. "I swear, you nag worse than Carolyn."

***

By the time Carolyn had lunch ready, Eddie had helped us unpack the furniture and get it situated. To make the green plastic bed more comfortable, he cut a small square of foam rubber from the packing material and laid it on top like a mattress. Once Eddie plugged the house into an outlet, we had plenty of interior lighting and even running water. I put the bedpan and the toilet tissue in the bathroom next to the plastic toilet, and while neither me nor Julie were anxious to pioneer the new system, we both had to admit it was a vast improvement from squatting over an upturned lid.

God, it seems so surreal to think about it now. Julie and I weren't happy with the situation by any means, but we accepted it graciously. Eddie was genuinely trying to make things decent for us, and Carolyn... well, we were both certain she'd be getting her just desserts in a matter of days.

But that's the way it works when you're this size. At first, you cling stubbornly to your dignity. But as time wears on, you find yourself settling more and more often for conditions you would have once found unacceptable. Take Carolyn, for example. At first, Julie and I felt violated and threatened by her brazen mistreatment of us. But it wasn't long until we came to see her teasing and torment as inevitable, and we would endure it. From there, it was a short step to feeling relief and gratitude for the occasional kindness. We would do whatever it took to earn Carolyn's good graces, even if it meant demeaning ourselves for her amusement. And there at the end, we were simply grateful for each day that Carolyn, in her mercy, deigned to let us live another day.

It's amazing how easily we devolved from prisoners to pets to playthings, lacking even the ability to understand what had been stripped from us. Even now, I find it more and more difficult to remember how it felt to be independent and free to pursue my own life. It's only been a few months, but my life before Carolyn is hazy and dreamlike. It feels like it belonged to somebody else.

But I guess I'm getting a little ahead of myself.

***

"Okay, I'm feeling pretty good about this one," Eddie told us as he slapped the case shut on the matter proportioning matrix. The air was tart with the smell of solder, and the lab was quite warm despite the churning of the air conditioning. Eddie knelt on the plastic sheet that covered the floor and set something tiny in the center.

It was a wheel and tire from Julie's car. I felt Julie stiffen next to me when she saw it, no doubt remembering the sight of her car being mercilessly crushed beneath Carolyn's sandaled foot. God, had that only been this morning?

Eddie took a step back and brushed his unruly pompadour out of his eyes. "Okay, ready?" His hand hovered over the Enter key. "One... two... THREE!" He pressed the key, and a red light shot out from the modified camera, bathing the tiny wheel in a grid of light. The grid adjusted automatically in less than a second, responding to the circuitry in the plastic sheet.

Then, the little wheel was bathed in white, blinding light. For about a second, it actually seemed to be expanding, and I felt my heart pounding with excitement. Was it possible this whole ordeal would be over today? That Julie and I would soon be back to normal?

But then the light just fizzled and vanished, leaving the twisted, melted remains of the wheel and several shreds of black rubber. "[EXPLETIVE DELETED]!" Eddie snarled as he grabbed a fire extinguisher and doused the remains of the wheel in white foam. "Son of a bitch!"

He glared towards us, then down at the piece of chalk still clenched in his fist. Then, with a long stream of profanity, he hurled the chalk against the blackboard as hard as he could. "Why is this so [EXPLETIVE DELETED] hard?" he asked no one in particular. In mid-rant, he glanced back at us again and gained control of himself. He walked over towards us, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, guys. I know this is harder on you than me."

"You'll figure it out, Eddie," Julie told him. "I've got faith in you."

Eddie grinned sheepishly and was about to say something when we heard the beep of the security keypunch. The lab door unlocked noisily, and Carolyn came walking in. She immediately spotted me and Julie and smiled. "Hey, little guys," she squeaked. "If you get bored in here, you can always come help me in the kitchen."

"What do you want, Carolyn," Eddie snapped. He had no patience for interruptions, especially from people who were supposed to know better.

"Don't bite my head off, Eddie," Carolyn said. "I was just..." She paused for a second, gathering her thoughts. "I had an idea that I wanted to run by you, see what you thought."

"This really isn't a good time," Eddie told her.

She seemed to notice the mess for the first time. "God, what the hell happened in here?"

"Carolyn, I'm busy," Eddie said impatiently.

"I just need to talk to you for a second," Carolyn said. She looked in our direction, then added, "In private."

Eddie sighed. "I don't have time for this right now. You know I'm fighting a deadline here."

"I know," Carolyn said. "That's what this is about. I was thinking..." She glanced at us again, and a small smile played across her lips. "I was thinking, there's no reason for you to push yourself like this. Why don't you just forget about that deadline and take your time?"

"I made a promise, Carolyn," Eddie said. "What about Julie and Dave?"

Carolyn shrugged. "What about them? We can take care of them for as long as we need to. We'll just... you know... keep them."

Eddie snorted in disbelief. "Are you insane?"

"Hey!" Carolyn shouted. She clenched her fists at her side. "I know you've got a thing for little Miss Julie, right? So now's your chance to have her all to yourself. And I get Dave. That's fair, isn't it?"

"Holy [EXPLETIVE DELETED]," Eddie said through clenched teeth. "They're people, Carolyn! Do you even understand that? They're PEOPLE, for Christ's sake!"

"Hey, it was just a suggestion," Carolyn said, turning to look right at us once again. That smile on her face was so cold and predatory that it made me shiver. And poor Julie was trembling right next to me.

"Carolyn, get the hell out of here," Eddie told her, taking her by the arm. "And from now on, you stay the hell away from them. You understand? I don't want you anywhere near them."

"[EXPLETIVE DELETED]," Carolyn muttered under her breath. She yanked her arm free and stormed out the door, leaving Eddie to stare after her in helpless anger.

"Son of a bitch," he said, pounding his fist into his hand. "I can't believe that..." He stepped over to us and knelt down, so that his face was level with us. "Was she telling the truth this morning, about what happened to your car, Julie?"

For several seconds, neither of us said anything. Then Julie broke down and started sobbing. Eddie stood up, his eyes narrow and his mouth twisted into a bitter frown. "That [EXPLETIVE DELETED] bitch," he whispered. Then, "Listen guys, I don't want you to worry about a thing, okay? She won't be coming near you again. I'll make sure of it."

***

Dinner was a quiet, awkward affair, at least at first. Carolyn and Eddie sat at the dining room table, totally silent except for the occasional clink and scrape of silverware. Julie and I sat at our own dining table in the dollhouse, too nervous to enjoy the novelty of eating like civilized human beings.

Eddie had promised to keep us safe from Carolyn, but how could he possibly watch us 24 hours a day? What would happen when he slept? I remembered just last night (God, had it only been one night) when Carolyn had slipped half a valium into Eddie's dinner to guarantee that she and I would be able to spend some quality time alone.

"Oh [EXPLETIVE DELETED]!" I shouted, leaping up from the table. I bolted across the plastic living room and towards the front door of the dollhouse, chanting "[EXPLETIVE DELETED]! [EXPLETIVE DELETED]!" like some kind of mantra.

"Dave, what is it?" Julie called to me as I raced out the front door. I scrambled across the thick shag carpet, my stomach lurching with vertigo from the sheer vastness of my surroundings. Behind the dollhouse, the white wall stood like a cliff, rising so high I couldn't crane my neck far enough to see the top. I stumbled around the house, around the corner, shouting Eddie's name and knowing in my heart I was already too late.

The dining room was blurry and indistinct, like a distant vista. Even so, I could already see the figure of Eddie slumped in his seat, his head resting in his plate of tuna casserole. Carolyn still sat in her chair, eyeing her unconscious husband nervously. I stopped in my tracks and started backing away slowly. She still hadn't seen me, and if I could just make it back to the safety of the dollhouse...

"Hold it," Carolyn said, looking right at me. She stood slowly and walked towards me. "I mean it, Dave. You try to run, and I'll stomp you like a roach." I glanced around nervously, looking for any kind of shelter, but could find none. I was in the open, with nowhere to run. Just to avoid any chance of misunderstanding, I dropped to my knees and waited for Carolyn to pick me up.

"I'm going to a lot of trouble for you and Miss Julie," Carolyn said as she lifted me into the air. "The last thing I need is the two of you running away on me." She carried me around the corner to the dollhouse, and knelt down in front of it. For one crazy moment, I thought she might set me down and trust me to stay put.

Instead, she tapped on the room with her fingernail and said, "Come out here, Julie. Right now." I imagined poor Julie in there, cowering behind that ridiculous plastic furniture, desperate to avoid the gaze of Carolyn's monstrous eye through the window. "If you're not out by the time I count to three, I'm going to reach in there and get you."

She looked down at me, huddled in her palm, and sighed. "One... two..."

I heard an indistinct, muffled scream from inside the house. Carolyn stopped counting long enough for Julie to run out the open front door and into her waiting hand. Carolyn stood, holding one of us in each hand. I expected to see a wicked smile on her face, but instead I saw something nervous in her eyes.

"Okay, children," Carolyn said, with a certain forced calmness in her voice. "I'm going to put you somewhere safe, so you won't run off or go getting in my way." Her eyes darted about the living room, then the dining room. Finally, she carried us over to the dinner table and set us down next to her plate of food. Her hand moved away from us, hovering for a second before snatching her half-empty glass of wine. She lifted it to her lips and drained it in one desperate gulp. Then, she turned the empty glass upside down and set it down over Julie and me.

She walked over to Eddie, who was snoring obliviously. She grabbed him by the hair and lifted his head out of his plate, brushing the tuna casserole off of his face. Then, with a strenuous grunt, she wrapped her arms around his torso and pulled him out of the chair. He fell to the floor with a thud, still snoring.

Carolyn shook her head and sighed, looking almost panicked. She knelt and grabbed her husband by the wrists. Grunting and yanking, she slowly dragged him towards the lab.

"You two stay put," she told us, gasping from exertion. "If I come back and find that glass has moved an inch, I'll make you sorry."

***

The air inside the glass was rank with wine. The smell was nauseating, and the fumes stung our eyes. It was uncomfortably warm, and it wasn't long before the sides of the glass started to fog up.

Julie was crying, and I wasn't far behind. God knows, I sure felt like it, and I guess it was only some misguided sense of chivalry that kept me from it. Neither of us wanted to say it, but we both knew we were in serious trouble. Eddie had been the only one standing between us and Carolyn's undivided attention, and he would soon be in the same predicament as us.

The lights flickered briefly, and we knew it was done. There was nothing left for us to do but wait.

***

We heard Carolyn approaching, and braced ourselves. But she seemed distracted with something else. We heard her bumping around out there, busying herself with something in the living room. I stood up and wiped away the fog from the glass. Peering through, I saw her carrying the dollhouse in both arms. It was heavy, and she staggered with it over to the stairs. Some of the plastic furniture slid out of the open side and fell to the carpet as she struggled to carry it up.

"What's she doing?" Julie asked softly.

I shrugged. "Moving the house."

Julie sighed morosely. "God, Dave. We are so screwed."

"Maybe not," I said. "GenetiTech's bound to notice on Monday when they can't get hold of you or Eddie. No way Carolyn's going to be able to get away with this."

"You're right," Julie said, brightening slightly. "So all we have to do is survive the holiday weekend, and we'll eventually get rescued."

"Right," I said with far more enthusiasm than I felt. "Piece of cake."

***

I think it was about half an hour or so before Carolyn finally came down and released us. Julie and I were so relieved to be in the fresh, cool air that we offered no objection and no struggle when Carolyn picked us up. She held us in her palm and carried us upstairs.

"[EXPLETIVE DELETED] dollhouse," she grumbled as she trudged heavily up the stairs, still winded. "Eddie should have bought you a damn hamster cage, like I suggested." We reached the top of the stairs, and Carolyn carried us into my bedroom. The dollhouse sat on top of the dresser, the front pressed flush against the mirror. The open back of the house faced us, and jutted a few inches over the edge of the dresser top.

In other words, there was no way out of the house for us, unless we wanted to risk falling and breaking our necks.

Carolyn's fingers closed around us, and her hand turned as she gently set us down in the upstairs bedroom of the dollhouse. Eddie was lying on the padded bed, still snoring. His hair was damp from a recent bath, and he was dressed in a pair of sweats and a t-shirt from my shrunken wardrobe.

Carolyn bent down, her face filling the vacancy left by the missing wall. She smiled nervously. "There's no reason this has to be unpleasant for anybody," she said reasonably. "Just behave yourselves, and we'll get along great. Got it?"

Julie and I both nodded. Carolyn kissed the tip of her finger and reached into the house. She touched her wet fingertip to the side of Julie's face. Julie sat still and endured it, but I could see her shaking from the effort. Finally, Carolyn's hand moved towards me. She grasped me gently between her thumb and finger, and lifted me out of the dollhouse.

"Julie, keep an eye on Eddie, in case he throws up again." She smiled down at me. "Dave will be sleeping with me tonight."

***

Carolyn was in her bed, lying back on a stack of pillows. Her cropped shirt was unbuttoned and lay open, exposing her pale breasts and tan stomach. A distinct tanline ran across the middle of her midriff.

I sat on her mammoth breast, stroking the knobby pink flesh of her areola. She seemed to enjoy this a great deal. She giggled, and even gasped a couple of times when her nipple suddenly hardened beneath my hands. Finally, she sighed and lifted me from her breast, dangling me above her face.

"You probably hate me, don't you?" Carolyn asked.

It was the first thing she'd said to me since she'd put me on nipple detail, and I was surprised by the question. I searched her enormous eyes, looking for any trace of the viciousness or cruelty I'd seen that morning. Instead, she just looked worried.

"I don't hate you, Carolyn," I said. Because what else was I going to say?

She sighed. "God, Dave. What have I done? I've really [EXPLETIVE DELETED] things up now. I just..." She shook her head. "I just hate the thought of giving you guys up. Why did Eddie have to be such a [EXPLETIVE DELETED] about the whole thing?"

Looking up at me as I dangled from between her fingers, she gave me a sad smile. "I don't blame you guys for hating me."

"Carolyn, I don't hate you," I repeated. I had intended it as a lie, but part of me was amazed by how easily it came out.

"You're scared of me, aren't you?" she asked me.

I thought about lying again, but knew I'd never convince her. So I nodded and said, "A little."

"Poor baby," she whispered. She crossed her leg as she spoke to me, and brought her bare foot up to rest on her bended knee. And with a playful smile, she slipped me between her toes and wiggled them. She watched with delight as I writhed helplessly for about ten minutes. My spasm ended abruptly with an involuntary gasp, and Carolyn giggled.

She plucked me from her toes and this time slowly lowered me to her mouth. Too tired to struggle and kick, I simply let her touch me to her lips in a gruesome approximation of a kiss. "You've got nothing to worry about, Dave," she said softly to me. "I swear, I won't let anything bad happen to you."

She set me down on the warm flesh of her tummy and covered me protectively with her hand. I lay there, curled up beneath the warm safety of her cupped hand. I felt grateful to her for some reason, but I couldn't quite figure out why. "You're my special little guy," she whispered, stroking me gently with her fingers.

I didn't really hate her. Not then.

But I guess I hated myself a little for giving into her so easily.

***

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, it's not like Carolyn was some kind of evil super genius or something. So, how did she manage to get away with what she did? How did she manage to stay under GenetiTech's radar for so long?

That was the first question I asked Tim Ware when we were brought here, but I never could get a straight answer from him. He told me that GenetiTech's security was overextended due to a large operation in Stasheff, and that the department was undergoing some massive restructuring because the former head of security had been in a car wreck that left her in a coma. Tim assured me that, under normal conditions, Carolyn's scheme would have been uncovered much sooner.

But you know what? I don't believe him. I know you guys would like to lay all of the blame on internal turmoil or a lack of resources, but the simple fact is, GenetiTech [EXPLETIVE DELETED] up. You guys made the same mistake we all made.

You underestimated Carolyn.

***

Carolyn was busy the next day, working frantically to cover her tracks. It was Wednesday, July 3, and she had four days before anybody at GenetiTech would miss Julie or Eddie. The three of us spent the entire morning in the dollhouse, but it wasn't too hard to figure out what was going on.

Eddie, I should add, was a blubbering mess at the time. He wouldn't even speak to me or Julie... he just sat there on the oversized plastic divan, rocking back and forth and muttering about how this was all his fault. If Julie or I had been feeling particularly noble, we might have made an effort to comfort him and ease his guilt. But as far as I was concerned, he was to blame almost as much as Carolyn.

Carolyn had called Linda first thing that morning, and now the two of them were bumping around downstairs, moving Eddie's machine out to the garage. Eventually, the lights flickered and we knew they'd just shrunk something.

I walked to the open side of the dollhouse and peered past the edge of the plastic floor. We were sitting on top of my old dresser, and the floor was several stories below me. I felt a wave of vertigo as I considered the long, sharp drop. I sat down, letting my legs dangle. Julie walked up behind me and, without a word, placed her hand on my shoulder.

"God, I was so [EXPLETIVE DELETED] stupid," Eddie moaned from behind us, his fists clenched and pressed to the sides of his head. "It's my fault. It's all my fault."

"I swear, he's driving me nuts," Julie said. "I wasn't this annoying, was I?"

I chuckled. "At least now we both have somebody to blame. Kind of takes the pressure off, doesn't it?"

"Why did I do it?" Eddie wailed. "Why? Why didn't I see what she was..."

Julie sighed. "Eddie, shut the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] up, or Dave and I will throw you over the edge."

Eddie's diatribe became an indistinct whimper, lost amidst his sobbing. I glanced back over my shoulder at him, amazed that I actually felt sorry for the bastard.

"So, how was..." Julie trailed off, obviously looking for a better way to phrase her question. "What happened with Carolyn last night?"

I shuddered, remembering the evening spent in bed with Carolyn. Endless hours of being poked and petted, of stroking her nipples or squirming between her toes. And the worst part was, I hadn't offered any resistance. I'd let her have her way with me and, God help me, part of me had even enjoyed it a little. It was only now, speaking with Julie in the light of day, that I began to feel ashamed.

"It sucked," I told her simply. "I'd rather not talk about it."

I was spared further conversation by the sound of approaching footsteps. The slap of sandals as Carolyn and Linda trudged up the stairs to us. I felt Julie's hand tighten on my shoulder when Linda rounded the corner and stepped through the doorway. She was sweaty and winded, dressed in white shorts and a tight Harley Davidson t-shirt. She was carrying something in her cupped hands, holding it gingerly as if she were afraid it might break. I was relieved to see it was only Eddie's green pickup truck.

"Ooh! Hi there, little people," Linda squealed, crossing the room to us. She set the pickup on the dresser next to my car, then knelt to bring her face level with us. She wasn't wearing any makeup, and her cheeks were red and blotchy from exertion. Her blonde hair was tucked up under a baseball cap, hanging out in wisps in the front and around her ears.

I jumped to my feet and stood back, terrified as always by the sheer closeness of her. Julie clung to my arm helplessly as we waited to see what Linda wanted with us.

It was Eddie's first time to see one of them since he'd been shrunk, and he reacted as reasonably as could be expected. He screamed and fled to the far side of the dollhouse, huddling in the corner and hiding from Linda's monstrous face. Linda's grin widened. Her massive hand reached in slowly, past Julie and me. She effortlessly knocked our furniture aside with her fingers as she trapped Eddie in the corner and caught him between her finger and thumb.

Eddie screamed and kicked frantically as Linda lifted him out of the dollhouse and held him to her face. "What's the matter, Eddie?" she asked in a babytalk voice. "No kiss for your sister?" She pressed her squirming brother-in-law to her gigantic lips, making a horrible "mmmwah" smacking sound.

Carolyn came into the bedroom right then, looking quite annoyed. "For God's sake, Linda. What the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] are you doing?"

Linda jerked Eddie away and dumped him roughly back in the dollhouse. He lay in a crumpled heap on the plastic floor, shivering and crying as he buried his face in his hands.

"I was just playing with them," Linda said.

"We don't have time to play," Carolyn said. "We've still got things to do."

Linda heaved a martyred sigh. "Like what?"

Carolyn looked at us without a trace of humor on her face. The scowl on her face was enough to make my stomach lurched, and my mind struggled to reconcile the angry woman before us with the playful giantess who had spent most of the night playing with me.

"Just come on," she told Linda. "We can play with them later, okay?"

"Fine," Linda said. She stood and followed Carolyn out the door, leaving me and Julie to comfort a very shaken Eddie.

***

I told you Carolyn was insane, right? I mean, I figured that out fairly early on, but I don't think I realized just how unbalanced she really was. I don't know which prospect was more terrifying, Carolyn feeling cranky or Carolyn feeling amorous. But that was the great thing about being her prisoners... her mood could change five times before breakfast. Teasing could quickly turn into torment in a matter of seconds, leaving you wondering what you had said or done to bring about such a startling transformation.

It wasn't so bad when she took her medication. The valium left her a little spacey, but that was infinitely preferable to volatile and unpredictable.

As for Linda, I don't think she was bipolar or depressed or anything clinical like that. I think Linda's problem can be boiled down to the fact that she was a big [EXPLETIVE DELETED] bitch.

***

Eddie's Irish setter, Sire, was barking frantically downstairs. This was enough to startle Eddie from his daze. He looked up eagerly, as if clinging to some pathetic hope that Sire might bound up the stairs and rescue us. When the lights flickered a minute later, his face fell and he let out a wail of pure anguish. Julie and I looked at each other helplessly, neither of us sure of how to handle him. At the rate things were going, poor Eddie was going to be certifiable by lunchtime.

We heard the approach of footsteps again, this time just one set. Carolyn came into the bedroom in an even fouler mood than before. She tromped over to the dollhouse and thrust her massive hand inside, knocking all three of us out of the way. She opened her fingers and dropped the unconscious dog in the center of our living room.

Poor Sire was curled up and still, knocked out by the shrink ray. He still had a leather leash attached to his collar. Eddie called his name as he ran over to his dog's side and cradled his head in his lap. Eddie stroked the red fur with trembling hands, sobbing all the while and offering up incoherent apologies to the dog.

"That little [EXPLETIVE DELETED] snapped at me," Carolyn said angrily, extending her index finger to show us. There was a ghastly puncture on the side of her finger, although I imagine it simply looked a lot worse at our scale. A large drop of blood escaped the wound and slowly ran down her finger. She rubbed at it with her thumb, smearing it. "You're lucky I didn't flush it down the toilet."

Eddie looked at her, but said nothing as he continued to pet his dog. Carolyn poked him in the chest with her finger, knocking him down. He tried to sit up, but Carolyn held him in place with her fingertip. "Don't you have something to say to me?"

There was no anger, no defiance. Eddie's voice was weary with defeat when he said softly, "I'm sorry, Carolyn. It won't happen again."

We heard Linda's approach up the stairs. She came bouncing into the room and looked over Carolyn's shoulder, peering at us eagerly.

"Okay, it's all loaded up," she told Carolyn. "Anything else?"

Her attention still on Eddie, Carolyn said, "No, I think we're just about done here. Nothing left to do but call the police on Monday and tell them my husband is gone." She gave Eddie a cold, evil smile as she said, "Imagine, Linda. Eddie, Dave, and Julie running off with GenetiTech's property like that. God only knows how long they've been planning it."

Linda giggled. "I know. Do you think Randy was in on it with them?"

Carolyn yanked her hand out of the dollhouse and stood up to confront her sister. "Listen to me, Linda. You're just keeping the machine until GenetiTech comes and cleans out Eddie's lab. I don't want you using it."

Linda let out an exasperated gasp. "But that's not fair! You got to shrink your husband!"

"We're already pushing it with these three," Carolyn said. "Any more people vanish, and GenetiTech may figure out what's going on." She took her sister by the wrist. "Do not use that machine, Linda. Understand?"

"Fine," Linda said venomously. Her scowl vanished in an instant, and she grinned as she pointed at us. "Hey, do you want me to take them home with me too?" she said brightly. "Might be safer that way..."

Carolyn shook her head. "You live around too many people. Can't have Randy or any of your neighbors finding them."

"God!" Linda said, angry again. "You won't let me do anything!"

Carolyn sighed. "Linda, please. Just do this for me, okay? I'll let you come over and play with them any time you want."

Linda pursed her lips, mulling over Carolyn's offer. Then, she finally smiled sweetly. "Okay, sis. You can count on me."

"Good." Carolyn nodded, then looked over towards us. That wicked, predatory smile slowly crept onto her face. "Now what do you say we take these little [EXPLETIVE DELETED] downstairs and let them get a little exercise?"

***

Later that evening, after Linda had finally left, Carolyn treated us to a dinner of shredded bread and torn bits of bologna. Without the shrink ray -- I mean, "matter proportioning matrix" -- we were basically stuck eating scraps. I've never been a huge fan of bologna to begin with, but seeing it in chunks the size of my head was enough to kill my appetite.

Poor Eddie was still trembling and crying from the afternoon's events. Linda and Carolyn had both taken great delight in tormenting him mercilessly, pinning him beneath their feet and grasping at him with their toes. After about fifteen minutes of running from them, Eddie had finally collapsed on the floor in a fetal position, begging to be left alone.

So now it was getting close to eight, and we were all exhausted. I kept praying that Carolyn would let me be tonight, that she would let me sleep in the dollhouse. And if she had to have one of us to play with, I hoped she'd select Eddie. Petty? Sure. Hateful? Probably. But of the three of us, he was the only one that even remotely deserved this.

Sire was up and barking ferociously as Carolyn carried the three of us to the dollhouse. She bent down and peered in, giggling at the sight of the tiny dog baring his teeth.

"Who's a stupid [EXPLETIVE DELETED] dog?" she asked in a playful, baby-talk voice as she reached into the dollhouse. "Huh? Is it you? Are you a stupid little [EXPLETIVE DELETED] doggie?"

"Stop it!" Eddie screamed, pounding on Carolyn's thumb with both of his fists. "Leave him alone!"

With a giggle, Carolyn withdrew her hand from the dollhouse. "Sounds like somebody just volunteered to have a bath with me," she said, smiling down at us. She plucked me and Julie between her fingers and lifted us from her palm. She dropped us roughly onto the second floor of the dollhouse, right next to the oversized toy bed. We could still hear Sire downstairs, growling and running about, his claws clicking and scraping against the plastic floor.

"Sleep tight, my little darlings," she cooed. She kissed the tip of her index finger and reached in, touching it to both me and Julie. Too tired to offer any resistance, we simply endured it.

Then, she closed her fingers around her sobbing husband and carried him out of the room, stopping only to snap off the light.

***

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.]

For the next two days, Julie and I experienced a reprieve of sorts. Carolyn seemed obsessed with her husband, and kept him with her at all times. We were pretty much left to our own devices most of the day, while Carolyn spent her time out in the garden or just downstairs on the couch, tormenting poor Eddie. Every once in a while, we'd hear her giggle or shout angrily. Sire would perk up at the noise and start barking, and I'd exchange a nervous glance with Julie.

We saw Eddie during meal times, when Carolyn served us chunks of torn bread and shreds of lunch meat. The three of us would pick nervously at this unappetizing fare, while watching Carolyn tear into her own dinner like some kind of mammoth animal. Just watching her enormous teeth tear chicken from the bone was a horrifying sight to behold.

Poor Eddie was in worse shape at each meal. He was bruised all over, and couldn't stop trembling. He largely ignored me and Julie, and would instead stare into space with glassy, wide eyes. He made no sound, other than a light whimper when Carolyn picked him back up again.

Sunday night, she was carried us back to the dollhouse. Only this time, she Eddie down in the living room, right next to the green plastic couch. Sire ran over to him, sniffed him anxiously, then bared his teeth at Carolyn.

Carolyn set the two of us in the bedroom, then leaned in to speak to us. Her mammoth face filled the blank wall. As usual, her breath was warm with wine and cigarette smoke.

"I was hoping to get a little help painting my toenails tonight," she said, grinning. "But my husband looks too worn out to do the job right. So I was thinking, maybe one of you would be willing to fill in for him."

Julie glanced at me with a look of utter horror on her face. I wondered if she saw the same on mine.

"Aw, come on," Carolyn said, still smiling. "I'm not *that* bad, am I?" She reached into the dollhouse for Julie, who cringed and backed away. Carolyn extended her finger and touched it to Julie's breast. She stroked it gently, while Julie bit her lip and struggled not to cry out.

"How about it, Little Miss Julie?" Carolyn said. "Just us girls tonight. That sounds like fun, doesn't it?"

She grasped Julie by the waist between her thumb and finger. Julie's feet scrambled against the plastic floor as she was slowly lifted. She stared at me, wide-eyed and terrified.

"I'll do it," I announced to Carolyn, stepping forward. Carolyn's grin widened. She dropped Julie on the plastic bed and reached for me instead.

With a smile and a wink, she set me in the palm of her hand and closed her fingers around me. Her hand was uncomfortably warm, and her fingers were greasy with chicken.

"You two behave yourselves," Carolyn said to Eddie and Julie. I was inside her fist, so her voice was muffled but the tone was still clear. It was both playful and menacing. I could even imagine that infuriating, predatory smile firmly in place as she spoke. "Poor Eddie needs his rest."

***

Poor Eddie. I think he had lost his mind the moment he woke up in that dollhouse, and he never quite recovered. And no matter what humiliations and tortures Julie and I suffered at the hands of Carolyn, I imagine it pales in comparison to the ignominies that Eddie was forced to endure.

God, I still remember that day when Carolyn snatched him up and dashed him against the wall. The look on his face, in his eyes, as she wrapped her fingers around him. It wasn't terror, but glee. Wild, manic glee. His final scream was one of triumph.

But I'm getting way ahead of myself...

***

"I should have known you'd volunteer," Carolyn giggled. "Any excuse to be near my pretty feet, right?"

Carolyn was sitting on the edge of the couch, her bare left foot resting on the edge of the coffee table. She held me by my waist, dangling me over her glistening red toenails so I could blow on them. Her massive toes were spread and separated by cotton balls wedged in between.

To tell you the truth, I was quite relieved at how things had worked out. At first, she'd wanted me to actually work the brush. When it proved too difficult to lift the damn thing, let alone use it to apply polish, I'd expected her playful mood to sour. But instead, she'd made a half-joking comment about shrinking down some paintbrushes for next time, and then she had assigned me the more manageable task of blowing her toes dry.

God, I was just happy that she was in a good mood. I knew she was a little nervous about calling GenetiTech the following morning, and I couldn't escape the feeling that I was living on borrowed time. Any minute now, she'd switch from playful to cruel with the ease of a practiced manic-depressive.

"Are they dry yet?" she asked me, lowering me slightly. It was quick-drying polish, the kind that advertised "Wet to set in 30 seconds," so my blowing was more ceremonial than anything. I touched my hand gingerly to the nail on her big toe, and informed her that the polish was indeed dry.

Carolyn leaned forward and set me on the table, then flung herself back on the couch. She tilted her feet down, pointing her toes at me. "You don't mind getting that cotton out for me, do you, sweetie?"

"Glad to," I told her cheerfully. I walked up to her foot, grabbed a handful of cotton, and gave it a yank. It slipped free easily, and I staggered backwards.

Carolyn covered her mouth and laughed. I managed to pull the next two free with no problem, but she clenched up her big and second toe when I got to that final cotton ball.

"Come on," Carolyn said, shaking her foot slightly as I tugged. "Pull hard!" I gave it a hard yank, and she let go with her toes. Once again, I fell backwards on my ass.

"Careful, clumsy." Carolyn lifted her foot from the table and held it aloft, so she could study her toes. She flexed them and nodded her approval.

I guess I was feeling a little lightheaded. I hadn't eaten much over the last few days, and my sleep had been little more than fitful dozing. Add to that the dizzying smell of polish, and I had a pretty good buzz going.

I'm pretty sure that's why I did what I did. When she placed her foot back on the table, I walked up and planted an enthusiastic kiss on her big toe. I told myself I was only doing this to keep her placated, but I know now that was only a rationalization. The truth is, I really wanted to please her. The idea of it excited me.

Carolyn seemed excited as well. She giggled with delight and spread her toes to grasp me. I offered no resistance. Hell, I cooperated. I slipped between her toes and let her lift me from the table.

"Now I've got you," she purred. She wiggled her toes, gently grinding me between them, and I let out an audible moan. Encouraged, she continued to squeeze and rub me mercilessly, taking delight each time I squirmed in her grasp.

I knew I was going to hate myself when it was over, but I didn't care. My erection was painfully obvious, and so tight that it hurt. I writhed and groaned between her wiggling toes until I finally came in a single, violent spasm. Gasping and weary, I hung limply, waiting for the trembling to subside. I planted a very tender kiss on her big toe, then laid my cheek against the shiny red nail.

Carolyn fished a cigarette out of the pack and slipped it into her mouth, her eyes on me the entire time. I looked into her face and said weakly, "Thank you."

She lit the cigarette, then offered me that same infuriating smirk I'd seen before. "Don't thank me yet," she said, with a final squeeze of her toes. "We've still got the other foot to do."

***

Morning came, and I awoke bruised and sore. I was lying on the bed next to Carolyn, pinned beneath her limp hand. I remembered drifting off to sleep on her stomach, but some time in the night she had rolled over and dumped me unceremoniously onto the mattress.

She lay like a massive wall of tan flesh and pink cotton, snoring loudly. A faded portrait of Lucille Ball was emblazoned across the front of her oversized shirt, along with the words "I LOVE LUCY."

My own clothes were lying on the nightstand in a pile, well out of reach. Looming above them was the digital clock radio, which read 6:48. I knew the alarm was set for 7:30, so I was faced with a bit of a quandary.

Should I try to squirm free and risk waking her up early? Or should I simply lie there beneath her hand and enjoy the peace and quiet of the next 42 minutes?

I gave her finger a tentative shove, but it was like pushing against a soft, leather wall. Carolyn stirred and smacked her lips, and I held my breath, hoping she'd resume her snoring. I wasn't ready for this morning to get started.

Carolyn snorted a couple of times and let out a yawn. She lifted her hand from me to rub sleepily at her eyes. I jumped to my feet and ran to the edge of the bed, hopefully out of reach.

"Where do you think you're going?" she asked drowsily. Her eyes were barely open, and she had a sleepy smile on her face. "Trying to get away?"

"No ma'am," I told her. "I was just afraid you might forget about me and roll over."

She chuckled. "You think I'd forget about you? You should be so lucky." Her voice was thick and hoarse from the morning, but at least her mood seemed pleasant.

She stretched her arm in my direction and let it fall to the bed. Her hand came to rest a few inches from where I was standing. She wiggled her fingers, motioning for me to approach. I walked slowly towards her hand, letting her grasp me between her fingers and thumb. She rolled onto her back, holding me dangling above her.

"Today's the big day," she mumbled. "I've got to call those sons of bitches at GenetiTech and tell them how you and Eddie ran off with that invention of his."

"You don't have to do this, Carolyn," I told her. "It's not too late to come clean with GenetiTech. I'm sure Eddie and Julie will go along with me and tell them it was an accident, if you'll just..."

It was the wrong thing to say. Carolyn cut me off with a quick, brutal pinch that made me cry out. That playful, sleepy smile faded quickly into a stern frown.

"What did I tell you about that?" she asked me. Her voice was strict and intimidating. I fought the urge to struggle in her grasp, knowing it would only make her angry. Or angrier.

"I'm sorry, Carolyn," I told her, planting a supplicating kiss on her thumb, which was pressed hard against my chest. "I didn't mean..."

"What did I tell you?" she repeated, giving me a shake.

I stared nervously into her vast, brown eyes for any sign of sympathy, or even a glint of mischief. But there was none.

"That if I tried to change your mind again, you'd... punish me."

She smiled then, but it was a cold and tight-lipped smile. Somehow, it was even scarier than the scowl she had worn before. "Actually, I believe I said I'd take a lit cigarette to you."

"Carolyn, please! I swear, I didn't mean anything by it!"

"Shh." Still smiling callously, she sat up and kicked off the covers. She slid over to the edge of the bed and set me down in the overflowing ashtray on the nightstand. The dry, gray ashes swirled through the air like a foul smelling cloud, clinging in flakes to my sweaty skin. I stood up to my knees in chewed, nasty cigarette butts, most of which were stained red with lipstick.

"Stay put," she ordered me, tapping the nightstand with her index finger. "If you try to get away, it'll be ten times worse, I promise."

I was trembling now. My legs were quivering, and the smell of the discarded cigarettes was making my empty stomach churn. I coughed and wiped frustrated, frightened tears from my cheeks.

"Please Carolyn," I said, utterly pathetic. "I'll do anything you want. I swear to God! Just please don't do this!"

Ignoring me, Carolyn fished a cigarette out of her pack and lit it. She took a couple of drags on it, then slowly lowered the burning end towards me.

I tried to back away, but tripped over a cigarette butt and fell backwards into the pile. Gritty, nasty dust and cold ash stuck to my back and arms.

Smiling, sadistic, Carolyn slowly lowered the cigarette towards me. I pleaded with her and even prayed to her, desperately searching for the one thing to say that would stay her hand. As the smoldering black ember grew closer, I screwed my eyes shut. And in desperation, I screamed out, "Please! I love you, Carolyn!"

The cigarette touched me, and I screamed myself hoarse. But I suddenly realized I wasn't burned. In fact, it felt a little wet. I opened my eyes and saw she had pressed the filtered end to my chest.

Carolyn was squealing with laughter. She placed the cigarette back in her mouth, then snatched me up out of the ashtray. Chortling, she flicked my filthy genitals with her fingernail.

"You should have seen your little face," she laughed. Her voice rose a couple of octaves, mimicking the tiny and pathetic quality of my own. "Oh please don't Carolyn! I swear I'll do anything you say, Carolyn! Please! I love you, Carolyn!"

I was still weeping, trembling in her grasp. My cheeks were flushed from the stress and humiliation. But the freaky thing is, I wasn't angry. Seriously. I was so overcome with gratitude towards Carolyn for sparing me my inevitable punishment.

She took the cigarette from between her lips and playfully blew a cloud of smoke into my face. I coughed and blinked the tears from my eyes. "Thank you," I said softly.

She sighed. "I don't want to hurt you, Davey. You know that, right? You're my special little guy."

"Yes ma'am," I said, still eyeing the cigarette in her other hand. She finally reached over and snubbed it out in the ashtray, and I kissed her finger in gratitude.

"Just do what I tell you, okay?" She held me closer to her face, so that all I could see was her enormous mouth. "That's not too much to ask, is it?"

I shook my head emphatically. "No ma'am."

"Good boy." She pressed me to her lips and kissed me messily. Then she stuck out her tongue and made a "yick" sound. "You taste like an ashtray," she said with a giggle.

"I'm sorry, Carolyn," I told her. "I swear, I'll be good from now on."

And suddenly, that sweet smile was back. "Okay, Dave. Why don't we go grab a shower, before I call GenetiTech?"

***

Carolyn made one last tour through the house, to make sure there was nothing incriminating left for the investigators to find. I rode on her bare shoulder, clinging to the strap of her tank top to steady myself. Her hair was still damp and smelled really nice, like guava fruit.

I was still naked, and a little self-conscious of the way her warm skin felt against mine. But Carolyn had insisted, and I had happily agreed to the condition. It hadn't even occurred to me to ask her why.

The first thing Carolyn did was gather up all of our vehicles (including Julie's smashed BMW in the lab trashcan) and place them in a shoebox. She then carried the shoebox into the guest bedroom and snapped on the light. The dollhouse stood on the table, looking small and pathetic compared to the immensity of the rest of the room.

From my vantage point, I could see Eddie struggling to hold the barking Sire. Julie was upstairs, hurriedly dressing, racing against the approach of Carolyn's sandaled footsteps.

"Rise and shine, boys and girls," Carolyn said cheerfully, approaching the dollhouse. She knelt and peered in, smiling at her tiny prisoners. "I need you to gather up all of your clothes, books, and other stuff that's been shrunk and bring it to me."

Julie took one look at me, and her eyes filled with horror and pity. No doubt she was assuming the worst, and I wanted to tell her that everything was okay. Carolyn and I had come to an understanding.

But Julie spoke first. "Put him down, Carolyn!" she shouted, shaking her fist. "Right now!"

She was so outraged, so angry. But for the first time, I saw her as Carolyn must... a tiny doll throwing a comical tantrum. Carolyn reached into the dollhouse and flicked Julie with her finger, knocking her onto the plastic bed.

"I don't have time for your games this morning," Carolyn told her. "Do what I told you, or I'll put out a cigarette on your cute little ass."

"Please, Julie," I called from Carolyn's shoulder. "Just do what she says."

The look in Julie's eyes made my stomach hurt. She glared at me as if I had betrayed her. And perhaps I had, but at the time I was just frustrated with her for provoking Carolyn in the first place.

***

At last, all of our personal effects were gathered into the shoebox. Carolyn carried it into her bedroom and placed it on the top shelf of her closet, behind a stack of folded sweaters.

She then returned to the guest room and gathered up Julie, Eddie, and Sire in her hands. Sire was barking frantically, and Eddie held him tightly, trying to keep him quiet.

"You'd better shut that [EXPLETIVE DELETED] dog up," Carolyn said, "before I do."

Eddie looked so haggard and beaten down, as if he'd aged 20 years over the past few days. He had his arms around Sire's neck and was petting him furiously, whispering soothing things to the poor dog.

Carolyn carried them into her bedroom and set them on her dresser. Then she opened the top drawer and rummaged around through the disheveled pile of panties and socks.

"Here we go," she muttered. She fished a single, black stocking out of the drawer and held it up, shaking it and letting it dangle.

Julie stared angrily at Carolyn and shook her head. "Oh, hell no!" she shouted.

"Um, what's that for?" I asked Carolyn.

"Can't have you little guys running around today," she said. With her fingers, she opened the top of the stocking and blew down into it. "I'm sure those GenetiTech people are going to want to look around, and I can't have them finding you, now can I?"

She reached over and picked up Sire, pulling him away from Eddie. Sire cried out and barked frantically, his hind legs kicking like mad. Carolyn dropped him into the stocking. Next was Eddie, who offered no resistance.

Julie lost her temper and her composure when Carolyn reached for her. She kicked and screamed in Carolyn's grasp.

"Stop whining, you little princess," Carolyn said wearily, holding Julie to her face. "At least it's clean. One more word, and I'll go dig something out of the hamper for you."

Julie gave me one more withering glare before Carolyn dropped her into the stocking, letting her tumble down inside. She then held the stocking up to regard her captives as they struggled weakly in the nylon toe.

"Just to make sure you don't do anything stupid like try to escape, I'm going to keep Dave with me," she said. She flicked at them with her fingernail, watching them swing back and forth. "If I come back and find so much as a run in this stocking, you guys will be scraping Dave off of the bottom of my shoe. Understand me?"

I was pretty sure she was bluffing, but she said it with such conviction that I wasn't sure. And at that moment, I also wondered if holding me hostage would be enough to deter Julie and Eddie. Would either of them be willing to risk my life if it meant getting away from Carolyn?

I hoped not. I really doubted it. But I just couldn't say for sure.

Carolyn tied a knot in the stocking, then slipped it into the drawer. She threw a few more pairs of socks and panties on top of it, then knocked the drawer closed with her hip.

Finally, it was back to the guest room. Carolyn grabbed the dollhouse in both arms and carried it awkwardly to the closet. She wasn't so much worried about hiding it as she was just getting it out of the way. If the GenetiTech guys discovered it and asked her about it, she would just tell them it was a toy for Eddie's nieces when they came to visit.

Once everything was in place, she walked back downstairs and plopped down on the couch. She grabbed the portable phone, leaned back, and crossed her leg. And in spite of everything that was going on, I still felt a twinge of excitement at the sight of her sandaled foot.

Carolyn reached for me, and I stepped helpfully into her grasping fingers. She picked me up and set me on her ankle. Naked and trembling, I stared at the red flip flop that dangled from her foot, and the matching red nails on the toes that gripped it mercilessly.

"Okay, toy boy," she said with a playful smirk. "It's show time. You just keep yourself occupied while I make this call."

***

What can I say about Carolyn? You've spoken with her... you know what a good liar she is. During the course of her call to GenetiTech, she actually started crying. I looked up at her, a little startled, but she just smiled at me through the tears and gave her foot a playful shake to let me know she was fine.

But, oh, how pathetic she sounded. She explained that she had awakened that morning to find her husband and me gone, with no note and no word of explanation. My car and his truck were gone as well, and he had taken whatever he'd been working on in the lab.

Her voice quavered, poignant and brave, but eventually she broke down sobbing when she told them he'd even taken his dog with him. The guy she was talking to (I think it was Tim Ware) asked her to refrain from contacting the police or telling anybody until they could look into it themselves. And Carolyn graciously complied.

***

Two guys from GenetiTech showed up about twenty minutes later. Carolyn took a few seconds to put on her sad face, then plucked me from between her toes and tucked me gently into the pocket of her shorts. Then she went to let them in.

Most of the interview was pretty muffled from where I sat, but I'm sure you guys have all of that on file. Basically, they asked her the simple stuff. Had Eddie been visited by any people Carolyn didn't know? Had he been receiving any strange phone calls? Had he been leaving the house for unexplained errands? It was obvious they already had their hypothesis in mind and were simply looking to fill in the blanks. And of course, it was exactly the theory Carolyn had wanted them to have.

She mentioned that he had been meeting with Julie a lot more often than usual, to the point that she had begun to suspect the two of them were having an affair. She also said that Eddie, Julie and I would often meet in the lab there for hours at a time, and that Eddie would always play the radio so she wouldn't overhear what was being discussed.

When asked about Eddie's project, Carolyn feigned ignorance. She said she didn't understand any of that scientific bull[EXPLETIVE DELETED], which is probably why Eddie gave up ever trying to talk to her about it.

The security guys poked around in the lab, looking for any notes or anything Eddie might have left behind, but Carolyn had wiped the swipe board clean, and all of Eddie's notebooks were boxed up and sitting at her sister Debbie's house at the moment.

The whole thing was over in less than an hour. One of the men placed a call to GenetiTech, informing them to issue a high-security bulletin for Eddie's truck and my car. He also told them to check with Julie Martin's parents and see if she had ever made it home for the holidays.

The two men then cornered Carolyn and tried to put the frighteners on her. They explained that Eddie, Julie, and I were involved in something that was quite sensitive, and that she was under no circumstances to reveal any of the details to anyone, not even law enforcement. If she received any calls or any visits from the police, she was to contact Tim Ware at GenetiTech immediately.

If anyone questioned her husband's absence, she was to tell them that Eddie had left her and she had no idea of his whereabouts, which they claimed was essentially true. If anybody asked her about me, she was supposed to feign ignorance.

Carolyn agreed with just the right degree of nervousness and eagerness to please. And satisfied that they had the situation well in hand, the two security men returned to GenetiTech to file their report.

***

Julie was good friends with Rachel Foster, the woman that used to head up security at GenetiTech. And Julie has always maintained that, had Rachel been taking care of business here in Midland, then none of this would have gotten as far as it did.

But at the time, Rachel was personally heading up some operation in Stasheff, and Tim Ware was running things here in her stead. And instead of having Carolyn "removed," Tim opted to elicit her cooperation through mild threats and a small stipend.

After all, he reasoned, she was basically harmless.

***

Carolyn sat on the couch, a wine glass in one hand and the telephone in the other. She was speaking to Linda, trying really hard to be discreet just in case GenetiTech had tapped the phone line.

We were all on the coffee table, wondering (and dreading) what would come next. I was still naked, but was trying to cover myself with the discarded cotton balls from the night before. It helped, but not much.

Julie and Eddie were pretty shaken up after spending all morning tied up in a stocking and stuffed in a drawer. Neither of them would speak to me, as if they somehow held me accountable.

Sire was there as well, standing at the edge of the table and barking at Carolyn. So far, Carolyn was ignoring him. Lucky dog.

"I just thought you might like to come over and hang out with me when you get off work," she said to Linda, her voice weary and sad. "I mean, with Eddie gone and all, I'd really enjoy the company."

She winked at me and flashed me a smile to let me know she was acting. She seemed inordinately pleased to be including me in her little scheme, as if I were some kind of coconspirator. Hell, in her mind, I probably was. Julie and Eddie obviously thought so as well.

"I really need to talk to you," I whispered to Julie.

"Just [EXPLETIVE DELETED] off, Dave," she hissed at me, walking to the other side of the table. I wanted to grab her arm to stop her, but couldn't without dropping one of my wads of cotton.

"That's okay, sweetie," Carolyn said with a convincing sigh. "I understand. Maybe tomorrow for lunch?"

Sire just kept on barking and barking, even when Carolyn's gaze finally fell on him. Eddie shouted something unintelligible and rushed towards the dog to shush him up.

"That sounds great, Linda. I'll see you then." Carolyn leaned forward and slammed her palm down on the table with enough force to knock all of us down. She missed Sire by inches, but the wind from the blow was enough to send him rolling across the table. He let out a yelp and retreated towards Eddie.

"Bye bye." Carolyn turned off the phone and dropped it on the couch next to her.

"Linda won't be able to make it tonight," she informed us. "Randy's taking her to the Sizzler for dinner." She giggled and shook her head. "He's wanting to go on some deep sea fishing trip with his buddies next week, so he's trying to butter her up so she'll let him go."

I chuckled, earning another drop-dead gaze from Julie. I hated having her mad at me, but I didn't understand why she insisted on making everything so hard. If only she and Eddie would quit trying to antagonize Carolyn, life would be so much easier with her.

Sire once again found his nerve and bounded to the edge of the table. Carolyn watched with some amusement as the dog barked viciously at her. She raised the wine glass to her lips and drained it in one long gulp.

"That's enough out of you, you stupid [EXPLETIVE DELETED] mutt," she said. She turned the wine glass upside down and placed it on the table, over Sire. His barking muted, Sire jumped up against the side of the glass. He stood on his hind legs and pressed his front paws against the crystal, snarling at Carolyn's smirk.

"So, it looks like I've got you little guys all to myself for the rest of the day."

Carolyn reached down and grabbed Julie, who kicked and screamed weakly in her grasp. It was no use. I could have told her that. She was only making things worse by resisting. Carolyn tugged at Julie's clothes, stripping her roughly. Then she slipped Julie beneath her tank top, setting her astride her left nipple.

Eddie stood at the upturned wine glass, his palms pressed against the side, desperately trying to soothe his frantic dog. He didn't even notice Carolyn's hand until she had snatched him up. She removed his clothes as well and put him to work on her other breast.

She moaned softly and squirmed, then giggled with delight as Eddie and Julie struggled beneath her shirt. She stroked them through the fabric of her tank top.

"Really, Dave," she said to me, a hint of teasing in her voice. "Isn't it a little late for modesty now?"

With a sigh and a nod, I let the cotton fall from my hands. Pleased, Carolyn leaned back on the couch and placed her foot on the edge of the table.

"Don't you worry, sweetheart," she said to me, spreading her toes. "I saved the best job for you. I know how much you enjoy this."

Without a word, I walked up to her foot and squeezed myself between her toes. As she grasped me between them and wiggled them playfully, I stroked her big toe with my fingers and nuzzled it with my cheek. And I gazed up into her smiling face with utter gratitude.

She was right. I did enjoy it. I know how sick that sounds now, but at the time it seemed totally reasonable.

***

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.]

I didn't realize how far gone I was until Carolyn dropped me, naked and trembling, onto the plastic floor of the dollhouse. I squinted in the bright light. Carolyn's enormous hand still hovered above me. I wanted her to pick me back up, to hold me. I longed for the warmth and safety of her grasp.

Sire was barking as usual, straining to pull away from Julie and Eddie. They both crouched in the relative safety of the dining room, next to the orange plastic table. They both looked at me as they clung to the struggling Irish Setter. Eddie's face was hard, but Julie just looked angry.

"Poor Dave's too worn out to help me in the garden today," Carolyn chirped, stroking my bare back with the tip of her finger. "I figured I'd give him the day off."

Sire growled and snapped angrily at Carolyn, and she giggled. "Poor little doggie, all cooped up in this house. You wanna go outside?"

Her hand was already reaching past me, her finger and thumb spreading to grasp the dog. She effortlessly brushed Julie and Eddie aside and picked up Sire. He squirmed frantically and his barking grew more ferocious as she lifted him from the house. She flicked at him playfully with her fingernail, then tucked him into her breast pocket. His snarls became muffled whines.

"Leave him alone!" Eddie wailed, charging towards the edge of the dollhouse.

Carolyn offered Eddie a cruel smile as she stroked Sire through the fabric of her shirt. "Oh, stop being so melodramatic," she admonished him. "I'll try not to step on him or anything, okay?"

Eddie reached the edge of the dollhouse's plastic floor and fell to his knees. "Please, Carolyn! Take me, okay? Just leave my dog alone!"

Carolyn chewed her lip, as if mulling over the offer. "Tell you what," she said, reaching down. "How about if I take you both?" She snatched up Eddie and dropped him in her pocket along with Sire.

"Better be good to my special little guy," Carolyn said to Julie. She was still crouching on the floor next to the plastic dining table, glaring angrily at Carolyn. "If you aren't, I promise you, I'll hear about it."

Carolyn gave me one more affectionate stroke, then turned to leave me and Julie alone.

***

Remember what I said, about Carolyn's [EXPLETIVE DELETED] up games? You see, she was still convinced that Julie and Eddie had been having an affair. In fact, she was occasionally convinced that they were still carrying on in the dollhouse.

But Carolyn knew better than to confront them, because they'd simply deny it. So her solution was to lavish all of her affections on me, in the hopes of making Eddie jealous.

It was a sick game, one they'd been playing for years before I even showed up. Unfortunately, now that we were Carolyn's prisoners, it had become a game with consequences.

For the past five days, things had passed into a horrible but tolerable routine. Carolyn had kept me with her most of the time, obviously pleased with how well-trained I had become. She'd kept me naked, refusing to let me wear even a pair of boxers. When she wasn't petting me and playing with me, I spent my time riding on her shoulder or tucked in between her breasts.

A couple of times, she took me out to the garden with her. On these days, she kept me tucked in the breast pocket of her gingham shirt. It was uncomfortably warm, especially once her sweat soaked through the fabric and drenched me.

Nights were an arduous but manageable routine. I'd stroke her nipple while she slipped a hand beneath the sheets and brought herself to climax. Afterwards, she'd rub me along her foot and let me squirm between her toes until she had returned the favor. Then, I would fall asleep on her warm, bare stomach, her hand cupped protectively over me.

I had honestly come to see her as my goddess and protector. Or protectrix. Whatever. That's how [EXPLETIVE DELETED] up I was. When she rewarded my good behavior, I basked in her pleasure. And when she punished me for some transgression, I truly felt wretched for having disappointed her.

The only time I ever saw Julie and Eddie was at meal times, or when Linda came over for a visit. Sometimes, Carolyn would let Linda have a turn with me, but usually she kept me to herself. She often referred to me as her "special little guy." This epithet would usually earn withering stares from Julie and Eddie as they dangled helplessly from Linda's clothing or writhed between her fingers.

I vaguely remembered the bold talk of escape that I had shared with Julie, but all hope of that had withered and died. I saw no light at the end of my tunnel. Just day after day of being Carolyn's pet. The enormity of our sentence was so daunting that just considering it numbed my soul. My only "escape" was to put those thoughts out of my mind and bury myself in the task at hand. Which, in this case, was appeasing Carolyn.

***

"So, I guess you can get too much of a good thing," Julie said nastily as she approached me. "I was starting to wonder."

I climbed unsteadily to my feet and started towards the brown plastic stairs sculpted to look like wood. My clothes were upstairs in the bedroom, and I was really looking forward to being dressed once again.

"So what's it like, being Carolyn's 'special little guy?'"

I stopped and whirled towards her, more hurt than angry. "Why are you taking this out on me?" I asked her. "How is any of this my fault?"

"Because you let it happen," Julie said. "Because you let her do those things to you, and you don't even try to stop her."

"Stop her? What the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] am I supposed to do?"

She sighed, still angry. "I can't believe she's got you trained like she does. I swear, the way you run to her when she calls you makes me want to vomit."

Suddenly, I was angry. "What the hell do you know about anything? If you and Eddie didn't keep pissing her off, maybe things would be better for us here!"

She just glared at me, and I felt my cheeks burn. My mind raced to think of something else to add, but I had nothing. "Just forget it," I said lamely.

"No, please," Julie said, her hands on her hips. "Tell me. How are Eddie and I making things worse?"

Suddenly, I was trembling. A week's worth of anger and humiliation welled up within me and were threatening to erupt.

"Poor Eddie's just about lost his mind, and you've turned into Carolyn's favorite pet. I swear to God, Dave! I feel like I'm all by myself in this!"

And suddenly, I was weeping. It wasn't an angry, righteous outburst. It was the petulant outpouring of a broken man. "She only does that stuff to me because she thinks you and Eddie are [EXPLETIVE DELETED] each other," I told her in a sobbed-choked voice.

"Well, that's ridiculous," Julie snapped, shaking her head. "You know that's not true. Why don't you just tell her?"

"I did," I said, my voice truly pathetic.

"And?"

I took a wavering breath and wiped the tears from my eyes. "She told me she'd take a lit cigarette to me if I didn't stop trying to defend you."

Julie's eyes widened, the anger gradually melting from her face.

"You think you feel all alone? Christ! Do you have any idea what I've been through this past week? The things she does to me, that she makes me do..."

"You didn't seem to be protesting too much," Julie told me.

"I did at first," I told her, "but it only made things worse. So I finally just decided to go along with her to get it over with. And then, somewhere along the way..."

I felt the anguish overcoming me again, as I struggled for some way to explain my actions, to rationalize how I had willingly submitted myself to Carolyn's whims. Why even now, I longed to be held and petted by her.

"I think she broke me," I said softly, then burst into tears again. After a few minutes, Julie came over and put her arms around me. She whispered softly, soothingly as she squeezed me.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I'm so sorry." I didn't know if she was talking about her earlier outburst or about getting me into this mess in the first place. But I didn't care. I was just glad to have her back on my side.

***

The dollhouse was equipped with running water, so long as Carolyn kept the tank filled. It required quite a bit of effort to mash the plastic button on the counter by the sink, but eventually cold water spurted from the oversized faucet and filled the plastic basin.

The bathroom (and for that matter, the whole house) had been built for a set of three-inch dolls. I stood about an inch shorter than that, so of course everything was rather out of scale. It was almost like being eight years old again. Even so, just the close confines of the garish plastic bathroom were a welcome relief from the vast open spaces outside.

Once I washed my face, I used Eddie's razor and some soap to scrape off the whiskers that had grown over the past week. I nicked myself a couple of times, but was relieved to be rid of the itchy stubble. I went into the bedroom and rummaged through the clothes in the closet until I found a pair of sweat pants and WWF t-shirt. Once I was dressed, I climbed onto the bed and laid back on the folded tissue paper that served as a mattress.

I was asleep within seconds.

***

It was mid-afternoon when Julie woke me up. I sat up and yawned, feeling almost human for the first time in weeks.

"She's coming," was all Julie said.

I could hear Carolyn heavy footsteps on the stairs. She was talking in a high, playful voice, but I couldn't make out the words. Even so, I was relieved. At least she was in a good mood.

She rounded the corner and stood in the doorway, holding Eddie and Sire in her cupped palm. She was flushed and grimy, but grinning as she approached the dollhouse.

"Here we go," she said in a squeaky voice, as if talking to a child. She picked up Sire and set him gently in the house. The poor dog offered no fight, but cringed and slowly backed away from her hand.

"My husband and I are going to go have a shower," she told us, wiping her hand across her sweaty forehead. "Then I'll take you guys downstairs for some lunch."

***

Lunch once again consisted of torn bread and small shreds of bologna. Unappetizing as hell, but slightly better than nothing. Julie and I managed to overcome our revulsion and choke down what she'd given us.

Eddie was naked and shivering, still damp from their shower together. He seemed unbothered by his nudity, either unashamed or just totally oblivious. It was hard to tell just what was going through Eddie's head those days.

Carolyn's face was freshly scrubbed, and her hair was still damp. She bit into her own sandwich with gusto and chewed noisily.

"Poor Eddie," she said, her mouth full. Eddie started at the sound of his own name. His head snapped up to look at Carolyn.

"I don't think he enjoys showering with me as much as you do," she said, winking at me. "I think he'd rather shower with little Miss Julie here."

As she said this, she reached down and gave Julie a playful poke with her index finger. Julie let out a yelp as she fell over backwards. She tried to sit up, but Carolyn held her down with her finger. She gently massaged Julie's breasts through her t-shirt.

Julie squirmed and protested, and I felt myself growing annoyed with her. Didn't she know she was only going to make things worse? But she looked at me helplessly, pleading for my help.

"Carolyn," I said, climbing to my feet. I approached her monstrous hand calmly, smiling up at her. "Please stop..."

Carolyn looked at me, her predatory smile in place. Without a word, she reached down and grabbed me. She crossed her leg as she slipped me under the table, then set me on her sandaled foot. I felt myself slipping between her bare sole and her flip flop, and I grabbed onto the leather strap to catch myself.

She left me dangling there, too weak to pull myself up. I felt her foot buck playfully as she slowly wiggled her enormous toes. The rubber insole of her sandal slapped up against my back.

"Now, where were we?" she said, returning her attention to Julie and Eddie. "Oh yeah! We were talking about Julie's adorable little titties."

I could hear Julie's scream from the table top. I kicked feebly against the bottom of her foot and shouted impotently for her to stop. I doubt she even heard me.

Suddenly, Carolyn's palm slapped the table top. The thunderous slam startled me so badly that I almost slipped and fell. "Don't you dare run away from me!" Carolyn snarled, drowning out Julie's sobs and screams. "You try that again, and I'll cut off your little legs with a pair of nail clippers. Then you won't have anything to spread for my husband."

"Stop it!" I screamed, still kicking at her foot.

"If you two are going to [EXPLETIVE DELETED] each other, you might as well quit doing it behind my back," Carolyn said to Eddie and Julie. "You can do it right now, while I watch."

"We're not doing anything!" Julie screamed.

Carolyn slapped the table again in response. "I'm not an idiot, you little whore! Now..."

There was a knock at the door. Carolyn jumped, and I was almost thrown to the carpet far below. I clung for dear life to her sandal strap until she finally plucked me loose and lifted me above the table.

"God, that's probably GenetiTech again," she said, exasperated.

Glancing down at Julie, I saw she was lying on her back, with her shorts pulled down around her ankles. She was sobbing, her hands covering her face.

Carolyn looked panicked, no doubt running through a mental checklist of anything incriminating she might have lying around. She roughly snatched up Julie and Eddie and ran with the three of us towards the stairs.

Another knock, and Carolyn cursed. "Just a minute!" she shouted as she bolted upstairs with us.

She ran into the guest bedroom knelt before the dollhouse. Sire stood in the living room, watching her warily. She reached in and snatched him up so roughly that he let out a pained whine. Then she ran with all of us into her bedroom.

"Okay, stay here and stay out of sight," she told us, dropping us into the top drawer in her dresser. I landed on a wad of nylon stockings.

"Don't even try to escape, or I'll..."

The knock came again from downstairs, and Carolyn looked absolutely stricken. She reached down and grabbed me, yanking me out of the drawer. Holding me up, she looked down at Eddie and Julie, who were lying on a folded pair of her panties. Sire had backed into a dark corner, hoping to avoid Carolyn altogether.

"If I come up here and find any of you gone, Dave goes down the garbage disposal. Understand?"

Julie nodded and Eddie shrugged, which didn't exactly fill me with confidence. It was basically the same threat she'd used last time, and once again I found myself hoping that they would value my health over their own freedom. Or if not, that Carolyn was only bluffing about killing me.

Neither of them seemed like a sure bet anymore.

Another knock. Carolyn bumped the drawer shut with her hip and ran out into the hall, holding me in her clenched fist. She carried me down the stairs and into the front foyer.

"Okay, you be good," was all she said before she tucked me into her breast pocket. Then she took a deep breath and answered the door.

***

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.]

As soon as she opened the door, a shrill woman's voice cried "Carolyn, baby! You look terrible!"

The next thing I knew, Carolyn was being hugged. I was mashed between the two of them as they embraced.

"Hey there, Pookie," said a man's voice. No sooner had one embrace ended when another began. The smell of Brut seemed to soak through the fabric of Carolyn's shirt, making my eyes water.

"Mom! Dad!" Carolyn pulled away. I could feel her heart pounding through her shirt. She was terrified. "What are you doing here?"

"What are we doing here?" her mom answered, pushing her way past Carolyn to come inside. "That lowlife Eddie runs off with another woman, and we have to hear about it from some detective?"

"Never did like that jackass, pardon my French," her father said. "Told you at your wedding that you were too good for him."

"Um, what's with all the luggage?" Carolyn asked nervously. "Are you guys on your way to..."

"On our way, nothing! We're here!" I heard the front door shut, and the sound of heavy suitcases being dropped. "You can't go through this by yourself," her mom said, "and Lord knows your sister is useless when it comes to men."

"She sure married a sorry son of a bitch too, didn't she?" Carolyn's father said. I heard a muffled slap, probably his wife hitting him in the arm. "Well, she did," he mumbled defiantly.

"Don't you worry about a thing, Carolyn," her mom said. "We're going to stay with you for as long as it takes, to get you through this."

I felt Carolyn's hand touch me through the shirt fabric. "Great," she said without much enthusiasm.

***

I never did get a good look at Carolyn's parents, but I learned that their names were Raymond and Cecile White, and they were from Sweetwater, Texas. They bickered constantly, with a practiced ease that only comes from almost 40 years of marriage.

I knew absolutely nothing about them, but I harbored the hope that they would be more kindly disposed towards us than Carolyn or Linda had proven to be. So as I crouched there in Carolyn's pocket, I started concocting plans to escape, to somehow attract the attention of Carolyn's parents without endangering Eddie or Julie.

It was a bold plan. A brilliant plan, I daresay. Unfortunately, it was a very obvious plan, and Carolyn was already several steps ahead of me.

***

We made our way upstairs, Carolyn's mother following behind us. Her father brought up the rear, lugging the luggage up with him.

"Are you guys sure you wouldn't rather stay with Linda?" Carolyn was asking as she led them to the guest room. Which, as it happened, had once been my bedroom. "I mean, with Randy gone on that fishing trip and everything..."

"Don't be silly," her mom replied in a weary voice. "We came to see after you. We'll visit Linda when..." Her voice trailed off. "Oh, will we be staying in this room?"

"What's wrong, Mom?" Carolyn asked with little patience.

"It's just, you know... when we visit, you and Eddie usually take this room and let us have yours. It's not me, you understand. It's just that your father's back is bad, and this mattress..."

"This room will be fine, Cecile," her father said, shoving his way past the women. "Leave Pookie alone." He dropped the luggage on the floor with a heavy thud.

(Incidentally, "Pookie" was Raymond's pet name for Carolyn. He called Linda "Lulu." Cecile, who had no time for such nonsense, called them by their proper names. Or "baby.")

"I'm not trying to make any trouble," Cecile said, sounding offended. "You don't have to scold me, Raymond."

Raymond let out a loud sigh. "Fine. What say you give Lulu a call and let me take my two girls out to dinner?"

"Oh, not tonight, Raymond," Cecile whined. "We just drove two hours from Sweetwater, and you know how tired you get."

"Why don't I call Linda and have her come over for dinner?" Carolyn suggested. I felt her turn and start to leave.

"What's this dollhouse doing in here?" Cecile asked. Carolyn stopped suddenly. I could feel her heart racing.

She took a deep breath and said, "Oh, Eddie bought that a couple of weeks ago, for his niece Amber. Said he wanted her to have something to play with next time she..."

Carolyn let out a theatrical sigh, her voice quavering with emotion. For all of her faults, she was one hell of an actress. "Anyway, he left it here when he... when he left me."

"Oh, baby!" I heard Cecile take two steps, and suddenly I was smashed against Carolyn's breast in another embrace. "You're better off without him, believe me."

"What are these?" Raymond asked from across the room. "These little cars?"

"Don't be stupid, Raymond," Cecile said, stepping away from Carolyn. "They obviously go with the dollhouse."

"This one looks just like that truck Eddie drives." Raymond's voice trailed off in the sudden, awkward silence. "I mean..."

"God, Raymond! Can't you go five minutes without mentioning him? You're upsetting your daughter!"

"I was just..." Raymond stammered. "I didn't mean... Pookie, you know..."

"It's okay, Dad," Carolyn said. "I'm going to go call Linda. You guys get settled."

"This dollhouse stinks," Cecile announced as Carolyn was leaving the guest room. "Smells like something peed in it."

"Oh, for Christ's sake," Carolyn mumbled as she marched out of the room.

***

"What the hell are they doing here?" Carolyn moaned under her breath as she ran down the stairs. "I swear, this is the last thing I need right now."

I bounced about in her pocket, listening to the slap of her sandals as she trotted into the living room. She was really shaken up, and I was still hoping she would do something stupid, make some stupid error that I could capitalize on.

She plopped down on the couch, and I heard her dial the phone. While she was waiting for an answer, she reached into her pocket and grabbed me between her finger and thumb.

Her face was red and flushed, but she offered me a nervous smile. "Parents, huh? Always have to come along and [EXPLETIVE DELETED] everything up."

Before I could answer, the smile faded from her face. "Linda?" she said sharply into the phone. "You'll never guess who just showed up on my doorstep!"

***

Dinner was spaghetti and Ragu, at least for the big folks. I spent the entire meal tucked in Carolyn's pocket, my stomach rumbling angrily at the smell of the food.

Cecile and Raymond decided to diplomatically avoid the topic of Eddie, so they all engaged in awkward small talk as they ate.

At one point, Linda mentioned that Randy had left on a deep-sea fishing trip the day before, and wouldn't be back for two weeks. "Yep, just me, all alone in that house for the next two weeks." There was something pointed in her voice when she said it, as if she were hinting at something.

"Well, I'm afraid your sister needs us more than you do," Cecile said, assuming the hint was directed at her. "But if you get too lonely, you can sleep here with us."

"That's okay," Linda said, giggling. "I don't like sleeping with Carolyn. She snores."

"Oh, don't let me forget," Carolyn said. "I've got those... shoes for you upstairs, Linda. You know, the ones you wanted to borrow?"

"Oh, right," Linda said, a little too slyly. "The shoes. Can't forget them."

***

"[EXPLETIVE DELETED]," Carolyn mumbled as she set me down on the dresser in her bedroom. She yanked open the top drawer and snatched Julie and Eddie in her fist, dumping them next to me. She grabbed Sire with her other hand and dropped him on the dresser as well. He bristled and whined, but fortunately didn't bark. Which was a good thing, because in her current state, Carolyn might have very well swatted him.

"What's happening?" Julie asked me. Carolyn was already across the room, rummaging through the closet. Linda watched us from the door, her grin growing wider. Slowly, tentatively she approached us.

"Carolyn's parents showed up," I told her, my eyes on Linda. "So I think Carolyn's packing us off to her sister's for a while."

"Raymond and Cecile are here?" Eddie asked in a surprisingly rational tone. Of course, he was still naked which made his lucidity a bit surreal.

"We're going to have so much fun," Linda squealed, clapping her hands. She knelt to bring her face down to our level. "Isn't that right, Eddie?"

Eddie suddenly became self-conscious about his nakedness. He blushed as he tried to cover himself with his hands. Linda poked at him playfully, brushing his hands away with the tip of her finger.

"Oh, come now," she whispered, cutting her eyes towards the closet. "Why are you so shy? It's not like I haven't seen it before."

I glanced at Julie. She wrinkled her brow and gave an almost imperceptible shrug of her shoulders. Which meant it was just as much news to her as it was to me.

That was our first clue that there was something going on between Eddie and Linda. Or had been at one time.

Linda reached for him with her thumb and finger, giggling as he backed away from her. "Where do you think you're going?" she asked as she snatched him around the waist.

"Linda!" Carolyn snapped. Linda dropped Eddie and stood up quickly. Carolyn came over carrying a couple of shoeboxes. She upended each of them, dumping the shoes onto the floor. Then she thrust the empty boxes into her sister's arms.

"Go in the other room, and dump everything that's in the dollhouse into one of those boxes," Carolyn told her. "There's a bedpan in the upstairs bathroom, so make sure you don't spill [EXPLETIVE DELETED] and piss all over the place."

Linda took the box and hurried off to the guest room. When she was gone, Carolyn turned back to us. She grabbed Eddie's clothes from where they lay in the Kleenex box and dropped them on her husband, letting them flutter down from her open hand.

"Get dressed, you little [EXPLETIVE DELETED]," she said. As Eddie scrambled to get his clothes on, Carolyn scowled down at us. She was high-strung and in such a foul mood, and just knowing that we were going to be away from her for a while was something of a relief.

"I want you three to behave yourselves while you're with my sister," Carolyn told us. Her hand was resting on the dresser near us, and her fingers were drumming as she spoke. "Do what she says, and don't make any trouble. If any of you tries anything cute, I will find out about it."

She raised her hand and slapped it down hard on the dresser. All of us jumped at the force of the blow and the loud crack of her palm striking the wood. Eddie let out an involuntary yelp, and Sire started barking.

"Keep that [EXPLETIVE DELETED] dog quiet," Carolyn said. Julie immediately ran over and began stroking the Irish Setter, whispering soothingly in his ear to calm him down.

Linda came hurrying back into the room, carrying the shoe box. It rattled with each step as all of our belongings slid around inside. "Okay, now what?"

Cecile's voice called from the bottom of the stairs, startling both Linda and Carolyn. "You girls about done up there? Wheel of Fortune's about to come on!"

Linda giggled and Carolyn rolled her eyes. "We'll be right down, Mom!" Carolyn yelled back.

She took the shoebox from Linda and handed her the other, empty one. "Okay, go get Eddie's truck and Dave's car off of the dresser in there. Wrap them up nice and tight and toilet paper, and put them in that box."

Linda ran off to do that, and Carolyn once again gave us her undivided attention. She leaned over us once again, her face looming menacingly over Eddie.

"And you keep it in your pants," she said to him, her voice little more than a whisper. "If I find out you've been [EXPLETIVE DELETED] little Miss Julie again, I swear to God I'll get a pair of nail clippers and castrate you. Got it?"

Eddie knew better than to argue, or even protest his innocence. Not that he was all that innocent. I found myself wondering just how he had left things with Linda, and hoping fervently that they had ended their affair on good terms.

Finally satisfied that we weren't going to betray her, Carolyn's face softened. She reached down and gently picked us up in her cupped hands, ignoring Sire's barking for once.

"Just be good. Okay?" She leaned in and kissed us, or rather smacked her lips near us. Then, smiling, she set us in the shoebox with all of our belongings and placed the lid on top.

***

For several minutes, we sat in the darkness and listened to the muffled voices as Linda said goodnight to her family. The box bounced with each step she took, and our furniture, clothes, books, toiletries, and other various sundries slid along the bottom of the cardboard box.

Sire barked twice, despite Julie and Eddie's frantic attempts to keep him silent. We all held our breath, wondering if rescue or punishment would follow. But there were no repercussions. Sire's barks had been muffled and gone unheard by the giants.

After a bit more bouncing, we felt the box come to rest. We heard the slamming of the car door, and the distant hum of the engine as it started. The radio snapped on in the middle of a Cheap Trick song.

"This is all my fault," Eddie wailed in the darkness.

Julie let out an impatient sigh. "Yeah, we know, Eddie. You've only said so about a million times."

"So Eddie," I said in a conversational tone. "Just what's up between you and Linda, anyway?"

Eddie moaned. "God. What have I done?"

"Just think," Julie said, perhaps a tad cruelly. I couldn't see her face in the dark, but I could picture her vindictive smile. "All of this happened because Carolyn thought Eddie was [EXPLETIVE DELETED] me. When all along, he was really [EXPLETIVE DELETED] her sister."

"It's all my fault," Eddie repeated.

"Not entirely," I said. I was starting to feel sorry for the guy. I was also starting to worry about his state of mind, because Eddie hadn't been terribly rational since Carolyn had shrunk him.

"Carolyn shrunk me all on her own," I told him. "You had nothing to do with that. Okay, Eddie?"

"Well, he married her, didn't he?" Julie said. "Plus, he invented the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] machine that she used, right? So how is it not his fault again?"

"Oh, Christ!" Eddie began sobbing. I stared daggers at Julie in the darkness.

"Stop it, Julie," I said. "You're not helping things."

She snorted and was about to retort, but we felt the car stop. We all fell silent, wondering what was about to happen.

"She's just waiting to turn onto the highway," Julie said softly. "That's all. We're at the end of the dirt road, and she's waiting for the cars to go by."

The lid came off of the box, and Linda peered down at us, her face illuminated by the light from her dashboard. She was grinning excitedly, like a child on Christmas morning.

"Sorry, guys," she said. "I just couldn't wait until I got you home. I'm sure you understand."

She reached down into the box and scooped me, Julie, and Eddie into her hand. Sire retreated to the corner of the box, growling helplessly as we were lifted away from him.

"Okay, Julie. Let's put those cute little hands to work, shall we?" With her finger and thumb, she plucked Julie from her palm and dropped her down the neck of her shirt. Manipulating Julie through the fabric, she slid her along her breast until she was against her nipple. Linda stiffened and took a sharp breath, then relaxed. Her smile crept back into place.

"Good girl," she cooed, stroking Julie through her shirt. "Just like that."

Eddie was next. She set him down gently in the seat, between her bare thighs. Without a word to him, she hooked the leg of her cutoffs with her finger and pulled it open.

Eddie craned his neck, looking up at her with an inscrutable expression. Then, hanging his head, he trudged forward into her shorts.

Linda shuddered, then giggled with delight. "God, you guys wouldn't believe how good that feels." Finally, it was my turn.

"Don't worry, Davey boy," she said, her fingers wrapping around me. "Eddie may get in my pants, but I've saved a special job for you." She leaned forward, her hand lowering me into the darkness beneath the dashboard. In the dim light, I could see her sandaled foot resting on the rubber mat.

She raised her foot slightly, slipping me between her toes and the sole of her shoe. And as her toes pressed down lightly, holding me in place, she lifted her foot and placed it on the gas pedal.

"Don't fall off," she told me, giving me a gentle squeeze with her toes. "You might get squished."

She shuddered again, and let out an excited giggle. Then she mashed down on the accelerator and drove us home.

***

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.]

Linda and Randy's house turned out to be a single-wide mobile home set in a lumpy and unkempt yard. Some attempt had been made to camouflage the house's temporary foundation with shrubs and bushes, but most of these had either long since died or grown wild and unruly.

A single street lamp buzzed and flickered, bathing the overgrown lawn in eerie orange light. Tall grass and dandelions grew in patches, while other spots were nothing but bare dirt.

Linda got out of her car, gently holding us in one hand. The two shoeboxes were tucked under her other arm. I could occasionally hear Sire's faint barks from inside one of the boxes, but it sounded distant and muffled.

She bumped her hip against the car door to close it, then carried us up the driveway. The garage door was still opening with a loud, grinding sound as we approached. The filthy 40-watt bulb popped on, revealing something large and covered with a tarp. I could see oil stains and engine parts scattered all over the concrete floor of the garage.

"That's Randy's Z," Linda explained, glaring at the covered car. "He keeps swearing he's going to get it running, but it's been sitting there for a [EXPLETIVE DELETED] year."

She slipped past the car, stepping gingerly over the spare parts to make her way to the door. Without turning the knob, she simply kicked the door with her sandaled foot. It swung open with a creak.

"Home again, home again," she muttered, carrying us into the house. "Jiggity jig."

***

"Christ, what a mess," Julie grumbled as she surveyed our shoebox. The box was sitting on the dresser in Linda's bedroom. She had placed us inside, then gone off to the kitchen to rummage up something for our dinner. All of our belongings--clothes, books, toiletries, and several pieces of gaudy plastic doll furniture--lay scattered along the bottom of the box.

Eddie was sitting in the corner of the box, scratching Sire behind the ears and murmuring to himself. When he heard her approaching footsteps, he just began muttering louder, as if he might drown her out.

"Sorry I don't have anything better for you to eat," Linda said, peering down at us. "Or a nicer place for you to live. Carolyn didn't give me much warning."

Her closed fist descended into the box. She opened her fingers and shook her hand, dropping a small, crumbled pile of tortilla chip bits in with us. I smiled my thanks at Linda and picked up a fist-sized chunk of corn chip to gnaw on.

Sire barked a couple of times, only stopping once Linda's hand was clear of the box. He pulled loose from Eddie and walked over to the pile of lunch meat, sniffing it tentatively.

Julie kept her back to Linda, trying valiantly to ignore her. She was angry, no doubt still fuming about the drive from Carolyn's. I suppose I should have been indignant as well. But the truth is, I'd suffered much worse at the hands (and feet) of Carolyn. I actually felt like we'd gotten off pretty light.

I mean, Linda was a little too playful and she seemed to take great delight in teasing us mercilessly. But at least she didn't share her sister's dark mood swings.

I figured that had to be something. Right?

"Aww, what's the matter, Julie?" Linda asked, kneeling down so that her face hovered just over the open box. "Aren't you hungry?"

Julie had gathered an armful of clothes and was making an effort to straighten up the shoebox. There was something resolute in her face as she set to organizing the clutter. Maybe it was just a determination to be in control of something for once, or maybe she just wanted to busy herself and forget, if only for a blissful second or two, just how powerless we were.

"Julie!" Linda snapped. Her voice wasn't loud, but it was sharp. Julie stiffened and dropped the clothes. Reluctantly, she turned and looked up into Linda's face.

Linda smiled gently. "There'll be plenty of time for that later," she said. "Why don't you get something to eat?"

Julie shook her head. "I'm not hungry."

"Oh, okay," Linda said, shrugging. "I was about to go have a bath. Would you like to join me?"

Julie's eyes widened and her face grew pale. "Um, no. I mean, that's okay..."

"Oh, don't be silly," Linda said, standing up. She reached in and gently grasped Julie between her thumb and finger. Julie let out a barely audible whimper as Linda lifted her from the box.

"It'll be fun," Linda told her, setting Julie in her palm. "Just us girls." Using her nails, she began fumbling with Julie's clothing.

"Linda, wait!" I shouted. "I'll go!"

Linda shook her head, even as she turned her attention back to Julie. "Not this time, Davey boy. We'll have a chance to play later."

She opened her hand, letting Julie's clothing fall into the box. Her white sneakers hit the cardboard with a light thud, as the rest of her clothes fluttered down behind them.

"Poor little thing. You're just shivering!" She closed her fingers around Julie, completely enclosing her in her fist. "Don't you worry. I'll have you warmed up in no time."

Her gaze fell on me, then wandered over to Eddie, who was rocking in the corner. "You'll be sleeping with me tonight, Eddie darling," she said, a slight edge to her voice. "We got a lot to talk about, you and me."

With that, she turned and left. I heard the bathroom door close, and tried not to think about what poor Julie was about to go through.

Eddie, meanwhile, clung to his dog and kept whimpering. With Linda out of the room, his mutterings became just a little more coherent. "Oh God, I [EXPLETIVE DELETED] up so bad. I shouldn't have done it, Sire. I never should've [EXPLETIVE DELETED] done it."

I let out an annoyed sigh. "Shouldn't have done what, Eddie? What are you on about now?"

Eddie just shook his head. "This is all my fault. Stupid! Stupid!"

"Eddie, were you and Linda having an affair?"

Eddie stared at me, his face frozen in an uncomfortable state of surprise. Then, suddenly, he just crumbled and began bawling. His cries were loud wails, like the bray of an animal.

"God," he gasped between sobs. "Why did I have to [EXPLETIVE DELETED] things up so bad?"

***

As it turns out, Eddie and Linda had been having an on-again/off-again affair for the past decade. Linda's husband Randy had been too busy with his own indiscretions to even suspect them. But Carolyn had known something was up.

She'd somehow known Eddie was carrying on with someone, but she'd never figured out it was with her own sister. She'd been convinced that Eddie was cuckolding her with one of the women at SPECTRUM, and over the past ten years her list of suspects had grown considerably. Julie was only the latest target of Carolyn's suspicions.

Of course, with the benefit of hindsight, it all seems so obvious. When Eddie first introduced me to Linda last June, I could see there was a lot of tension between them. I didn't know Eddie very well at the time, and I just assumed he found Linda to be vapid and abrasive. God knows I did.

But now, I suspect the truth was a bit more melodramatic. I really think Eddie wanted to break things off with Linda, but kept recanting when Linda threatened to spill the beans to Carolyn.

That last bit is just conjecture on my part, but it's all I've got. After all, it's not like we can get the full story from Eddie or Linda...

***

It must have been an hour or so later when I heard the bathroom door open. By this point, Eddie's crazed ramblings had become incoherent once again. Sire had broken loose and was nosing around the large pile of broken chips. He raised his head and barked twice as Linda's face suddenly loomed over us.

Her wet hair was bound up in a towel, and her face was freshly scrubbed. She lowered her hand into the box and gently set Julie, damp and shivering, next to me.

Julie sat huddled and naked, hugging her knees to her chest. Her long hair was damp and plastered to her back and shoulders. She looked up at me pleadingly, her eyes red and swollen with tears.

"You better get some clothes on before you catch cold," Linda said, gently stroking Julie with her index finger. Julie scuttled like a crab to get away from Linda's touch.

"Besides, we don't need to be giving Eddie here any ideas, do we?" Linda winked at Julie, as if the two of them had shared a joke. "God knows, he has a hard enough time keeping it in his pants as it is."

Sire bristled and barked again, but quickly retreated when Linda made as if to grab him. He bolted behind the overturned plastic couch, then barked again.

Linda simply shook her head, then smiled as her eyes fell on me. I offered no resistance when she picked me up by my waist and lifted me up to her face. Her breath, hot and cloying with Peppermint Scope, washed over me and blew my hair from my face.

"Okay, Davey," she said, carrying me into the living room. "I'm sure I can find something to keep you entertained."

***

Linda sat on the couch in the dark, eerily illuminated by the glow of the huge TV. She wore a pair of blue panties and a white tank top with the faded words EAGER BEAVER emblazoned across the front. Her long legs were stretched out, her bare feet resting on the edge of the coffee table.

She had set me on her left foot, and now I was scratching near her toes. Her skin was still warm and slick with lotion, and it smelled faintly of strawberries.

"Oh, that's good," she sighed. I glanced up at her huge toes, twitching pleasurably in the flickering light of the TV. I swallowed and tried to ignore the familiar, shameful longing that was creeping over me. Not just a physical urge, but the temptation to simply surrender and become Linda's pet.

It was so exhausting, clinging to what shreds of my dignity remained, and it would be so easy to just submit to her. She wasn't the monster that Carolyn was. She might even protect us from her sister, if she felt we were hers.

My heart was pounding as I climbed up her foot, towards her beautiful toes. The pink polish on her nails glistened oddly in the TV's blue light. I could feel the tendons in her foot flexing beneath me as her toes wiggled, and for some reason even that excited me.

"Whatcha doing, Davey?" Linda asked playfully. She lifted her other foot and nuzzled me with her big toe, gently rubbing it along my back. Caught up in the moment, I pressed my face to her foot and kissed the warm, soft flesh. It tasted of lotion, but I didn't care. My heart raced and my breathing grew harder and she toyed with me mercilessly.

"You like that?" Linda became less gentle, mashing me against one foot with the toes of her other, but I didn't care. I was caught up in the rhythm of it, grinding my erection against her foot. I was reveling in my helplessness, basking in the glee of her sheer power.

She could have crushed me right then, and I would have died worshipping her.

But suddenly, it stopped. "What the hell?" Linda muttered, startled. She shook me loose and put her feet on the floor. I landed with a thud on the wooden coffee table, dazed and bruised, but otherwise unharmed.

Linda was pawing frantically for the remote control. At last she found it and cranked up the volume on the TV.

The TV, I should mention, was a huge flat screen model, a luxury horribly out of place amidst the rest of the squalor. The local news was on, but the image was distorted and stretched to fit the wide screen.

An attractive Hispanic woman, made short and stumpy, was sitting at the anchor desk. On the screen to her right was an odd graphic. It showed the silhouette of a tiny man standing in a giant hand, along with a couple of corporate logos--the stylized DNA helix of GenetiTech and the prismatic rainbow of SPECTRUM.

"...statement today," the news anchor reported, "categorically denied all allegations of an illicit affair between GenetiTech security liaison Rachel Foster and Paul Dalton, the biological father of Raymond Miller. This new scandal has arrived on the heels of last week's tragic car wreck, which left Dalton dead and Foster in a coma..."

"Jesus, that scared me," Linda said with a giggle as she turned the volume back down. "I thought that was going to be about you guys."

She noticed me lying in a crumpled heap on the table. She tossed the remote to the side and leaned forward, gently scooping me up with her fingers. "Poor Davey," she said, stroking me gently. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

"I'm okay," I told her. "Just a little tired, that's all." The frantic, desperate mood had departed. My cheeks were flushed with embarrassment, but I hoped she wouldn't notice in the dim light.

"Poor little thing," she said. She leaned back, sinking down into the sagging cushions of the couch. She set me down on her stomach, her hand cupped protectively over me.

"Eddie's sleeping with me tonight," she told me. "He and I have a lot of things to discuss, you know. Baggage."

She stretched out her legs again, propping her feet on the coffee table. "But maybe tomorrow night you can spend the night with me," she said. I looked up into her vast face, and she gave me a playful wink.

"I've got things in mind that'll make you forget all about my [EXPLETIVE DELETED] feet."

***

Around midnight, Linda carried me into the bedroom. Sire barked at her approach, but took cover behind the plastic couch when she lowered her hand and set me inside the box.

Without a word, she wrapped her fingers around Eddie and lifted him away from us. He offered no resistance, but I could hear his soft whimpers as Linda carried him into the bathroom and shut the door.

The mess inside the box had been straightened somewhat. Most of the furniture was turned upright, a lot of the clothes had been folded and stacked neatly against the side of the box. Most of the rest had been organized into neat piles. Julie was still going through them, almost manically.

I grabbed a piece of corn chip from the pile and nibbled on it as I approached her. She had slipped into a pair of sweats that were slightly baggy on her.

"Looks like you've been busy."

There was a look of genuine concern on her face when she saw me. "Are you okay, Dave?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Your lip is split, and your eye is a little swollen." She came over and gingerly touched my cheek. "What happened? Did you challenge Linda to a fist fight?"

I laughed, and so did she. Damn, it felt good.

"No, she got startled by something on the news and she dropped me. I sorta hit the table hard."

"She's a [EXPLETIVE DELETED] klutz, isn't she?" Julie said, shaking her head. "She dropped me too, when we were in the tub. Then she spent about ten minutes trying to fish me out of the water with her toes."

She shuddered. "I swear, Dave. I'll never understand what your fixation is with feet."

"Well, to be fair, I prefer them when they're not the size of a [EXPLETIVE DELETED] bus."

"Right," she said, grinning. "I remember when you used to try and sneak peeks at mine, when I was tutoring you."

I felt my cheeks redden. "Um... you knew?"

"Well, you weren't exactly subtle. Besides, I thought it was kind of cute. I used to wear sandals just so you'd have something to look at."

"You tease."

She giggled. "I don't know why everything seems so funny right now. I think I'm losing my mind."

"You and me both. We're probably just two steps behind Eddie."

She shook her head. "He's starting to scare me, Dave. I swear, he's not making any sense any more."

"I know. I think Carolyn really did a number on him, and I'm pretty sure Linda's going to put him through the wringer tonight. I think you and I may have gotten off lightly."

"Yeah," she said bitterly. "We're the lucky ones."

"Well, maybe not lucky, but..." I suddenly remembered the news broadcast I'd seen. "Oh, crap! I have to tell you something."

"What. You and Linda get engaged or something?"

"I'm serious."

The smirk left her face immediately. "What is it, Dave?"

"We were watching the news, and there was a story about your friend Rachel."

"What about her?"

"Um... look, I'm sorry I'm telling you this, okay? You've got enough to deal with without..."

"What about her, Dave," Julie asked me again.

"She was in a car wreck last week," I said.

"This was on the news?" Julie grabbed my hand. "What did they say? Was she killed?"

"No, but she's in a coma."

"Oh, God." Julie's composure shattered and she simply crumpled. She wept bitterly. I knelt down next to her awkwardly and put my arm around her.

"I'm sorry," I told her. "I thought you should know."

She buried her face in my shoulder, her sobs muffled against my t-shirt. I put my other arm around her and hugged her, and she hugged me back.

For about five minutes, she cried and I did my best to comfort her. I stoked her hair and whispered stupid things like, "Shhhh," and "It's okay."

Then she looked up at me. Her eyes were red and swollen, her cheeks flushed and wet with tears. "I'm a horrible person, Dave," she whispered.

"Why would you think that?" I asked.

She took a wavering breath. "Because a good friend of mine is in the hospital and could die, and all I can think is, who the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] is going to rescue us now?"

***

The toilet flushed and the bathroom door opened. Linda walked out, snapping off the light behind her. She walked past the dresser and smiled down at us in the box. Eddie sat precariously on her shoulder, clinging to the strap of her tank top to steady himself.

"What's wrong, Julie," she asked, reaching down towards us. I hugged Julie closer to me as Linda's massive finger stroked us both.

"I was just telling her about Rachel Foster," I said.

"Who?"

"The woman on the news. The one that was in a wreck." I looked up straight into Linda's eyes. "She and Julie are good friends."

Linda shrugged, almost knocking Eddie loose. "That's too bad," she said without a hint of sincerity.

"We have friends, Linda," I told her. "Can you understand that? We have friends and families and lives that were taken away from us by your sister..."

"Hush," Linda said, flicking me with her finger and knocking me away from Julie. I tried to get to my feet, but Linda's fingertip pressed down on my chest, pinning to the bottom of the box.

"It's not fair, Linda," I continued weakly. "We're people. You're not supposed to treat people like..."

"You both better get some rest," Linda told us. "You're going to be busy little people tomorrow."

Then, her hand was gone. She puckered her lips and kissed the air, then smiled sweetly. "Nighty night," she said as she carried Eddie over to the waterbed.

***

Once Linda switched off her bedside lamp and left us in darkness, Julie and I huddled together against the side of the box. For about an hour, Linda carried on a whispered conversation with Eddie. We couldn't hear much, but I did catch her saying, "Oh, I just bet you're sorry about that now."

Eventually, the conversation tapered off to be replaced by the sounds of Linda moaning and giggling. We heard her gasp once, loudly, and then collapse with a happy sigh. I tried not to think about poor Eddie, or what she had just put him through.

Not out of sympathy, but because I was terrified by the thought that I might soon go through the same ordeal.

***

I woke up to the sound of Linda's singsong voice. "Wakey wakey, eggs and bakey." She peered down into the box, smirking at the sight of me and Julie in each other's arms.

She held up Eddie, dangling him between her finger and thumb so he could look inside the box. He was naked and shivering in her grasp.

"Look at that, Eddie," Linda said. "Looks like we weren't the only lovebirds last night."

Eddie whimpered softly as Linda set him down in the box. He was hugging his knees to his chest, still shivering. Linda's hand lingered inside the box, her finger gently stroking Eddie's back.

Sire barked ferociously, startling me and Julie. He came bounding out from behind the plastic couch and actually charged towards Linda's hand.

"Mercy," Linda giggled. "Somebody's getting brave, aren't they?" She flicked at the dog with her finger, gently knocking him back. Sire retreated a couple of steps, but kept barking.

"Better control that dog, Eddie, or I'll swat him like a fly." She gave Eddie one more gentle caress with her finger, then lifted her hand from the box.

"Get dressed," Linda ordered us. "I'll go make us some breakfast."

***

Julie had created a private toilet of sorts last night by turning the toy dining table on its side and moving it into a corner of the box. The bedpan was behind the table, along with several rolls of toilet paper.

There were two small plastic cups in the box with us as well, placed there by Linda at our request. Each was clear and stood about chest high, the sides marked with lines designating medicine dosage. One contained our supply of drinking water. The other, tucked in the far corner, was used for waste. The contents were already ripe, since that was where we dumped the bedpan when it was full.

Of course, it was more of a symbolic gesture than a practical system. Sire had been marking his territory inside the box ever since Carolyn had dropped him in the day before.

While I waited my turn for the "bathroom," I glanced over and saw Eddie was still huddled against the wall, naked and trembling. I grabbed a pair of sweatpants from one of the stacks and hurried over to him.

"Here, Eddie," I said, handing him the pants. He stared at them for a few seconds, his brow wrinkled. Then suddenly, his face lit up in a grin. He climbed to his feet and slipped into the sweats.

"You okay?" I asked him.

Eddie giggled, an unsettling sound. "Long night," he said. Then with a wink, he added, "Help me find my keys, and we can drive out." He laughed obnoxiously at this, falling onto his back and rolling.

He was still guffawing merrily when Julie came out. She walked over slowly, standing beside me and watching Eddie's spastic laughter.

"I told you," she said softly. "He's out of his [EXPLETIVE DELETED] mind."

***

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.]

Eddie, Julie and I sat in a circle on a paper napkin near Linda's plate, eating a breakfast of fried egg slivers and biscuit shreds. Eddie was twitchy as hell, and kept jumping every time Linda would reach for her fork or set down her coffee mug.

"I figured we'd sorta take it easy today," Linda told us, her mouth full of bread. "I gotta run to the grocery store and grab a few things, so I thought maybe I'd stop by Blockbuster and grab a couple of movies."

She swallowed and grinned. "We can all just snuggle up together on the couch and watch."

Eddie glanced around nervously and Julie hung her head, but neither said a word. Uncomfortable with the silence, I looked up at Linda and smiled. "Sounds great," I said, with as much enthusiasm as I could muster.

"You little kiss up," she said with a playful giggle. "Just for that, I'll let you go with me and help pick out DVDs."

***

I was, as it turns out, the "hostage." Linda's plan was to have one of us with her at all times whenever she left the house. The threat, though unspoken, was quite clear. If Julie and Eddie weren't sitting quietly and waiting when she got home, I'd be the one to pay the price.

"So, is there something going on with you and Julie," or was last night just one of those things?" Linda asked me.

I was sitting in the car between her legs. She was still wearing her EAGER BEAVER tank top, but she had slipped on a short denim skirt for our trip out in public. Her tan legs were walls to either side of me, extending from the edge of the car seat, meeting in the shadows beneath her skirt, in a place concealed by her blue cotton panties.

"We didn't do anything last night," I insisted. "Julie was upset about her friend being in a coma, and I was just comforting her."

"I bet," Linda said, chuckling. "Carolyn was wrong about Julie and Eddie sleeping together, wasn't she?"

"Yeah, completely."

"Well, my sister has trouble thinking straight when it comes to Eddie, I guess."

I don't know what possessed me to ask what I already suspected. Just another stupid attempt to humanize myself in Linda's eyes, I guess. If I could become her confidant, she'd be hard pressed to treat me like a pet or a plaything.

"So, was there ever anything between you and Eddie?" I asked.

Linda didn't answer. Instead, she stomped the brake and brought the car to a screeching halt. I tumbled backwards until I came to rest right up against her crotch.

"Oops," Linda giggled. Her hand reached down for me, but instead of simply picking me up, she pressed me against the thin fabric between her legs. For a minute or so, she crushed me against the soft cotton. I felt it grow warmer, and I heard her moan once and shiver.

Then, suddenly, she was holding me between her thumb and finger, tilting me back so I could peer up into her face. She was wearing a familiar grin, one I'd seen on Carolyn's face many times over the past week. Her cheeks were slightly flushed, and she was giggling.

"That was close," she said, squirming in her seat. "I almost had to go home and change my panties."

Her voice took on a tone of playful scolding as she gave me a gentle squeeze. "Naughty little thing," she said. "I can't take you anywhere, can I?"

I was spared answering by the blast of a horn. Linda jumped and glanced out the window as a car sped by. "Guess we better get going before I get a ticket."

With a wicked smile, she added, "And I better put you someplace safe and out of the way."

I already knew what she had in mind, so I offered no resistance when she leaned over and set me on top of her sandaled foot. I knew if I protested, she'd just wedge me under her toes like she had the night before.

"Better hang on," she told me. So I wrapped my arms around her sandal strap and tried not to pay any attention to the way her toes wiggled playfully beneath me.

***

"Ooh, 'Zoolander!'" Linda whispered, snatching a copy off of the wall shelf. "I wanted to see this when it came out, but Randy wouldn't take me. He thinks Ben Stiller is a fag."

Linda held me in her cupped palm, cradled against her stomach. Whenever another customer in the store started to wander her way, she'd close her fingers over me and let her hand fall to her side.

Not the most comfortable way to be held, but I was just happy to be out of her purse. I'd spent twenty minutes at the grocery store riding around in darkness, sitting on an open Kleenex Pocket Pack and breathing through my mouth to avoid the overwhelming miasma of perfume, Binaca, and lotion.

After weeks in captivity, it was utterly surreal to be out in public, to be doing something as banal as browsing for movies with Linda.

"Zoolander's fine with me," I said.

Linda giggled. "You're so cute, pretending like you have a choice." She cut her eyes to either side to make sure we were alone, then she lifted me to her lips for a quick kiss.

"Tell you what," she whispered to me, her massive lips uncomfortably close to me. Her breath was warm and thick with spearmint. "I'll give you a choice when we're watching the movie. Left foot or right foot."

She tilted me slightly, giving me a good view of her feet far below. Then, with a giggle, she tilted me back so I was staring up into her face.

"I can't wait," I said, wearily.

***

I was really starting to rue the day that my stupid fetish became common knowledge among Carolyn and Linda.

I mean, when I was normal-sized, it was mildly annoying. But now... well, they both just seemed to take abnormal delight in mashing the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] out of that particular button.

With Carolyn, it was all about the power. She reveled in my helplessness, and took great delight in knowing she could bring me exquisite pleasure or excruciating pain with just a careless twitch of her toes. The more I struggled, the more she enjoyed it.

But Linda... I really think she did it for my benefit, because she wanted to make me happy. She saw me as her only ally amongst her "little people" and she really wanted to keep me on her side.

And for all my indignation and outrage, sometimes I did enjoy it. Sometimes my frustration would vanish and I'd be left with an insatiable lust and an overwhelming desire to simply surrender, to be a good pet and make my giant mistress happy.

God, they [EXPLETIVE DELETED] me up good, didn't they?

***

Linda finally selected 'Training Day' to go along with 'Zoolander,' and carried them to the counter up front. Peering up through a crack between her fingers, I could see the kid ringing her up. His face broke into a bashful grin at her approach.

"Hey, Missus Greenwood," he said. He looked about 17 or so, thin and pale, with streaks of blue in his blonde hair.

"Hi, Chad," Linda said, setting the DVDs down on the counter. "Back from Houston already?"

He let out a melodramatic snort as he scanned her card. "Yeah, the gig fell through. Dumbass club guy booked another band coz he said Denny never called him to..."

The computer beeped, and Chad gave Linda a sheepish look. "Um, it says you've still got 'Scary Movie 2' checked out. It's... um... five weeks late."

Linda sighed. "Crap. Randy checked that one out, and I have no idea where he put it."

There was about twenty seconds of awkward silence. Chad fidgeted, then finally said, "I could check them out for you, Missus Greenwood. I mean, if you like..."

Linda reached over and touched his hand. "You are so sweet, Chad. And it's Linda, okay?"

"Okay, um... Linda." Chad grinned as he punched the transaction into the system. "Oh, hey," he said a bit anxiously, in a failed attempt to sound casual. "We're going to be playing at the Taproom on Wednesday night. You should totally come hear us!"

Linda smiled. "Maybe so, Chad. Sounds like fun."

"Cool." He handed her movies to her. "Um... they're due back Tuesday before noon, Missus... um... I mean, Linda."

"I'll try to remember," Linda said.

***

"Cute, isn't he?" Linda said to me once we were back in the car. "Keeps saying he's going to write a song about me." She chuckled. "But he's in a Christian rock band, so I can only imagine how much it would suck."

I nodded, but said nothing. Once again, she had set me down on the seat, in between her legs. It was uncomfortably warm, despite the air-conditioning. Some Yes song was playing on the radio, turned down so that it was barely audible.

"But he's adorable and he's totally into me," Linda said. She reached down with her right hand and gently stroked me with her fingers.

"I bet he'd totally love to be where you are right now," she said, giggling. She squirmed, her massive thighs shifting around me. They were sprinkled with light sweat. Her skirt was stretched tight across her spread legs, exposing her panties to me.

"I can't wait until tonight," Linda said with a giggle.

"Yeah," I replied, growing uncomfortable with her relentless fondling. "Me neither."

"No, Davey," Linda said. "I mean, I'm really not going to be able to wait until tonight."

She was no longer stroking me, but nudging me backwards. I looked up at her, hoping I didn't look or sound as desperate as I felt.

"How about a foot rub?" I suggested. "You know how crazy I am about your feet, right?"

Linda snorted. "Nice try, Davey."

She shoved me against the smooth blue fabric of her panties. I could hear her hair bristling underneath. I gasped and struggled, but her fingers held me firmly.

I could feel her quiver, and she moaned as she rubbed me against her clitoris through the cotton. Suddenly, the fabric was damp. A convulsion rocked Linda's body, and she let out a bestial grunt. She dropped me and put her hand back on the steering wheel.

The smell was musky and overbearing, unpleasant only in its context. My stomach was churning, and it was all I could do to keep my breakfast down.

Linda shivered again, and exhaled loudly. Glancing down at me, she gave me a sweet smile. She reached down and gently stroked me with her fingertips, sliding me out from under her skirt and into the open.

"God, I've been wanting that since I woke up," she told me. She reached over into her purse in the passenger seat and fished out a pack of cigarettes. "Poor Eddie was too wore out to do me this morning, and it's not something I really want Julie doing."

She shook out a filtered Pall Mall and slipped it between her lips. "And God knows, you've been too busy wanking over my feet to do the job right."

She lit the cigarette with the car lighter, and took a drag. "Maybe all you need is a little incentive, Davey. So if you do a good job on me tonight, I'll put you between my toes and work you until you [EXPLETIVE DELETED] your little brains out. Okay?"

I nodded weakly. She reached down once again to pick me up, and tilted me backwards so that I was looking up into her face.

"You know, it's funny, Davey," she said, her cigarette between her sticky pink lips. "Eddie's scared to death of me, and Julie [EXPLETIVE DELETED] hates me. But you, I think you're really enjoying this, aren't you?"

I had no answer for her. I just hung my head and avoided her gaze, and hoped she'd at least leave me alone until we got home.

***

Our movie day started off pleasantly enough, I suppose. Linda was amiable enough--a little playful, but that was to be expected.

She had dropped me off in the box when we got home, and gone to change her clothes. I'd changed mine as well, wondering if everybody else could smell her on me.

Julie looked concerned, but said nothing. She simply took my messy clothes and tossed them into the appropriate pile.

After Linda had slipped into a pair of loose drawstring pants, she padded over to the dresser and fished us out of the box. I held my breath, hoping nobody would provoke her and shatter her good mood.

Julie climbed willingly into her hand, and even Eddie offered no protest when she picked him up. Holding the three of us, she was about to turn away. As an afterthought, grinning puckishly, she reached down and caught Sire the way most people would grab a cricket. Cupped hand, palm down to trap him, then gently closing her fingers around him. He barked and whined from inside her fist, the sounds muffled.

She set us on the coffee table, then went to go microwave some popcorn. As soon as his paws hit the wood, Sire bolted and ran the length of the table, stopping at the edge to bark ferociously at Linda. Eddie approached him and rubbed him roughly, playfully. Sire shook, his tags jingling, but finally calmed down. He followed Eddie back over to where we stood. Eddie sat down, and Sire laid his head in his lap.

"I know, boy," Eddie said, stroking the dog behind his ears. "She's scary, isn't she?"

"She's still better than Carolyn," I muttered to Julie. "Although she does seem to be closing that gap pretty quickly."

Julie took my hand and gave it a squeeze. "I know."

Sire lifted his head at Linda's approach, but for once didn't make a sound. He laid back down as Linda set down the smoking bag of popcorn next to us. She walked over to the TV and put the DVD into the player.

"We're watching 'Zoolander' first," Linda announced as she plopped down on the couch behind us. "Davey helped me pick it out."

"Actually, I suggested 'Attack of the 50 Foot Woman," I whispered to Julie. She laughed softly.

"Or 'Godzilla?'" she suggested, and we both laughed.

"'War of the Colossal Beast?'" I added.

"'Giant.'"

We were both giggling when Linda thumped the table with her foot. "What's so funny, you guys?" she asked, smiling.

"'Bigfoot,'" Julie muttered, making me snicker.

"Nothing," I told Linda. "Julie's just hot for Owen Wilson."

"I am not," Julie said, slapping me on the arm.

"He's a cutie, all right," Linda said, grinning. "I sure wouldn't kick him out of bed."

"I think she'd actually have to nail him to the bed," Julie whispered, and I snorted with laughter.

"Stop it," I whispered back. "You're going to get us in trouble."

"Now what are you laughing about?" Linda asked. She was still smiling, but there was something forced about it. It was obvious she was getting a little annoyed.

"It's nothing, Linda," Julie said. "This is the first fun we've had since Carolyn... you know... and I guess we're a little giddy."

Linda made no response, but instead turned her attention to the movie. Feeling like we'd dodged a bullet, Julie and I took our seats next to Eddie and Sire.

Linda's bare feet were propped on the table behind us, but I tried not to think about them. I tried to ignore the dry rubbing of her wiggling toes, the thought of her pale, wrinkled soles looming over us...

Julie reached over and took my hand. Smiling sweetly, she leaned in closer to me and rested her head on my shoulder. I felt her hair tickle my cheek.

I know it was selfish, but I was so grateful that she was there with me. God knows it had been hard for her too, and she had taken an awful lot of her anger out on me. But I could have never endured Carolyn's torments, Linda's affections, or Eddie's madness without Julie there.

I slipped my arm over her shoulders and hugged her closer. And for one brief moment, as we watched the movie, I was able to forget just how bad things really were.

Then the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] hit the fan.

Without warning, Linda leaned forward and snatched Julie. Julie screamed as she was yanked into the air. I was knocked over by Linda's massive fingers, and could only watch helplessly as she lifted Julie to her face.

"Linda!" I shouted, finally climbing to my feet. "What the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] are you doing?"

Linda just smiled and, without a word, tucked poor, squirming Julie under her shirt, setting her astride her nipple.

Eddie had jumped to his feet, and Sire was barking ferociously.

"Dammit, Linda!" I screamed, rushing to the edge of the table. "Stop this!"

She just chuckled and grabbed Eddie. He kicked and whimpered, his screams diminishing when she hooked her waistband with her thumb and dropped him into her pants.

"Why?" I asked, frustrated tears pouring down my cheeks. "Why are you doing this?"

Linda grabbed me roughly, pinching me around the waist as she hoisted me to her face. Leaning back, she rested one foot on the edge of the table. She then crossed her leg, resting her ankle on her bent knee.

"Why?" she repeated, licking her lips. "Because I can."

She pressed me against the sole of her foot, rubbing me against the thick, leathery flesh. I tried to scream, but my cries were muffled. All I could hear was the movie and Sire's frantic barking.

***

To this day, I still don't know what set her off. Maybe it was the sight of me and Julie sitting close. Maybe it was the way we'd been laughing at our own private jokes. Or maybe she'd been planning to do it all along. Who the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] knows?

***

For nearly half an hour, the three of us were molested mercilessly by Linda. And when it was finally over, we all lay huddled in her palm. Eddie was trembling and murmuring to himself, and Julie was sobbing. I so desperately wanted to go over to her, to hold her and comfort her, but I couldn't. I was terrified I might provoke Linda again.

So I simply sat and stared angrily at nothing in particular, blinking away the tears of frustration.

"Wow," Linda said, giggling. "I think I'll sleep good tonight."

Eddie buried his head under his arms, cringing as Linda's finger came down to caress him. "You had your work cut out for you, little man," she said cheerfully. "Davey here really did a number on me this afternoon."

"Please," Julie gasped between sobs. "Please just put us down."

Linda ignored her. She leaned back on the couch, cradling us just under her breasts. With a pleasant grin, she said, "I swear. A girl could really get spoiled with you guys around."

With a contented sigh, she ignored Sire's barking and turned her attention back to the movie.

Cautiously, nervously, I crawled over to Julie. "Are you okay?" I whispered.

I expected her to fall apart crying in my arms. Instead, she choked back her sobs and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Yeah," she said, trying to smile bravely. It didn't work, but I sure appreciated the effort. "Are you?"

Linda's fingers suddenly closed over us, squeezing the three of us gently. She opened her hand back up and glanced down at us. "Shh. I'm trying to watch the movie."

Sire was still barking, and showed no sign of stopping. Eddie looked out towards him. He gnawed his lip and whimpered.

Linda raised her foot and brought her heel down on the coffee table with a loud thud. "Shut the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] up, you dumb dog!"

That only served to rile Sire further. He growled and barked at her foot, charging towards it with a ferocious snarl. Linda raised her foot up again, and Sire backed away.

But he was still barking. And it was obvious he wasn't going to stop.

"I swear to God, I'm going to squish that little bastard," Linda shouted angrily. She slipped her foot off of the table and leaned forward, her face hovering just above the dog.

"SHUT UP!" she screamed. Sire retreated a safe distance, then turned and started barking again.

"Please boy," Eddie was whispering, rocking back and forth in Linda's palm. "Please be good."

"Okay, that's it," Linda snapped, climbing angrily to her feet. From her palm, the three of us watched as she held her other hand over Sire.

"Oh God," Julie whispered, clutching my arm. "She's going to..."

Linda's cupped her other hand over Sire, muffling his barking. Then, much less gently than before, she curled her fingers underneath and scooped him into her hand.

"Don't hurt him," Eddie pleaded. He was on his hands and knees, planting reverent kisses on Linda's palm. "Please please please don't hurt him."

Annoyed, Linda shook her head. "I'm not going to hurt him, you dumb [EXPLETIVE DELETED]. I'm just going to put him back in the box so we can watch the rest of..."

Linda suddenly let out a yelp and opened her hand. Sire's teeth had sunk into the thin, tender flesh at the base of her thumb. He still clung to her, his legs kicking madly at the empty air.

Without thinking, Linda shook her hand. Sire was flung loose and thrown down. He hit the coffee table with a wet, sickening thud.

For what seemed like a frozen eternity, we just sat there. Sire made no sound. He twitched once, twice, and then lay still.

Eddie threw back his head and let out a guttural, inhuman wail. He screamed until he had no air left in his lungs, and then he fell, flailing in Linda's palm.

Julie clung to me, her own screams muffled against my shoulder. I didn't scream, didn't cry, didn't do anything but stare in horror.

Linda's stare matched my own. Her eyes wide, her mouth agape, she looked down at Sire's broken body. She finally let out a wavering breath, then swallowed loudly.

"Oh God, Eddie," she began. But there was nothing else to say. Her mouth opened and closed, but the words just wouldn't come.

Eddie was curled into a fetal position, whimpering.

"I... it was an accident," Linda said, tears pouring down her enormous, flushed cheeks. "I swear to God, Eddie. I... he bit me and I..."

She began crying as well. "Jesus, Eddie. Please. I swear, I didn't mean to. Please, just say something!"

But Eddie made no response. His whimpers tapered off to unintelligible whispers, and finally into silence. He lay in an unmoving huddle, his eyes staring wide, but he made no sound apart from the wheeze of his breathing.

"It was an accident," Linda cried. "I didn't want..."

Trembling, still clinging to Julie, I looked down at Sire. And I felt just horrible for Eddie, but there was something else bothering me as well.

I couldn't help but wonder how long before Linda did the same thing to one of us.

***

Linda left us in the box, then went to handle Sire's remains. We heard the flush of the toilet. Eddie opened his mouth, but all that came out was the weak mewling of a kitten. He was still and silent again when Linda returned.

"It was an accident," she told us, since it was obvious Eddie was beyond hearing her. "You've got to believe me."

I did. She was taking it as hard as the rest of us were. There was something in her eyes, in her manner, that I hadn't seen before. Contrition, humility...

For once, she wasn't treating us like objects.

"God, I am so sorry," she wept. She buried her face in her hands and sobbed.

"We know, Linda," I told her. "It was an accident."

She nodded, her eyes red, her face miserable. "Thank you, Dave."

She hesitated a second longer, then added. "I'm really sorry, Julie. About your friend, I mean. I hope she gets better."

***

I don't think any of us got much sleep that night.

Linda left the three of us alone that night. We could hear her in the waterbed, crying softly. She'd toss and turn, but never seemed to snore for more than ten minutes at a time. Then she'd start awake and cry again.

Julie and I sat huddled against the side of the box, in each other's arms, keeping an eye on Eddie. Sometime in the wee morning hours, he began whispering to himself again. Just a simple mantra, "Hold it together, Eddie boy," he chanted. "Hold it together."

He finally did fall asleep, but by that time dawn was already creeping through the window. I looked at Julie, who was sitting with her head on my shoulder. She looked up at me and smiled sadly.

"Every time I think I've got a handle on this situation," she whispered, "something comes along to [EXPLETIVE DELETED] everything up."

I nodded. "Remember when we were going to plot an escape?"

She snorted and wiped her eyes. "It was just a couple of weeks ago. It seems like forever, doesn't it?"

"Yeah." I took her hand, and felt her fingers interlock with mine. "I think we should start planning again. For real, this time."

"You're right. Nobody's going to rescue us, and nothing miraculous is going to happen." Her face was so close to mine, her breath warm on my cheek. And she looked deadly serious. More determined than I'd ever seen her before.

"If we're going to get out of here, we're going to have to do it ourselves."

***

I guess I dozed off, but I woke up to the sound of Linda's thudding footsteps. I rubbed my eyes as she approached, wondering what her mood would be this morning.

To my surprise, Eddie was awake and sitting up. He was staring in the direction of Linda's approach, wide-eyed and manic.

Julie stirred next to me, coming awake just as Linda's shadow fell over us.

Linda looked ragged. Her eyes were swollen from crying and a lack of sleep. Her blonde hair jutted out at odd angles, and most of yesterday's makeup was still smeared on her face.

Eddie glared at her, unblinking.

"Hi Eddie," she whispered. "I'm glad you're..."

And to my utter amazement, I saw lucidity wash over Eddie. It was a remarkable transformation, almost like watching Hyde turn back into Jekyll.

His eyes relaxed, his posture straightened, and a small, sympathetic smile appeared on his face.

"God, I'm so sorry Eddie," she said in a wavering, exhausted voice.

Eddie climbed to his feet and smiled up at her. "I know, Linda. I know you didn't mean to."

She shook her head. "I'll never forgive myself, Eddie. I know you hate me now, but..."

"Shh," Eddie said, stretching out his arms towards her. "It's okay."

Tentatively, nervously, she reached down and gently picked up Eddie. She was still crying when she held him up to one tearstained cheek and nuzzled him. Eddie kissed her tenderly and kept reassuring her that it was okay.

Julie and I stared, dumbfounded.

"We'll talk about it later, okay?" Eddie said, rubbing his palms along Linda's cheek. His hands came back caked with day old makeup, but he didn't seem to notice.

"You go get cleaned up," he told her. "You've got work today, don't you?"

Linda nodded.

"Okay, then we can talk when you get home."

Linda began crying again. "Thank you so much, Eddie."

He kissed her again, and she set him down. She padded off into the bathroom and closed the door.

Then, and only then, did Eddie's clarity pass. He collapsed back onto the bottom of the box, wiping his hands frantically on his pants. Rocking back and forth, he just began chanting the same thing over and over again.

"Hold it together, Eddie boy. Hold it together."

***

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.]

When she got home from work that night, Linda set up the shrink ray in the garage.

Sorry. I mean "matter proportioning matrix."

It was Eddie's idea, actually. He and Carolyn had given Linda's husband Randy a Coleman portable toilet to take on his hunting trips, but Randy had never taken it out of the box. He'd been afraid his buddies would give him [EXPLETIVE DELETED] if he brought it along, so for the past few years it had simply sat in the closet.

And Eddie figured it would be a lot more comfortable than squatting over that [EXPLETIVE DELETED] bedpan.

Linda was reluctant at first. "I promised Carolyn I wouldn't mess with that machine."

But Eddie was smooth. "Carolyn doesn't have to know," he told Linda. "It can be our secret." With a twinkle and a grin, he added, "And Lord knows we've kept our share of secrets from her."

Linda nodded, and finally reached down to lift Eddie from the shoebox. "Okay," she said, carrying him out of the bedroom. "I guess it'll be okay, just this once."

***

The next night, Linda came home with a couple of pizzas and a twelve-pack of Bud Light. After helping herself to a few slices and a couple of bottles, she carried the rest out to the garage to shrink it.

We ate our meal on the dining table, sitting cross-legged near Linda's plate. She watched with amusement as we scarfed our pizza and drank our beer, relishing our first decent meal in days.

"Don't be expecting this every night," Linda told us, her mouth full. "I can't afford to feed four with what I'm making." She smiled as she reached down, brushing Eddie with a greasy finger. "After all, we can't all be rich scientists like Eddie here."

"Not that rich," Eddie said. "You remember that crappy truck I used to drive around in."

"Remember, hell," Linda laughed. "It's on my dresser, sweetie."

Linda couldn't see the look on Eddie's face, that quick flash of anger in his eyes. For a second, it looked like the madness was going to bubble to the surface again. Then, just as suddenly, it was gone and Eddie was all smiles again.

"It isn't much to look at," he said amiably, "but at least I kept it running. Not like that piece of [EXPLETIVE DELETED] Randy has sitting out in your garage."

"God, don't get me started on that damn car of his," Linda said, taking a swig of beer. "I swear to God, it's been sitting out there under that [EXPLETIVE DELETED] tarp for a year now. Sometimes, I'd like to just call the city and have them haul it away. Throw it in one of those auto-crushing things."

She giggled. "Then I could put it back in the garage under the tarp. It would still run as good, but it would only take up half as much room."

"I've got a better idea," Eddie said. "Why don't you just zap it?"

Linda's smile faltered. "Oh, God! No way, Eddie! Randy would kill me!"

"He wouldn't know. You could tell him it was stolen or something. Tell him one of the neighbors called the city and had it towed."

"Out of the garage? Randy's dumb, but he's not [EXPLETIVE DELETED] retarded, Eddie." She shook her head. "No."

Eddie hung his head so Linda couldn't see, but Julie and I both caught a glimpse of the rage in his face. His fists were clenched and his lips were twitching. I couldn't hear, but I'm almost positive he was whispering, "Hold it together."

"Eddie?" Linda reached down to stroke him with her finger again. "You okay, sweetie?"

Eddie smiled. "Yeah. I was just wondering if you had anything stronger than this beer to drink."

"I think I've still got half a bottle of Wild Turkey," Linda said. "You want me to shrink it for you?"

"Nah," Eddie said. "I hate to drink alone."

***

An hour later, the empty bottle was sitting on the coffee table. Linda was sprawled on the couch, still in the conservative peach dress and tan hose she'd worn to work that day. Her face was red and splotchy, and her mascara was smudged. She was cradling Eddie in her hands. The two of them had split the bottle between them, but of course Linda had done most of the drinking.

Julie and I stood at the far end of the table, forgotten for the moment. Eddie was petting Linda's thumb, just above the white welt where Sire had bitten her. It looked like an ant bite. The poor dog hadn't even managed to draw any blood.

"Poor Linda," he cooed. "Someone as pretty as you could do a lot better than that worthless son of a bitch Randy."

She sighed. "Carolyn always was the lucky one." She stroked Eddie with her fingernail. "I always wished I'd met you first, especially when we were... you know..."

Her voice was slurred, her giddy mood turning maudlin.

"It's no wonder you have to work," Eddie went on. "I bet he spends at least half of what he makes on that [EXPLETIVE DELETED] car of his. And you know he'll never get the damn thing to run."

"God, I hate that [EXPLETIVE DELETED] Z so much!" Linda said ferociously. "Maybe I will shrink it down, just so I can stomp the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] out of it!"

"It'll be easy," Eddie said. "Just put it in neutral, and you can use your car to pull it out of the garage. Then you spread the mat, and push it back in. Then zap!" He grinned. "Toy car."

Linda's face broke into a grin. "[EXPLETIVE DELETED] it!" she announced, standing up. "I'm gonna do it!"

***

Later that night, Randy's 280-ZX was lying in pieces in the kitchen trash.

Linda had passed out while getting undressed for bed, and was now snoring loudly on top of the covers on her waterbed. She still wore her bra and panties, but her dress and hose were in a wad on the floor.

Eddie was back in the shoebox with us, curled up in a fetal position on a thick pallet of folded Kleenex. He slept fitfully, and mumbled every once in a while, but never anything intelligible. I would have given anything to know what was going on in that broken mind of his.

It was the weirdest thing. When Linda was around, Eddie was coherent, focused, and way more charming than he'd ever been when I was working for him. He talked soothingly to Linda, and she totally ate it up.

But as soon as Linda walked away, the glaze would return to his eyes and he'd collapse and resume muttering to himself.

Armed with nothing more than a single freshman Psych course, Julie and I were in no way qualified to analyze Eddie. I mean, he'd gone from being crazy all the time to being crazy half the time. It was an improvement, right?

We really thought so at the time.

***

The next morning, Linda woke up sick. She vaulted into the bathroom and spent nearly a half-hour throwing up. She called in sick to work, and then she fell sleep once again.

By noon, she was awake and shuffling around the house in her t-shirt and shorts. Her hair was damp from a shower, and her face was scrubbed clean of makeup. She actually looked a lot better than she had that morning, but she didn't feel much better.

"Why the hell did I let you talk me into that?" she muttered to Eddie. She held the three of us in her cupped hand, carrying us into the living room.

"I didn't have to talk you into much," Eddie told her with a chuckle. "You always did like your whiskey."

"Not the drinking," Linda moaned. "Shrinking Randy's car! How the hell am I going to explain it to him when he gets home?"

She set us down on the coffee table, then plopped down onto the couch with a tremendous sigh.

Seeing an opportunity, I stepped forward. Linda raised her head to look at me, and I felt my nerve waver. Still, I swallowed and said, "You could always call GenetiTech..."

"I'm not calling [EXPLETIVE DELETED] GenetiTech, Davey," she said sternly. "Don't bring it up again."

"But it would give you a..."

Linda slapped the table with her palm, and the force of the blow knocked the three of us sprawling. "I said, drop it."

For several minutes, nobody said anything. Linda sat there, her head in her hands, breathing loudly.

Eddie's composure melted, and for a second it looked as if he were going to scream. "Hold it together," he whispered to himself, just once this time. Then he walked to the edge of the table and looked up into Linda's face.

"I think you should shrink Eddie," he said.

For a second, Linda just stared at him. Then she snorted once, a quick and derisive laugh.

"You're insane, Eddie," she said. "I'm not going to shrink my husband. Besides, Carolyn would never let me."

"Then shrink Carolyn too."

Julie and I exchanged horrified looks, but neither of us said a word. We just listened.

"Just think!" Eddie was enthusiastic. "If Carolyn were out of the way, you'd have us all to yourself. Plus, you'd have that machine and you could use it on anyone or anything you wanted."

"She's my sister, Eddie. I can't do this..."

"You can shrink Carolyn and Randy, and anyone else you felt like. There'd be nobody to stop you!"

"No!" Linda sat up and glared down at us. "I'm not going to do it, Eddie!" She looked away. "Now drop it!"

***

While Linda scrounged up some lunch in the kitchen, Julie and I confronted Eddie. But Eddie didn't even acknowledge us. That vacant look had returned to his eyes. He clutched his arms across his chest and rocked back and forth, muttering under his breath.

"Playing Linda against Carolyn," Julie said. "It might actually be our best chance."

"Are you nuts? Our only chance is to convince Linda to contact GenetiTech for us. And we'll never do that once she starts shrinking half of [EXPLETIVE DELETED] Midland!"

"You know that's not going to work," Julie said. "She's about as full of sympathy and goodwill as she's going to get, and she's not budging on GenetiTech. She wants to keep us, Dave."

"I know. But she was pretty adamantly opposed to Eddie's plan too."

Julie shrugged. "Maybe not. I think Eddie's found the right buttons to push with her." She glanced over at him and shook her head. "If he can keep his [EXPLETIVE DELETED] together long enough, I think he might be able to pull it off."

"Okay, so fine. Let's say he convinced Linda to go crazy and start shrinking people. What does that buy us?"

"Time," Julie said.

"Time for what?"

"To escape."

***

No doubt about it. Eddie was out of his [EXPLETIVE DELETED] head. And he had pretty much screwed up any chance we'd ever had of getting Linda to call GenetiTech.

But as much as I resented Linda's casual, playful dominance over us, she was still the lesser of two evils. And as I mentioned earlier, our chances for escape were much better with Linda than with Carolyn.

Part of it was the practical matter of location. Linda lived in a residential area, while Carolyn was living in a secluded house miles from civilization. At our current size, we'd be lucky to make it to the highway, let alone Midland.

But a larger part of it was simply demeanor. If Linda caught us trying to escape, she might punish us (rather reluctantly at this point). If Carolyn caught us, chances are we'd end up in the garbage disposal.

So in the end, Julie and I went along with Eddie's plan, albeit rather reluctantly. We felt we had no choice in the matter, and we truly resented Eddie for putting us in that position and for not coming to us first with his idea.

We played along, assuming that Linda's betrayal of Carolyn was the full extent of Eddie's scheme.

At the time, we didn't suspect what he REALLY had in mind...

***

Lunch consisted of ham sandwiches and potato chips, which Linda thoughtfully shrunk down for us. We were just sitting down to eat when the phone rang.

Linda answered it with a sickly voice, just in case it was work calling to check on her. But a few seconds later, she perked up a bit and said, "Oh, hey Carolyn."

The three of us stopped eating and stared, listening to Linda's side of the conversation. What if their parents had gone back to Sweetwater? What if Carolyn was on her way to collect us?

"Nah, just a little hung over. Figured I'd take a personal day, spend some quality time with the little ones." She looked over at us and winked.

"Oh, they're fine. We're having a great time. How's things with Mom and Dad?"

We watched Linda's face carefully, looking for any clue that there was anything wrong. I kept telling myself that Carolyn was just checking in, that everything was fine.

"Yeah, I'll be back at work tomorrow. Guess I can't milk this thing for two days. Why?"

Linda's smile faltered for just a second, and she looked over at us again. "All of them?"

Then the smile was back. Her eyes fell directly on me when she said, "Well, I'm sure that can be arranged. Shall we say El Fenix, around noonish?"

She giggled, still looking at me. "Well, I'm sure he'll love that. See you tomorrow."

She hung up the phone and came back over to us. She must have noticed the alarmed looks on our faces, because she grinned and said, "It's okay, guys. No big deal."

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Dad's taking Mom to the beauty shop tomorrow, and he's going to knock around Wal-Mart until she's done, so Carolyn was just hoping we could meet her for lunch."

"We?"

"You and me, Davey." Linda giggled. "She misses her 'special little guy.'"

***

"Her 'special little guy,'" Julie repeated with obvious distaste. "Christ, that makes my skin crawl."

We were in my car, racing around the floor. Well, "racing" might be a tad strong. The carpet was short, and threadbare in places, but it was still a bumpy ride. My poor Fiat didn't have the best suspension, so I had to keep it down to around 30 or so.

"Yours and mine both," I told her. Every time I thought back to the helpless, mewling pet I'd been with Carolyn, it made me want to vomit. And I was terrified at the thought of letting her do it to me again.

The top was down on my car, at Linda's "request" so she could keep an eye on us. Still, it felt incredible to be in control again, to be doing something that normal people did every day.

The garter from my cousin's wedding in February hung from the rear view mirror, and the ashtray was overflowing with change that jangled loudly with every bump. Tom Waits was in the tape player, singing "Tango Till They're Sore."

"So Randy's supposed to get back from his fishing trip on Sunday," Julie said. "There's no way Carolyn's going to let us stay here with him around. Even with her parents around, we're probably going to end up going back home with her."

"Unless Eddie can convince her."

We both glanced over at the couch. Linda held Eddie in her hands and was looking down at him. We couldn't hear what he was saying, but she was shaking her head. But not vehemently. Not angrily.

He was making progress.

***

I didn't sleep much that night. I lay next to Julie, tossing and turning and trying not to think about my encounter with Carolyn the next day.

Morning came all too soon. Linda did her usual frantic morning shower, then slipped into a demure skirt and blouse. "You guys be good," she said, gently touching her fingernail to Eddie's cheek. Then she snatched me up and grabbed her purse from the dresser.

"I probably should've given you a bath," she said, holding me in her palm as she carried me out to the car. "Carolyn's going to think I'm not taking good care of you guys."

I was wearing the same pair of sweats and white t-shirt that I'd slept in, and my hair was jutting in all directions. Linda licked the tip of her finger and set to smoothing my bed head. Her saliva smelled like her spearmint toothpaste, cloying and sweet.

We got into the car, and she tossed her purse on the passenger seat. Then she held me up to her face, letting me dangle between her finger and thumb.

"I want you to be a good boy at work, Davey. Don't do anything stupid, okay?"

I nodded, and Linda smiled. She touched me to her lips then dropped me gently into her open purse.

***

Linda worked as a secretary and receptionist for Lytton Express Trucking. Her main jobs were to answer the phones and sort the mail. She spent most of her day sitting behind an old, worn desk in the dingy lobby, playing FreeCell on her PC and chatting with the other employees as they passed by.

She'd placed her purse in a drawer, but left it opened a crack so she could see me. She looked down at me often, smiling sweetly when she saw me sitting quietly.

Most of the chatter was pretty banal, but I was bored out of my mind and had nothing else to do but listen. A couple of girls from Accounting stopped by her desk on their way to the breakroom to see how she was doing, and one of them gave her a Get Well Soon card. She was elaborating on her illness ("One of those 24-hour stomach bugs!") when I heard her swear under her breath. The other girls scattered as heavy footsteps approached.

"Ms. Greenwood." It was a man's voice, wheezy and high-pitched.

Linda sighed. "Yes, Mr. Nichols?"

"The printer up on three is still not working. Did you ever place a service call?"

"No, Mr. Nichols. I was out sick yesterday."

He exhaled loudly through his nose. "You've been sick a lot this year, Ms. Greenwood. I hope everything is okay," he said with utter insincerity.

Linda was suddenly typing busily on her PC. "I'm fine, Mr. Nichols. Just got a lot of work to catch up on."

"Well then, maybe you should spend more time working and less time talking with your friends."

"Okay, Mr. Nichols."

"And get that service call placed today, Ms. Greenwood. I want a technician out here this afternoon."

"Yeah, okay."

I heard his heavy footfalls as he walked away. And once he was safely out of hearing range, Linda sighed and muttered, "Fat [EXPLETIVE DELETED] little [EXPLETIVE DELETED] [EXPLETIVE DELETED] bastard!"

***

Lunchtime came, and Linda grabbed her purse and headed for the door. I tumbled down as I was jostled, falling in amongst the cosmetics and the tissue.

From outside the purse, I heard Mr. Nichols chiding her for leaving, suggesting that she should work through lunch to get caught up on yesterday's tasks. Linda walked past him without responding, and I heard him call, "Ms. Greenwood! We'll definitely discuss this on your next review!"

She was still muttering angrily when she got into the car. She snapped the purse open and dug around until she found me. She grabbed me by the leg, lifting me out and setting me gently in the cup holder. Then she fished out her sunglasses and slipped them on.

"God, I hate that porky little [EXPLETIVE DELETED]," she said. "I bet you a million dollars he dumps a bunch of extra work on me today, just to teach me a lesson."

"Sorry," I said, because I couldn't think of anything else.

Linda started the car, then took a deep breath. "Okay," she said to me. "If Carolyn asks, you'll tell her I'm taking good care of you guys, right?"

"Sure."

"No need to tell her about Eddie's dog, okay? Eddie and me are good on that, and she doesn't need to know."

I nodded.

"And don't tell her that I set up that shrinking machine. If she finds out, she'll kill me. I mean, I've mainly been using it for you guys, anyway, so there's no point..."

"I won't tell."

She laughed. "Can you believe that Eddie? He actually suggested that I shrink Carolyn so I can keep you guys all to myself. Isn't that silly?"

I shrugged. "For what it's worth, I'd rather stay with you than her."

Linda smiled and stroked me with her finger. "You're a sweetie."

***

El Fenix was crowded by the time we got there. There was some kind of Wednesday lunch special, and the restaurant was packed with people who had turned up for discount enchiladas.

I felt the purse being jostled as Linda pushed her way through the crowd. Then I heard her voice and Carolyn's, muffled through the leather. The shaking stopped as the purse came to rest on the table. It snapped open, and I found myself staring up into Carolyn's gigantic face.

She grinned broadly, gasping in mock surprise when she saw me. "There's my special little guy," she said in a cloying baby voice. "Oh, I've missed him so much!"

She glanced around, then reached in to grasp me. She pressed me to her cheek, nuzzling me and cooing all the while. "How's my little guy, huh?" Carolyn asked, pressing me to her sticky red lips. I could smell the salsa and margarita on her breath.

"Come on, Carolyn," Linda said, looking nervously at the crowd. "Somebody's going to see him."

Carolyn stuck out her bottom lip in a pout, but set me down on the table. The glass mug holding her frozen margarita stood behind me, and a small puddle of melted ice and condensation had formed on the table beneath it. My bare feet hit the cold water and I bit my lip to keep from crying out.

"So, Mom give you any idea how long they're staying?" Linda asked.

Carolyn sighed. "I think they're going back home on Saturday, but Mom keeps promising she's going to come right back and stay another few weeks."

"So, what are you going to do about these guys?"

"I figured I'd pick them up Saturday afternoon, after Mom and Dad leave," Carolyn said.

"No hurry." Linda tried to sound nonchalant. "I mean, Randy's not due back for another week."

"I know," Carolyn said. "But I miss having them around." She looked down at me and grinned again. "Especially this little guy."

"What are you going to do when Mom comes back?"

Carolyn shrugged. "Hell, I don't know. We'll burn that bridge when we come to it." She looked down at me again. "So, did you miss me, Davey?"

"Seriously, Carolyn," Linda said. "We should get him off the table before they come to take our order."

"Oh, you're right," Carolyn said. She picked me up and lowered me just underneath the table. She was wearing a white skirt, and her tan legs were crossed. In the shadows across the way, I could see Linda's legs in their dark hose, her sensible black pump dangling on the edge of her foot.

Carolyn's leg shifted, and I heard the thud of her sandal hitting the floor. And when she brought her bare foot up, resting her ankle on her knee, I felt my heart race despite myself.

"Let's get those clothes off of you," Carolyn whispered. She grasped the leg of my sweatpants with the tips of her fingernails and slid them off of me effortlessly. I squirmed in her grip, but couldn't hide my erection.

"Mercy." She smiled down at me as she slid off my t-shirt. She dumped them onto the booth next to her, never once taking her eyes off of me.

I heard Linda sigh. "Come on, Carolyn. Let's order so I can get back to work."

"Awww, I just wanna play with my little toy boy," Carolyn said. She pressed me against the sole of her foot. The skin felt a little tacky, and it smelled of sweat, leather, and lavender soap.

"You like that?" she asked me, rubbing harder and harder. She ran me along her arch and under her instep. Then she slid me between her toes and held me. She wiggled them slowly, giggling as I writhed and moaned in her grasp.

"Oh, the poor little thing is about to pop," Carolyn said. "Have you been neglecting him, Linda?"

"No," Linda said, defensively.

I hated the helplessness, the utter feeling of vulnerability. Carolyn had such power over me, and could exert it so effortlessly. I despised her for it.

But my body betrayed me. My heart pounded, my cheeks burned, my eyes watered as I squirmed between her toes. I would have sold my soul to deny her the satisfaction, but in the end I couldn't stop myself. I climaxed in a bitter spasm. And then, drained and sore, I lay my burning face against the cool skin of her toe.

***

I spent the entire meal dangling from Carolyn's foot. She tried again to make me come, but I was spent and couldn't even manage a decent erection. When the meal was over, she scolded me playfully for finishing so quickly.

For one horrible moment, I was afraid Carolyn was going to take me home with her. She actually considered it, but Linda reminded her of their mother's penchant for going through closets and peeking through drawers, and Carolyn relented.

She dropped me, naked, into Linda's hand. Linda's fingers wrapped gently around me and she set me back in her purse.

"Saturday," Carolyn said. "Don't forget." She looked down at me in Linda's purse and winked. "I've got something special planned for us when you get home, sweetie. You're gonna love it."

"So, does this mean GenetiTech's not spying on you anymore?" Linda asked. She sounded a tad irritated.

"I still don't trust those [EXPLETIVE DELETED]. That's why I called you from the payphone at Albertson's," Carolyn said. "But they're convinced Eddie fled the country and I'm pretty sure they believe I had nothing to do with it."

"You always were a good liar," Linda said.

"Those idiots actually made me sign another non-disclosure agreement," Carolyn said, laughing. "They're paying me $2500 a month to keep quiet about the whole thing."

"Sounds like a sweet deal." There was a slight bitterness in Linda's voice, but I don't think Carolyn noticed it. "So, are you going to leave the shrinking machine with me, or take it with you on Saturday?"

"Oh, I'm going to put that machine back in the lab," Carolyn said. "Those GenetiTech bastards already went through it looking for anything Eddie left behind. So I figure that's as safe a place as any to keep it."

"Fine," Linda said. "See you Saturday."

"Bye now," Carolyn said as Linda stood up. She peeked into the purse at me once more and waved with her index finger. "See you soon, Davey boy."

***

"It's not fair," Linda muttered. "She gets the machine. She gets you guys. She gets a [EXPLETIVE DELETED] check every month from GenetiTech. And I don't get [EXPLETIVE DELETED]."

I was in the top drawer of her desk, lying naked amongst some paper clips and an eraser. Linda peered down at me, frowning bitterly as she ranted.

"Plus Randy's coming home next week, and I still don't know what I'm going to tell him about his [EXPLETIVE DELETED] car. Oh, and I forgot to take those [EXPLETIVE DELETED] movies back to Blockbuster yesterday, so now I'm going to owe late fees on them."

She sighed. "What else can go wrong?"

I heard the wheeze and heavy footsteps of Mr. Nichols' approach. Linda slammed the drawer shut, leaving me in darkness. More footsteps, then a loud thud as something heavy was set down on the desk.

"Ms. Greenwood," Mr. Nichols said. "They're a bit shorthanded up on three, what with the printer being out and everything. Did you ever place that service call?"

"I'm still waiting on a call back from them."

"Well, I need you to collate these newsletters and stuff them into envelopes. And since the printer isn't working, I'll need you to address those envelopes by hand. You'll need to have them ready by mail out tomorrow morning."

"Oh, you've got to be kidding!" I heard Linda's hand slap the desk. "There's got to be a thousand of them!"

"Three hundred and eighty five," Mr. Nichols said. "You can take them home and work on them tonight if necessary, but they must be mailed out tomorrow morning. Understand?"

"Yes sir."

As Mr. Nichols walked off, the drawer slid open and Linda looked down at me. I was expecting to see her angry, but she was smiling. It was a cold, vicious smile.

She reached into the drawer and picked me up, holding me in her fist. "You know what?" she said. "I'm gonna do it."

"What's that?" I asked.

"I'm gonna keep you guys," she said. "I'm gonna keep that machine, and I'm gonna shrink Carolyn and Randy and anybody else who gets in my way."

There was a large box on her desk, filled to the brim with stacked pages and blank envelopes. Linda drummed her fingernails on the cardboard, her eyes bright with wicked glee.

"And you know who I'm going to shrink first? Mr. Fat Bastard [EXPLETIVE DELETED] Nichols, that's who."

***

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," Linda said to me, "we might wanna think about a new living arrangement for you guys. Come next week, that little shoebox is going to get pretty crowded."

We were on our way home from work, and after much begging and pleading I had finally convinced her to give me my clothes back. So now I was sitting in the sticky cup holder, pulling on my sweats.

Linda was giddy. She had plans for Eddie's machine, and her list of potential shrinkees had grown disturbingly extensive. I had been fine with the idea of her shrinking Carolyn. The way I saw it, that gigantic bitch deserved what she was going to get.

But Linda was planning to shrink her husband Randy when he got home from his fishing trip. She'd also spent all afternoon quietly regaling me with the torments she would soon be inflicting on her boss, Mr. Nichols.

And now, as we drove home, she kept adding to the list: Randy's mom and sister, because they'd always thought their precious Randy was too good for her. That kid Chad who worked at Blockbuster, because he was just too adorable. That old woman at the 1-Stop Shop, because she wouldn't take Linda's checks anymore. That divorced guy down the street who always mowed his yard without a shirt...

I kept telling myself that there was nothing I could do. I had nothing to feel guilty about. After all, it wasn't like I was in any kind of position to talk Linda out of anything. And if I tried, all I'd succeed in doing was getting myself punished.

It was obvious that Linda wasn't as careful or clever as Carolyn. The more people she shrank, the better the chance that somebody at GenetiTech would eventually catch on. And it wasn't like she was planning on really hurting them or anything. At worst, they'd just have to put up with being petted, played with, or humiliated until we got rescued.

Or escaped.

***

Grunting from the strain, Linda lifted the box of newsletters from the trunk of her car and staggered into the garage with them. Her purse swung wildly, dangling from her lower arm. And since I was in the purse, I found myself clinging to a hairbrush for dear life.

She dropped the box on the concrete floor. It landed with a loud slam that echoed through the dingy garage.

"Looks so much nicer without that [EXPLETIVE DELETED] car," Linda muttered as she fished me out of her purse. The spot that had been occupied by Randy's dilapidated 280-ZX was empty now. The greasy floor was still covered by the border circuits, six square plastic sheets bearing the GenetiTech logo.

The machine was sitting on a card table against the wall. The monitor was still displaying its last target, which had been yesterday's lunch. Wire-frame models of ham sandwiches and potato chips on paper plates rotated in the main window.

The interface and the border circuits were my contribution to the project. Eddie may have invented the matter proportioning matrix, but I had written the code that made it safe and easy for anybody to use.

I swear, it seemed like a good idea at the time.

***

"Okay, here's the deal," Linda said to the three of us. Eddie, Julie and I all stood on the coffee table. Linda, still dressed in her work clothes, held a cold beer in her hand. She had kicked off her shoes and was pacing around the living room in her stocking feet.

"Carolyn is planning on taking you home with her on Saturday afternoon. But I've decided that I love my little darlings too much to give you back, and sooo..."

She paused melodramatically, letting her voice trail off as she took a long drink from the bottle of Bud Light. She sighed contentedly and smiled.

"I'm going to keep you for myself," she said. "And when Carolyn shows up here on Saturday..." Linda raised her hand so it was next to her face. She held her finger and thumb apart, then moved them together. "I'm going to shrink her."

She set the beer down on the table next to us and giggled. "That'll teach her to be so selfish with her [EXPLETIVE DELETED] shrinking machine, right?"

***

"I don't like it," Julie said as we sped along the kitchen floor in my car. "I think Eddie created a monster."

Linda was microwaving some of our leftover pizza for dinner, and Eddie was keeping her company. Since I'd been such a good boy at work, Linda had magnanimously allowed me and Julie to drive around in my car. The only conditions were that we had to stay in the kitchen and we had to keep the top down. I doubted she'd be able to hear what we were saying, but just in case I had Tom Waits blaring from the stereo.

"We can't get squeamish now," I said. "You have to admit, Linda going on a shrinking rampage could definitely work to our advantage."

"Jesus." Julie shook her head. "That's a bit cold blooded, don't you think?"

I shrugged. "Maybe. I figure Linda won't be as careful or clever as Carolyn, so she's more likely to get caught. The more people she shrinks, the better the chance that GenetiTech's going to notice."

"And once Carolyn goes missing," Julie said, "they're going to be watching Linda like a hawk. I see your point, but it still feels wrong."

I nodded, but didn't get a chance to respond. Linda placed her bare foot in the path of the car, letting us know that our ride was over and dinner was served.

***

Later that evening, Linda cradled the three of us in her hands as she sat on the couch. Big Brother was on TV, but she wasn't paying any attention to it. Her bravado had melted a bit since dinner, despite Eddie's constant reassurance.

"I don't know how I'm going to fool her," she said. "I never could lie to Carolyn. Besides, she's gotten really spooked since this whole mess started."

I'd spent most of my lunch with Carolyn under the table, squirming between her toes, and so I wasn't privy to a lot of their conversation. However, I had heard bits and pieces. I knew Carolyn was convinced GenetiTech was still following her, so she tended to drive convoluted routes when she left the house. She also believed that still had her phones tapped, so she would drive into town and use the payphone at Albertson's when she wanted to discuss us with Linda.

I'd also heard that Carolyn had taken the revolver out of the garage and started carrying it with her whenever she left the house. When it wasn't in her purse, she kept it in her glove compartment.

"Carolyn's always been a bit paranoid," Eddie said. He whirled his finger around his hear and said, "but I think this whole business had driven her plumb loco."

"Pot, meet the kettle," I whispered to Julie, who stifled a giggle. Linda suddenly grasped me between her thumb and finger and yanked me into the air. She dangled me before her enormous face.

"What have I told the two of you about whispering your little secrets?" she said, giving me a small shake for emphasis. "Do it again and you'll lose your little car."

"Sorry, Linda," I said, managing to sound contrite. It wasn't hard--my voice was sincerely trembling. "I was just telling Julie that Carolyn is starting to scare me, and I don't trust her to treat us as well as you do."

"It's true," Julie said, nodding emphatically. "We'd much rather stay here with you than go back to Carolyn."

Linda's frown softened. She gently nuzzled me against her cheek, then dropped me back into the palm of her other hand with Eddie and Julie.

"You poor little things. I keep forgetting how weird all this must be for you." She offered us a small smile. "I won't let Carolyn take you away from me. I promise."

"Maybe you can that paranoia against her," Eddie suggested to Linda. "Tell her you need her to back her car into the garage, so you can load the machine without the neighbors seeing. And then, once she's in, you can shrink her and her car all at once."

Linda nodded. "That might work. But she'll get suspicious when she sees those plastic sheets spread all over the floor, won't she?"

"You can cover them up," Eddie said. "Use the tarp from Randy's car. Or use some flattened out cardboard boxes. Hell, it doesn't matter what you use just as long as you don't cover up the edges."

Linda's face brightened. "Oh my god, Eddie! You are such a little genius!"

She reached down with her index finger to stroke him. And as he turned his face away from her, enduring her petting, Julie and I both saw the madness return to his eyes. His face contorted with rage as once again he began muttering to himself, "Hold it together, Eddie."

***

That night, I dreamed I was back in my house with my family and friends. A banner hung across the back wall of the living room reading, "WELCOME HOME, DAVE!!!" Everybody was hugging my neck, telling me how much they'd missed me and how happy they were that I was finally back to normal.

They were all oblivious to the enormous brown eye peering in through the window. And none of them seemed to hear Carolyn's deep chuckle from outside...

I woke up with tears in my eyes.

Julie lay on the folded tissue pallet next to me, still sleeping. And from outside the shoebox, I could hear Linda's snores. I glanced around and saw Eddie sitting near our pile of provisions. He was drinking warm beer from a bottle.

I stood up and walked over to him. His face looked unusually sinister in the moonlight that spilled into the box. He smiled as I approached.

"We need a refrigerator in here," he said. "Drinking warm Bud is like drinking piss." He chuckled and took another swig.

"Maybe Linda will shrink one down for us," I said.

Eddie laughed and shook his head. "I know you think I'm crazy. You and Julie both."

"After everything we've been through..."

"Sometimes I think I'm crazy too," he said. "There's all this white noise in my head, like a stadium full of people talking to me all at once. And when I think about what that bitch did to my dog..."

His face contorted with rage again, and he cracked the beer bottle against a plastic milk crate. It shattered, spraying beer and broken glass all over the cardboard floor. He held the jagged bottleneck up, clenching it in his fist.

Julie woke up and came bounding over, and I had to stop her to keep her from stepping on the broken glass. I held my finger to my lips, and we listened for any sign of stirring from Linda. But she just snored on.

Eddie's madness retreated once again. Still clutching the broken bottle, he whispered, "Keep it together, Eddie boy. Just keep it together."

We cleaned up the mess as best we could, and we escorted Eddie over to his pallet in the corner. I coaxed the broken bottle from him, and tossed it in with the rest of the garbage while Julie put him to bed.

Soon, Eddie was snoring almost in unison with Linda. But neither Julie nor I managed to fall back asleep. We lay there, holding each other, until Linda's alarm went off.

***

Linda skipped her usual shower that morning. And instead of getting dressed for work, she slipped into a t-shirt and a pair of cutoffs. She went into the other room, and we could hear her rummaging around through the stack of papers by the phone. She came back into the bedroom, dialing the portable phone. She gave the three of us a conspiring wink as she plopped down on the waterbed.

"Mr. Nichols? It's Linda." Her voice was low and ailing, and she threw in a couple of coughs. "I'm sorry to bother you at home, but I've had a relapse and I won't be able to make it into the office today."

She held the phone away from her ear. Even from across the room, we could hear the angry whine of Mr. Nichols coming through the receiver.

"No, I finished them," she said. "I was up almost all night working on them. That's probably why I got sick again."

More ranting from Mr. Nichols. Linda rolled her eyes and flipped off the phone with her free hand.

"Could you swing by and get them on your way to work? I know it's inconvenient, but..."

Mr. Nichols' voice buzzed again, still angry. Linda endured his tirade with a smirk. "Well, they're pretty heavy. You might wanna back into my driveway so we can get them... right, I'm at 3018 Quaker."

She coughed a couple more times. "Thanks so much, Mr. Nichols. I really appreciate this." She hung up the phone, then fell back on the bed giggling.

***

We didn't see any of it, but apparently it all went relatively smoothly. Linda moved her car out to the street so Mr. Nichols could back his Honda Civic into the driveway. She tried to convince him to back his car all the way into the garage, but he wasn't in the mood for her games. He put his key in the hatchback and opened it up. Then he walked into the garage to pick up the box of newsletters. He noticed they weren't in their envelopes and was about to tear into Linda for her irresponsibility when she hit him with the ray.

The hatchback was still open, so she slammed it shut and grabbed the key. Then she backed the car into the garage and shrank it.

***

Charles Nichols was obese, a fact made even more startling by the fact that he was naked and sopping wet.

"The fat little bastard [EXPLETIVE DELETED] himself when I shrank him," Linda said, "so I rinsed him off in the kitchen sink."

He was unconscious, a side effect of the size reduction. He'd be out for another hour at least, and then we'd be faced with the task of explaining to him where he was and what had happened.

I wasn't looking forward to that conversation.

"Let me see if I can find some sweats or something," Julie said. "They'll be tight, but at least..."

"No." Linda's hand came down, blocking Julie from our folded stacks of clothes. "Leave him like that. I want him all naked and scared when he wakes up."

***

After Linda called in sick to work, she grabbed a shower and got dressed. She actually tried on several different outfits before settling on a yellow floral sundress.

She twirled in front of her mirror, practicing her smile. Her blonde hair hung loosely over her tan shoulders, and it bounced when she casually shook her head.

"Not too shabby," she muttered, standing with her hands on her hips. She smiled once more into the mirror, then walked into the living room.

"Why's she getting all dressed up?" Julie whispered to me. "It's not like this poor guy is going to notice what she's wearing."

I shook my head. "No idea."

Linda came walking back into the bedroom, her flip flops slapping with each step. Her purse was slung over her shoulder, and she was carrying the DVDs from Blockbuster in one hand.

"I've got errands to run this morning," she said, making a point of peering down at us. "If that little bastard wakes up before I get back, make sure he's good and scared."

***

Linda had been gone about an hour when Mr. Nichols woke up. He grunted as he tried to bolt upright, then rolled over awkwardly on his side. He looked at us through bleary eyes, tiny and deep set in his doughy face. His hair was short and brown, with gray creeping in on the sides. His tight mouth was framed by enormous jowls and a considerable number of chins.

"Where am I?" he asked us, squinting. "Where are my glasses?"

"You didn't have any glasses when you were brought here," I told him. "And as for where you are... well, that's kind of hard to explain."

"Ms. Greenwood did this to me!" he wheezed. "She must have drugged me or something. I was in her garage..." He noticed that he was naked, and his fat cheeks were suddenly red. He squirmed uneasily, trying to cover himself up.

"Where the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] are my clothes?" he shouted. "Where am I? What did that [EXPLETIVE DELETED] bitch do to me?"

"I'll try to explain, but it's a lot to swallow," I told him. "You'd better brace yourself, because..."

"You've been shrunk," Eddie said. He pointed his finger at Mr. Nichols and made a ray gun sound. "Now you're one of Linda's pets, just like us."

Mr. Nichols stared at Eddie, who went back to muttering to himself. Then he looked pleadingly at me and Julie. "Please," he said, "just tell me what's going on."

Julie sighed. "It's like he said. You've been shrunk. You're now about two inches tall and sitting in a shoebox in Linda's bedroom."

He just shook his head. "This is insane. Ms. Greenwood drugged me and now I'm dreaming. Or hallucinating."

The garage door opened in the distance. We heard Linda's footsteps and the rustle of plastic grocery bags.

"Look," I told him. "She's going to come in here in a few minutes, and it's going to freak you out. So you might as well brace yourself now."

He stumbled awkwardly to his feet, huffing with exhaustion. Then, suddenly remembering that he was naked, he lumbered over to our makeshift bed and grabbed the thin blanket to cover himself.

"This is..." He shook his head and moaned. "Does anyone have a phone I can use?"

"Mr. Nichols..."

He glared at me. "Who are you, and how the hell do you know my name?"

We heard Linda approaching, humming happily as she walked down the hall. Mr. Nichols' eyes widened as he glanced nervously around the shoebox. For the first time, he seemed to notice the vast expanse of Linda's bedroom beyond the cardboard walls of our prison.

When she peered down into the box, Mr. Nichols lost it. He fell to his knees, screaming and covering his head. Linda smiled smugly as she reached down into the box. She scooped him into her hand and lifted him away from us.

"Stop it!" he screamed as she held him in her fist. "Whatever you're doing to me, just stop it!"

"You're a fat little thing, aren't you?" Linda said, giggling. "It's like holding a little baby hamster."

"Oh god!" Mr. Nichols' screams turned to sobs. He blubbered uncontrollably in Linda's grasp.

"Oh, come on," Linda said, giving him a squeeze. "I didn't hurt you." She chuckled, then added, "Yet."

"Please, Ms. Greenwood," Mr. Nichols gasped between sobs. "Please, just put me down."

Linda smiled pleasantly. "Well, of course, Mr. Nichols. All you had to do was ask nicely." She knelt to set him on the floor, then stood back up. "Is that better?"

We couldn't see what was happening on the floor, but it wasn't too hard to imagine. We could see Linda looking down, smiling wickedly. We could hear Mr. Nichols' pathetic cries amidst his wheezing. And we heard the thud of Linda's sandaled foot on the carpet.

"Uh uh. Where do you think you're going?" she asked playfully. Her foot slammed down again, and Mr. Nichols whined pitiably. "Bad Mr. Nichols," she scolded him, bringing her foot down again.

"Are you slowing down already?" Linda said. Her sandal thumped to the floor as it slid from her foot. Mr. Nichols gave a loud, startled cry that was suddenly muffled. Linda giggled. "Now I've got you."

Mr. Nichols pleas fell silent, and for one horrible moment I thought perhaps Linda had crushed him. But her cheeks grew pink and her smile grew vicious. "Yeah, that's right," she said, focusing on the floor. She licked her lips. "Kiss my toes, and maybe I won't squish you."

I couldn't stand it anymore. I slumped against the inside of the shoebox and put my hands over my ears, trying in vain to shut out Linda's taunting voice. It wasn't my fault, none of it was. But somehow, I still felt responsible for Mr. Nichols' current plight.

And from the look on Julie's face, so did she.

***

When Mr. Nichols would no longer respond to Linda's relentless teasing, she scooped him up and put him in the shoebox. As her enormous fingers hovered over him, he lay face down on the cardboard, red and gasping and damp with sweat.

"Poor Mr. Nichols," Linda cooed, prodding him with her index finger. "I bet you wish you'd been nicer to me now, don't you?"

Linda stroked Mr. Nichols with her index finger, brushing her nail along his broad, pale back. He trembled and whimpered quietly, but made no move to avoid her petting.

"I picked up some KFC for lunch," Linda said cheerfully. "While I'm getting your plates ready, you get Mr. Nichols here situated and find him a place to sleep."

She withdrew her hand and started to leave, but turned back. "Oh, and you might as well make up another bed." She grinned. "I invited Chad over for dinner tomorrow night."

***

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.]

God, it makes me sick to think about them now.

When Linda started on her shrinking spree, Julie and I had our misgivings, but we rationalized it by telling ourselves that it would eventually lead to our rescue. Every person Linda zapped would draw more attention to her, and eventually SOMEBODY would figure it out. Right?

And I kept telling myself that there was nothing I could do about it. There was nothing I could say or do that would talk Linda out of her plans. In fact, I'd probably get punished for even trying.

So I kept my mouth shut and Julie did the same, and we just kept hoping that salvation would come before anybody got hurt.

Eddie and the others... they might all still be alive today if only we'd done things differently.

Yeah, okay. Where was I?

***

Linda's next intended victim was Chad Taylor, a college dropout who worked at Blockbuster. Chad, however, had dreams that went beyond ringing up rentals and shelving DVDs. He and his friends had started a Christian rock band called CrycifyX last year, and even though they had yet to get paid for a gig, Chad kept insisting it was only a matter of time before they hit it big.

Chad also had a huge crush on Linda. He always let her slide on her late fees, and he would occasionally set aside a popular DVD for her, even though it was against the rules. He'd been promising her since January that he was going to write a song about her.

So when Linda showed up at the Blockbuster and invited him to her house for a home-cooked meal, he jumped at the chance. And when Linda requested that he not mention it to anybody because she didn't want word getting back to her husband, Chad readily agreed.

Her plan was simple. Once Chad showed up, she'd ask him to park his car in the garage so the neighbors wouldn't see. And once he was in, she'd zap him.

However, it didn't quite happen that way. Chad threw a wrench in the plans when he showed up at Linda's door with his buddy (and CrucifyX bassist) Denny.

"Denny's my ride, Missus Greenwood," Chad explained sheepishly. "But he's cool. He won't tell nobody." He elbowed Denny. "Right, dude?"

"Whatever." Denny shrugged. "So, Chad says we might be able to score some weed from you?"

"Dude, be cool!" Chad gave Linda an apologetic look. "I mean, I told him you were cool and everything and you *might* have some, but..."

"It's okay," Linda said sweetly. "Why don't you boys move your car into the garage, and I'll see if Randy's got anything stashed out there."

***

And so Linda added two more to her collection.

She came into the bedroom, grinning merrily as she set Denny's beat up Ford Escort on the dresser next to all the other cars. She held her hand, displaying the two tiny figures curled up in her palm.

"Chad was a naughty little boy," Linda said, "and he brought along a friend. I'll have to punish him when he wakes up." She giggled. "Maybe I'll just punish both of them."

"Ms. Greenwood!" Mr. Nichols startled all of us by stumbling to his feet and shouting. He waggled a fat finger at Linda, who just smiled down at him. "I don't know what you've done to me, but if you don't undo it right now, I can assure you..."

"Kinda mouthy for a hamster, aren't you?" Linda said. She reached down with her free hand and flicked at Mr. Nichols with her finger. He stumbled backwards a couple of steps, then fell hard.

"I'll fix you guys some leftovers in a bit," Linda told us. She grinned down at the two captives in her hand and slowly closed her fingers over them. "Right now, I think I'll have a bath with my boys."

***

"Okay," Julie said quietly. "Anybody else starting to have second thoughts about our plan?"

"Plan?" Mr. Nichols scoffed in his petulant, whiny voice. "You mean that brilliant scheme of letting her shrink half of Midland County until somebody finally realizes what's going on?"

His tirade was made even more ridiculous by the fact that he was stuffed into a pair of sweats and a Tweety Bird t-shirt several sizes too small for him.

"I'm wide open to any alternatives you guys may have," I said.

"We need to escape," Mr. Nichols said, pounding his chubby fist into his palm. "Get out of this box and get to a phone. Or maybe make our way to one of the neighbors. Surely we could find somebody sympathetic to our plight."

"I still think it's too risky," I said. "Right now, we've got the benefit of Linda's goodwill. If she catches us trying to escape, there's no telling what..."

"Goodwill?" Mr. Nichols' face turned beet red. "I spent the night trapped under a glass, for God's sake! That [EXPLETIVE DELETED] woman takes delight in tormenting me!"

"Well, she's got a couple of new toys now, so maybe she'll cut you some slack," I told him. "Besides, you think she's bad, her sister Carolyn is a hundred times worse."

"Anyway," Julie said, "my point is that I'm a little uncomfortable with sitting around and waiting for GenetiTech to rescue us."

Eddie, who had been silent up to that point, chuckled. "What's the matter, sunshine? Losing faith in your masters?"

Julie sighed. "I had faith in Rachel Foster, but now she's in a coma and God only knows what kind of shakeup's going on with their security now."

"But you know they're keeping tabs on Carolyn," I told her. "And once she and Linda's husband go missing, they'll figure it out. They'll come rescue us."

"I guess," Julie said. "So, you still think we should just wait and see what happens?"

"Yeah. I do."

"Me too," Eddie said. With a grin, he added, "if my opinion still matters."

"Fine," Julie said. "But we need a Plan B, too. If GenetiTech doesn't come to our rescue, we need to make our own way out of here."

"Linda did make a remark the other day about this shoebox getting a little too crowded," I told them. "Maybe we can talk her into a dollhouse or something. Be a hell of a lot easier to get out of than this [EXPLETIVE DELETED] box."

"All right," Mr. Nichols said. "We'll do it your way, for now. But just so you know, the first time I get the opportunity to escape, I'm going to take it. And if you are foolish enough to remain behind, you can damn well face Ms. Greenwood's wrath in my absence."

***

It was about an hour later when Linda came into the bedroom, her hair damp and her face scrubbed clean of makeup. She was grinning when she set the two naked, shivering boys down in the shoebox.

"Ya'll introduce yourselves and find them something to wear," Linda said. "I'm gonna go get your dinner." She slipped into her bathrobe and left the room.

Chad and Denny were both staring wide-eyed at everything, jerking their heads around, desperate to take it all in. Denny still looked a bit shaken, but Chad was actually smiling.

"Dude, this is [EXPLETIVE DELETED] awesome!" he said.

"What are you, retarded?" Denny shoved him. "I just came here for some weed! Not to be some giant bimbo's bath toy!"

"God, she's so hot," Chad said. "And did you hear the way she was talking to me? She's totally into me, dude!"

"Dumbass." Denny regarded the rest of us for the first time, looking back and forth between us. "So, what did she do to us, man? Are we tripping, or what?"

***

As it turned out, Chad and Denny were far more amenable to the idea than any of the rest of us had been. Denny was pissed about it, to be sure, but still seemed to be taking the whole thing in stride. Chad, on the other hand, had already embraced his destiny as Linda's pet. He actually felt as if he'd been chosen, like some honor had been bestowed upon him.

So when Linda brought our dinner to us (reheated enchilada salad on paper plates), Chad made a show of approaching her hand and kissing her finger. And Linda, of course, ate it up. She gently grasped Chad and lifted him to her face, where she stroked him with her finger and nuzzled him against her cheek.

"Dude, I think I'm going to blow chunks," Denny muttered.

"I think Chad will be sleeping with me tonight," Linda said. "Any other volunteers?"

She looked down at us, then shook her head. "No? Well, you'll all get a turn sooner or later."

***

For about an hour, we listened to the coos and giggles of Linda as she toyed with Chad. Somehow, the fact that Chad was a willing participant only made things worse.

I couldn't help but remember my time with Carolyn, when my terror had become such a constant that it had been reduced to a background buzz. Torment and torture had become such a way of life that any kindness, no matter how minute, felt like the act of a truly benevolent goddess. I trembled at the thought of her anger, but I felt a sense of satisfaction when her mood was good because I knew that, somehow, I had made my goddess happy.

And when Eddie or Julie would resist her and invite her retribution, I would get angry with them. I couldn't understand why they had to make things so hard, when it was so easy to just surrender.

God, just thinking about it made me sick to my stomach. I found myself praying that Linda's scheme would work, because I couldn't bear the thought of being Carolyn's pet again.

I didn't want to lose myself again.

***

I don't know when I eventually drifted off, but I had that dream again where I was home and surrounded by family and friends. This time, I knew it was a dream because the furniture in my house was all plastic and the pictures were painted on the wall, frame and all. I heard the grandfather clock chime twelve, but when I glanced at it, the sticker face read ten after one.

"I'll never forgive her," Eddie was saying as he spooned a mouthful of cake into his mouth. I glanced behind him and saw Carolyn's enormous brown eye peering through the window.

"Forgive her for what, Eddie?" I asked. It didn't seem odd to me that he was there at the party. Such is the logic of dreams. "For shrinking us?"

Eddie shook his head and offered me an insane smile, his teeth blue with frosting. "No, for killing my dog."

And suddenly, it wasn't Carolyn's eye at the window. It was Linda's, and her voice was saying, "Wakey wakey, eggs and bakey!"

***

When I woke up, Linda was peering down into the box, all smiles. "Okay, guys. Carolyn's going to be here around eleven or so, so we've got to be ready."

She reached down into the box and grabbed Denny and Mr. Nichols, both of whom protested grumpily. She set them in her hand, next to Chad. "I need to find someplace to hide you guys, just in case Carolyn starts nosing around."

She glanced around the room, then knelt and picked up a pair of discarded pantyhose. "Sorry about this," she said. "I trust you, Chad, but I can't take a chance on these other two getting loose. So..."

She dropped the three of them into her nylons, then tied them in a knot. We could hear Mr. Nichols' indignant shouts as she wadded the hose into a ball and tucked them into a dresser drawer. She picked up Denny's and Mr. Nichols' cars and set them down in the drawer as well. She shuffled some clothes around, then finally pushed the drawer shut.

"As for you three," she said, "I think you know what to do." She smiled nervously. "If we can pull this off, all our troubles will be over."

She picked up our shoebox and gently carried us into the living room.

***

Linda was so nervous, she didn't even play with us. She just sat on the couch, her attention moving back and forth between the clock on her mantle and the TV set. A televangelist was demonstrating how, by applying certain arithmetic formulas encoded in the Book of Daniel, you could add up the letters of Bill Clinton's name and get the number 666.

"There's no reason why this won't work," Linda kept muttering, more to reassure herself than us. "Carolyn will back her car into the garage, and I'll just zap her. That's all there is to it. No reason why it won't work."

We heard Carolyn's car pull up outside, and Linda gulped. She stood up, took a deep breath, and whispered, "Here we go." When Carolyn knocked on the front door, Linda went and answered it.

"Good morning," Carolyn said cheerfully as she came in. She hugged Linda and pecked her on the cheek.

"You okay?" Carolyn said.

"Yeah," Linda answered. "Just didn't get much sleep last night. I was..."

Carolyn glanced over at us and smiled. "Just saying goodbye, I bet." She walked over to the coffee table and peered down into the box at us. "I've missed you, my darlings."

She reached down and brushed me with her finger, touching her shield-like nail to my chest. "Especially you, my special little guy."

My heart was pounding and my legs were trembling, but I didn't want to give Carolyn any reason for suspicion, so I kissed her finger and gave it a pat.

"So, why is your car parked on the street?" Carolyn asked. There wasn't any edge to the question, but Linda's face paled just the same.

"Um, I had to move it yesterday." Her grin looked a little forced. "Since Randy's out of town, I finally called J. J. and had him tow Randy's piece-of-[EXPLETIVE DELETED] car away."

Carolyn giggled. "Oh my god! What are you going to tell him when he gets home?"

Linda shrugged. "I don't know. Any chance you'll reconsider and let me use your machine on him?"

Still laughing, Carolyn shook her head. "Sorry, sweetie. It's tempting, but we can't risk drawing any more attention to ourselves until this whole thing blows over."

Linda sighed. "Yeah, I know. Just thought I'd ask."

"So, where's the machine? Still in your spare room?"

"Actually, I moved it to the garage last night," Linda said.

Carolyn's eyes narrowed. "Why would you do that?"

"Just thought it would be easier that way," Linda said, shrugging. "With Randy's car out of the way, you can back your car in and we can load it up without the neighbors seeing or anything."

"That's not a bad idea," Carolyn said. "I might just make a master criminal out of you, yet." She giggled again.

"Okay," Linda said. "I'll go open the garage door. You can go back your car in."

Linda went out into the garage and closed the door before Carolyn could glance out and notice the machine was fully set up. But Carolyn didn't even notice. She was fishing in her purse for her keys.

"So, did you guys miss me?" Carolyn said as she pulled out her keys. "How about you, Davey Boy? Did you miss playing on my pretty feet?"

Before I could answer, Eddie suddenly called out, "Carolyn, I have something to tell you!"

Smirking, Carolyn said, "What's that, Eddie? You're not jealous, are you?"

"Linda's going to try and shrink you," Eddie told her. Julie and I exchanged panicked looks, as Carolyn's hand reached into the box and snatched up Eddie.

"What the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] are you talking about?"

"That's been her plan all along," Eddie said. "Randy never went on any fishing trip. She just told you that so you'd let her keep the machine at her house."

"Bull[EXPLETIVE DELETED]!" Carolyn snapped. "What are you trying to..."

"The first night she had the machine, she hooked it up and she used it to shrink Randy. And then she killed him and flushed him down the toilet."

"You're lying!" Carolyn said. She gave Eddie a painful pinch and he yelped.

"No, I swear to God! She didn't have his car hauled away! She shrank it and threw it in the trash! It's still in there!"

"You're saying she murdered Randy?"

"She's been using the machine all week," Eddie told her, sobbing. "She's got three other shrunken people in her bedroom, sitting in her dresser drawer."

Carolyn glanced towards the garage.

"Go look if you don't believe me!"

Carolyn sighed and shook her head. "How the hell did she learn how to use the machine?"

Eddie shook his head. "It's not that hard. You figured it out without any help. Remember?"

"I can't..." Carolyn bit her lip. "Dammit." She set Eddie back down in the box. "Hang on."

She walked past the garage door and called, "I'm going to use the potty first. I'll be right out." She walked down the hall and into Linda's bedroom.

The garage door opened and Linda poked her head in. "Hurry up, okay?"

"Eddie, what the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] are you doing?" I demanded, shoving him angrily.

"I've got a plan," he told us. He smiled that insane grin I'd seen in my dream.

"Son of a bitch," Carolyn snarled, storming back into the living room. She held the panty hose in her hand, letting them dangle. Chad, Denny, and Mr. Nichols all struggled weakly.

She set the bundle of nylon down roughly in the shoebox, knocking over all of Julie's meticulous stacks. Then she reached into her purse.

"[EXPLETIVE DELETED] bitch," she said through gritted teeth as she pulled out the revolver. "I'll [EXPLETIVE DELETED] show her." She opened the door to the garage and pointed the gun at Linda, who screamed.

"What the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] are you doing?" Linda cried.

"You lying little whore," Carolyn screamed. "You were going to shrink me, weren't you?"

"Carolyn, it's not what you..."

Carolyn motioned with the gun, then stepped into the garage and closed the door. We heard their muted argument, then Linda's sobs. The lights flickered and the TV lost its picture for a second.

Carolyn came back in, still trembling with rage. In her right hand, she clutched the gun with white knuckles. And in her left hand, she held the tiny, unconscious figure of Linda.

"Did all of you know about this?" she demanded as she dropped Linda into the box. Linda landed on one of the beds of folded tissue with a soft thud. Her EAGER BEAVER t-shirt was stained with puke.

I honestly didn't know how to answer the question. Now that the plan was blown, it seemed best to get out in front of the whole thing and claim innocence.

"She said she'd kill us if we told you anything," I said. "I wanted to, but I was..."

"Shhh." Carolyn reached down into the box and picked me up. "It's okay, baby. I know she scared you guys, but it's okay. You're going home with me now, and nobody's ever going to hurt you again."

Carolyn kissed me with sticky, red lips and set me down. "Okay, I've got some work to do. You guys sit tight, okay?"

She grabbed Linda's car keys off of the dining table and went outside.

Eddie moved over to where Linda lay unconscious and knelt next to her.

"That was your plan?" I asked, furious. "You wanted Carolyn to shrink Linda?"

"Actually, I was hoping she'd shoot her first," Eddie said, grinning as he reached under his baggy sweatshirt. "But I planned for this eventuality as well."

I charged him before he pulled his hand out and knocked him away from Linda. The broken beer bottle, the one I'd taken away from him just two nights ago, fell from his grip and bounced on the cardboard floor. I kicked it away and wrestled Eddie to the ground.

His face was contorted, almost demonic. All trace of sanity was gone as he stared with hateful eyes and screamed, spit spraying from his mouth with every word.

"YOU KILLED MY DOG, YOU [EXPLETIVE DELETED] BITCH! YOU KILLED MY SIRE!"

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.]

While Carolyn was busy out in the garage, Julie and I were doing our best to calm Eddie down.

We were all in the shoebox, sitting on the coffee table in Linda's living room. Mr. Nichols, Chad, and Denny were still trapped in Linda's wadded up stocking, their faces pressed against the nylon as they watched us.

Linda lay unconscious on a bed of folded tissue, stinking of puke and pee. She looked so small and fragile now, I was already finding it difficult to remember how vast and terrifying she had seemed.

"She killed my dog," Eddie sobbed. "She just killed him!"

"I know," Julie said, brushing her fingers through Eddie's disheveled hair. "But killing her won't bring him back. You know that."

"I don't care," Eddie insisted through his tears. "I just want her to suffer."

"She will," I told him. "Carolyn's all kinds of pissed at her right now."

"That's right," Julie said. "If you kill her now, Carolyn won't get a chance to punish her properly."

"Hell," I said. "You'd probably be doing her a favor."

Eddie broke down crying, and Julie put a comforting arm around him and hugged him tightly. While she stroked his hair and whispered soothingly in his ear, I grabbed the broken beer bottle and used it to cut the others free.

As soon as he was out, Chad ran past me and over to Linda. He dropped down next to her and gently shook her, trying to wake her. He didn't seem to care that she'd emptied the contents of her stomach and bladder when she'd been shrunk.

"Dude," Denny said, pointing at Eddie and Julie. "Is he, like, okay?"

"He's insane is what he is," Mr. Nichols said. "Driven crazy by that horrible woman over there." He glared in Linda's direction, angrily meeting Chad's defiant stare.

"So, what's the deal?" Denny asked. "Are we being rescued?"

The lights flickered throughout the house.

"Not hardly," I said as Carolyn came back in, carrying Linda's car in her hand.

***

Carolyn dug the wreck of Randy's 280-ZX out of the trash and placed it in the other shoebox, along with the rest of our cars. She spent about half an hour going through the house, making sure she hadn't overlooked anything that might implicate her. When she was satisfied that there was nothing suspicious to be found, she packed some of Linda's and Randy's clothes into a couple of suitcases, and then shrunk them down as well.

"I swear," Carolyn sighed as she dropped the suitcases into our box. "Linda really [EXPLETIVE DELETED] things up good, didn't she? I don't know what I'm going to do with all you little guys."

"You could, like, let us go," Denny said.

Carolyn chuckled. She reached down and grasped Denny between her finger and thumb. He let out a frightened yelp as she lifted him up from the box.

"You're a cute one," she said. "Funny, too."

"I mean it," Denny said, his voice trembling. "How come you can't just..."

"Tell you what," Carolyn said. "I'll put you down on the floor and if you can make it to the door, I'll let you go. How's that sound?"

Denny just shook his head.

"You sure?"

Denny nodded.

"Okay, cutie." Carolyn set Denny back down in the box. "Just let me know if you change your mind."

***

Linda woke up on the drive back to Carolyn's house. We were all in our shoebox, which was sitting on the passenger seat. Carolyn was at the wheel, occasionally glancing in our direction.

When Linda realized what had happened to her, she began screaming. "Carolyn! What did you do to me?"

Carolyn snorted. "Right. Like you weren't planning to do the same to me, you little bitch."

"Oh god!" Linda collapsed in Chad's arms and sobbed ferociously.

"Oh, give me a break." Carolyn shook her head. "I swear to God, Linda. I don't know how I'm going to dig myself out of this hole you dug me into. If you weren't my sister, I'd tear your little arms and legs clean off."

Linda continued to wail, which just seemed to annoy Carolyn even more.

"Somebody better shut her up before I do."

Chad hugged Linda tightly and tried to soothe her. She buried her face in his shoulder and went on crying.

"It's okay, Ms. Greenwood," he said softly. "I won't let anything happen to you." Linda's cries were muffled, which seemed to appease Carolyn somewhat. The rest of us breathed a sigh of relief.

"Dude, why are you snuggling that bitch?" Denny asked Chad. "Seriously, you've got a serious case of... what's that thing? Where you, like, fall in love with the bad guys?"

"Stockholm Syndrome?" Julie suggested.

"Yeah, that."

"[EXPLETIVE DELETED] you," Chad snapped in a harsh whisper.

"Hey, [EXPLETIVE DELETED] you!" Denny muttered back. "Only reason I even drove your dumb ass here was because you promised me some weed."

Julie nudged me. "Didn't you tell me they were in a Christian rock band or something?"

I shrugged. "Yeah, but I don't think they're very good at it."

She tried to smile, but didn't do a very convincing job. She sighed, her voice filled with despair. "God, Dave. We are so screwed."

"Maybe not," I told her quietly. I glanced up to see if Carolyn was paying attention to us, but her eyes were on the road. "Right now, Carolyn's putting all the blame on Linda. She thinks were just innocent victims in all this."

"For now," Julie said. "But Eddie told her that Linda had shrunk her husband, and we didn't say anything to contradict that."

"We didn't have any choice."

"I know," Julie said. "But what happens next week, when Randy gets back from his fishing trip? Carolyn's going to know we lied to her."

"Crap. I wasn't thinking that far ahead."

"We need to get out in front of this thing, Dave, and we have to stay as close to the truth as we can. We tell her that Randy was gone when we got here, but we did see Linda shrink his car. We tell her it was Eddie who told us about Randy, but we never actually heard it from Linda."

I shook my head. "I don't like the idea of selling Eddie out like that. If we put all of this on him, Carolyn's going to kill him."

"I don't think so," Julie said. "Linda did kill Eddie's dog, and he's been acting insane ever since. Plus, if he hadn't ratted out Linda, Carolyn would be shrunk now. I think she'll be lenient on him."

"Yeah, right. Because she's a fount of mercy."

Julie sighed. "Dammit, Dave. I don't like it any better than you do, but right now, it's our only choice. If we don't get our story straight, Carolyn's going to squish us both when Randy shows up."

"Yeah, okay. Fine." I looked over at Eddie, who sat in the corner, muttering to himself. "But I still don't like it."

***

The shoebox was pretty much a shambles by this point, our belongings scattered and strewn all about as Carolyn carried us into the house. All of Julie's hard work torn asunder. I took her hand and gave it a nervous squeeze.

The box bounced and Carolyn huffed as she carried us up the stairs. "There's a few more of you than I was expecting," she said as we moved down the hall, "but I think that dollhouse should be plenty big enough." With a sly smile, she added, "I fixed the guest room up real nice for you guys."

Carolyn carried us into the room, then knelt and set our shoebox down next to her foot. One by one, she lifted us out of the box and set us down on the polished wooden floor.

The guest room looked pretty much like it had when it had been my room. Mismatched furniture, large oak bed, tacky seashell reading lamp... The dollhouse was now sitting on the floor next to the dresser, its open side flush against the wall.

I glanced around, puzzled by her comment of having fixed up the room for us, when I noticed the two-by-four nailed to the bottom of the door jamb. It was a wooden wall, easily twice our height, designed to keep us penned in.

When we were all out of the box, Carolyn upended it and dumped all of our stuff into a pile next to the dollhouse. She stood up and stepped over to the dollhouse, effortlessly pulling it away from the wall so that its open side was exposed.

"Okay, this'll be your room," Carolyn told us. "You guys can run around in here all you want, as long as you obey the rules."

She held up an index finger and said sternly, "One, you come when I call you. I don't want you hiding from me. Got it?"

We all nodded or murmured, "Yes, ma'am."

"And two," she said, holding up a second finger, "you don't go outside that door unless I'm carrying you. I catch one of you where you don't belong, I'll punish you. Any questions?"

"Punish us how?" Denny asked. Julie and I exchanged a nervous glance and slowly backed away.

"What?" Carolyn asked. She was staring straight down at Denny, an amused smile creeping across her face.

"Um, I was just wondering," Denny asked, his voice trembling slightly now that he had Carolyn's undivided attention. "How are you going to punish us? I mean, you're not going to hurt us or anything, are you?"

Still smiling, Carolyn slid her foot from her sandal.

"Oh [EXPLETIVE DELETED]," Denny shouted. "I was just..."

He gave a panicked yell as Carolyn's bare foot hovered over him. He tried to run, but she caught him easily and pinned him beneath her toes. She chuckled as he squirmed helplessly.

"Be still," Carolyn commanded, but Denny kept struggling. She pinched her toes together, and Denny let out a pained cry. He fell still, whimpering quietly beneath her foot.

"Anyone else have any questions?" This time, we all kept silent.

"Good." Carolyn took a step back and slipped her foot back into her shoe. As Denny stood up and backed away from her, she reached down and picked up the empty shoebox.

"Now I want you guys to get all your [EXPLETIVE DELETED] picked up and put in that dollhouse. When you get done, maybe I'll unpack your little cars and let you drive around. Would you like that, Davey?"

I swallowed nervously and said, "Yes, ma'am."

Carolyn smiled down at me. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her foot rise slightly. I braced myself for whatever game she had in mind, knowing I'd only make it worse if I ran.

But she just gave me a playful wink. She turned and walked out with the shoebox under her arm, stepping easily over the barricade as she went.

***

"Humongous [EXPLETIVE DELETED] bitch," Denny muttered as he helped me carry the portable toilet up the plastic stairs. "Now my damn shirt smells like feet."

"You got off lucky," I told him. "You've got to keep your mouth shut around her."

We lugged the toilet into the upstairs bathroom and slid it into its alcove. Between that and the running water in the sink, the facilities were downright luxurious.

"I just asked a question, dude," Denny said, sniffing distastefully at the lapel of his shirt. "I mean, are we like kidnapped or what? What the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] is she going to do with us?"

I shrugged. "Pretty much anything she wants."

"Jesus," Denny said. "We gotta find a way out of here, dude."
"I'm wide open to any suggestions," I said. "Maybe we can round table with the rest of the brain trust downstairs and come up with a plan that doesn't end with us getting stomped."

"Maybe we can," Denny said defiantly. "You give up too easy, dude."

I laughed. "Now you're starting to sound like Julie."

"So, what's the deal with you and that Julie chick, anyways?" Denny asked me. "Are you, like, hitting that?"

"What are you? Like, eight?"

Denny held up his hands in a placating gesture and smiled. "No offense, dude. Just wondering."

***

It was late afternoon by the time we got everything moved in. Our only indication of time was the small window in the guest room. The white drapes were drawn, but a sliver of orange sunlight spilled through and splashed against the wall. That sliver had gotten longer and thinner as the afternoon wore on, and was now almost gone.

It had been pretty slow going. Linda had spent the entire afternoon in one of the upstairs bedrooms, trying to avoid Eddie. Chad had gone up after her, still hovering over her and trying to soothe her. Eddie had paced around the kitchen like a caged animal for about an hour or so, until he discovered the rest of the beer in the Styrofoam cooler. Now he was napping at the kitchen table.

And of course, Mr. Nichols had only made a couple of trips before he started complaining about his bad back. So that left me, Denny, and Julie to do all the heavy lifting.

By the time we were done, my arms and legs were quivering with exhaustion. I just collapsed on the oversized plastic couch with a sigh. Julie plopped down next to me. Our feet dangled off the edge like children's; the furniture in the dollhouse was designed to scale for a bunch of three-inch dolls, so everything was about half again as big as it needed to be.

"I refuse to accept," Mr. Nichols said, "that there is no hope of reasoning with this woman." His voice was so whiny and his manner so insufferable. He'd only been among us for two days now, but he was trying to take charge and was annoyed that nobody seemed willing to follow his lead.

"We stood a better chance of reasoning with Linda," Julie said. "Carolyn's bit more..."

"Bat[EXPLETIVE DELETED] crazy?" I offered.

"She [EXPLETIVE DELETED] scares me, dude," Denny said wearily. He had collapsed melodramatically on the floor after carrying his last load and was now sprawled next to the plastic coffee table. "Did you see her, all stepping on me and [EXPLETIVE DELETED]? Bitch has got it in for me."

"That's why we need to plan an escape," Mr. Nichols said. "That's what I've been trying to tell you. If we can just get to a phone, we can call for help."

"Oh, that's a brilliant plan," I said. "Hell, you've done the hard part. Now all we have to do is come up with a way to get out of this room and to the phone without getting caught. Piece of cake."

"There's no need for sarcasm," Mr. Nichols said, sniffing. "We can do it at night, while she's asleep. And we can either call that lab that you work for, or we can just dial 9-1-1 and..."

"You keep saying 'we.'" I glared at him. "Does that mean you're volunteering?"

Mr. Nichols blushed slightly. "I don't think I'm the most qualified, physically, to..."

"Then shut the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] up," I said.

"Hey," Julie snapped at me. "There's no call for that."

I sighed. "Sorry."

"Carolyn just has the one phone, I think," Julie said, addressing the group. "But it's a portable, so we can't know for certain where it's going to be at any given time."

"I would imagine she keeps it nearby during the night," Mr. Nichols said. "To avoid having to run downstairs in case it rings."

I shrugged. "Sometimes. And sometimes she just leaves it downstairs and turns off the ringer so it won't wake her up."

"Damn," Julie said. "And I guess we won't have any way of knowing what she's going to do from one night to the next."

"So [EXPLETIVE DELETED] the phone," Denny said. "Let's just worry about getting out of this house. Once we're outside, she'll never find us. Then all we have to do is..."

"...is make a 50 mile hike out to the highway," I finished for him, "while avoiding bugs, birds, bobcats, and anything else that might be waiting to eat us. Then, if we're lucky, we can flag down a car and save ourselves the 400 mile journey to town."

"Yeah, okay," Denny said, rolling his eyes. "I get it, all right?"

"So maybe we go in two teams," Julie said. "Some of us check Carolyn's room, and some of us head downstairs. Whoever finds the phone makes the call, then all we have to do is stay out of sight until help arrives."

"Exactly," Mr. Nichols said, nodding as if that were his plan all along. "Once the authorities arrive, it should be a simple matter to get their attention."

"Not that simple," I said. "If Carolyn spots you first, you'll be a carpet stain."

"Getting down the stairs is going to be a bitch," Julie said. "Once we're on them, we'll be sitting ducks. No place to hide, no place to run. If we can't make it all the way down by morning, we'll be screwed."

"Me and Chad will go," Denny said. "We're the youngest and we're in the best shape." He gave Mr. Nichols a friendly pat on the shoulder. "No offense, dude."

"Well, assuming she leaves the door open for us, any ideas for getting past that board?" I asked.

"Maybe make a rope out of the towels and stuff?" Denny suggested.

"Actually," Mr. Nichols said, "if this Carolyn woman holds true to her word and grants us use of our cars in this room, we might be able to park alongside the barricade and boost ourselves over."

"There's that 'we' again," I said with a snort. "You might want to watch that."

"Stop it, Dave," Julie said. "Okay, so when we make our break for it, Denny and Chad will take the stairs, and Dave and I will take Carolyn's room."

"And the rest of us?" Mr. Nichols asked.

"The rest of you need to find a hiding place, where you'll be safe from Carolyn," I said. "If she comes in here and finds some of us gone, the rest are going to catch hell."

***

At the sound of Carolyn's approach, Julie and I scrambled out of the dollhouse, followed by Mr. Nichols and Denny. Chad came down the plastic stairs, pulling Linda by the arm. "[EXPLETIVE DELETED] her!" Linda was shouting, trying to pull away.

Carolyn stepped over the barricade and smiled down at us. She looked exhausted. "Okay, where's my husband?" she said, putting her hands on her hips. "Eddie, you've got to the count of three to show yourself."

"He had too much to drink," I told her. "He's passed out in the kitchen."

Carolyn knelt in front of us. Placing her hand on the roof of the dollhouse, she leaned down and peered inside. "Looks like you guys are all moved in," she said. With her other hand, she reached in and gently scooped up Eddie. He stirred slightly, mumbling incoherently as she lifted him from the house.

She gently shoved the dollhouse around so that the open side was flush against the wall. "There you go. That'll give you guys a little privacy," she said with a magnanimous smile. "Just don't be getting up to any mischief in there. Got it?"

We all nodded.

"Good." She reached down and grabbed Linda with her finger and thumb, snatching her up and dropping her into her open palm next to her sleeping husband. Linda's squeals were muffled as Carolyn's fingers closed over her.

Carolyn stood up, her knees popping from the effort. "My sister and my husband will be sleeping with me tonight. We've got a lot to talk about, you know?"

Looking right at me, she winked. "Sorry, it's just going to be family tonight, Davey. But don't worry. You and I will have some special time tomorrow, okay?"

I didn't have to look at Julie to feel her glaring at me. I blushed and said, "Okay."

She placed her bare foot directly in front of me, wiggling her toes playfully. The strap of her flip flop had left a long, grimy indention in the tan flesh along the top of her foot, and the red polish on her nails had become chipped and worn.

"Kiss me goodnight," she said. I leaned down and planted a kiss on her big toe.

"Good boy," she whispered. "See you in the morning." She turned and left, carrying Linda and Eddie with her.

"Ooh, special time with Carolyn tomorrow," Julie said as we walked back to the dollhouse. "How will you ever sleep?"

I sighed. "Give it a rest, Julie. It's been a long, crappy day."

"Hey, better you than me, dude," Denny said. "I mean, no offense." With a sigh, he added, "That bitch didn't even let us have our cars."

"Why didn't you say something?" Mr. Nichols asked.

Denny snorted. "You kidding? Giganta's just looking for another excuse to step on me."

"You think Miss Greenwood's gonna be okay?" Chad asked, hurrying along behind Denny. "I mean, it's her sister, right? She's not going to hurt her or anything, is she?"

"Dude!" Denny snorted again. "Who [EXPLETIVE DELETED] cares?"

"[EXPLETIVE DELETED] you!" Chad shouted, charging at his friend. The two of them fell onto the floor, cursing angrily as they struggled. Mr. Nichols stepped over to them and attempted to break up the fight.

"Should we help?" Julie asked. There was amusement in her voice, and I was surprised to see her actually smiling.

"Nah. With any luck, they'll wear themselves out and sleep through the night."

Julie chuckled. "You're right," she said. "It has been a long and crappy day." And somehow, in spite of everything else that had happened, just seeing Julie smile improved my mood considerably.

***

We fell asleep on the couch that night, just holding each other. Nothing romantic, just comfort and a longing for normality. And after spending the last few days living in a shoebox, the garish decorations of the dollhouse seemed almost homey. Before I drifted off, I remember wondering idly if I'd remembered to lock the front door.

Once again, I dreamed I was back home with my family and friends, who were celebrating my return with a party. Streamers hung from the ceiling, and a large banner reading "WELCOME HOME, DAVE!!!" hung along the back wall. Julie was there with me, holding my hand as everyone hugged us and told us how much they missed us. And God, for the first time in as long as I could remember, I was happy.

I was actually chuckling when I woke up, still caught up in the euphoria of the dream. I knew if I thought about it too hard, it would all slip away, so I struggled to stay there, to keep my eyes closed and pretend like everything was normal, to pretend like I couldn't hear the thudding footsteps approaching from outside. Just a little bit longer, I prayed. Please, just a little bit longer...

The entire house shook, and I felt Julie jerk awake next to me with a muffled start. Denny's angry shout from upstairs, "Hey, what the [EXPLETIVE DELETED]?" The house moved away from the wall, and I found myself faced with the reality of a bare foot the size of a Citibus...

"Wake up, Davey," Carolyn said cheerfully. "Time for our shower."

***

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.]

It was Sunday morning, and I was about to share a shower with Carolyn.

I sat huddled in her cupped palm, still dressed in the sweats and t-shirt I'd worn the day before. I'd spent most of the previous afternoon helping Denny and Julie haul our stuff into the dollhouse. I was grimy and sore from my efforts and, to my surprise, I realized I was actually looking forward to the shower.

We passed through Carolyn's bedroom on the way to the bathroom. I caught a glimpse of movement on the cluttered nightstand, silhouetted against the glaring red numbers of the digital clock. Standing in a drinking glass, ankle deep in water, was Eddie. He was naked, watching us with his face pressed against the glass. Huddled outside the glass, also naked, was Linda. I was too far away to hear her, but it was obvious she was sobbing.

As if reading my mind, Carolyn chuckled. "I'm gonna have to keep those two separated, or Eddie's gonna hurt my sister. She must've really done a number on him."

"She killed his dog," I reminded her.

"I know, sweetie." She stopped and looked down at me with an affectionate smile. "Hate to think what would've happened to all of us if you guys hadn't warned me about her." Carolyn glanced towards Linda, and her smile faded. "You know, she's still trying to convince me that Randy is on a fishing trip. She says the only reason she tried to shrink me was because Eddie talked her into it."

I felt my stomach knot nervously. "Do you believe her?"

Carolyn shrugged. "Linda's usually not that good a liar. If she's making it all up, she's doing a hell of a job selling it. But the state Eddie's in, it's hard to imagine him talking my sister into anything."

She looked down at me again, her face stern. "Is there anything you need to tell me, Dave?"

My heart was pounding and my hands were shaking as I stared up into her massive face. Unlike Linda, Carolyn was a brilliant liar and I could never read her.

"I won't get mad," she said. "But if Randy really is alive, I need to know so I can plan for it."

At this, Linda leapt to her feet and began screaming angrily from the nightstand. Carolyn glanced at her, then back down at me. "Did my sister really murder Randy?"

I wanted to confess, to just blurt out the truth and end the whole ordeal. But Julie and I had worked out our story the day before, and if I blew it, no doubt she'd pay dearly at the hands of Carolyn.

So I steeled myself and said, "That's what she told Eddie. Said she'd do the same to us if we tried to warn you. And then she killed his dog in cold blood..."

At this point, I broke down. It wasn't all acting on my part; I was scared [EXPLETIVE DELETED]less. But I think my tears actually convinced Carolyn that I was telling the truth. Her face softened as she gently stroked me.

"It's okay, baby," she whispered as she carried me into the bathroom. "Nobody's gonna hurt you now. I promise."

***

Carolyn held me under the shower, letting the torrents of hot water slam down on me. I kept my eyes and mouth shut and blew air through my nose to keep the water out. After I was properly soaked, Carolyn ran her index finger along the bar of lavender soap in the dish, then rubbed the lather all over me.

She ran her enormous fingertip down my chest, then prodded my [EXPLETIVE DELETED] with her nail. Ordinarily, it would have been enough to give me an erection despite myself. But I was still anxious about lying to Carolyn, and couldn't help but wonder just what would happen to us when Randy turned up alive and well next week.

"Poor baby," Carolyn said, relentlessly kneading between my legs with her finger. "Your heart's just not in this, is it?"

I gave her a reassuring smile. "Sorry. Just tired."

"That's okay. I think I know something that'll make you feel better."

Her fingers closed around me as she slowly bent down, water splashing noisily on her back. She gently set me on her bare foot, then stood back up again.

"Oh, those toenails," she said in mock exasperation, wiggling her toes playfully. The red polish was chipped and worn. "You must think they look horrible."

I doubted she could hear me over the roar of the shower, so I responded by planting a kiss on the thick, wet flesh of her big toe. I looked up at her with a [EXPLETIVE DELETED]-eating grin on my face.

"Such an adorable little liar," Carolyn cooed. I felt her foot move, and I threw my arms around one of her toes to hold myself steady. She raised her foot up slowly, bringing it to rest on the edge of the tub. With soapy hands, she rubbed lather all over her shin.

"I was thinking about going to get a pedicure today," she said as she dragged a razor along her leg. "But it might be more fun if I let you little guys do it for me. When we get back from our errands, I'll put y'all to work on my nails."

***

Eddie, Linda, and I huddled naked in Carolyn's hand as she carried us back to the guest room. Linda was still weeping, despite Carolyn's warning to knock it off. I stared at her, struggling to reconcile the vast, threatening giantess she had been with this tiny, fragile creature.

"Everyone get out here now," Carolyn called as she stepped over the wooden partition and into the guest room. Carolyn knelt down on one knee in front of the dollhouse as the others scrambled out for inspection. I figured she would set me down naked in front of everybody and force me to endure their stares, but she surprised me by placing me inside the dollhouse.

"Go ahead and get dressed, sweetie," she told me. "We got a busy day ahead of us." I slipped from her hand and ran over to the clothing piles. I fished out a clean pair of sweats and a black Snoopy t-shirt.

As I was getting into my clothes, I heard Carolyn stand up and begin addressing the others. I glanced out the window and saw Linda and Eddie standing between her sandaled feet. Linda was shivering and sobbing as she struggled to cover herself. Eddie seemed oblivious to the situation. He looked around, his head jerking from one point to another as if he were a bird.

"I need you guys to keep an eye on these two for me," Carolyn said. "Keep them separated if you have to."

Chad stepped forward tentatively, his eyes on Carolyn as he approached Linda. He took her arm and started to escort her back to the dollhouse. Carolyn raised her foot and placed it gently in their path.

"Not so fast there, Romeo," she said. "Last thing I need is you messing around indecent with my sister. Got it?"

Chad nodded nervously as he placed a protective arm around Linda and pulled her closer to him.

"Julie, why don't you go with them. Make sure they don't get up to anything naughty." Julie ran over to them, and Carolyn lifted her foot to let them pass.

"You two," she said to Denny and Mr. Nichols. "Get my husband inside and get him dressed before he catches cold out here."

"Does he have to stay with us?" Denny shouted up to Carolyn. "Dude's out of his [EXPLETIVE DELETED] mind. Can't you keep him somewhere else?"

Carolyn's foot slid out of her sandal, and I sighed and turned away from the window. As I pulled on my sneakers, I heard Denny's muffled cries. I shook my head and wondered if that stupid kid would ever learn to keep his mouth shut around her.

When I was dressed, I ran down the stairs just as Julie and Chad were escorting Linda into the dollhouse. There wasn't time for much, but Julie brushed her fingertips along my arm as I passed her and whispered, "Be careful."

"I'll be fine," I whispered back, with much more bravado than I felt.

When I stepped out the front door of the dollhouse, Denny was completely under Carolyn's bare foot; only his right arm was visible, flailing weakly from beneath her toes.

"Okay, Carolyn," I called jauntily. "Ready when you are!"

Grinning, Carolyn released Denny and slipped her shoe back on. She reached down and gently scooped me up. Peering over the edge of her hand, I saw Julie watching me anxiously from the dollhouse window. I waved to her as Carolyn turned and carried me out the door.

***

"I need to get that squash planted this week," Carolyn said. "And put out some bait for those [EXPLETIVE DELETED] grasshoppers."

We were in Carolyn's red Saturn, driving down Loop 250 towards Midland Park Mall. Carolyn had set me in the cup holder, near the gear shift. The bottom of the cup holder was littered with nickels and pennies that jangled noisily every time we hit a bump.

The stereo was turned to the AM news station, and the anchor was talking about a potential legal scandal involving a Dallas judge and attorneys from SPECTRUM and GenetiTech. I didn't get a chance to catch of details before Carolyn reached over and switched to a country station.

"I'm sick and [EXPLETIVE DELETED] tired of hearing about GenetiTech," she muttered. "At least with all their problems right now, they're too busy to [EXPLETIVE DELETED] around with me."

"You think they're still looking for us?" I asked her.

She shrugged. "Probably. And since my idiot sister went and shrank half of [EXPLETIVE DELETED] Midland, I'm gonna have a hell of a time keeping them off my back."

"What are you going to do?"

Carolyn sighed and, for the first time in a long time, I could see the worry in her face. For a second, I actually felt sorry for her.

"I don't want to think about it right now," she told me. "I'll just keep dealing with that [EXPLETIVE DELETED] as it comes up."

No doubt about it. The stress over GenetiTech was wearing her out, and Linda had made things a million times worse with her shrinking rampage. I glanced over at the glove compartment, where Carolyn's revolver was locked away. I wondered if she would really use it if he felt cornered.

"So many of you little guys," Carolyn said, shaking her head. "I'm having a hell of a time keeping you all in line. That Denny kid's got a mouth on him." Her face brightened with a naughty grin. "And I don't think he likes it under my toes as much as you do."

I couldn't think of anything to say, so I just smiled back.

***

It was dark and uncomfortably warm inside Carolyn's handbag, and the air was a stale miasma of hair spray and cigarettes. After several minutes of being buffeted around by her movement, I finally found a comfortable spot on top of a packet of tissues.

I could hear Carolyn's muffled voice, speaking to salespeople at each store. First stop was Sears, where she bought some paintbrushes, sandpaper, and a plastic pail. Next was an impulse buy at Spencer's gifts. I felt Carolyn stop suddenly, and heard her chuckle as she entered the store. She left with a pair of stainless steel handcuffs lined with pink fur.

After about an hour of browsing through other stores, Carolyn finally opened her purse and fished me out. I squinted in the fluorescent light, looking around at all the massive people milling about the mall. A group of teenagers hurried by, loudly discussing how drunk they'd gotten the night before. A man and his wife, still in their Sunday clothes, passed by pushing a stroller. Kelly Osborn's "Papa Don't Preach" was playing over the store's music system, barely audible over the din of weekend shoppers.

God, it was so normal. All these people, just living their lives, totally oblivious to me and my plight. To be so close to normality, to see it lingering just out of reach...

When we were staying with Linda, sometimes she'd let me drive my car around on the floor. I'd crank up my CD player and I'd zip along; it wasn't easy, but sometimes I'd lose myself in the moment and forget about the insanity of my situation. And then Linda would place her foot in my path and snap me back to wretched reality.

I thought back to my dream, and to my desperate attempt to cling to the illusion of normality this morning. I remembered how thoughtlessly and effortlessly Carolyn had shattered that illusion, and the pang of loss I had felt.

It was cruel. And unlike most of Carolyn's torments, it was totally unintentional on her part.

***

"You okay, Davey?" Carolyn whispered. She held me between her finger and thumb, letting my legs dangle.

I blinked away the tears in my eyes and took a deep breath. Last thing I wanted right now was for her to catch me crying. Her good moods were so mercurial, and I had no idea how long this one was going to last.

"I'm fine," I told her, forcing a smile. "Just kind of bright out here."

"Poor baby. After this, we'll head on home and I'll make you guys some lunch, okay?"

We were standing in front of Nails Plus, near a large display of nail lacquer. Rows of tan, rose, pink, and red ran the gamut from dark to light, each with a ridiculous name like "Paint Your Toron-Toes Rose" or "Color of the Zen-tury."

"What color, Davey?" Carolyn whispered. "What color would you like to paint my pretty toes?"

I mulled it over, because I knew she'd be upset if I didn't. And after pondering the choices for a respectable amount of time, I finally pointed to the dark red bottle labeled, "You're Such a Kabuki Queen."

"Good boy," Carolyn whispered. She cut her eyes around to make sure nobody was looking, then she kissed me quickly and slipped me back into her purse.

***

"Lunch" was a piece of bologna and a slice of American cheese torn up into little pieces and served on a paper towel. But none of us had eaten since the day before, and we were all too hungry to be picky. We tore in ravenously as Carolyn stood over us, watching with that infuriating grin.

"You guys go ahead and eat up," she told us. "I'll be right back." She turned and left the room, stepping over the wooden wall on her way out.

"You okay?" Julie asked me. "I mean, did she..."

I shook my head. "Nah, she's in a good mood today, thank God. She did ask me..." I trailed off as I glanced over at Linda and Chad. They had gathered up an armload of food and carried it over away from everybody else.

"She asked me if we were lying about what happened to Linda's husband," I said softly. "She said it was my last chance to confess without getting in any trouble."

Julie's face went pale. "Did you?" she asked me.

"No!" It came out defensive. "Of course not."

"I just wanted to make sure," she said. "You know how you get when you're around Carolyn for extended periods of time. You sort of lose your ability to..."

"You know what? I stuck to our story and she believed me, okay?"

Julie sighed. "I'm sorry, Dave. That was totally out of line."

"No, you're right," I said. "I lose myself. I forget that I'm supposed to hate her, and I go all Patty Hearst."

Julie touched my arm. "We're going to get out of this, Dave."

The lights flickered just then as Carolyn activated the machine downstairs.

"What the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] is she shrinking now?" Julie asked, annoyed.

I thought of the painting supplies she'd bought at Sears, and I sighed. "I think we're on pedicure duty this afternoon."

***

Carolyn sat on the edge of the bed, her bare feet planted on the wooden floor. Using sandpaper and polish remover, we scrambled over her toes and went to work buffing, smoothing, and removing the chipped, pink lacquer. Denny and Chad were working on her left foot, while Julie and I tackled the right. Mr. Nichols stayed on the floor, handing up sheets of acetone-soaked sandpaper when needed.

Linda and Eddie were given lotion duty. Each knelt on top of one of Carolyn's feet, laboriously rubbing the lotion into her skin. Eddie had surprised all of us with his compliance, and was now dutifully massaging the indentions left by Carolyn's sandal strap. Linda had resisted at first, and it was only after Carolyn threatened to take a lit cigarette to her that she reluctantly went to work.

"God, that feels so good," Carolyn moaned, and I felt her toes twitch slightly beneath us. By the time Julie and I had finished all five of the toes, we were drenched with sweat and a little light-headed from the smell of the polish remover. Chad and Denny finished soon after, and Carolyn looked down to admire our handiwork.

"Nice job," she said, wiggling her toes. She reached down and picked up the plastic pail with her finger and thumb. She dumped the remaining polish remover into a Styrofoam cup on the nightstand. Then she opened the bottle of nail polish and poured it into the tiny bucket. She set the bucket, along with four miniature paint brushes, on the floor in front of us.

"Two coats on each nail," Carolyn insisted. "I want them to look pretty."

Wearily, we went to work.

***

It was late afternoon by the time we finished Carolyn's pedicure, and we were all exhausted. We stood at weary attention, somewhat giddy from the lingering fumes we'd been breathing in all afternoon, as Carolyn inspected our work.

"Nice job," Carolyn purred, wiggling her toes. "Very nice. You little guys deserve a reward." She stood and walked over to the dresser. Picking up the shoebox that rested atop it, she stepped back over to us and knelt on the floor. One by one, she lifted our cars out of it and set them down before us.

Though nobody dared show it, we were all excited about the prospect of escape. Carolyn had nailed a two-by-four to the doorjamb to keep us walled in, but if we parked Eddie's truck against it, we'd probably be able to climb over. Assuming, of course, that she was kind enough to leave the bedroom door open for us.

She gently placed Linda's Celica on the floor next to Eddie's beat up Chevy. Next was Mr. Nichol's Honda Civic, followed by Denny's Escort (which was missing a fender and sporting a mini-spare). The last was my little Fiat convertible, which she gave a playful stroke with her fingers as she set it down.

"You guys have fun," Carolyn said, still kneeling over us. "You earned it."

She stood up, slipped into her sandals, and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.

***

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.]

"Well, so much for the Great Escape," Julie muttered as we rummaged through the toolbox on the back of Eddie's pickup. She pulled out a rusty handsaw and said, "Unless you think we can get through that board with this."

"Carolyn'll be dead of old age by the time we cut through with that [EXPLETIVE DELETED] thing," I said, shaking my head. "But go ahead and throw it in the useful pile. I'm sure we can use it for something."

Our "useful pile" consisted of a jack, a tire iron, a Phillips screwdriver, a short length of hose, some bungee straps, and several rolls of duct tape. I doubt even MacGyver could have parlayed that crap into a feasible escape plan.

"Oh, dude!" Denny said excitedly, pulling out a wadded mass of yellow tie down rope. "Jackpot!"

We untangled the rope and stretched it out. It measured somewhere around fifty feet, relatively speaking.

"Okay, we can work with this," Denny said excitedly. "Like, maybe we can tie the rope to that metal thing," he said, pointing at the tire iron. "Make it one of those grappling things? Then we can use it to, like, Batman up and over that two-by-four."

"Next time she leaves the door open," Julie added.

Denny nodded. "Yeah. Think we can talk her into that? Maybe we can tell her it gets too hot in here or something."

"If we make a point of asking her to leave the door open, she's gonna know something's up," I said. "And she'll be more diligent about keeping it closed. So we can either bide our time and wait, or find another way past the board."

"Right now, we need to hide this stuff," Julie said. "Either in the dollhouse or someplace where Carolyn won't look."

She had a point. We had no guarantee that Carolyn would let us keep our vehicles, and we didn't want to lose our gear just because she capriciously decided to put them away for the night.

So the three of us gathered the rope and other equipment and carried it over to the dresser. The gap between the dresser and the wall was dark and littered with thick dust, which meant Carolyn probably wouldn't be checking there any time soon. We stashed our gear there and made our way back over to the dollhouse.

Glancing up at the upstairs window, I saw Linda looking down at us with an angry scowl on her face. She was still blamed us for her current predicament and was no doubt looking for a way to get back in Carolyn's good graces. I wondered if she would rat us out.

I voiced my concern to Julie and Denny.

"I'll get Chad to talk to her," Denny told me. "I don't think she'll [EXPLETIVE DELETED] us over if she thinks it'll get Chad in trouble too."

"I hope you're right," Julie said.

"Maybe we should try and... you know... make nice with Linda," I said.

Julie glared at me. "You kidding? You do remember all the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] she put us through last week, don't you?" She shuddered. "She made me bathe with her, Dave. She made me rub her [EXPLETIVE DELETED] nipple, for God's sake! Maybe what we should do is just get out of Eddie's way and let him take care of her."

"I know you don't mean that," I told her.

"[EXPLETIVE DELETED]!" she shouted. "If I wasn't worried about Eddie getting in trouble, I'd [EXPLETIVE DELETED] hold the bitch down for him."

Denny stared, wide-eyed. Julie had been fairly collected since he'd been captured, and this was his first time to see her lose her temper.

"I don't want her sabotaging us," I told her. "We need to make our peace with her and get her on board with escaping. And then," I added, "when we're all free and clear, you can beat her to death with a rock for all I care."

***

Mr. Nichols was snoozing on the couch, and Eddie was sitting at the dining room table, muttering to himself. He didn't even acknowledge us as we walked past him towards the stairs. We made our way up to the bedroom and I knocked gently on the plastic door.

Chad opened it a crack and peered out at us. "What's up?" he asked.

"We'd like to talk to Linda," I told him.

"[EXPLETIVE DELETED] off!" came Linda's cry from inside the room.

Chad shrugged. "Sorry, dudes. Doesn't sound like she's feeling all that chatty right now."

"Oh, [EXPLETIVE DELETED] this," Julie said. She shoved past me and forced the door open, knocking Chad aside. Linda was sitting in a plastic chair next to the window. She leapt to her feet as we came in.

"You little [EXPLETIVE DELETED]," she snapped. "I shoulda just flushed you down the toilet when I had the chance. Can't believe I let you turn my own [EXPLETIVE DELETED] sister against me!"

"Oh, spare us the martyr [EXPLETIVE DELETED]," Julie said. "You were all set to shrink your sister, remember? And it's not like any of us were big enough to twist your [EXPLETIVE DELETED] arm."

"You told her I killed Randy!" Linda blurted out. She wiped angrily at the tears that ran down her cheeks. "Why the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] would you lie about something like that?"

"That was Eddie," I told her. "We had no idea he was going to say that."

"But you went along with it!"

I shrugged. "Just trying to keep Eddie out of trouble. We were afraid of what Carolyn might do to him."

"I hope she [EXPLETIVE DELETED] kills him," Linda said. "When Randy shows up safe and sound next weekend, I hope she squashes Eddie like a bug. And you guys, too. I hope she puts all three of you on the floor and just stomps the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] out of you."

Denny shook his head and said to Chad, "Dude, your girlfriend's totally harsh."

Linda turned her glare to Chad. "And why the [EXPLETIVED DELETED] did you even have to bring him with you?" she whined, pointing at Denny. "I mean, seriously! I had everything all planned out, but you had to go and [EXPLETIVE DELETED] it all up by bringing your friend!"

"I didn't have a car," Chad said, lamely.

"Look, this is pointless," I said. "Linda, we're working on getting out of here, okay? If you play nice, we'll take you with us. Otherwise..."

"Otherwise, we'll leave you here to face the wrath of Carolyn by your [EXPLETIVE DELETED] self," Julie said.

"She won't hurt me," Linda insisted. "I'm her sister."

"Okay, then consider this," I said. "When we eventually get rescued by GenetiTech, they're gonna want the whole story. And we can either paint you as a sympathetic victim or a conspirator with your sister. It's your choice."

Linda took a wavering breath. "Okay, I won't say anything to Carolyn about your stupid escape plan. But when Randy gets back and the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] hits the fan, don't expect any help from me."

***

Julie and I were sitting in my car under the bed. The top was up to give us at least an illusion of privacy, and we were listening to my Tom Waits CD. Tom was singing about his Uncle Violet who flew as a pilot in "Cemetery Polka" when the door to the guest room opened. Carolyn stepped over the board and came into the room, carrying a paper plate in one hand.

The sun had nearly set, leaving a dim sliver of light coming through the window. Carolyn walked over to the dresser, her sandaled feet slapping the wooden floor with each step. She snapped on the seashell lamp, filling the room with warm, yellow light.

The others were grudgingly exiting the dollhouse to line up for inspection. Eager to avoid any repercussions, I drove out from the under the bed.

Carolyn let out a delighted squeal when she saw me. She placed her foot directly in the path of my car. My tires screeched on the wood as I slammed on my brakes.

"Aww, poor little Julie doesn't have a car of her own, does she?" Carolyn said. Her toes twitched as she lifted her foot and touched the sole of her sandal to the hood of my car. She wasn't putting any weight on it, but I could still feel my front end sagging slightly. Her enormous toes filled my windshield.

"What are you two doing under there with the top up?" she asked playfully. "I hope you weren't kissing him or anything, Julie. You know Davey is my special little guy."

Julie stared helplessly at Carolyn's foot, no doubt remembering that day in Eddie's lab when her car had been so capriciously destroyed.

"I think it would be a good idea if you kept the top down from now on," Carolyn said, gently rocking my car to emphasize her point. "I'd hate to think you two got anything to hide."

I flipped the two latches and folded the top back. "Good boy," Carolyn said, lifting her foot and releasing my car. My front shocks groaned and bounced twice.

The others had made their way out of the dollhouse and were lining up for inspection. Denny and Chad had both hoisted Eddie and carried him out. Mr. Nichols and Linda followed close behind. Julie and I scrambled out of my car and ran over to join them.

Carolyn knelt and set the plate down on the floor. Our dinner consisted of a slice of ham and a small pile of macaroni and cheese. We climbed onto the plate, tearing off pieces of ham and hunks of macaroni to feed ourselves.

Carolyn stood and walked over to the bed, where she sat and watched us with amusement. My car was parked dangerously close to her foot, and I kept glancing over nervously to make sure she wasn't going to step on it.

When she caught me looking, Carolyn grinned and slid her foot from her sandal. She brushed her toes along my car, toying with it idly. She prodded the interior, poking the steering wheel with her big toe. She giggled when my horn let out a weak wail.

"Such a tiny little thing," she said. "I can't believe how adorable it is."

I'm pretty sure it was her way of flirting with me, of letting me know what lay in store for me later that night. But I wasn't aroused or amused. The macaroni was suddenly lead in my stomach, and I tasted bile.

I wanted so badly to charge at her, to pound on her foot with my fists and shout at her to stop. But that would accomplish nothing apart from souring her playful mood. So I clenched my fists and took a deep breath. Carolyn gave me a wink and, like a good little pet, I smiled back.

***

We barely made a dent in the food. Carolyn knelt over us and, chiding us for our wastefulness, snatched up the ham and popped it into her mouth. She licked her fingers, then smiled down at us.

"You ready to spend the night with me, Davey?" she asked. I feigned enthusiasm and nodded.

"Good. One more thing to take care of." With her right hand, she reached down and scooped up me and Julie. Julie bit her lip to keep from screaming as Carolyn rose with us and sat down on the bed.

She reached into her breast pocket with her left hand and fished out something tiny, holding it between the tips of her finger and thumb.

It was the handcuffs, reduced in size. One stainless steel cuff, covered with bright red fur, dangled from a short length of chain. The other cuff was completely concealed by her enormous fingertips. Two silver keys dangled from the chain.

"Take those keys, Julie," Carolyn ordered. "I'm afraid I'll lose them." Julie walked uneasily across Carolyn's palm and pulled the keys free from the cuffs. When she was done, Carolyn offered the cuffs to me.

"Put them on," she told me. I started to protest, but Carolyn shook her head. "I said, put them on."

So I slipped the cuffs around my wrists and locked them in place. I checked to see if there was any kind of emergency release, but no such luck. I gave my wrists a tug, stretching the chain taut, but the cuffs held securely.

Carolyn grabbed Julie by the waist and lifted her up to her face. "Show me the keys," she said. Trembling, Julie held up the two keys and jangled them. Carolyn closed one eye and peered at Julie for a second or two until she was satisfied. Then she leaned down and set Julie on the floor at her feet.

"How do they feel?" she asked me.

"Fine," I said, with no enthusiasm.

"Oh, don't be so grumpy," she said. "This'll be fun." She slid her index finger between my arms and hooked the cuffs on her fingernail. Then she lifted me up, grinning as my legs kicked frantically.

She stood and carried me across the room. Stepping over the partition, she turned to regard the others.

"Be good, children," she said sweetly. Then she closed the door and carried me down the hall.

***

I stood on the cluttered nightstand, in front of the digital alarm clock. It was only 8:23, but Carolyn had declared it bedtime. A drinking glass, half full of water, stood next to me, reflecting the red glare of the numbers behind me. To my right was a pill bottle lying on its side next to its childproof cap.

Carolyn stood over by her dresser, her back to me as she dug through a jewelry box. I could hear the clatter of earrings being brushed aside as she searched for something in particular. Finally, she held up a thin, gold chain.

"Hey," she said as she regarded me. "I thought I told you to get undressed."

I had managed to slip out of my shoes, socks, and sweatpants. However, I was still in my t-shirt. I jangled my cuffed wrists and said, "I can't."

Carolyn sighed in mock exasperation. "Well, live and learn. I guess you'll have to start stripping before I cuff you." She walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Hold out your arms," she ordered me. I did, and she reached down to attach the clasp of the necklace to the chain between my wrists. She raised her hand, pulling up on the necklace. My arms were lifted over my head and, once again, I found myself dangling.

My heart was pounding as I glanced down at the floor so far beneath my kicking legs. It was terrifying to feel so helpless and so totally at Carolyn's mercy.

Carolyn set me down on the bed, letting the chain fall on the bedspread beside me. Then she stood and watched me, her predatory smile in place as she slowly undressed herself. When she was naked, she climbed onto the bed and laid down on her side, resting her head on her crooked arm as she looked at me.

"I've really been looking forward to this, little guy," she said, giggling. "I mean, *really* looking forward to it." She placed her free hand on her hip, then slowly ran her fingernails down to the thatch of pubic hair. She fingered herself for a few seconds, gasping and sighing with pleasure.

"I think I'll take my turn first," she said. She reached over and took the chain between her finger and thumb and lifted me up off the bed. Then she sat up and leaned back against a pile of pillows, her knees bent and her feet flat on the mattress. Still smiling that infuriating smile of hers, she slowly lowered me between her legs.

I felt the coarse, dark hair of her [EXPLETIVE DELETED] beneath my bare feet as I scrambled for purchase. The chain swung like a pendulum. I pushed myself away, but Carolyn just swung me back into place. I dangled helplessly, bumping against her as she lowered me to the mattress. Before I had a chance to recover, she gave another tug on the chain and dragged up and along her crotch, against the damp hair and the hot flesh beneath it. I closed my eyes and held my breath, just waiting for it to be over. Carolyn moaned.

"God, Davey," she whispered. She lowered me to the bed, less gently this time, and pulled me up again. This time, she shivered. "It's so good!"

Again and again. I lost count, and kept telling myself, "Five more, that's it. You can handle five." Down and up again. "Okay, just five more. Come on." Down and up again. "Okay, five more and you're done. Just do five more."

And so it went for what felt like an eternity. When she finally stopped and lifted me to dangle before her face, she was breathing hard.

"Just can't seem... to seal the deal," she gasped. "But that's okay, baby. I know you tried." She set me down on her right breast, letting the chain fall and slide down to her stomach. "You just... make yourself useful, darling. I'll finish up."

I leaned forward and began stroking her nipple with both hands. My wrists were chaffed, despite the fur lining of the cuffs. My skin was sticky; my shirt and hair were drenched and smelled of her.

Her nipple, already pink and rigid, grew rock hard under my hands, and Carolyn let out another gasp. One hand lay open, palm down, on her stomach. She slid the other down slowly between her legs and fingered herself until, finally, a spasm wracked her body and she bucked beneath me. I fell from my perch and tumbled down her stomach, coming to rest against her hand.

"So good," she repeated breathlessly. Tilting her head to awkwardly regard me over her breasts, she smiled down at me. Her fingers groped for the chain and fumbled with the clasp, finally releasing me. She reached over to drop the chain on the night stand, then reached down to scoop me up. She held me up to her face and smiled wearily.

"I think I'll keep you," she said, giggling.

I held out my hands. "Can we take these off now?"

"Sorry, sweetie. Cuffs stay on 'til morning."

"But why?"

Her smile faltered and she cocked an eyebrow. "Are you *questioning* me?" she asked with mock sternness. But even though she was teasing, the message was all too clear.

"No ma'am."

"Good boy." Carolyn slumped down to lie on her back, one leg crossed over her bent knee. "Now, since you've been such a trooper, I figure the least I can do is give you a turn. Right?"

She moved me towards her bare foot with tantalizing slowness. I stared at the white, wrinkled skin of her sole. Her toes wiggled slowly, seductively as they came closer. And, despite everything, I felt a reluctant tightness in my groin.

"Atta boy," Carolyn said, just before she pressed me against the bottom of her foot. She rubbed my entire body along her sole, pressing my face against the soft, thick flesh. She'd been wearing those sandals all day long, and the smell of sweat and leather clung to her. But, all things considered, it wasn't unpleasant.

She spread her toes and slid me between them, grasping me tightly. Her toenails were dark red and smooth. I nuzzled her big toe with my cheek and kissed it.

"Look at those pretty toes," she purred. She began wiggling them slowly, grinding me gently between them. I found myself squirming, bouncing my crotch against her foot. My erection throbbed, growing harder and harder as her toes wiggled faster and faster...

I forgot myself. I screamed out her name when I climaxed, and I just kept whispering, "Thank you," as I shivered between her toes. Carolyn gave me another squeeze.

"You love that, don't you?" she whispered. "Playing on my pretty feet?"

I nodded weakly.

"Tell me," she said softly.

"I love your pretty feet," I said, still gasping for air.

"Do you love me, Davey?"

"Yes ma'am."

She was silent, looking at me expectantly.

"I love you, Carolyn," I said. I gently stroked her toe with my cuffed hands, then kissed it again.

Carolyn's eyes lit up and she smiled smugly. "I love you too, baby doll."

***

I spent the night clinging to the bottom of Carolyn's left foot, my arms cuffed around her middle toe. It was a warm night, so she was lying above the covers. And thanks to the valium she popped, she slept like a rock.

My arms kept going numb, and I'd have to shift and pull myself up until feeling tingled back into them. I couldn't see the clock; I couldn't see anything apart from the bottom of her foot. If I slept at all, it was in short, ten-minute bursts that left me feeling feverish and surreal every time I awoke. I just hung there limply, listening to her snore and waiting for dawn to come.

***

Carolyn's foot shifted, waking me from a fitful doze. I felt myself being lifted through the air. Finger and thumb grasped me by the waist, and Carolyn gently lifted me from her toes.

"Good morning, sweetie," she said with a sleepy grin. "How you feeling?"

Like [EXPLETIVE DELETED], I thought. But I managed a smile and said, "Fine. Arms are a little sore, though."

She pursed her lips sympathetically. "Poor baby. You should have said something." She extended an index finger to gently stroke my arms, which hung limply in front of me. Feeling was gradually returning, like a thousand white hot needles.

Carolyn got up and carried me into the bathroom. She set me on the rim of the toilet and let me pee. Then she set me down on the tile floor and played with me with her bare feet while she relieved herself.

My hair and shirt were damp with sweat, and still smelled of sex. "Are we going to have a shower?" I asked hopefully.

Carolyn shook her head and gave me a playful nudge with her foot. "After I get breakfast for everybody, we're going to go work in the garden for a bit." She smiled. "But after that, you and me can have a nice, long bath. How's that sound?"

I raised my cuffed hands and gave her two thumbs up, and actually felt elated when she laughed.

God, she had so much power over me. It was so easy to lose myself to her, to just surrender and be her pet. Just the thought of resisting made me feel exhausted.

I loved her. I hated her, but I loved her. It's [EXPLETIVE DELETED] up, I know, but it's true.

And in spite of everything that happened, despite everything she did to us, I still find myself missing her sometimes.

Pathetic, isn't it?

***

Carolyn carried me into the guest room and set me down in front of the dollhouse. As the others came filing out, she told Julie I'd been a good boy and to go ahead and remove the cuffs.

While Carolyn was downstairs getting breakfast ready, I went into the dollhouse and rinsed myself off as best I could in the kitchen sink. By the time I dried off and slipped into a clean t-shirt and pair of running shorts, I felt almost human again.

"Jesus, Dave," Julie muttered, shaking her head angrily. "She really put you through the wringer."

I nodded. "But at least she's in a good mood."

"Did she have the phone in her bedroom last night?"

"I didn't see it," I told her, rubbing my sore arms. "I think she left it downstairs. Did you guys make any progress?"

"Not much," Julie told me, frowning. "She closed the door, so we couldn't go up and over. But Denny was thinking we might be able to tunnel through the sheetrock and go through the wall."

"Won't she see that?" I asked.

"If we dig behind that dresser, she won't," Julie said. "At least, not until we break through into the hallway. We won't be sticking around for long after that."

"How long will it take?"

Julie shrugged. "No idea. Denny gave it a shot last night with the screwdriver, but it's cramped back there and that [EXPLETIVE DELETED] is hard as bedrock when you're our size."

"So probably not by the end of the week?"

She shook her head. "I don't think we're going to get away before Linda's husband gets back. We're pretty much screwed."

"Well, as long as we stick to our story and play innocent, I think we'll be okay. We may get punished, but I don't think Carolyn's going to do anything rash." I laughed at the irony of the statement and amended it. "I mean, anything more rash than she already has."

"Easy for you to say," Julie said with a gentle smile. "You're her special little guy, right?"

I sighed. "Yeah. Heavy hangs the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] head."

***

God, just to be outdoors was amazing. The sky was blue and cloudless, and the sun was beating down on Carolyn as she carried me to her garden. She was wearing a floppy white hat; beads of sweat ran her hair and down her cheeks.

The garden was a massive square, cordoned off with railroad ties that glistened with creosote. The rich, black soil had been meticulously tilled into rows, and the vegetation sprang dense and green from it like a jungle of alien trees. Red, ripe tomatoes hung from massive, leafy plants. Running alongside them were rows of shoots jutting up from onions under the soil. There was another tangle of dense, green leaves where okra grew among large, pale flowers.

The air was abuzz with the constant, insistent chirp of insects, and the leaves would occasionally rustle as something large leapt among them.

"It's beautiful," I told Carolyn, and she rewarded me with a kind smile.

"Thanks, sweetie." She stroked me with her finger and sighed. "Sick of those [EXPLETIVE DELETED] grasshoppers, though. They just about ruined my tomatoes last year."

Her face brightened. "I ought to put you little guys to work, make you earn your keep," she said with a giggle. "Maybe I can arm you with sticks and needles and turn you loose. Let you hunt those [EXPLETIVE DELETED] grasshoppers for me."

"I'd like that," I told her. "I mean, not the hunting part. But I'd really like to see your garden, if it's okay."

Carolyn chuckled and set me gently on the crosstie. I could feel the heat of it through the rubber soles of my sneakers.

"You're not going to run off or do anything silly like that, are you?"

"No, ma'am. Promise."

"Good boy."

***

Carolyn moved gingerly among the rows of plants with her watering can, stepping as gently as she could in the soft soil. From my vantage point, I could see her sandals through the copse of onion stalks. Water drizzled down the leaves, vanishing into the soil as soon as it hit. I saw a grasshopper scramble frantically to avoid Carolyn as she took another step.

The smell of damp earth was overpowering and oddly reassuring after weeks of captivity. I ran down the wide furrows, marveling at the sights. The soil felt spongy but firm beneath me, and the foliage offered cool shade from the white, relentless sun.

God, it was so beautiful. I found myself wishing Julie were there with me. Maybe if I asked Carolyn nicely, she'd bring the two of us out here. Maybe she'd even let us have a picnic lunch. We could spread a blanket under the shade of the okra plant, and we could...

I was startled from my daydream by a loud, sudden snap. I whirled and found myself staring into the compound eye of an enormous grasshopper.

You can't begin to imagine how horrible these things look up close. It actually had lips and sharp teeth. Small fingerlike tendrils protruded from beneath its mouth. I could see the stiff bristles on its legs and the veins in its wings.

I panicked and stumbled backwards, tumbling into the soft soil. I don't know if the bug considered me food or a threat, but it snapped its wings again, then vibrated its back leg to make a long, loud chirp.

It scuttled toward me on six legs, moving across the soil with ease. I scrambled to my feet and ran towards the edge of the garden. The grasshopper snapped its wings again and followed.

I burst from the shade of the garden and into the blazing, blinding sun. I reached the edge of the garden and pulled myself up onto the lip of the crosstie. The oily wood had been baking in the sun all morning, and it burned my hands as I climbed.

A shadow passed over me with an angry buzz, and the grasshopper landed on the crosstie next to me. I dodged and ran left, screaming for Carolyn. The insect pursued me relentlessly.

Another shadow, this one massive, fell over me. And suddenly, Carolyn's foot slammed down on top of the bug. There was a sickening crunch as the grasshopper burst beneath her sandal, spraying acrid brown liquid in every direction.

For a second, neither of us moved. Carolyn simply stood there, staring down at her foot. Her cheeks were red and flushed, her eyes bright. A mischievous smile crept across her face.

"Take that, you little [EXPLETIVE DELETED]," she muttered, twisting her foot to grind the grasshopper to an even finer paste. When she was done, she scraped the bottom of her shoe along the edge of the crosstie.

I stared in horror at the flat, broken pieces that remained of the grasshopper.

"You okay, Davey?" Carolyn asked. I nodded dumbly.

"You better stick with me," she told me. "Be safer that way." She reached down and lifted me up, tucking me into the pocket of her red gingham shirt. I could feel her breast pressing against me through the thin fabric, her nipple stiff with excitement over what she had just done.

I thought about that disturbing smile on her face, and I shuddered.

***

We had our bath afterwards, but it was fairly non-eventful. I spent about twenty minutes squirming between her soapy toes before she finally brought me to a reluctant orgasm. When she was done with me, she set me in the soap dish so she could enjoy her soak.

As I sat there, naked and shivering, I kept thinking about what had happened--that wicked, gleeful grin on her face as she had mercilessly crushed the grasshopper beneath her foot.

I prayed none of us would ever be on the receiving end of that smile.

God, I had no idea...

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.

***

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.]

I was dozing when Carolyn sat up, yanking me into the air. My wrists were still cuffed around her necklace, and I found myself swinging wildly before finally coming to rest against her breast.

"Good morning, Davey," she said sleepily. "Did you sleep okay?"

In truth, I hadn't slept more than an hour. Every time Carolyn shifted or tossed, I'd be pulled along with her. My wrists were bruised and tender, and my arms felt like they were about to come out of their sockets.

But I couldn't answer her because I was hiding the handcuff key in my mouth. So I just smiled and nodded.

Carolyn yawned and stretched her arms up over her head. "Mmmm, I slept great," she said, stroking me with her fingers. She pressed me gently against her nipple, and I felt it stiffen beneath me.

"I keep you around long enough, I can save a fortune on those [EXPLETIVE DELETED] pills."

I glanced over at the nightstand. The pill bottle was still lying on its side, with a couple of capsules spilled. It looked just like it had when Carolyn had gone to sleep. No sign at all that I'd been up to anything.

She reached over and picked up the pill bottle, shaking it to rattle the pills left inside. "Damn," she muttered. "I thought I had more than that left. Better call Lyle at Walgreen's."

Carolyn reached behind her neck and unclasped the chain. She let it slip from around her neck. I slid down the length of the necklace, unable to stop myself as I rolled down her tan belly and got tangled in her pubic hair.

As I struggled to pull free, Carolyn moaned. She reached down with a hand, not to help me, but to press me tighter against her [EXPLETIVE DELETED]. I closed my eyes and held my breath, waiting for it to be over.

***

Carolyn was going to work in the garden later, so she opted to skip the shower. She threw on some clothes and carried me down the hall to the guest room. She opened the door and snapped on the light. Alerted by her footsteps, the others were already filing out of the dollhouse and rushing into formation.

"Good morning," Carolyn said cheerfully. "Sorry I'm running a little late with breakfast this morning, but little Davey here got a bit frisky this morning."

She knelt and set me down on the floor. As Julie and I approached each other, I faked a cough and spit the handcuff key into my hand. I slipped it into Julie's hand, and she unlocked the cuffs.

"Frisky?" she whispered, rolling her eyes. I just shook my head with exasperation.

Carolyn stood up and gave me a gentle nudge with her sandaled foot. "Go get dressed, sweetie. I'm gonna go fix breakfast." She turned and left the room, stepping over the barricade on her way out. We listened to the slap of her footsteps on the stairs.

"Everything go okay?" Julie whispered as she and Denny came up beside me. Mr. Nichols ambled over as well, unable to hide his nervousness.

"He's, like, gonna be our spotter," Denny explained. "Are we on?"

"Yeah, I dropped them. Six pills," I said. "Now we gotta go get them."

"Hand on a sec, dude," Denny said. He was watching Chad and Linda as they made their way to the dollhouse. Chad glanced over at us and gave Denny a nod.

"What's up with them?" I asked.

"Linda already knows about the hole in the wall," Julie said. "We're trying to keep this plan a secret from her."

"And Chad's on board?"

"Sure," Denny said. "Long as we, like promise to take Miss Greenwood with us when we amscray."

"Okay, we're clear," Julie said. "Let's go."

"Hang on," I said. "I hate to stand on modesty, but could I at least put on some [EXPLETIVE DELETED] pants?"

Julie laughed. "We've got some clothes for you in the truck."

We ran across the hardwood floor to the edge of the bed. Carolyn had carried my car downstairs so I could drive it around on the patio, but Denny's battered Escort, Mr. Nichols' Civic, and Linda's Celica were all still parked next to Eddie's Chevy pickup.

They'd been busy while I'd been otherwise occupied with Carolyn. One end of the yellow tie down rope was knotted around the pickup's roll bar, while the other end had been tied in a bevy of square knots around the tire iron. Lying in the back next to our makeshift grapple, in a couple of trash bags, were the rubber straps and bungees we'd recovered from everyone else's cars.

"Here you go," Julie said, tossing me a pair of sweats and a t-shirt. I slipped them on as quickly as I could, pulled on my sneakers, and scrambled into the back of the truck with Denny. Mr. Nichols climbed in on the passenger side, while Julie hopped behind the wheel. She started it up and gunned the engine. The pickup shot across the guestroom floor, towards the two-by-four that Carolyn had nailed across the doorjamb.

Julie pulled the truck up to the wooden barricade, inching up until the front bumper touched the board. She put the truck in park, with the engine running. She and Mr. Nichols climbed out of the cab. She scrambled into the back of the truck with no problem. Mr. Nichols struggled awkwardly until Denny and I finally grabbed him by the arms and hefted him up.

I picked up the tire iron and tugged on the rope to test its strength. It was nylon, and had hardly been used.

"You sure about these knots?" I asked Denny.

"Right over left, left over right, makes a knot both tidy and tight," he said with a grin. "Me and Chad were Cub Scouts back when we were, like, eight."

"Okay," Julie said, glancing nervously into the massive hallway. "Let's go. Time's a wasting."

Denny bounded up over the cab of the truck and grabbed the top edge of the board with his hands. With a boost from me, he easily made it to the top of the barricade.

I handed up the trash bags and the tire iron, which he set to the side. Next, I helped Mr. Nichols onto the top of the cab. The metal popped and creaked beneath his weight, but held long enough for Denny to reach down and grab his wrists. With Denny pulling and me pushing, we managed to get him up as well.

I was next. My arms were sore and weak from the time I'd spent hanging from Carolyn's necklace, but Denny and Mr. Nichols pulled me up with no problem.

"You guys okay up there?" Julie called. I gave her a thumbs-up. She grinned nervously and got back into the truck.

Denny shook the bungees and straps out of the trash bags. While he was doing that, I picked up the tire iron and tossed it over the other side of the two-by-four. The rope unrolled as the tire iron fell, pulling taut just before it hit the carpet in the hallway.

Mr. Nichols waved to Julie to make sure she could see him. She stuck her arm out the truck window and wave back.

Denny peered out into the hallway, then looked at me. We were all nervous as hell, but he was excited. I couldn't blame him. We'd spent so much time just waiting for [EXPLETIVE DELETED] to happen, but for the first time, we were actually taking action.

"On belay," I said. Taking a deep breath, I gripped the rope and rappelled down the side of the two-by-four. It was about a twelve foot drop before my feet hit the thick shag carpet.

My heart was pounding and my breathing was short as I struggled to maintain my calm. I was over the wall.

Denny came down right behind me, letting go of the rope and dropping the last few feet. He landed in a crouch, then waved up at Mr. Nichols.

In the distance to our left, I could see the stairs leading down to the first floor. The TV was on down there, casting flickering light in the shadowy stairwell. I could hear Willard Scott yammering on about somebody's 95th birthday.

To the right were a couple of closed doors, illuminated by a yellow nightlight in the hallway outlet. One was to the guest bathroom, the other to the linen closet. And at the end of the hallway stood the door to Carolyn's bedroom.

The hallway couldn't have been more than fifteen feet from end to end, but at our height, that was just under two football fields. It was vast and empty, with no place to hide. If Carolyn came up those stairs and saw us, there'd be no escape.

Denny and I made our way down the hallway, hanging close to the wall. Not because it would offer us any protection if we got caught, but because it just felt safer than being out in the open.

The door to Carolyn's room was slightly ajar. Denny followed me into the bedroom. She had left the bathroom light on, and a ribbon of yellow light spilled across the floor. Her clothes lay in a pile on the floor near her bed, next to the grungy white sandals she sometimes wore in the garden. Her pink robe was draped over the edge of the unmade bed.

Denny and I ran across the vast expanse of her bedroom, around the side of the nightstand. There, lying amidst the dust bunnies and the cobwebs, were the six valium capsules I had dropped the night before.

We grabbed them and stuffed three each into the two trash bags. The entire time, our ears were peeled for the sound of Carolyn's approach. If we heard her coming, we only had two choices. Surrender and throw ourselves on her mercy, or hide and hope she wouldn't take it out too badly on the others. Neither seemed an optimal solution.

We each threw a bag over our shoulder and began the trek back to the guest room. It was hard to move quickly through the shin-deep carpet, but we pressed on. Our eyes were on the stairwell the entire time.

We were about twenty feet away (relatively speaking) when we heard the familiar slap-thump of Carolyn's sandals downstairs. Mr. Nichols stood on top of the board, motioning for us to hurry. We ran as fast as we could, stumbling across the carpet.

Carolyn reached the stairs, and we could hear her coming up slowly. One... two... three...

Mr. Nichols tossed down the straps and bungees. Denny and I worked furiously, securing the trash bags to the tire iron. My heart was pounding so hard that I thought it was going to burst out of my chest.

Four... five... six...

Denny and I both grabbed the tire iron with both hands and hung on for dear life. Mr. Nichols waved and shouted down at Julie. I heard the engine rev as the pickup backed away from the board, quickly pulling us to the top. Mr. Nichols waved again, and the truck stopped.

Seven... eight... nine...

I could see Carolyn's shadow on the stairwell wall, and I knew it was only a matter of seconds before her head would pop into view.

Julie sped forward in the truck, bumping the board a little harder than she intended. We tossed the tire iron and the trash bags into the back. Mr. Nichols climbed down awkwardly, stumbling across the top of the cab and landing in the back of the truck with a heavy thud. Denny and I both leapt onto the cab, feeling the metal buckle beneath our feet. When we were both in the pickup's bed, Julie backed up, threw it into drive, and sped towards the dollhouse.

Just as she pulled the truck under the bed, Carolyn stepped into the room. Julie jumped out of the cab and helped Mr. Nichols down. Denny and I frantically unhooked the trash bags and tossed them onto the floor, safely under the bed.

Breathlessly, we all ran out to stand in formation with Eddie, Linda, and Chad. Denny gave Chad the barest of nods, and Chad smiled.

"What were you guys doing under the bed?" Carolyn asked. She stood over us, holding the usual paper plate in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other.

We hadn't really prepared an alibi. Denny, Julie, and I glanced nervously at each other, trying to think of something that sounded plausible.

"Just making sure our cars start," Mr. Nichols said. "Afraid the batteries will go dead if we just let them sit." This seemed to satisfy Carolyn. She set the plate down, then stepped over us to take her seat on the edge of the bed.

"Nice one, dude," Denny whispered. He gave Mr. Nichols a friendly pat on his broad shoulder as he passed by. Mr. Nichols beamed with pride as he grabbed a fistful of toast.

***

Breakfast was a piece of buttered toast, torn into pieces roughly the size of my head. Carolyn set the paper plate down on the floor, then walked over to sit on the edge of the bed. As always, she watched us as we ate. And, as always, there was far too much food. When we were done, she reached down and picked up what we hadn't eaten. She polished off the rest of the toast and sucked her fingers loudly to get the butter off of them.

"Okay, little guys," she said, standing up. "I gotta run into town for a bit and pick up my prescription. Who wants to come with me?"

We all stood still, each of us hoping someone else would volunteer. But the prospect of an afternoon alone with Carolyn was nothing any of us relished.

"Y'all are gonna hurt my feelings," Carolyn said with a grin. Her eyes fell on each of us in turn before finally settling on Mr. Nichols.

"How about you, Tubby? Fresh air and exercise will do you good."

Nervously, Mr. Nichols approached her. He stood and waited for her to reach down for him. Instead, she slid her foot forward slightly and wiggled her toes.

"Climb on," she said. Mr. Nichols gave us a terrified glance, then he struggled to climb onto Carolyn's foot. He grabbed the leather thong that ran between her toes and, after considerable effort, managed to pull himself up.

Carolyn giggled and flexed her toes playfully. "Better hang on," she told him. "You fall off, you'll get squished."

Mr. Nichols held on for dear life as Carolyn stepped over the barricade and closed the door behind her.

***

With Carolyn out of the house, we could relax for a bit. I plopped down on the couch, and Julie sat down next to me.

"Poor Davey's exhausted," she said, playfully. "Apparently he was feeling frisky this morning."

"She must have had him between her toes," Linda said with a giggle. "I remember how much he likes that."

We all just glared at her, and I said, "Sorry, Linda. You must have mistaken us for the people who *don't* hate your [EXPLETIVE DELETED] guts."

Her smile faded. She glowered at me, then turned to Chad. "Come on," she snapped at him. She started for the stairs. Chad followed after her, giving us a sheepish look and a shrug. But Eddie was standing in the stairway, blocking their path.

"Get the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] out of the way, Eddie," Linda said. But Eddie just stood there, his arms crossed, grinning.

"I used to [EXPLETIVE DELETED] her too," Eddie said to Chad. He giggled and glanced over at Julie. "Carolyn accused me of cheating on her with just about everybody we knew, but she never suspected her dear sister Linda."

"Eddie, I'm not kidding," Linda snarled. "Get out of my way."

"Not so big now, are you Linda?" Eddie asked. He reached out and touched her between her legs, running his fingers along the fabric of her shorts.

"Remember when you put me in there?" he said, giggling again? "How did it feel, Linda? Having all that power? Having me at your mercy?"

Linda slapped his hand away angrily. "I should have killed you, you bastard. I can't believe I ever felt sorry for you."

"Shoulda, woulda, coulda," Eddie said, shaking his head. He stepped aside to let Chad and Linda pass, but reached out and took Linda by the elbow. He leaned in and said, in a chillingly calm voice, "By the way, I *am* going to kill you, Linda."

Linda jerked her arm away angrily, and ran up the stairs with Chad following. Eddie watched them until the bedroom door slammed shut in its plastic frame. Then he shambled into the kitchen for a beer.

Denny whistled. "Can I just say I, like, wanna stay on Crazy Dude's good side?"

***

Our respite from Carolyn lasted well into the afternoon. When she got back from the pharmacy, she took Mr. Nichols out to the garden with her. With nothing else to do, I passed the time playing Gin Rummy with Denny and Julie.

Eddie had polished off the last of the beer, and now he stood in the doorway between the dining room and the living room, watching us.

"Hey, Eddie," Julie said, giving him a friendly wave. "Wanna join us?"

Eddie smiled, and for a second, he was his old self. I could see the affable mad scientist that had hired me, the one with aspirations of getting into the history books and taking me with him.

"I don't think I'm crazy," he told us. "I mean, I thought I was crazy, but I've heard that if you think you're crazy, you probably aren't. So that means I'm not crazy, right?"

"No crazier than the rest of us, dude," Denny said. "Any time I start thinking about all the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] that's happened to us, my brain, like, craps itself."

"Yeah," Eddie said, nodding. "We're out of beer."

"Um, that's okay, Eddie," I said. "We'll have Carolyn buy us some more."

"Okay, good." Eddie went on nodding, long after he had quit speaking. Then he turned and wandered back into the kitchen, mumbling to himself.

***

The dollhouse was powered by a couple of C sized batteries concealed behind a panel in the plastic red chimney. Scattered throughout the house were tiny buttons that, when pressed, would make some kind of noise to simulate life for the three-inch dolls that came with it--flushing toilets, crying babies, and even a five-second snippet of generic classical music to represent the radio. But, more importantly, there were light fixtures that plugged into the dollhouse and illuminated it. The light was garish and unreal, much like everything else in the house, but it certainly beat sitting around in the dark.

We were playing cards by the green light of a plastic Tiffany lamp when we heard the approach of Carolyn's footsteps. We'd heard her pass by the guest room several times, so we paused the game and waited, hoping she'd walk on by again.

No such luck. We heard the door to the guest room open. Carolyn turned on the light in the guest room, and it shone through the dollhouse windows like the sun. We tossed our cards onto the table and ran outside. Eddie was right behind us, followed by Chad and Linda.

Carolyn walked toward us, carrying the paper plate that contained our dinner. She had slipped into her pink robe after her shower. It hung down to the middle of her thighs, doing little to conceal the fact that she wore nothing but a pair of white cotton panties beneath it. As always, she seemed unconcerned by the prospect of us seeing her like that.

She knelt down on one knee and set the plate on the floor. Then, with a wicked grin, she slipped her hand into her robe and plucked Mr. Nichols from the waistband of her panties. She placed him on the floor next to her bare foot. The poor man was naked and shivering, still damp from the shower.

Carolyn gave her toes a playful wiggle and Mr. Nichols stood and stared, totally transfixed. He was sporting a very obvious erection beneath his sagging belly. His cheeks were flushed with shame, but he couldn't help himself. I knew just how he felt. But, for once, I understood why Julie had felt such contempt for me when I'd behaved similarly. He wasn't pitiable. He was just pathetic.

"God, Tubby, you're insatiable," Carolyn said, giggling. She flicked him with her finger. "Go get dressed." He stumbled forward, running with great effort towards the dollhouse.

Carolyn watched him for a few seconds, smiling cruelly at his obvious terror. Then she climbed to her feet. "I'm gonna go grab some wine," she said. "Y'all go ahead and get started on dinner."

As soon as she was out the door, Denny started for the valium capsules under the bed. But I grabbed his arm to stop him, jerking my head towards Linda. She was standing next to the plate, ignoring Chad's efforts to pull her away.

"I don't care," she was saying, glaring angrily towards Eddie. "If you guys aren't going to do anything about him, I'm going to ask Carolyn to!"

"Jesus," Julie muttered. "I'll handle this. You guys go do what you gotta do." She ran over to Chad and Linda, and managed to get Linda turned away from the plate. "Hey, Linda. I just wanted to apologize for what happened this afternoon..."

Denny and I ran under the bed and tore open one of the plastic trash bags. We each pulled a capsule from it and ran back towards the paper plate, carrying them under our arms like oversized footballs.

"That's bull[EXPLETIVE DELETED]!" Linda was shouting at Julie. "You don't care about me at all! You're just trying to stay out of trouble with Carolyn!"

"What are you, retarded?" Julie shouted back. "Of course I don't care about you. Do you even remember the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] you did to us when you had us at your house? You made me rub your nipple, you [EXPLETIVE DELETED] cow!"

While they were going at it, Denny and I pulled the gel caps apart and scattered the coarse white powder all over the greasy slice of ham. At our size, the granules of powder were like coarse sand. We spread them as thinly as we could over a portion of the ham, hoping Carolyn wouldn't notice.

"You guys said you liked being with me," Linda said angrily. "You told me you'd rather be with me than my sister. You're the ones that talked me into trying to shrink her!"

When we were done, we tossed the pieces of gelatinous capsule under the bed, then ran back to the plate. Seeing that we had finished, Julie waved Linda off. "You know what? I'm done talking to you."

"Don't you walk away from me, you bitch," Linda shouted at Julie's back. "I should have stomped on you when I had the chance!"

Chad tried to placate Linda, but she was still shouting at Julie when Carolyn came back with her wine.

"Oh, geez," Carolyn muttered. She stepped over us and took her usual seat on the edge of the bed. "What's my sister all wound up about now?"

"Your [EXPLETIVE DELETED] husband is trying to kill me!" Linda shouted. She ran up between her sister's feet, craning her neck to glare up into her face. "He's out of his [EXPLETIVE DELETED] mind, and he wants to murder me! And the rest of these [EXPLETIVE DELETED] are going to just sit around and watch it happen!"

Carolyn sighed and took a sip of wine. Then she reached down and picked Linda up between her finger and thumb.

"You know, there are seven of you living in that house, Linda," she said. "Why is it you're the only one that can't get along with everyone else?"

"[EXPLETIVE DELETED] you, Carolyn!" Linda screamed, pounding on her sister's thumb with her fists. "It's your fault I'm in this mess!"

Carolyn's laugh was a short, mean snort. "Seriously? You're the one that turned the machine on half of [EXPLETIVE DELETED] Odessa. You tried to use it on me, for Christ's sake! And if our situations were reversed, I can only imagine what you'd be doing to me right now."

"Carolyn, I'm your sister," Linda pleaded. "You can't just let Eddie..."

"The hell I can't," Carolyn said. She narrowed her eyes as she glared down at Linda. "That's just what I ought to do. It'd serve you right, after what you did to your husband."

"I didn't do anything to my husband!" Linda screamed. "[EXPLETIVE DELETED] it, I told you! He's on a fishing trip!"

"So you keep saying," Carolyn said. "But Eddie says he saw you kill Randy."

"He's [EXPLETIVE DELETED] crazy!"

"He wasn't crazy when I sent him away with you," Carolyn said. "I don't think he went crazy until you killed his dog."

"He's lying!" Linda squirmed in Carolyn's grasp, trying to look down at us. "Tell her, Dave! Julie! Tell her that Eddie's lying!"

Carolyn glanced down at us, then sighed. "That's enough, Linda. This is getting old."

"He's lying!" Linda insisted. "They're all lying!"

"I said knock it off." Carolyn pinched her finger and thumb together, and Linda let out a painful yelp. "One more word out of you, and you're going in the cuffs tonight."

Linda hung limply in Carolyn's grasp, defeated. Or so we thought. Then, she lifted her head and said, "They planning to escape, Carolyn. Denny's been digging a tunnel behind the dresser."

Carolyn's face went hard. She glared down at us, her eyes falling on Denny. She set her sister down and stepped over us, her bare foot thudding angrily on the wooden floor. She grabbed the dresser and pulled it away from the wall. She knelt down and peered behind it.

"Son of a bitch!" she shouted, pounding her fist against the side of the dresser. She stood up and glared down at us, her hands on her hips and her eyes narrow with rage.

"When the hell did you do that, you little [EXPLETIVE DELETED]?" she yelled at Denny. None of us had ever seen her so angry before, and it was terrifying. She lifted her foot, and Denny's nerve finally broke. He turned and ran.

Carolyn brought her foot down on top of him, pinning him roughly to the hard floor. "Don't you try to get away from me," she snarled, mashing down. Denny's scream was muffled as his face was pressed against her sole.

"What about the rest of you?" Carolyn demanded. "Did you know anything about this?"

"It was just a stupid idea we had," I said desperately. "When we first got here. But we gave up on it, and the only reason we didn't tell you was because we were afraid we'd get in trouble."

Carolyn's toes twitched angrily as Denny struggled beneath them. She looked down at me, then at him. Then, with a sigh, she lifted her foot and let him up.

"Thank you," he said weakly.

"You're not getting off that lightly," she told him. "I'm still thinking of ways to punish you."

Carolyn walked over to the dollhouse, and knelt to wrap her arms around it. She stood up, lifting it from the floor. Our belongings slid around, and some of the plastic furniture fell to the floor as she carried it over to the dresser. She set down on top, so that the front was against the mirror and the open side was hanging a couple of inches over the edge.

"I swear to God, you little [EXPLETIVE DELETED] are more trouble than you're worth," she muttered. She picked up the furniture that had fallen and shoved it into the dollhouse. Then, one by one, she snatched us up and deposited us in the living room.

All except Denny. She didn't even bother to cuff him. She hooked the waistband of her panties with her thumb and she dropped him inside. For a few seconds, she stood there with a cruel smile on her lips, adjusting him through the fabric of her panties until she had him situated just right.

She picked up the paper plate of our uneaten supper and grabbed her wine glass from the nightstand. Then, she started for the door.

"Wait," Linda screamed. "What about me? You're going to leave me in here with these people?"

Carolyn turned and walked over to the house. She bent down and peered in so that her angry face filled the entire missing wall.

"Dave," she said, her warm breath sour with wine. "If anything happens to my sister tonight, I'm going to take a lit cigarette to your girlfriend tomorrow. Got it?"

And with that, she turned and left, turning off the light and closing the door behind her.

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.]

"Bet y'all wish you'd been nicer to me now, don't you?" Linda said. We had cuffed her to the plastic banister, and she now sat on the floor, one arm raised over her head.

"You are *such* an idiot," I said, shaking my head. "I can't believe you'd sell us out like that."

Linda snorted. "Oh, give me a break. The only reason I'm in this mess is because you little [EXPLETIVE DELETED] tricked me. Told me all those sob stories about how mean Carolyn was to you and how much happier you'd be with me. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have never tried to trick Carolyn."

She turned her head to look at Chad, and gave him a wicked smile. "And I woulda had my little Chad all to myself."

"[EXPLETIVE DELETED] you," Chad said, his voice more hurt than angry. "How could you do that to Denny?"

"You picked the wrong side, you stupid bitch," Julie told her. "We would have helped you escape. What's the best offer you think you'll get from your sister?"

"I tried telling Carolyn that I was tricked, that you little monsters played us against each other, but she wouldn't believe me," Linda said. "But right now, I think I've got a little more credibility with her. And tomorrow, when my husband shows up alive and well, she's gonna know you guys have been lying about everything."

The smirk on Linda's face was all too familiar. It was the same tight-lipped smile that she used to get when she was playing with us. Somehow, at this size, it was even more infuriating.

"So I imagine by this time tomorrow, Carolyn'll be apologizing for the way she treated me. And I'm gonna tell her I don't blame her at all. Just you guys."

I glanced at Julie and saw the same worry in her eyes. Unlike Carolyn, Linda wasn't a good liar, or even particularly clever. Unfortunately, in this case, she did have the truth on her side. Or at least a slightly skewed version of it.

"I’m sure she'll keep you around, Davey," Linda said. "And if I ask her nicely, I think she'll let Chad off easy." Her eyes darted from one of us to the other, her wicked smile intact. "As for the rest of you, she'll probably squish you and flush you down the toilet."

She looked directly at Mr. Nichols and added, "I just wish I was still big enough to do it myself."

I turned to the others. "So what are we going to do with her?"

"I say we leave her chained to the stairs," Julie said. "Let her take her chances with Eddie."

"You heard Carolyn," Linda said. "Anything happens to me, and she'll take it out on Julie here."

Julie gave an impassive shrug. "So what? It would totally be worth it."

For the first time, Linda's confidence wavered slightly. Her smirk faltered, becoming less smug and more desperate.

"You keep me away from that crazy [EXPLETIVE DELETED]," she said, tugging at her cuffed wrist. "I'm not kidding, Dave. You better not let him anywhere near me!"

***

We found a wardrobe in the master bedroom, where Linda and Chad had been sleeping for the past week. It was made of baby blue plastic, and stood nearly eight feet tall, relatively speaking. We gagged Linda and cuffed her hands behind her, then shoved her into the wardrobe.

"One peep out of you, and we'll throw you back downstairs with Eddie," Julie said. Then she shoved the plastic doors until they clicked shut.

The furniture was all askew from when Carolyn had picked up the dollhouse. Our belongings were no longer in neat stacks, but were scattered across the floor in most of the rooms. The place was a shambles.

"Jesus," Julie said, rolling her eyes. "I don't even know why we bother to keep the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] place picked up."

We had claimed the master bedroom for ourselves, with the provision that we'd keep an eye on Linda. Chad had taken Denny's usual place on the couch downstairs, and Mr. Nichols was bunking down in the attic. As for Eddie, we weren't sure how he spent his nights, but he tended to stick close to the kitchen.

Our bed was made of blue plastic, same as the wardrobe, with molded linens and pillows. A piece of tissue, folded several times, lay on top of the bed to make it softer.

As we undressed for bed, Julie sighed and took my hand. "We're in deep [EXPLETIVE DELETED], aren't we?"

My first inclination was to lie to her, to tell her everything would be okay. But I knew she'd never believe me. She wasn't looking for comfort, just confirmation of what she already knew.

So, "Yeah. I think it's going to be pretty rough until the whole thing with Linda's husband blows over. Carolyn'll be mad for a day or two, but it'll blow over and things'll get back to normal."

As soon as I said the word "normal," Julie gave me an incredulous look. Then we both started laughing.

"We're pretty [EXPLETIVE DELETED] far from normal," Julie giggled.

"I haven't seen normal in so long," I said, "I'd throw stones at it."

"The light leaving normal won't reach us for thousands of years."

Our laughter must have annoyed Linda, because she let out a muffled protest and thumped against the inside of the wardrobe.

"Shut the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] up!" Julie shouted, throwing one of her sandals. It hit the wardrobe with a loud thump, and Linda fell silent.

"Bitch," Julie muttered. She mashed the button on the floor to turn off the light, and then she climbed into bed next to me. As always, she slipped into my arms and wrapped hers around me. There was nothing romantic in the way we held each other. It was for comfort, for security.

For several minutes, we lay there in the darkness, listening to the sounds of the dollhouse: Linda shifting in her plastic prison, Mr. Nichols' heavy footfalls in the attic above us, Eddie pacing beneath us in the kitchen.

"Hey," I said softly to Julie. "I've got an idea. Hear me out before you tell me I'm an idiot, okay?"

Julie chuckled. "I usually do, don't I? What's on your mind?"

"Tomorrow morning, when Carolyn comes in here, you can confess. Tell her that Eddie lied about Linda killing her husband. Tell her that you wanted to tell the truth, but you were afraid of getting Eddie in trouble. Just throw yourself on her mercy."

Julie raised her head and, even though it was dark, I could *feel* the glare she was giving me. "Her mercy? Seriously? That's your brilliant plan?"

"I never said it was brilliant."

"Carolyn hates me," Julie said. "There's no way she'd let me slide on something like this. And even if she would, I'd never hang you and Eddie out to dry like that."

"Eddie's going to busted, no matter what," I told her. "There's nothing we can do about that. And Carolyn won't be nearly as hard on me as she would on you. I mean, I'm her 'special little guy,' remember?"

"I'm not going to do it, Dave. We've stuck to our story for this long, we might as well ride it out to the end. And whatever Carolyn decides to do to us, we'll get through it together."

I sighed. "No changing your mind on this?"

"Nope." She kissed me gently on the cheek, then snuggled in close. Within five minutes, she was snoring gently.

***

I envied Julie her ability to just drop off to sleep like that. I was exhausted beyond reason, but I just couldn't convince my brain to rest. Every time I'd feel myself starting to doze, I'd suddenly snap awake with a refreshed sense of anxiety.

When sleep finally came, it was in fits and starts, and was punctuated by odd, unsettling dreams. I had one where I was back in school and I suddenly remembered signing up for a class that I hadn't been to all semester. My only hope for passing was to get to the SMU campus to take the final, but I couldn't because Carolyn had stepped on my car and crushed it flat.

I was still lying there, bleary and half-asleep, when I heard the approach of Carolyn's footsteps in the hallway. I shook Julie awake, and we slipped into our clothes. With the dollhouse sitting up on the dresser, at least there'd be no morning formation. Small favors, right?

I pulled open the door to the wardrobe and pulled Linda to her feet. Julie unlocked the cuffs and I pulled the knotted strip of t-shirt out of her mouth.

She spat a couple of times and rubbed her chaffed wrists. "My sister is going to kill you," she said to Julie. "She's going to take..."

"You ought to learn some new material," I told Linda. "This [EXPLETIVE DELETED]'s getting old."

"No doubt," Julie added.

She and I made our way to the open edge of the dollhouse just as the door to the guest room opened. Carolyn came in, dressed for gardening in her red gingham shirt, denim shorts, and those grubby white sandals she always wore out there.

She walked over to the dollhouse and stooped slightly, checking the rooms to make sure we were all present and accounted for. She was scowling, with no hint of her usual playful, predatory smile. It wasn't even nine o'clock yet, and she was already in a bad mood. It didn't bode well.

Carolyn reached into her breast pocket and plucked out Denny. She held his naked form between her finger and thumb, letting him dangle helplessly before finally putting him in the dollhouse, next to me and Julie. The poor guy was sticky and bruised, trembling as Carolyn's hand lingered over him. When she finally withdrew it, he let out a relieved sigh.

"Y'all can do without breakfast this morning," she said. "And I *was* thinking about letting you guys have a picnic outside today, but Denny boy here [EXPLETIVE DELETED] that up for everyone."

Denny cringed when he heard his name. He kept his eyes averted, unable to look up into her angry face.

"If y'all can behave yourselves for the rest of the day, maybe I'll let you have some supper. Got it?"

"Why are you punishing me?" Linda complained from behind us. "I didn't do anything!"

Carolyn leaned in close, her massive face filling the gap of the missing wall.

"If you hadn't tried to [EXPLETIVE DELETED] shrink me, you wouldn't be in this mess." Her breath was a warm, wet miasma of cigarettes and spearmint toothpaste. "You're lucky I didn't flush you down the toilet. Especially after what you did to your husband."

"I didn't do anything to my husband!" Linda screamed. "He'll be home this afternoon! Then you'll see!"

Carolyn smiled for the first time that morning, but it was cruel and humorless. "I almost believe you, Linda. You've never been that good of a liar."

Her eyes darted from Linda to me to Julie. "Whoever's been lying to me, I'm gonna know by the end of the day. And you can bet your sweet ass I'm gonna punish 'em hard. So if any of you has anything to confess, now would be the time."

Linda glared at us defiantly. Julie tried to keep her face impassive, but I could tell she was worried. So was I.

After a few seconds of silence, we heard Eddie calling up to his wife from the kitchen below us. "Um, Carolyn?" he said, in a totally casual voice. "We're out of beer."

The entire dollhouse shook violently as Carolyn slapped the side of it with her hand. "Eddie, shut the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] up!" she snarled. Her eyes went from room to room, and her scowl deepened. "I got one nerve left, and you little [EXPLETIVE DELETED] are already working it," she said. "Next one of you smarts off, I'm gonna stomp the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] out of you."

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, as if that might somehow restore her calm. When her eyes opened again, she was looking right at me.

"Dave, get your ass over here." She tapped the dollhouse floor with her fingernail. "Front and center."

Julie gave me a worried look. I took her hand and squeezed it. "Don't worry," I whispered. "I'll be fine."

"Now!" Carolyn barked. I walked past the trembling, huddled form of Denny and stepped into Carolyn's waiting palm.

***

Since the incident with the grasshopper, Carolyn had insisted on keeping me close in the garden. Usually this meant whiling away the morning tucked in her breast pocket. But sometimes she'd be in a playful mood and she'd set me on her foot. I'd cling to her sandal as she worked, ever mindful of the way her toes clenched and wiggled beneath me. Sure it was demeaning, but I really didn't mind all that much. It was nice to be outside and, sometimes, I'd even find myself enjoying Carolyn's company.

However, this wasn't one of those times. The whole business with Denny had really soured her mood, and she wavered back and forth between tormenting me and ignoring me. Of the two, I much preferred being ignored, so I tried really hard to avoid drawing attention to myself.

I spent the first hour or so in her pocket, being buffeted around as she crawled around in her garden. There had been some heavy rain a few days back, but it had done little to cool things off. The air was thick and muggy, and seemed to be clinging to me.

Carolyn was sweating heavily, and the fabric of her shirt had become drenched. Damp and miserable, I tried shifting my position to something more comfortable. But it seemed like every time I moved, Carolyn would mash her fingers against me angrily and tell me to quit squirming or she'd pinch my head off.

And finally, when I didn't think I could bear it any more, Carolyn slipped her fingers into her pocket and fished me out. I dangled helplessly between her finger and thumb, my hair and clothes soaked with sweat. I squinted in the bright sunlight as I looked into Carolyn's face for a trace of sympathy or good humor. But no such luck.

"You're a mess," she said with a hint of exasperation. "Is it hot in there?"

I nodded weakly.

Carolyn let out an annoyed sigh. "You have to tell me these things, Dave. I'm not a [EXPLETIVE DELETED] mind reader."

"I'm sorry."

"I swear," Carolyn muttered. "Do you even know why I'm mad at you, Dave?"

My mind raced to form a cohesive answer. "Um, because I didn't tell you about Denny's tunnel?"

"I've tried so hard to make things nice for everybody," she said. "But all y'all do is conspire and scheme to stab me in the back. I expect that kind of crap from those others, but I really thought you and I had something... special."

I shook my head contritely. "I'm really sorry, Carolyn." And the funny thing is, I actually did feel kind of bad for her. That was the power she had over me, and the only thing that kept me from losing myself completely to her was Julie.

"I trusted you," Carolyn went on. "I really thought I could count on you. But you're just as bad as everyone else."

"It's not like that Carolyn," I said gently, stroking her finger. "I just didn't want Denny to get in trouble."

"So you lied to me?"

"Well, I didn't exactly lie..." I began. Her eyes narrowed, so I tried a different tack. "I mean, yeah. I'm sorry I didn't tell you about the tunnel, but I swear it wasn't anything personal. I was just trying to protect Denny."

She nodded. "And what about Eddie? Would you and Miss Julie lie to protect him?"

I felt a horrible knot in my stomach, and I was suddenly glad that I hadn't eaten breakfast. If I hadn't already been flushed with heat, Carolyn would have no doubt seen my cheeks go red.

"This is your one chance to stay out of trouble, Dave," Carolyn said. "All you have to do is tell me the truth. Because if I find out you've been lying to me about this, I'm going to punish you. For real."

God, I wanted to tell her so badly. My head was abuzz and my heart was pounding. Just one quick little confession, and this could all be over. I could be back in Carolyn's good graces again. I could go back to being her "special little guy."

But what if her offer of leniency didn't extend to Julie? There was no way I could ask without implicating her. And if she got punished while I got off scot free, I'd never be able to forgive myself.

"It's like I told you, Carolyn," I said as earnestly as I could. "Julie and I didn't see anything that happened to Linda's husband. We only know what Eddie told us."

"And you believe Eddie?"

I nodded. "We saw Linda kill his dog, and we saw her destroy her husband's car. The way she was acting, it seems totally plausible."

"I know she and Randy have had their problems," Carolyn said, looking past me towards the house. "Hell, I wouldn't have been half surprised to find out she'd shrunk him down and was keeping him as a pet. But I just can't believe she'd murder him like that."

It was a dangerous line I was walking. I wanted Carolyn to feel sympathy for Eddie, so when the truth came out, she'd be more likely to forgive him. And, by extension, me and Julie.

"I don't know," I said. "I don't think Eddie lied to us. But if it turns out he did, you should know it was your sister that drove him to it."

Her frown deepened and for a second, I was afraid I had pushed it too far. But then she relaxed and let out a weary breath.

"I don't know what I'm going to do with all you little [EXPLETIVE DELETED]," she said, shaking her head. "Y'all are gonna wear me out."

She started to stick me back in her pocket, but relented and instead set me atop her foot. Her toes were grimy with soil, and the smell of sweat and leather was overpowering. But I was just happy to be out of that damned pocket!

"Try to run off and I'll step on you," she said, flexing her toes beneath me. I wrapped my arms around her sandal strap and hung on.

I thought her mood had improved somewhat, but she was still a bit off, still a bit antagonistic. Ordinarily she'd tread lightly in her garden, especially when I was clinging to her foot. But she seemed to be stomping that morning. With each step, her foot would slam down into the earth, jarring me as I was pelted with bits of soil.

Then she gave her foot a shake, and I realized she was doing it on purpose. She was trying to make me fall off so she'd have an excuse to punish me. I clutched her sandal and held on for as long as I could, but she was relentless. I felt my arms slip loose as I fell from her foot into the warm, soft dirt.

"What did I tell you?" she said, looming over me, a silhouette in the sunlight. "Are you trying to piss me off?"

"I'm sorry," I told her, sitting up. "I lost my grip."

She slipped off her sandal and held her bare foot over me. The pale, wrinkled flesh of her sole was streaked with grime and dirt. Her toes wiggled playfully as she brought her foot down.

Warm, leathery flesh pressed against my entire body, burying me as I was pressed down into the yielding soil. I squirmed and struggled as the dirt was packed around and beneath me. I tried to call out, but I couldn't get enough air in my lungs.

Finally, she released me. I was lying deep in her footprint, partially buried in the soil. I sputtered and wheezed, shaking my head to dislodge the dirt from my nose and mouth.

"Poor little Davey," Carolyn giggled. "You think maybe you'd grow a little if we planted you?" With her bare toes, she began nudging the soil on top of me.

"Stop it!" I screamed. I was helpless, unable to move my arms or legs as she buried me alive. Her toes packed down the dirt around me, so that only my head and shoulders were left above the ground.

When she was done, she slipped her shoe back on and dropped to her hands and knees. Her face just inches from me, she watched my feeble struggles with some amusement.

"So tiny and weak," she said. "I can do anything I want to you little guys, and there's nothing you can do to stop me."

"Carolyn," I gasped. "Please."

"I'm pretty sure you and little Miss Julie have been lying to protect Eddie," she said. "And when I find out for sure, I'm going to make you watch while I torture her."

All my frustration, anger, fear... something snapped inside me and I began sobbing. It killed me to be crying in front of her, but I couldn't help it. And with my arms pinned beneath the dirt, I couldn't even wipe the tears from my cheeks.

Still, no sympathy from Carolyn. I blinked away the tears just in time to see a flash of metal. I screamed as the blade of her trowel thunked down into the dirt next to me. I felt the hard aluminum come up beneath me, lifting me along with the soil. As the dirt fell away from me, I brought my knees to my chest and curled up in a fetal position.

"Look at you," Carolyn said, making a tsk-tsk-tsk sound of disapproval. "You're absolutely filthy."

Her finger and thumb grasped me and lifted me from the blade of her garden tool. She rubbed me against the damp fabric of her shirt, then held me up to regard me.

"Well, nothing we can do about it now," she said. "You'll just have to stay that way until we have our bath." And with that, she tucked me back into her pocket.

***

The less said about bath time, the better. I spent most of it between her toes, either struggling as she held me underwater, or squirming as she ground me between them, bringing me to reluctant orgasm.

She had such power over me, and I hated her for it. But in spite of everything, I still longed for her approval. I wanted to be her "special little guy" again. And I hated her for that as well.

***

After our bath, Carolyn slipped into some clean shorts and a pink t-shirt with one of those Precious Moments angels on it. Naked and shivering, I huddled in her palm as we walked down the hallway. I'd assumed she was going to drop me off at the dollhouse so I could get dressed, but she walked on past the closed door to the guest room and carried me down the stairs.

"I'm gonna make a sandwich," Carolyn told me. "You be good, and maybe I'll let you have a bite." Defeated, I just nodded.

She set me on the counter and went to rummage through the refrigerator. She was still setting condiments down all around me when the phone rang. My throat felt tight, and my heart pounded so hard I thought it was going to pop out of my chest. I knew this was it.

So did Carolyn, although she played it coy. "Hmmm," she said in mock surprise. "I wonder who *that* could be." She crossed the kitchen to check the Caller ID. Then she gave me a sardonic smile.

"You," she said, "are so dead."

She hopped up on the counter and tapped the button on the speaker phone. "Hello, Randy."

The voice on the other end was agitated, with a heavy drawl you'd usually associate with banjos and moonshine.

"Carolyn! I just got home and I can't find Linda nowhere! No note or nothing!"

Carolyn looked at me and shook her head. Still naked, I was crouched behind a cold jar of mayonnaise, listening.

"Take it easy, Randy," she said. "She's probably gone to the grocery store or something. Was her car there?"

"No! Mine wasn't neither! My Z is gone!"

"Your Z?" Carolyn asked.

Randy huffed impatiently into the phone. "My 280-ZX! Damn thing wasn't running, so I don't know where it went. I tried to tell that detective, but he wasn't listening to a [EXPLETIVE DELETED] thing I said."

At this, Carolyn perked up. "What detective?"

"He left a card," Randy said. "Detective Leibowitz or Horowitz or some Jew name. It was on my door when I got home."

Carolyn glared at me. "And you called him?"

"Yeah! I figured he knew something about Linda or my car. But he didn't care about none of that. Said he was looking for some other guy that had gone missing. Linda's boss."

"And that's all the detective said?" Carolyn asked. "He didn't ask you about anything else?"

"Carolyn, what the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] is going on? Where the hell is my wife?"

"I don't know, Randy. I swear."

"She run off, didn't she?" Randy asked. "She done left me and run off with her boss or something."

"Randy, you need to calm down," Carolyn said. "I don't think this has anything to do with Eddie."

"You know where she is, don't you?" Randy was breathing hard, and each breath was an explosion in the speaker. "You're hiding something, Carolyn."

"Randy, I don't know what to tell you," Carolyn said. "I haven't talked to Linda for a couple of days now, so I don't..."

"You know what? [EXPLETIVE DELETED] you," Randy shouted. "If you're not gonna give me a straight answer, I'll call your folks."

Carolyn sighed and slapped her palm to her forehead. "Okay, Randy. You wanna talk, come on over here and we can talk. Just don't drag my parents into this."

"I can't come over," Randy said. "I ain't got no car. But I can give Lowell a call and see if..."

"No, that's okay," Carolyn said. She slipped down off the counter, her sandals slapping on the kitchen floor. "You just sit tight, okay? I'll come see you."

She tapped the button to hang up on him, then smashed her fist down on the counter. "Dammit!" she shouted. "Mother [EXPLETIVE DELETED] son of a [EXPLETIVE DELETED] bitch whore!" She came towards me, her hand out, and I braced myself to be grabbed roughly. Instead, she snatched up the jar of mayonnaise and threw it against the wall. The glass shattered, leaving globules of mayo all over the wall and floor.

Then, as I'd seen her do before, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them, she was still angry, but calm. She reached down and wrapped her fingers around me.

"You little [EXPLETIVE DELETED]," she said, shaking her head. "You're gonna pay for this."

***

Carolyn didn't even bother to go upstairs. She just grabbed her keys and her purse off the kitchen table. Still holding me in her fist, she carried me out the door and to her car.

I spent the trip sitting in the cup holder, naked and huddled among the loose change. From where I sat, I could see her profile as she sped down the highway. Her jaw was clenched and her eyes were narrowed. I don't think I'd ever seen her that mad before.

"You think I was kidding in the garden?" she asked me. "I'm gonna take a pair of nail clippers to little Miss Julie, and I'm gonna make you watch."

"Carolyn, please! I swear, we didn't lie to you!"

"So, what? It was all Eddie?"

"He fooled us too, Carolyn!"

"Well, he'll answer for that," Carolyn said, slapping the steering wheel with her palm. "You can [EXPLETIVE DELETED] count on it."

I still felt bad about hanging poor Eddie out to dry like that, but I felt like he'd brought it on himself. The only reason Julie and I were in trouble now was because we'd tried to protect him.

But still, I didn't want to see him hurt.

"Please go easy on him, Carolyn," I begged her. "He's not in his right mind."

Carolyn gripped the steering wheel until her knuckles turned white. "I know how he feels."

***

Carolyn put me in her purse and told me to sit tight. "If I look in there and don't see you, I'm gonna take it out on your little girlfriend when I get home."

Crouched uncomfortably between her wallet and a small bottle of Aqua Net, I promised her I'd be good. She dropped her keys into the purse, and they struck her wallet just inches away from me with a loud jangle. Then she snapped the purse shut, leaving me in darkness.

I could hear her muffled voice as she spoke with Randy. "You didn't call my parents yet, did you?"

Randy's response was equally dampened, but his indignation was obvious. "Hell no! I said I wouldn't, didn't I?"

"Randy?" she said, in a tone of voice that implied she didn't quite believe him.

"Don't [EXPLETIVE DELETED] 'Randy' me! I didn't call your [EXPLETIVE DELETED] folks! Now tell me where my wife is, okay?"

Carolyn sighed. "I don't know, Randy."

There was a loud thump, as Randy hit the table. "[EXPLETIVE DELETED]!" he shouted. "You said you'd tell me!"

"No, I said we'd talk," Carolyn answered, somehow keeping her voice calm and rational. "That's what we're doing. Now why are you so sure Linda left you?"

"Well, hell. She's been threatening to do it since we got married, but I never thought she would. And she was real eager for me to go on this fishing trip, which shoulda made me suspicious. But you know? I just figured she'd bang somebody while I was out of town. Had no idea she was gonna get rid of my car. Or leave me."

"You think Linda was cheating on you?"

I heard the refrigerator door open and close. Then the pop of a can being opened.

"You wanna beer?" Randy asked. After a couple seconds of silence, he spoke again. "Kinda weird how she took off so soon after your Eddie left, isn't it?"

"This has nothing to do with Eddie," Carolyn said.

"The hell it don't." Randy drank with a noisy gulp. "You heard anything at all about Eddie or them other two what took off with him? That science girl or that college boy what was staying with you?"

"No, I haven't," Carolyn said, growing exasperated. "What's that got to do with Linda?"

"I just figured there was some connection," Randy said, "what with their history together and everything."

"History? What the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] are you talking about?"

"Aw, hell, Carolyn. I figured you knew by now. I mean, it's old news, ain't it?"

I felt the purse shift as Carolyn took a step forward. "What?"

"You know. Linda and Eddie had an affair a few years back. Went on for a couple of months, 'til ol' Eddie got to feeling guilty and ended it."

"Eddie and my sister? Were [EXPLETIVE DELETED]?"

"Yeah. Linda said she did it to get me back for nailing that stripper at Lowell's bachelor party. So I figured we were even, you know? She might screw around on me, but I didn't think she was going to leave me. And what the hell did she do with my Z?"

"I don't know, Randy." Carolyn actually sounded a little flustered.

"So, I figure that's too big a coinkydink, you know? First Eddie, then Linda. There's got to be something going on."

I heard Carolyn take a deep breath to gather herself. "Listen, Randy. Eddie's disappearance is a matter of security, okay? GenetiTech is handling the investigation themselves. I can't tell you any more about it, but I promise you it has nothing to do with Linda."

"Oh yeah? You think them boys at GenetiTech know what your Eddie was up to with my wife? Maybe we should give them a call and tell them there's been... what, a new development? Yeah, a new development in their case."

Carolyn chuckled. "Okay, Randy. You got me. Linda came to see me last night. Said she was thinking about leaving you and needed a place to stay while she worked things out."

"Son of a bitch!" Randy thumped the table again. "I knew it! Is she [EXPLETIVE DELETED] her boss or what?"

"I don't know. But I think she's making a huge mistake. I told her so. Told her you guys should talk things out, see if you can work out your problems."

"Yeah, talk things out," Randy said eagerly. "If I can just talk to her for ten minutes, I know I can change her mind!"

"Well, she was pretty stubborn on that point," Carolyn said. "But like I said, I think she's making a mistake. And she'll probably kill me for this, but if you like, I can take you to see her."

"Yeah!" Randy said. "Hell, yeah!"

***

You can probably figure out what happened next. With aspirations of reconciling with his wife, Randy came home with Carolyn and eagerly followed her back into Eddie's lab. And she zapped him.

When she finally took me out of her purse, she set me down on the workbench next to Randy. He was lying unconscious, his NASCAR t-shirt covered with puke and his dirty jeans stained with urine. He was a scrawny guy in his early 30s, his pinched face adorned by a scraggly beard. His blonde hair was long and stringy in the back, but balding on top, giving the impression of a half-assed mullet.

The border circuit was laid out on the floor, and Carolyn was kneeling on it, cleaning up the mess that Randy had left behind with a tissue. The shrink ray... sorry, matter-proportioning matrix sat on a separate table beyond the edge of the workbench. For a crazy moment, I considered bolting across the bench and leaping the gap to the table. Then all I'd have to do is scramble along the keyboard and leap on the Enter key, and visit poetic justice upon Carolyn.

But I barely had time to think it before Carolyn was done. She tossed the tissue into the trash can, then scooped me and Randy into her hand. She was still angry, but said nothing as she carried us into the bathroom. She set me down, then stripped Randy's clothes off with practiced ease. She let the water run until it was warm, and then she rinsed him off under the faucet. A look of disgust marred her face as she rubbed his naked body clean with her thumbs. I glanced over and noticed that the unconscious Randy was sporting a seriously huge erection.

When Randy was clean, Carolyn carried the two of us upstairs and into the guest room. She snapped on the light with her other hand, and I could see the others rushing to the edge of the dollhouse.

Linda set me and Randy down in the bedroom, next to Linda. Linda looked down at her unconscious husband with wicked glee.

"Holy [EXPLETIVE DELETED], Carolyn!" she called up to her sister. "I can't believe you went and did that!"

Carolyn's eyes went from room to room. "Eddie? Where the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] are you?" She reached down into the kitchen and snatched him up. Then she dumped him onto the plastic bedroom floor next to Linda.

"Keep him away from me!" Linda shouted, stepping away. "He's crazy!"

Carolyn smacked the dollhouse with the palm of her hand, knocking furniture askew and once again scattering our stacked belongings. "Shut the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] up! Next one of you that opens their mouth without permission is going down the garbage disposal. Got it?"

Eddie climbed to his feet and stepped away from the edge. Linda gave him wide berth.

"I can't believe I was such an idiot," Carolyn said, staring into the dollhouse with her arms crossed. "I knew Eddie was [EXPLETIVE DELETED] around on me. I made such a fool out of myself, accusing everyone under the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] sun. Even little Miss Julie here."

Her eyes were suddenly on Linda and Eddie. "But my own sister?" She slapped the dollhouse again and shouted, "MY OWN SISTER?"

"Carolyn," Linda began. Before she could say another word, Carolyn gave the dollhouse another thump.

"I said shut the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] up!" she screamed. "I have had it up to here with all the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] you little [EXPLETIVE DELETED] are putting me through!"

Tears were running down her cheeks as she ranted angrily at us. "Why do you have to make everything so [EXPLETIVE DELETED] hard? What's wrong with you [EXPLETIVE DELETED] people?"

And then, as she had done so many times that day, she closed her eyes and took a deep, wavering breath.

And at that moment, Eddie lunged forward. He clipped Linda in the back with his elbow, knocking her over the edge of the dollhouse. She screamed all the way down, then hit the floor with a sickening snap. I ran to the edge and peered down. Linda lay in a crumpled heap on the hardwood floor, her neck twisted at an impossible angle.

For a second, there was no sound other than Eddie's maniacal laughter. But that was quickly drowned out by Carolyn's primal scream. Her hand shot into the dollhouse so fast that it knocked me backwards against the plastic bed.

Carolyn snatched Eddie out of the dollhouse and, still screaming, hurled him against the wall. It seemed to happen in slow motion. I could even see the look of crazed victory on Eddie's face as he smashed into the sheet rock. His broken body fell to the floor, leaving a blood stain next to the light switch.

Down below, I could hear Julie screaming and Mr. Nichols crying "Oh, Lord," over and over again. But I couldn't speak. I couldn't move. All I could do was watch Carolyn.

With wide eyes, she stared at the two bodies. She looked at the blood on the wall, then looked down at her hand. Her breaths became gasps, and suddenly she was crying. Not just sobbing, but wailing like something in the wild.

She stumbled out of the room, nearly tripping over the wooden barricade. Then she slammed the door shut, leaving us alone.

***

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.]

I could still hear Carolyn's crazy scream in my head, and I could still see the insane smile on Eddie's face when he had hit the wall. God, I wanted so badly to banish those memories, but they just wouldn't go away. Nor would the realization that our situation had just become a million times worse.

I'd been operating on the premise that Carolyn would never actually hurt any of us. Oh, she had no problem teasing us, tormenting us, frightening us, and threatening us with all kinds of horrible punishments. But over the past month, she had always stopped short of actually causing us bodily harm.

Until that night, when she dashed her husband against the wall. At that point, any pretense of certainty was gone. Carolyn had just killed one of us. Suddenly, we were all living on borrowed time.

The five of us huddled nervously in the dollhouse living room, quiet and morose. None of us wanted to be alone, but no one really wanted to talk about what had just happened. We were trying not to think about Eddie and Linda's bodies lying broken on the floor beneath us.

Of all of us, Chad was taking it the worst. He kept staring out at the vast expanse of the guest room, wiping angrily at the tears on his face. In spite of everything, he'd been in love with Linda. And as much as I hated that bitch, I couldn't help but feel a little sorry for him.

"Okay, if nobody else is going to say it," Denny blurted, breaking the silence, "I will. We're [EXPLETIVE DELETED]. Giganta's gonna come back in here and kill us all, and there's, like, not a [EXPLETIVE DELETED] thing we can do about it."

"We need to keep our heads about us," Mr. Nichols said, patting Denny on the shoulder. "Panicking won't help the situation. Instead, we should figure out what our next move is going to be."

"Our next move?" Denny put his hands to the side of his head, as if trying to keep it from exploding. "How about getting the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] out of here before that bitch goes postal again!"

"Easier said than done," I said. "It's a hundred foot drop down to the floor from up here."

Chad moaned when I mentioned this and buried his face in his hands. Julie nudged me with her elbow.

"Sorry," I muttered.

"But he's right," Mr. Nichols said. "And even if we could somehow make the arduous climb down, we'd still be faced with that damn barricade. With the door shut, we're sealed in this room."

"Yeah, okay," Denny conceded. "So, what? We just, like, sit around and wait?" He turned to me, his eyes wide and pleading. "Come on, Dave. You're the man with the plan, right? What do we do now?"

I felt all eyes on me, and my stomach knotted. I tried to think of something, anything that would give these guys hope. But I had nothing. Finally, I just shook my head and said, "Honest to God, I have no idea."

We fell silent again, overwhelmed by the hopelessness of the situation. Denny had summed it up succinctly. We were helpless, totally at Carolyn's mercy. And at that moment, mercy seemed to be in short supply.

***

An hour passed, maybe two.

Randy, Linda's husband, had been lying unconscious in the bedroom upstairs since Carolyn had brought him in. We knew he'd be waking up at any moment, and we'd have to explain the situation to him. Nobody was looking forward to that conversation.

When we finally heard him stirring upstairs, we all shifted uncomfortably, exchanging looks of dread at the thought of telling the man what had happened.

"I'll go," Mr. Nichols said, sliding out of the plastic chair that was slightly too large for him. "I've met the man once or twice at company functions, so at least I'll be a familiar face."

"I've seen him in the store," Chad said, his voice distant. "He used to come in with Missus Greenwood sometimes. He made fun of my hair and called me 'Joy Division.'"

For a second, I thought Chad was simply correcting Mr. Nichols. But he stood up, and I realized he was volunteering to go upstairs with him. Mr. Nichols clapped him on the shoulder.

"Good man," he said. "We better keep it down to the two of us for now. No point in overwhelming the poor man with numbers."

I snorted, unable to help myself. Randy had just awakened in a dollhouse, and was about to be told that his wife had been murdered by his brother-in-law, who was now dead by the hand of Carolyn. If anything was going to overwhelm him, it sure as [EXPLETIVE DELETED] wasn't going to be us.

But I said nothing. Mr. Nichols and Chad went upstairs, and we listened as they explained things to poor Randy. I'd never been all that fond of Mr. Nichols... hell, even after what happened to him, I still can't bring myself to call him "Charles." But I have to admit, when he was on his game, he could really talk to people. Those years of getting rhyming advice at management seminars had apparently paid off.

Anyway, the talk with Randy went as you might expect. Carolyn had left the light on, so we heard Randy's cries of terror when he first looked out into the gigantic guest room. A few minutes later, we heard him screaming, "No!" over and over again before breaking down into sobs.

After half an hour or so, Chad and Mr. Nichols came back downstairs, followed by a slumped, terrified Randy. They had found him a pair of sweat pants and a Spongebob t-shirt to slip into, but the clothes were too big for his scrawny frame.

His blonde hair was thin, hanging long and unkempt in the back, and his cheeks and chin were dusted with a scraggly beard. His face was pale, his lips trembling and his eyes red. A rebel flag tattoo peeked out beneath his sleeve, with the words "Rebel Yell!" written beneath it in a calligraphic script. He looked like one of those guys you see running away on Cops.

"Everyone," Mr. Nichols said quietly, "this is Randy."

We all greeted him with muted courtesy, and Julie even touched him on the shoulder and told him she was sorry for his loss. He just nodded dumbly, unable to even respond.

Suddenly, we heard the thump of Carolyn's footsteps as she came down the hall. Randy's eyes widened with terror. She stopped right outside the door, and we all held our breath, bracing ourselves for what might follow...

But after a moment's hesitation, she continued on down the hall. We heard her going down the stairs, and we all sighed with relief.

***

Monday morning came after a sleepless night, but Carolyn didn't put in an appearance. We could occasionally hear her bumping around out there, but she always walked past the guest room. Each time, we'd let out a collective sigh and wonder how long the reprieve was going to last.

We had a shot glass in the kitchen that was about two-thirds full, which meant we had enough water to last another two or three days. But we had polished off the last of the cookies, chips, and beef jerky in the pantry a week ago, which meant we were depending on Carolyn to feed us.

Our last meal had been on Saturday morning, about 48 hours previous, and I know I was feeling ravenous. But hungry as I was, I still offered up a prayer every time we heard Carolyn's footsteps that she'd just keep on walking.

And so, the day wore on. The sun was low, casting long shadows through the guest room window, when we heard Carolyn approaching. Her footsteps stopped outside the door. Heart pounding, legs trembling, I whispered my usual litany of "Keep going, just keep going, please God, just keep going."

But this time, the doorknob rattled. The door to the guest room swung open, and Carolyn stepped in. Despite all our warnings, Randy still wasn't prepared for the sight of her. He let out a terrified wail and fled to the back wall of the dollhouse. He huddled in the corner, his face buried in his hands.

Carolyn looked haggard, her eyes swollen and puffy from crying and her hair disheveled. She was still wearing the same clothes she'd worn the day before; her pink Precious Moments t-shirt was wrinkled and stained with sweat and spilled wine.

She didn't even look at us. Instead, her gaze fell on the broken bodies of her husband and her sister, still lying on the floor. She walked over to the nightstand and took a couple of tissues from the box. Shaking her head sadly, she knelt and gently picked up Eddie and Linda. Without a word, she carried them out of the room and across the hall to the guest bathroom. After a few seconds, we heard the toilet flush.

When Carolyn came back a few minutes later, she was carrying a spray bottle of Fantastik and a sponge. She scrubbed the tiny blood stain on the wall, not stopping until it was completely gone. She knelt and rubbed away the blood on the floor as well.

Once she was satisfied that no trace remained, she stood up and turned her attention to us. Randy was still whimpering when Carolyn peered into the dollhouse. As her face came in closer, he let out a shriek and pressed himself into the corner.

"Randy, knock it off," she snapped, her voice hoarse. She slammed the bottle of cleaner down on the dresser so hard that it shook the entire dollhouse. "Stop it!"

Randy buried his face in his hands and huddled in the corner, sobbing. Carolyn's eyes narrowed with anger. Suddenly, she thrust her hand into the dollhouse, clumsily knocking aside the plastic furniture with her enormous fingers as she grabbed Randy. Julie and I were casually batted aside as she yanked Randy out of the dollhouse.

He thrashed and squirmed between her finger and thumb, screaming in terror as she lifted him to her face.

"I said, shut the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] up!" she shouted.

Randy choked off his sobs. He shuddered once, then went limp in her grasp.

Carolyn sniffed him and let out an angry sigh. "Oh, for God's sake. Did you just piss your pants?"

Randy whimpered pathetically. The rest of us watched breathlessly, wondering if he would be Carolyn's next victim.

She closed her eyes and took a couple of deep breaths. When she opened them again, she dumped Randy back in the dollhouse.

"I'm gonna go get you little [EXPLETIVE DELETED] some supper," she said, her voice more exhausted than angry. "Get him cleaned up before I get back."

She snatched the bottle of cleaner off the dresser and walked out the door.

***

Randy seemed more comfortable with Mr. Nichols than with the rest of us. He let Mr. Nichols lead him upstairs to find a clean pair of sweats. The rest of us milled around in the living room, nervously awaiting Carolyn's return.

"She's bringing us dinner," Julie said. "That's a good sign. Maybe she'll want a little hair of the dog to go with it."

"Yeah, dude," Denny said excitedly. "Maybe tonight's the night, you know?"

"Maybe," I said, without much conviction. "We'll see."

We'd already wasted two of our stolen valium capsules in a failed attempt to drug Carolyn. We only had four left, enough for two more attempts, and I was nervous about squandering them. We'd been lucky to get those first six. I didn't know if we'd be able to get away with any more without tipping off Carolyn.

***

Dinner was sliced ham and a broken saltine. Not the most appetizing fare, but we hadn't eaten in days. My mouth was actually watering as I watched Carolyn set it down on the floor.

She walked over to the dollhouse and fished us out one by one, setting us down at her feet. Randy was last and, even from down on the floor, I could hear him whimpering as she took him in her hand. I was afraid he would set her off again, but Carolyn just shook her head as she placed him on the floor.

As hungry as we were, we waited. Carolyn glanced towards the open door, obviously considering going back down for some wine. But in the end, she simply stepped over us and took her usual seat on the edge of the bed.

"Y'all eat," she told us, pointing at the food, "or I'll take it away."

So our hopes of another escape dashed for the moment, we tore into the ham with frenzied hunger. I felt Carolyn's eyes on me the whole time, but I was afraid to look back.

***

Even though we ate more than usual, there was still a lot of food left when we were done. But Carolyn didn't even chide us for being wasteful. She simply folded the paper plate over and tossed it in the waste basket. Then she turned to look down at us.

"All right," she finally said, heaving a sigh. "I know y'all are scared, and I don't blame you. I lost my temper yesterday, and... well, that shoulda never happened. I'm real sorry about that."

She began pacing as she spoke, her bare feet thudding with each step on the hardwood floor.

"I'll try and do better from now on, but I'm counting on you little guys to help me out and quit making things so difficult. You've been pushing me, and I've been lenient so far, but all that's gonna change. From now on, I'm gonna have a zero-tolerance policy."

She stopped pacing for a second, pausing to let her message sink in. We stood with our heads tilted back, looking up into her massive face. Her smile was tight-lipped and humorless.

"This means no more escape attempts." Her gaze fell on Denny. "I find any of you little [EXPLETIVE DELETED] trying, or even planning to escape, I'm gonna squish you."

She slammed her foot down with a horrible thud, mashing her toes against the floor as if grinding out a cigarette. "Y'all got me?"

We all nodded frantically. Denny and I even managed a choked, "Yes, ma'am" so she'd know we were paying attention.

And so it went for the next ten minutes. Carolyn enumerated all of the new rules she had come up with, along with the punishments for violating them. Attempting to run or hide carried the same penalty as trying to escape, namely a painful death beneath Carolyn's foot. She'd threatened us with similar fates before, but in light of everything that had happened, we took her at her word.

She also issued a ban on fighting. She didn't care who started it; both parties would be punished "with a time out, or something worse," depending on her mood.

Sex was prohibited as well. "I catch any of you little perverts messing around indecent with Miss Julie, I'll castrate you with a pair of nail clippers."

Finally, she wrapped it up. "I've tolerated all the sass and backtalk from y'all that I'm gonna take. From now on, if any of you so much as mouths off or rolls your eyes, I'm gonna punish you. Do we understand each other?"

We nodded and yes-ma'amed until she was satisfied. She bent down and scooped the six of us into an uncomfortable pile in her palm. Then she stood and stepped over to the dresser. One by one, she plucked the others up with her finger and thumb, and placed them back in the dollhouse. When I was the only one left, she closed her fingers over me.

"Me and Davey are gonna go have a bath," she informed the others. "Y'all behave yourselves."

***

Carolyn sat me down in the soap dish and ordered me to get undressed. Obediently, I stripped off my sweats, watching Carolyn warily as she ran the tub. Hot water thundered down from the faucet, splashing loudly in the tub below. Carolyn reached for one of the towering bottles of bubble soap and poured a generous dollop of the thick, orange liquid into the churning bath water. The bubbles spread slowly to fill the tub. The air, thick with steam, now smelled strongly of apricots.

Carolyn peeled off her dirty t-shirt, pausing to sniff it before she dropped it on the floor.

"Jesus, I smell like a [EXPLETIVE DELETED] wino," she said, shaking her head. She hadn't bathed or changed clothes since the day before, and the binge drinking had left her a bit ripe. Not that we would have ever told *her* that.

She slid her shorts and panties to the floor and stepped out of them. She scratched absentmindedly at the thatch of dark hair between her legs as she watched the tub fill.

After a couple of minutes, she dipped her toe in the hot water. She gritted her teeth, then stepped into the tub. The white suds rose up to her belly as she gently lowered herself into the bubble bath.

"Mmm," Carolyn moaned, her voice raspy and exhausted. "I needed this." She closed her eyes and leaned back, letting the water slowly rise around her. Her foot, wet and slick, broke through the suds. She mashed the tap with her toes, shutting off the water. Then her leg and foot slipped back underwater, vanishing like a serpent beneath the bubbles.

The water sloshed around her for a few seconds, then all was quiet except for the occasional drip and Carolyn's contented sigh. My ears were still ringing from the sudden silence.

I sat down on the bar of soap, wondering what lay ahead for me. The last time we had been in the garden, Carolyn had promised that Julie and I would be punished severely if she found out we'd been lying to her. In fact, she had told me that she would force me to watch while she tortured Julie.

I hadn't shared that little exchange with Julie yet. I figured it would serve no purpose other than giving her something new to worry about. Besides, Carolyn was always threatening us with some horrific punishment. It was her way of scaring us, of keeping us in line. I'd never imagined she would actually hurt one of us. Until Eddie...

So I had no idea what to expect, but I knew a punishment was coming. After everything that had happened, Carolyn was bound to take it out on us.

Her hand rose up from the bubbles, dripping soap and water in its wake. Her fingers wrapped around me, pinning my arms to my side. I hung my head, studying the chipped red polish on her nails as she took me from the soap dish.

She shifted in the tub, sitting up so she could look down at me. She tilted me back, forcing me to stare up into her massive face. There was no hint of her usual cruelty or playfulness. She just looked weary.

"Jesus, Dave," she said, shaking her head. "What the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] have I done?"

Her eyes brimmed with tears that fell as she blinked. "It wasn't supposed to be like this," she whispered. "I swear, I didn't mean for any of this to happen. But you little [EXPLETIVE DELETED] just keep on fighting me and..."

Suddenly, she was sobbing. She cried quietly, wiping the tears from her flushed cheek with her other hand and leaving tiny clumps of suds behind. I stroked her thumb and told her it was going to be okay.

"It's just too much," she cried. "I don't know how much more I can take. GenetiTech's looking for you guys and Eddie. The police are looking for Linda's boss. And..." Suddenly, she broke down, her shoulders shaking as she bawled. She clutched me to her, pressing me between her soapy breasts.

"Oh, God! My sister! What the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] am I going to tell my parents?"

She cried for the better part of an hour, her tears splashing me from above as she held me to her bosom. I did what I could to comfort her, petting her gently and assuring her with every platitude I could muster that everything would work out. Eventually her sobs subsided. She shook the bubbles from her other hand and wiped the back of it across her eyes.

"Why did everything have to get so complicated?" Carolyn said sadly, stroking me with her thumbnail. "I just wanted you all to myself, Davey. Without all these other people [EXPLETIVE DELETED] things up."

She sighed and lifted me to her mouth. She kissed me gently and nuzzled me against her wet cheek.

"We'll get through this, Dave," she said. "I promise."

***

Carolyn's mood had improved considerably by the time she climbed out of the tub. Her hangover had abated and I guess the long cry had done her some good.

She carried me into the bedroom and set me on the nightstand while she slipped into her pink robe. I watched her nervously as she took a seat on the bed.

"Remember what I told you in the garden yesterday?" she asked me.

"Yes, ma'am," I said.

"What did I say?"

I swallowed hard, but the lump in my throat refused to go anywhere. "You said if you found out me and Julie had lied to you, you were going to punish us."

"Hmm," Carolyn said, cocking her head to the side. She touched her finger to her chin, as if mulling it over. "Actually, I think what I said was I was going to torture Julie and make you watch. Isn't that right?"

I nodded nervously. "Yes, ma'am."

She reached for me, picking me up with her finger and thumb. Still naked, I dangled helplessly in her grasp as she held me in front of her face.

"And you and Julie *did* lie to me, didn't you?"

"It wasn't her fault, Carolyn," I said. "I swear, the only reason she went along with it was because I convinced her to. If you're going to punish anybody..."

Carolyn chuckled. "What? Punish you?"

She crossed her leg, letting her robe fall away to reveal her shapely calf. Slowly, deliberately, she lowered me towards her bare foot. She pressed me against her sole, rubbing me against the warm, leathery flesh. And as scared as I was, I felt a familiar, unwelcome tightness in my groin.

Carolyn rubbed me harder and harder against her foot, along her arch and the underside of her toes. My erection grew painful and all too obvious. She finally slipped me between her toes and wiggled them furiously, grinding me between them until I finally came in a bitter, reluctant spasm. I hung limp, my head lolling back as my body trembled. My heart was pounding, and I wondered if I'd ever be able to catch my breath.

Carolyn lowered her foot to the floor and released me. I stumbled free and fell to my hands and knees, still shaking from the ferocity of my orgasm.

"You see?" Carolyn said, a trace of amusement in her voice. "You can't punish the willing."

"Carolyn, please," I gasped, struggling to stand on trembling legs. "None of this was her fault. Please don't hurt her."

Carolyn sighed magnanimously. "Okay, Dave. I'm not going to do it," she said, "this time. But I want you to do something for me."

"Anything," I said, elated.

"I want you to keep an eye on the others, and let me know if they're planning anything else stupid," Carolyn told me. She smiled slightly and added, "Be my little jailhouse rat."

I wouldn't do it. I had no intention of doing it. But if I agreed too quickly, she'd know I was lying. So I stayed silent. Carolyn waited a few seconds for a response, then finally reached down and caught me in her fist.

"Look at it this way," she said. "If you come to me and tell me somebody's up to something, I'll go lightly on them. But if I find out on my own, without hearing it from you, I'm gonna come down hard on all you little [EXPLETIVE DELETED]. Got me?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Good." She stood up and smiled down at me. "I'm glad we understand each other."

***

I had assumed I'd be spending the night with Carolyn, but she apparently decided she needed some quality time with Randy. So she carried me into the guest room and placed me, naked and shivering, in the dollhouse. Julie hurried over with a towel. I took it gratefully and covered myself.

Carolyn ordered Randy out of his shirt, then told Julie to fetch "the cuffs" and put them on him. The cuffs were a pair of novelty handcuffs lined with pink fur that Carolyn had bought at the mall the week before. I'd spent several long nights in them myself, tethered or chained to her as she slept.

When the cuffs were in place, Carolyn ordered Julie to show her the key. Satisfied that Randy was properly manacled, she placed her hand against the edge of the plastic dollhouse floor and ordered Randy to her. Randy gave us a terrified glance, but obediently stepped up and into her waiting palm.

"Good boy," she cooed, closing her fingers over him. He let out a frightened moan as she took him from us.

"Okay, y'all be good and remember what I told you," Carolyn said. She looked directly at me and Julie. "Miss Julie, I think you and Dave would be better off sleeping in separate rooms. Less temptation that way, don't you think?"

Julie nodded and managed a choked, "Yes, ma'am."

"Glad to hear it. And Dave?"

I swallowed nervously. "Yes, ma'am?"

"Remember what we talked about," she said. "You owe me."

***

Julie and I were sitting around the blue plastic coffee table with Denny, playing Gin Rummy. Mr. Nichols sat in the fake armchair, reading one of the paperbacks Eddie had shrunk for us way back when. And Chad, poor Chad was upstairs in the bedroom that he had shared with Linda for the better part of two weeks, pining for her.

"I feel bad for mad scientist dude," Denny said, "but [EXPLETIVE DELETED] Giganta's sister. Still remember my first bath with that bitch." He shuddered.

"Denny, that's terrible," Julie said. "I mean, for all her faults, she was still a human being. And now she's dead."

"I certainly had no love for the woman," Mr. Nichols said, "but I must admit that I am troubled by her passing."

"Right," Julie said. "Nobody deserves to die like that."

"No, that's not it," Mr. Nichols said. "I hated her and I'm glad she's dead."

Denny snorted. "Yeah, dude!" He held his hand up and Mr. Nichols high-fived him awkwardly.

"But my point," Mr. Nichols continued, "is that our captor seems to be taking the death of her sister and her husband rather well."

"She was a mess last night," I told him. "And she cried almost the entire time we were in the tub."

"Hardly enough time to grieve for your loved ones," Mr. Nichols insisted. "I suspect we've been diminished in Carolyn's eyes."

"Um, hello? Shrink ray?" Denny laughed. "We've been, like diminished in everybody's eyes."

"You mean she no longer sees us as people," Julie said.

"I don't think she ever did," Mr. Nichols said. "We were always pets at best. But now, we're..."

"Playthings?" I offered.

"Exactly. Playthings. And I suspect she's growing tired of us. We know she's capable of killing us. And with each day that passes, I believe she grows slightly more willing."

I nodded, feeling a knot in my stomach. "She's dropped a couple of hints about there being too many of us," I told them. "Keeps saying she wishes it were just me and her."

"That's troubling," Mr. Nichols said. "How long until she acts on that?"

"What exactly do you owe her?" Julie asked me.

"What?" I was earnestly confused.

"Carolyn said you owed her. Told you to remember what y'all had talked about."

"Oh." I shrugged. "She wants me to be her spy and keep her posted on what you guys are up to. You know, escape plans, crap like that."

"Well, that's retarded," Denny said. "Like, what makes her think you'd do something like that?"

"She promised to go easier on the guilty party if she heard about it from me," I said. "If she finds out on her own..."

"We're toe jam," Denny said.

"Okay," Julie said. "Disgusting."

"But disturbingly apt," Mr. Nichols added.

"She still doesn't know about our plan," I told them. "She has no idea we're planning on drugging her. I think she's imagining escape tunnels and tied-together bed sheets and [EXPLETIVE DELETED] like that."

"We really need to figure out what we're going to do," Julie said. "I mean, once we're over the wall."

"I believe Dave's first strategy was best," Mr. Nichols said. "We try to reach a phone and call out for help."

"Yeah," I said. "She hasn't been bringing it upstairs with her at night, so there's probably no point in splitting up. We can all go down the stairs together."

I glanced at Mr. Nichols as I spoke, realizing he was going to be a problem. Somehow, I couldn't imagine him making the climb down without considerable trouble.

"Well, I've got a suggestion," Julie said. "Is the machine still set up in the lab?"

"Yeah," I said. "As far as I know."

"And that border circuit? Still on the floor?"

The border circuit was the sheet of plastic that told the machine when to stop scanning. I'd written the code myself, along with the easy-to-use interface. Eddie MacManus had invented the matter-proportioning matrix, but I'd made it so easy a moron could use it. Somehow, it had seemed like a good idea at the time.

But with my program in place, the machine would scan anything that sat atop the border circuit and shrink it. No circuit, no scan. The machine would just shut down.

"Yeah, unless she rolled it up last night. But the state she's in, I can't imagine she's been doing much tidying."

I flashed on the image of her scrubbing Eddie's blood off the wall, and shook my head to clear it.

"So I was thinking of a Plan B," Julie said. "Just in case she wakes up and comes after us before we can get to the phone. We set somebody up on the keyboard, and we get somebody out in the hall. They lure her into the lab, and we [EXPLETIVE DELETED] zap her."

I nodded, feeling a rush of excitement welling up inside me. It could work. It could [EXPLETIVE DELETED] work!

"You're so smart," I said, grinning. "How come we never really got together in college?"

Julie leaned in and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. "Asked and answered," she said with a grin.

***

I dreamed I was six years old and at my grandfather's funeral, only instead of my grandfather, it was Eddie in the coffin. We were standing at the graveside, and Mr. Nichols was delivering the eulogy. My mother stood next to me, holding my hand and crying. I looked around and was surprised to see so many people in attendance. I caught a glimpse of Julie in the crowd, and I noticed Denny and Chad standing with the other pallbearers. As the eulogy droned on, a shadow fell over the proceedings. I turned and saw Carolyn towering over the crowd, looking down at us with that predatory grin on her face. She was wearing her gardening clothes, which made sense because the funeral was in her garden...

***

I woke up bleary and disoriented. Everyone else had gone off to bed. And rather than risk Carolyn's nail clippers, Julie and I had decided to sleep apart. She had taken our usual bed, and I had crashed out on the plastic couch.

Still disturbed by the dream, I felt utterly alone. I hadn't realized how much I had come to count on the comfort of Julie's company. We had never been intimate, never done anything other than hold each other. Ours was a bond, not of romance, but of affection and a mutual need for comfort. We both needed somebody to cling to when things got too horrible to bear.

More than that, I needed Julie to keep me grounded. I tended to lose myself when I spent too much time alone with Carolyn. Just the prospect of resisting her seemed overwhelming and left me feeling exhausted. It would be so easy to just surrender and be a good little pet. And the only reason I hadn't so far was because of Julie.

I lay there in the darkness, my heart racing as anxiety overtook me. Carolyn was breaking down, and it was only a matter of time before she killed another one of us. And our only hope was my half-assed escape plan.

I knew I wouldn't be getting back to sleep, so I climbed groggily to my feet and walked to the edge of the dollhouse. I sat down and stared out at the guest bedroom, which was dimly lit by the moonlight. And I waited patiently for morning to come. Somehow, I thought, things would look less bleak then.

***

Julie was the first one up. She padded down the stairs in a baggy Dallas Stars t-shirt and a pair of shorts. I found myself looking at her bare feet, until she snapped to get my attention.

"Really?" she said, shaking her head in disbelief. "Still?"

"Sorry," I said, shrugging. "My mind was wandering."

She rolled her eyes as she approached. She sat down next to me, letting her legs dangle over the edge.

"You been up all night?"

"Most of it," I told her. "Had some problems sleeping."

"Me too," she said. She offered me a pretty smile. "I've sorta gotten used to sleeping next to you, you know?"

She leaned in to kiss me on the cheek, but I turned my head and caught her on the lips. Her eyes widened with surprise, but she didn't pull away. She slipped her arms around my neck and I placed mine around her shoulders. We were still kissing when we heard Carolyn's bedroom door open.

We pulled apart and scrambled to our feet as she came down the hall. On the floor above us, we could hear Chad, Denny, and Mr. Nichols scrambling to ready themselves for Carolyn's arrival.

Carolyn opened the door and stepped in over the wooden barricade. She was dressed in her white shorts, red gingham shirt, and those grungy white sandals. These were her gardening clothes--the exact same ones, in fact, that she'd been wearing in my dream.

A tad unsettling, yes. But I couldn't help but feel a twinge of optimism. It looked like Carolyn was starting to fall back into her old routine.

"Morning, children," she chirped as she approached the dollhouse. She thrust her closed fist into the kitchen and opened her fingers, depositing Randy on the plastic floor.

He was naked and shivering, unable to meet our eyes. His wrists were still bound together by the ridiculous fuzzy cuffs. He just sat there, his head hanging, waiting for Carolyn to leave him alone.

Julie rushed over with the key to unlock him, and Mr. Nichols draped a towel over him. Randy murmured his thanks without looking at either of them.

"I'm gonna go get you little guys some breakfast," Carolyn announced. "Then Dave, I thought you might like to join me in the garden today."

***

The day went like so many before it. I spent the morning hours in the garden with Carolyn, either tucked in her breast pocket or clinging to her sandal strap as she worked. There was something slightly manic in her manner, as if she were trying just a little too hard to be happy. But she was treating me kindly, which was a pleasant change.

When it got too hot for gardening, Carolyn carried me over to the patio and set me down on the brick. She sat in a deck chair, smoking a cigarette and watching with amusement as I drove around in my tiny convertible. A couple of times, she placed her sandaled foot in my path, giggling as I swerved to avoid it. That game made me angry, as it was just another reminder of how helpless I was. But I was afraid of spoiling Carolyn's mood, so I went along with it like a good sport until she finally tired of playing. She ordered me out of the car and reached down to grab me. As an afterthought, she picked up my car as well and carried it inside.

We had another long bath, although this one was much less melodramatic than the last. I spent a large part of it astride her soapy nipple, kneading the knobby flesh with my hands until it grew stiff. Carolyn moaned with pleasure and slipped her hands beneath the suds to pleasure herself. When she finally came, she rewarded me by rubbing my erection with her fingertip until she had returned the favor.

And so the day wore on. I'd spent the day waiting for Carolyn's mood to sour, but it had yet to happen. She was enjoying our quality time together. And what's worse, I was starting to as well.

We spent the afternoon on the couch, watching television. Inside Line was on, and that shrill reporter Brenda Benoit was interviewing Mel Gipson.

Carolyn's legs were outstretched, her bare feet crossed at the ankles and resting on the coffee table, next to my car. She held me in her hand, gently stroking me with her fingers. I hadn't slept much the previous two nights, and the day had left me feeling pretty exhausted. I yawned a couple of times and eventually nodded off.

"What's the matter, Davey?" Carolyn asked me. I opened my eyes to find myself staring into her massive face. "You bored? You can play on my feet if you want."

"That's okay," I told her, shaking my head. "I'm good."

"You sure?" she asked playfully. "I know how much you like it between my pretty toes."

"Maybe later," I said. "I'm just a little tired."

"Poor little thing." She shook her head sympathetically. "I wore you out today, didn't I?"

"It was nice," I told her. "I really like it when you take me outside."

"I was thinking," Carolyn said, "maybe we could do a picnic out there tomorrow. All of us, I mean. I haven't cooked in a while, so I was thinking about frying up some chicken and shrinking it down for you guys. Would you like that?"

I nodded enthusiastically. "It sounds great, Carolyn. Thank you."

She lifted me to her mouth and pressed me to her lips. "You see?" she said, that manic smile creeping back onto her face. "It's not so bad here with me. I'm gonna take real good care of you little guys."

She lowered me to her lap and resumed petting me, only slightly less gently than before. And as she buffeted me around between her fingers, she kept saying, "It's gonna be okay, Davey. Everything's gonna be just fine."

She wasn't trying to convince me. Just herself.

***

It was around six when Carolyn carried dinner upstairs. I sat on her shoulder, clinging to the fabric of her green summer top to keep from slipping off. In her right hand, she carried a paper plate containing shaved turkey and a slice of bread torn into chunks as large as my head.

She was excited about the picnic the next day, and couldn't wait to tell the others. "Don't you go spoiling my surprise," she warned me as she trudged up the stairs. "I wanna tell them myself."

She opened the door and stepped over the barricade. The others, alerted by the sound of her approach, had gathered in the dollhouse living room to await her arrival. Denny and Julie exchanged nervous glances with me, and I knew we were all wondering the same thing. Would tonight be the night? Would this be our last meal with Carolyn?

She knelt to set the plate on the floor. Then she gently plucked me from her shoulder and set me down next to her bare foot. She gave her toes a playful wiggle and smiled down at me, as if sharing a private joke.

She stood and walked over to the dollhouse. Rather than reach for the others, she simply placed her hand against the open edge of the dollhouse and waited for them to step obediently into her palm. When everyone was aboard, she knelt again and tilted her hand, dumping the others onto the floor.

"Okay, you little guys get to eating," Carolyn said. "I'm gonna go grab something to drink." Denny looked at me, wide-eyed with excitement, struggling to keep his grin concealed. We watched Carolyn as she stepped into the hall and we listened to her going down the stairs.

"Does Randy know the plan?" I asked as Denny and I ran toward the bed.

"Yeah, dude," Denny assured me. "We, like, totally brought him up to date today."

There were four valium gel caps still sitting on the floor, just behind the enormous oaken bedpost. Denny and I both scooped one up and ran back to the plate.

Once again, we broke open the blue and yellow capsules. We scattered the coarse white powder over the turkey, spreading it as thin as we could to conceal it.

"We have to keep eating, or Carolyn will get suspicious," Julie explained to Randy. "Just make sure you don't eat from that end."

Randy eyed us nervously. "Y'all sure about this? I mean, if we get caught..."

"You're not thinking about telling on us, are you?" Julie asked.

"What?" Randy blushed furiously. "Hell, no! I'm just saying."

The phone rang downstairs. After two rings, Carolyn picked it up.

"[EXPLETIVE DELETED]," Denny muttered. "Who the hell's calling Giganta?"

We could hear Carolyn moving around downstairs. Her voice was indistinct, and we couldn't make out who she was talking to or what she was saying. I listened for some kind of clue to her mood, trying to determine if she sounded anxious or angry.

None of us said it, but we were all worried that we had just wasted another two capsules.

Finally, her voice grew louder as she approached the stairs. We heard her feet thudding on each step as she came up. "Right," she was saying as she walked down the hall. "You really think there's a connection?"

She stepped into the guest room holding a glass of wine in one hand and the phone in the other. "Well, her husband left for a fishing trip a couple weeks back. She'd been talking about leaving him, but I don't think she would have just taken off without telling me. I mean, she *is* my sister, Mr. Ware."

"She's talking to Tim Ware," Julie whispered to me. "It's GenetiTech."

Carolyn walked over us, stepping gingerly to avoid accidentally crushing us. She set her wine down on the nightstand and sat down on the edge of the bed, still on the phone.

"Well, I wouldn't know about that. Eddie never talked about his experiments with me. All that science mumbo jumbo is over my head."

Randy suddenly broke from us and ran towards Carolyn. Julie and I tried to grab his arm, but he pulled free.

"Hey!" he shouted, waving his hands as if he might be spotted over the phone. "Help us! She's gone..."

"Randy's brave but futile stand came to an abrupt end when Carolyn pinned him beneath her foot. His screams were muffled as her toes covered his face.

"Hold on, Mr. Ware," Carolyn said. "Let me turn this TV down." She put the phone on mute, then glared down at us.

"Any of you makes another peep, and I'll [EXPLETIVE DELETED] squash him. Got it?"

She returned to her call, her voice calm. "Sorry about that. Anyway, it's kind of scary the way all these folks keep disappearing. You really think Eddie and Linda were behind it?"

Poor Randy squirmed helplessly beneath her foot, begging in a muffled voice for help. Carolyn looked down and wiggled her toes as she smiled that familiar predatory smile.

"Well, I saw Randy Sunday night. He called me when he got back from his trip and told me Linda had left him. Of course, you already know that, right?"

Carolyn nodded as she listened to Tim Ware's response. When she noticed us watching her intently, she rolled her eyes and made a motormouth gesture with her free hand.

"I can't believe this is happening," she said, her voice convincingly choked with emotion. "My husband and my sister. How long has this [EXPLETIVE DELETED] been going on?"

Another long pause, and another eye roll from Carolyn. "Okay, Mr. Ware. I'll let you know if I hear anything. I'm just... I really want all this to be over, you know?"

"Jesus," Julie whispered. "She's pathological. I *know* she's lying, and I still almost believe her."

"That'll be fine," Carolyn said. "Thank you. Bye bye." She clicked off the phone and tossed it onto the bed.

"Well, looks like Eddie and Linda are GenetiTech's number one suspects now," she said. "Mr. Ware found out about their affair, and now he thinks they stole Eddie's machine and ran off, leaving a bunch of vaporized folks in their wake."

"Vaporized?" Julie asked.

Carolyn giggled. "They don't know Eddie turned their invention into a [EXPLETIVE DELETED] shrink ray. They way Mr. Ware figures it, you and Davey boy got too close to the truth, and Eddie zapped you. Linda used the machine on her boss and her husband for revenge or some [EXPLETIVE DELETED] like that, and now she and Eddie are on the run."

"Tim Ware is an idiot," Julie muttered angrily. "Rachel would have never fallen for this crap."

"Best part is, the local police are backing off on their search for Tubby," Carolyn said, pointing at Mr. Nichols. "They're gonna let GenetiTech handle the matter internally."

She sighed, a relieved grin on her face. "Looks like you little [EXPLETIVE DELETED] are gonna be stuck with me a bit longer."

She glanced down at her foot and opened her mouth in mock surprise. "Oh, I almost forgot." She spread her toes, uncovering Randy's face. He was sobbing, begging Carolyn for leniency.

"Randy, Randy, Randy," she chided him. "What am I going to do with you, you naughty little thing?"

Randy's pleas for mercy quickly deteriorated into incoherent blubbering. He begged Carolyn for forgiveness between sobs, planting desperate kisses on her big toe.

"Looks like you and me are spending another night together," Carolyn said. "And tonight, I'm not gonna be so gentle."

She lifted her foot and released him. "Now go eat," she said with a mean chuckle. "You're gonna need your strength."

Sheepishly, Randy climbed to his feet and approached the paper plate. He tore off a sliver of turkey, careful to take it from the non-drugged side. As we ate, Carolyn reached for her wine and slid down onto the floor to be closer to us.

"You're lucky I'm in such a good mood tonight," she told Randy after a gulp of wine. "If you'd tried that [EXPLETIVE DELETED] yesterday, I woulda squished you like a bug."

Randy looked miserable, no doubt contemplating the evening that lay ahead for him. At that moment, I think he had more riding on our escape plan than anyone else.

"Oh, yeah. That reminds me." Carolyn took another gulp of wine and smacked her lips. "I'm thinking about taking you little guys outside for a picnic lunch in the garden tomorrow. Fried chicken, potato salad, maybe some beer if you behave yourselves. Would you like that?"

We all nodded enthusiastically, Randy even more so.

"Yeah, I thought so." She looked right at Randy and smirked. "I haven't decided if I'm gonna let you join us or not. You better work extra hard to get back on my good side tonight."

Finally, we had eaten a respectable amount, enough to allay any suspicions Carolyn might have. We stepped away from the plate and watched her anxiously.

Carolyn eyed the leftover turkey, and shook her head. She reached for it, grabbing a wad between her thumb and finger.

"Can't believe how much food you little [EXPLETIVE DELETED] waste," she chided us. "You better be hungrier than this tomorrow."

She lifted the turkey from the paper plate...

And the phone rang.

"[EXPLETIVE DELETED]!" Denny whispered angrily. Carolyn dropped the turkey back on the plate and set her wine down to answer the phone.

"Hello," she said, cheerfully. Her smile faltered quickly, replaced by a look of sheer panic.

"Um, hey Mom!"

***

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.]

Carolyn's cheerful mood was gone. The phone call from her mother had thrown her into a panic.

We watched her as she sat slumped on the edge of the bed, speaking to Cecile on the phone. Ever the consummate liar, her voice betrayed nothing. But we could see the agitation in her eyes, the way she gnawed her lip as she struggled to stay one lie ahead of her mom.

"Something tells me tonight's not going to be the night," Julie whispered.

"Linda mentioned something about a romantic getaway," Carolyn said. She glanced in our direction. "Yeah, I know he just got back from a fishing trip. And then he and Linda drove to New Mexico. They're probably at that casino in Hobbs."

Cecile's voice was a shrill, indistinct buzz coming through the portable phone. We couldn't hear what she was saying, but she was obviously upset. Carolyn moved the phone away from her ear and heaved a weary sigh. She rubbed her eyes, barely paying attention to what her mother was saying. But suddenly, something caught her attention. She sat up straight and pressed the phone to her ear. "Wait. What?"

Her eyes were on us again. Her angry glare moved from me to Julie to Denny before finally settling on Randy.

"And when was this?" she asked, her voice sharp.

Poor Randy knew he was already on thin ice with Carolyn. He whimpered and pressed in closer to me and Julie, as if we might somehow hide him from Carolyn's scrutiny.

"Well, this is the first I've heard of it," Carolyn said, still watching Randy. "But I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. You know how melodramatic he gets sometimes."

"What is it?" Julie whispered to Randy. "What are they talking about?"

But Randy didn't answer. He just huddled behind us, staring nervously at Carolyn.

"Mom, you're overreacting," Carolyn said. "You and Dad don't need to..." She paused for a couple of seconds. "It's just that now's a really bad time, what with Eddie running off and..."

Finally, she let out an angry sigh. "Okay, fine. I'll see you guys when you get here. Love you, too." She switched off the phone and dropped it on the bed next to her. Then she reached down, picked up her glass of wine, and polished it off in one gulp.

"Randy," she said. "Come here."

He was terrified, but he knew better to disobey. On trembling legs, he slowly made his way across the hardwood floor to stand between Carolyn's bare feet. She reached down and picked him up with her thumb and finger.

"Remember when we were talking on Sunday?" she asked. Her voice was calm, but there was an edge to her tone. It was the voice one would use to scold a misbehaving child. "I asked you if you had talked to my parents, and you said no. Isn't that what you told me?"

Randy couldn't look at her. He hung limply in her grasp, whimpering.

"Mom just told me they got home from church on Sunday night, and there was a message from you on their answering machine. Said you were going on and on about how Linda had left you."

"No," Randy sobbed. "I swear, I didn’t..."

"Randy, don't lie to me!" Carolyn snapped. "I swear to God, one more lie comes out of your mouth, and I'm gonna put you down the garbage disposal! Understand me?"

Randy nodded his head frantically.

"Mom's a [EXPLETIVE DELETED] basket case because you and Linda aren't answering your phone," Carolyn said. "So she and Dad are gonna drive up here tomorrow to check on you." She sighed wearily. "Like I don't have enough [EXPLETIVE DELETED] to deal with."

"I'm sorry," Randy cried. "God, I'm so sorry."

Carolyn dropped Randy into the empty wine glass and held it up to her face to regard him. "Not as sorry as you're gonna be," she told him.

***

Carolyn scooped all of us and put us back in the dollhouse. Randy was the last, dumped carelessly from the wine glass.

"Get your clothes off," Carolyn commanded him. Then to the rest of us, "I want him cuffed and ready when I come back up here. If he's not, everybody gets punished tonight."

Carolyn walked over to the bed and picked up the phone. She took a deep breath, then dialed a number.

"Tim Ware, please," she said, after a few seconds. Then, "Mr. Ware? Carolyn MacManus again. I don't know if you fellas were listening in or not, but my mom just called. She and my dad are wondering about Linda and Randy."

Carolyn knelt, picked up the paper plate, and folded it over the leftover turkey. She stepped over the wooden barricade and into the hallway.

"Yeah, I understand," she said. "I haven't told them anything, but they're worried. I mean, first Eddie vanishes, and then Linda and Randy up and disappear."

She closed the door behind her. Her footsteps and her voice faded as she made her way downstairs.

"[EXPLETIVE DELETED] that bitch!" Randy snarled. [EXPLETIVE DELETED] her in the ear!"

"Come on, Randy," I said, holding up my hands in an effort to placate him. "You heard her."

Julie walked up next to me, holding the furry handcuffs and the key.

"Oh, hell no!" Randy said. "Carolyn keeps taking this [EXPLETIVE DELETED] out on me, and you [EXPLETVE DELETED] just stand around and don't do nothing!"

"Hey, [EXPLETIVE DELETED] you, Country Music," Denny shouted. "You're the one that keeps pissing Giganta off!"

Randy threw himself at Denny, and the two of them fell against the plastic couch. Unlike Denny, Randy had actually been in a fight or two. He landed a couple of blows on Denny's face before Chad and I managed to pull him off.

"Knock it off, dumbass," I told Randy as he struggled to free his arms. "If she catches us fighting..."

"She'll what?" Randy screamed wildly. "Punish us? Squish us? Put us down the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] garbage disposal? She's gonna do that anyway!"

Randy fought us every step of the way, but the five of us managed to strip off his clothes. Chad, Denny, Mr. Nichols and I held his wrists while Julie snapped the cuffs on.

***

When Carolyn finally returned, she was carrying a couple of boxes. One was a printer paper box she had found in Eddie's lab. The other was a shoebox she had taken from her closet.

She dropped the boxes on the bed and approached the dollhouse, leaning down to peer in at us. She saw Randy sitting on the floor--naked, cuffed, and scowling. She also saw Denny sitting on the coffee table, holding a damp cloth to his bleeding nose.

"What the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] happened?" Carolyn demanded. She tapped the nail of her index finger on the plastic floor just inches from Randy. "Did you hit that boy, Randy?"

"No," Denny said. "I was running up the stairs to get the handcuffs and I slipped and fell."

I don't think Carolyn really believed him, but she didn't pursue the matter. She ordered Randy to his feet and told him to extend his arms. Then she took the thin, gold chain she had retrieved from her jewelry box and threaded it through his outstretched arms. She lifted the chain, pulling Randy from the dollhouse, and hooked the clasp around her neck. Randy dangled by his arms, naked and helpless as he bounced against Carolyn's breasts.

"Stop squirming," she said, flicking him with her fingertip. "You'll just make it worse."

Carolyn stepped away from the dollhouse, only to return momentarily with the cardboard shoebox. She thrust her hand into the dollhouse and grabbed the shot glass from the kitchen, setting it down inside the box. Next was the portable toilet from the bathroom on the second floor. She peered through all the rooms to see if she had overlooked anything.

Finally, she reached into one of the upstairs bedrooms and grabbed a fistful of blankets and towels. She dropped these in the shoebox as well.

"One of y'all got the key to the handcuffs?" Carolyn asked. Julie held up the key for her to see. Satisfied, Carolyn reached in, snatched us up one by one, and dumped us into the shoebox. Then she carried us into her bedroom and set us down on the dresser.

She leaned in close, resting her elbows on the dresser as she looked at us over the walls of our cardboard prison. "Y'all behave yourselves," she said, her breath stale with wine, "and I'll leave the lid off for now. All right?"

We all nodded.

"Good," she said. She raised her face from the box, and we caught a glimpse of Randy weeping quietly as he dangled from her necklace.

***

Well, the bad news was that our escape plan had, once again, been kyboshed. But the good news was that Raymond and Cecile White's arrival meant the possibility of rescue. All we had to do was get their attention without Carolyn catching us.

"Problem is," Julie said, "if we're thinking it, you know Carolyn's thinking it, too. She's not going to make it easy for us."

Mr. Nichols suggested brainstorming ideas for escaping the shoebox and getting to Raymond and Cecile. But despite our enthusiasm, we couldn't come up with anything remotely resembling a workable plan. We sat in silence, mulling it over.

Meanwhile, in the other room, we could hear Carolyn banging around as she worked to conceal all evidence of us. We heard the clatter and crash as she dumped the contents of the dollhouse into the large cardboard box. I knew she'd be adding the cars from under the bed as well, and I prayed she wouldn't discover the two valium capsules we still had concealed behind the bedpost.

Once the box and the dollhouse were crammed into the hall closet, she went to work prying that two-by-four from the doorjamb of the guest room.

***

We all scrambled to our feet when we heard her come into the bedroom. She walked over and peered down into the box, her cheeks flushed and her hair damp with sweat.

She reached over the shoebox, and we heard her open her jewelry box. It played a plinking tune when she lifted the lid, and it took me a moment to recognize it as "Angel of the Morning."

As the tinny music played, Carolyn reached around her neck and unclasped the necklace. Randy hang from the chain by his cuffed wrists, dangling helplessly as Carolyn lowered him into the velvet interior of the jewelry box.

He began to whimper when Carolyn released the chain, letting it fall around him. He apologized to her over and over, promising that he'd be good if she'd just uncuff him. I didn't like Randy, but I couldn't help feeling sorry for him. Carolyn had done a masterful job of breaking him.

He was still sobbing weakly when Carolyn closed the lid on the music box, silencing him and the music simultaneously.

"Randy's gonna spend the night in timeout so he can think about what he's done," Carolyn said with a tired smile. "So looks like one of y'all gets to sleep with me."

Her hand hovered above us like a leathery bird of prey, ready to swoop down at any second and snatch one of us up. She was waiting for one of us to submit willingly, like a good little pet. And we were all hesitating, hoping someone else would volunteer.

It was a dangerous game of chicken. If we waited too long, Carolyn would lose her patience and choose one of us to take out her frustrations on. When it came to "quality time" with Carolyn, volunteering was infinitely preferable to being drafted.

So when it became obvious nobody else was going to step forward, I did. Carolyn grinned as she reached down and scooped me into her palm. "My special little guy," she cooed, tickling me with her index finger.

Then she peered back into the box, the smile fading from her face. "Rest of y'all might wanna check those attitudes," she said, nudging the shoebox with her fingers. "There's enough room in that jewelry box for all you little [EXPLETIVE DELETED]."

***

Carolyn popped a valium before turning off the light and crawling into bed, so I actually got off relatively light. After she peeled off my clothes, she set me on her breast and put me to work massaging her nipple.

"Such a good boy," she cooed. "Such a good little pet."

As I rubbed her nipple vigorously, she sighed and shifted beneath me. "Yeah. Just like that."

After a couple of minutes, she let out a moan. She shifted again, and I nearly lost my balance. Her left hand came up over me, pressing me against her breast. She rubbed me roughly over her rigid nipple and the bumpy flesh of her areola. This brought an even bigger gasp from her.

She slipped her other hand beneath the sheets to pleasure herself. Her breaths became short and frantic, and I could feel her heart pounding. She moaned again, then held her breath as a spasm wracked her body. Her hand fell away and I clung desperately to her nipple as she bucked beneath me. Finally, she was still.

She plucked me from her breast and dangled me above her face, tilting me so she could look up at me. Her features looked eerie in the red glow of the digital clock.

She lowered me to her lips and kissed me gently. Then she rolled on her side and set me on the pillow, near her face.

"My little Davey," she whispered. "My special little guy."

In just a couple of minutes, she was fast asleep.

I couldn't bear staring into her massive face, so I turned over and looked at the digital clock instead. In the garish red glow, I could make out the half full water glass and bottle of pills on the nightstand. Unfortunately, Carolyn had snapped the lid back in place, which meant I wouldn't be able to steal any that night.

It was just as well. The last time I'd tried that little stunt had been five nights ago, before Carolyn had killed Eddie. I wasn't feeling nearly as bold now. In fact, now that I was separated from Julie and the rest, I felt utterly alone and helpless.

Carolyn snored behind me, her breath warm on my back. Miserable, I watched the clock slowly tick off the minutes towards midnight. I drifted off to sleep before it got there.

***

I walked down a dark hallway, into a bright room. Mom was elated, crying happy tears over my return. Dad stood next to her, his arm around her, grinning. Bethany and Liza, my little twin sisters, ran up and hugged me eagerly. Standing around my family were my closest friends. Including Julie, which didn't seem particularly strange at the time. Loud music played in the background, and a colorful banner hung overhead, reading "WELCOME HOME DAVE!!!"

I was overjoyed to see them. I couldn't remember why I'd been so worried and miserable before. I was happy, and it felt great.

As my loved ones gathered around me to celebrate my homecoming, I looked for Julie but she was gone. I felt a knot in my stomach, but I tried not to think about it. I didn't want to spoil the mood.

Lots of kisses, hugs, handshakes, and slaps on the back from those in attendance. The music sounded odd, almost distorted, as if I were listening to it in a tunnel. It sounded familiar, but I couldn't quite place it.

"Juice Newton," said Eddie, who was standing beside me. "I hate this song, but it was always Carolyn's favorite. You know, Debbie sang it at our wedding."

"I know. You told me," I said impatiently. Everybody else had moved away from us, carrying on with their celebrating. I looked around the room, but still couldn't see Julie anywhere.

"I did?" Eddie said. "When did I do that?"

"Must have been before you died," I said. Eddie was silent, and when I glanced back in his direction, I saw he was gone.

The party was still going on, but I was watching it from the window of the dollhouse. I shouted desperately to get their attention, but they couldn't hear me.

"My special little guy," Carolyn said from behind me. I turned to see her enormous face filling the vacant fourth wall of the dollhouse. I turned back to the window and screamed for my family and friends to save me as Carolyn's monstrous hand reached for me...

***

I woke up disoriented, looked around for Julie, and was startled to see Carolyn's face still looming so close. She was still asleep, still snoring away. Her warm breath trickled from her nose, blowing back my unkempt hair.

God, I missed my family so much. With everything else that had been going on, I hadn't really had time to dwell on it. But this dream had ripped a Band-Aid off the wound, and now I couldn't stop thinking about my parents and my sisters.

The worst part was realizing that they probably had no idea anything was wrong. It had been over a month since I'd last talked to them, but that was hardly anything new. I had a penchant for being incommunicado for long periods of time, for getting wrapped up in my own [EXPLETIVE DELETED] and letting my family fall by the wayside. As far as they knew, I was slaving away on my "super secret project" in Midland, too selfish and self-absorbed to call.

I couldn't stop thinking about the feeling of elation that had accompanied the dream. It had dissipated when I awoke, leaving behind a gnawing emptiness. I sobbed quietly, unable to stop the tears.

When I finally regained my composure, I looked at the clock and saw that it was 4:57. Carolyn hadn't set the alarm, but she'd probably be waking up on her own in another three hours or so. There was nothing to do but wait.

***

I dozed fitfully, waking with a start every time Carolyn shifted or snorted in her sleep. Around a quarter to eight, her snoring stopped. She smacked her lips and groaned softly. I kept my back to her, feigning sleep in the vain hope that she'd let me be.

"Wake up, sleepy head," she croaked, then cleared her throat. I felt the bed shift as she sat up. I rolled over to see her smiling down at me. She reached for me, her fingers gently enveloping me as she lifted me to her face.

"Did you sleep good, Davey boy?" she asked. I nodded.

She glanced over at the shoebox on her dresser and sighed.

"Mom and Dad'll probably get here in a few hours," she said. "I better get you little guys taken care of."

***

Carolyn lifted the golden chain from the jewelry box, letting Randy dangle for a few seconds. He begged and pleaded weakly for release. Carolyn finally lowered him into the shoebox, and Julie rushed to unlock the cuffs.

Randy was naked and shivering. Mr. Nichols ran to get a blanket for him, but Carolyn thrust her hand into the box to block him.

"No need," she said. "In fact, all you guys go ahead and get undressed. You're getting a bath this morning."

I was sitting on Carolyn's shoulder, still naked as well. The others began peeling off their clothes, glancing self-consciously towards Julie as they did so. Julie glared up at Carolyn, but said nothing as she reluctantly stripped.

Carolyn carried the six of us into the bathroom and set us down on the vanity. She fiddled with the faucet, running her finger through the water until she was satisfied with the temperature. Then she pulled the knob to stop the drain. When there was about an inch and a half of water in the sink, she turned off the faucet. One by one, she lowered the other five into the warm water.

Julie stood away from the others, covering herself with her arms as best she could. Mr. Nichols did so as well, his fat cheeks blushing bright red. Chad and Denny washed themselves without much enthusiasm, while Randy simply hugged himself and shivered.

Carolyn squirted a dollop of liquid soap onto her fingertip and lowered her hand into the sink. "Here you go, little ones," she said. One by one, they approached her finger and scooped some soap from it. Except Randy, who pressed himself against the side of the sink to get as far from Carolyn's hand as possible.

"Randy, I'm in no mood to [EXPLETIVE DELETED] around with you this morning," Carolyn said. She rubbed the soap on his chest with her fingertip, then splashed her finger in the water to rinse it off.

"Okay, you guys go ahead and soak for a bit," she said. "Davey and I are going to have a bath."

***

"Why are you so grumpy this morning," Carolyn asked.

She was reclining in the bubble bath, with a thick layer of white suds up to her breasts. She held me in her soapy hand, attempting to pet me with her fingers. But I couldn't bring myself to look at her that morning. The dream was still too fresh in my mind. My feelings were still too raw...

"Didn't sleep much last night," I told her. She was already on edge, and I really didn't want her going off on us.

"Poor little Davey," Carolyn cooed, kneading between my legs with her thumb. I squirmed to pull away, but she was relentless. "Would you like to play on my toes? Would that make you feel better?"

I shook my head no.

"You sure? I know how much you like my pretty feet. Don't you?"

I sighed. "Carolyn, please."

She stopped rubbing me. She lifted her hand so I was uncomfortably close to her face. Her eyes narrowed and her mouth turned downward in an angry frown.

"I don't know what your [EXPLETIVE DELETED] problem is this morning," she said, "but you better get over it quick. Got it?"

I nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

"Good." She smiled coldly. "Now let's try this again. Would you like to play on my toes?"

Defeated, I said, "Yes, ma'am."

Carolyn sat me on the rim of the tub, and I marched dutifully to the far end. Her foot, wet and slick, broke through the suds. She grasped me with her toes and brought her foot to rest on the tub's edge.

She had no problem making me hard. With practiced ease, she squeezed me between her soapy toes, grinding me relentlessly. I writhed helplessly, wanting desperately to deprive her of this one small victory. But in the end, I couldn't help myself. I came in a bitter, reluctant spasm, just like she knew I would.

As I hung there limply between her wiggling toes, I stared down the length of her leg to where it vanished beneath the bubbles. I raised my head, and saw that smug, infuriating grin on her face.

"You see?" she said, giving me another squeeze. "Isn't that better?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Carolyn chuckled. "You've really got it rough, don't you, Davey?" She slipped down slightly into the tub, leaning back her head and closing her eyes.

"So, what did GenetiTech say?" I asked.

"Hmmm?" Carolyn opened her eyes and raised her head to regard me.

"When you called them last night. What did they say?"

"Why do you ask?" She smiled again and gave me another playful pinch with her toes. "You still hoping GenetiTech is going to rush in here and same you little guys from mean ol' Carolyn?"

"Just curious," I said.

"Whatever," Carolyn said. "Tim Ware is gonna be waiting at Linda and Randy's place to meet my parents. He's gonna explain the situation to them and the need for secrecy."

"What happens then?" I asked.

"Oh, I'm sure Mom and Dad are gonna freak when Mr. Ware tells them how Linda and Eddie killed all you little guys. If I can get enough wine in Mom and enough Dewar's in Dad, I should be able to calm them down. If I'm lucky, I can get them back on the road tomorrow and everything can go back to normal here."

Back to normal. Those words didn't mean a [EXPLETIVE DELETED] thing anymore. But there was no point in provoking Carolyn any further than I already had, so I simply asked, "So, everything's okay?"

Carolyn nodded. "Yeah, sweetie. Everything's fine." She glanced towards the sink and frowned slightly. "Although I could still wring Randy's little neck for calling my parents in the first place."

I was really disturbed by how nonchalant Carolyn now seemed about the prospect of lying to her parents about Linda. Just three days previously, she'd been sobbing with shame and guilt, wondering what she was going to tell them.

But now that she had a plausible story, she was in the clear. Tim Ware had no idea Eddie had invented a [EXPLETIVE DELETED] shrinking machine. As far as he knew, Eddie's device simply made things disappear. And now he was convinced Eddie and Linda had taken the machine and run off together. Randy, Julie, Mr. Nichols and I were just hapless victims who had gotten in their way and been atomized for our trouble. No doubt Chad and Denny would eventually be added to the list, if anybody ever figured out their connection to Linda.

Carolyn was going to get away with it. We were powerless to do anything about it, and she knew it. All she had to do was keep up the lie. And God knows, she was [EXPLETIVE DELETED] brilliant at that.

"Gonna keep Miss Julie and the others tucked away somewhere safe while my parents are here, but I figured I could keep you with me. Would you like that?"

I could hear Linda's voice giggling in my mind. "You're so cute," she had once said to me, "pretending like you have a choice."

So I nodded, and Carolyn seemed pleased. She wiggled her toes again, giggling as I squirmed between them. Then she leaned back to resume her relaxing soak.

***

After forty-five minutes or so, Carolyn finally got out of the tub and toweled off. She set me on her bare shoulder and walked over to the sink. The others were still sitting quietly in the tepid water, still apart from one another. Carolyn reached in and picked them up once at a time, setting them on the vanity.

"Can we get some clean clothes?" Julie asked her.

Carolyn sighed. "I packed all that stuff away last night and I don't feel like digging it out right now. You'll have to make do with what you were wearing."

"But I don't have anything to wear," Randy protested. "You made me..."

Carolyn slapped her palm on the marble vanity, startling everyone into silence.

"You know what? I'm sick and tired of all your bitching and whining. I hear one more peep out of you little [EXPLETIVE DELETED], I'm gonna start flushing you down the toilet."

Carolyn glared right at Randy, who lost his nerve and backed away. She reached for him, knocking the others aside as she grasped him by the waist. He squirmed between her finger and thumb, kicking frantically as she picked him up.

"I'm tempted to start with you, Randy," she said as she held him to her face. "Show the rest of these little [EXPLETIVE DELETED] that I mean business."

From my vantage point on Carolyn's shoulder, I could see her reflection in the mirror as she glared at poor Randy. I saw the cruel smile cross her face, and my stomach knotted.

Carolyn walked over to the toilet, and Randy began screaming.

"Carolyn, don't," I begged her. "Please don't do this." The others called after her as well, but Carolyn ignored us all. She lifted the lid of the toilet and dangled Randy over the bowl.

Randy was screaming incoherently, his arms and legs flailing in Carolyn's grasp. Carolyn held him aloft for several seconds, then dropped him. Randy let out a terrified scream as he plummeted into the toilet.

He hit the water with a splash, then bobbed to the top. He was sobbing and coughing as he struggled to stay afloat.

Carolyn stood, watching him with cold amusement. Then she reached over and put her hand on the toilet handle.

"Carolyn, stop it!" I screamed.

Carolyn let out an irritated sigh as she reached down and fished Randy out of the toilet. He was crying as he lay, wet and shivering, in her hand.

"Too bad you had to go and fall in the toilet like that," she said to Randy as she carried him back over to the sink. "Don't know when you're gonna have the luxury of another bath again."

One by one, she picked them up and set them in her palm next to Randy. Then she carried them into the bedroom and dumped them into the shoebox.

She paused for a moment, then reached up and took me from her shoulder. When she set me in the box as well, I thought maybe she had relented and decided not to keep me with her after all. I was actually relieved.

But no such luck. "Julie, put the cuffs on Davey boy. He's gonna be my little hostage."

Julie approached me apologetically as I held out my hands. She didn't say anything as she gently snapped the cuffs around my wrists, but she didn't have to. I knew she hated doing it, and she knew I didn't blame her.

Carolyn took me out of the box and set me down next to it. She put her hands flat on the dresser as she leaned forward to peer down into the shoebox.

"Y'all better behave yourselves while my parents are here," she told the others sternly. "Next time, I'm flushing the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] thing."

She put the lid on the box, picked it up, and knelt to put it in one of the large drawers at the bottom of her dresser. She shoved aside some of Eddie's old sweatshirts and tucked the box next to them. Then she stood up and shoved the drawer closed with her foot.

"All right, Davey boy," she said as she pulled open another drawer and rummaged for a pair of panties. "I better hurry up and get some clothes on. No telling what time my parents are gonna show up."

***

As it happened, Carolyn was headed downstairs when we heard the frantic banging on the front door. She swore under her breath as she ran down the stairs, her sandals slapping on each step.

Still naked and cuffed, I was dangling from the gold chain around her neck. With each hurried step, I was bounced and jostled, swinging back and forth to bump against the fabric of her gingham shirt.

The doorbell rang again and again. From outside, I could hear Cecile's shrill voice calling, "Carolyn! Carolyn, open the door! Carolyn!"

"God, why does she have to be so [EXPLETIVE DELETED] high-strung?" Carolyn muttered as we made our way through the living room. She stopped suddenly and bolted over to the coffee table. My convertible was sitting there next to the TV Guide, where Carolyn had left it the other day after our time in the garden.

"[EXPLETIVE DELETED]," she said breathlessly, as the pounding on the door continued. She picked the car up and looked around frantically. Finally, she leaned over and set my car on the floor. With her sandaled foot, she nudged it out of sight under the couch.

"Carolyn, baby! It's your mom!" As if there were any doubt.

Carolyn glanced around the room to make sure there was nothing else incriminating lying around. Then she pinched the chain between her finger and thumb and lifted it so that I was hanging helplessly in front of her enormous face.

"You better be a good boy, Davey," she whispered, her warm breath washing over me. "Because if you misbehave, I won't be punishing you. I'll be punishing those little [EXPLETIVE DELETED] upstairs. Staring with Miss Julie."

I nodded to let her know we were on the same page. She smiled sweetly, pulled her neckline open, and let me drop. The chain pulled taut, and I came to a jarring stop just between her breasts. I felt her fingers through the fabric of the shirt as she adjusted me, tucking me firmly between them.

The doorbell rang again, and Cecile called her daughter's name.

"Coming," Carolyn called as she hurried to answer the door.

***

"Carolyn, thank God you're okay," Cecile all but shrieked. She grabbed her daughter and hugged her tightly. I was pressed between the two of them, held tight between Carolyn's breasts.

"That man was waiting for us at your sister's apartment, and he told us the most horrible things!" Carolyn's mother was on the verge of melodramatic tears. "I swear, I thought my heart was going to give out right then and there!"

"Mom, calm down," Carolyn said. Then, "Hi, Dad."

"Hi, Pookie." Raymond hugged Carolyn, and once again I found myself mashed tightly. The overwhelming smell of Brut wafted through the fabric of Carolyn's gingham shirt.

"Carolyn, what's going on?" Cecile demanded. "That man told us some horrible things about Linda. Said she'd run off with Eddie and... and maybe even killed some folks..." At this, Cecile began sobbing.

"Cecile, the poor girl knows as much as we do," Raymond said. "Don't start pestering her with questions. Besides, we're not supposed to talk about it. He made us sign them papers."

"I don't care!" Cecile wailed. "There's no way my little girl did any of those things! That Eddie must've forced her!"

"She's still in shock," Raymond said. "I guess we both are."

"Don't you start apologizing for me, Raymond," Cecile shouted tearfully. "And you! How long have you know about this? Feeding me some cockamamie story about Linda and Randy being on vacation! Why would you lie to me, baby?"

Carolyn, ever the consummate actress, managed just the right tone of regret and indignation in her voice. "They told me I had to keep it a secret, Mom. They told me I couldn't tell anybody. Not even you guys."

"I don't like this," Cecile said. "All this secret malarkey. Those Jet Attack people are up to something."

"GenetiTech," Carolyn corrected her. "And all they're trying to do is catch Eddie and Linda and get their machine back."

"It don't seem real," Raymond said. "Like something out of James Bond."

I heard Carolyn sigh. "I see you guys brought your luggage. Just how long were you planning on... I mean..."

"This is a family crisis, Carolyn baby," Cecile said, and suddenly I felt myself mashed between the two of them again. "We all need to be together right now."

Raymond seemed to sense his daughter's hesitation. "Of course, we don't want to be no bother, Pookie. If we're in the way here, we can drive back to town and get a hotel room..."

"Don't be a fool, Raymond," Cecile snapped. "We're gonna stay here and make sure Carolyn's all right."

"All right," Raymond said reluctantly. "As long as Pookie don't mind."

"Of course she doesn't mind," Cecile said before Carolyn could respond. "Now Carolyn, you mind carrying our bags upstairs? Your daddy's back is hurting from the drive and my old heart can't deal with all this stress."

"Sure, Mom," Carolyn said wearily.

***

I spent a couple of hours pressed between the warm, soft flesh of Carolyn's breasts. Occasionally, I'd feel her finger pressing me through the fabric of her shirt, just making sure I was still there.

Cecile spent the first half hour or so pressing Carolyn for details on Linda and Eddie. Carolyn played her part, feigning anger and outrage that Linda and Eddie had betrayed her like that and claiming she felt foolish for having ever trusted either of them. Cecile jumped to Linda's defense, and Raymond finally played the peacemaker and convinced them to discuss something else. They sat in silence for a few minutes until Cecile turned on the TV to watch The Young and the Restless.

When lunchtime rolled around, Cecile insisted on making sandwiches for everyone. Carolyn excused herself to go to the bathroom. She went into the guest bathroom, closed the door, and sat down on the toilet lid. Then she pulled out from under her shirt and unhooked the chain that was threaded between my wrists.

Once I lowered my numb arms, the feeling started coming back like a million needles. I winced and gasped as sharp, shooting pains tore through my shoulders and biceps.

"Poor baby," Carolyn whispered as she gently massaged my arms with her fingertip.

"Are these really necessary?" I asked her, holding up my wrists to show her the ridiculous furry handcuffs.

Carolyn smiled and nodded. "I'm afraid so, baby doll. At least for now. But if you promise to be quiet, I'll let you sit in my pocket instead of wearing you around my neck. All right?"

I nodded, without enthusiasm. Her enormous finger stroked my trembling arm, then ran along my chest and down my stomach. I tried to pull away, earning an angry poke from her fingernail.

"Stop that," she scolded me. "You've been so good up to now. Why ruin it?"

I hated that feeling of helplessness, but I knew that was the point. Carolyn loved making me feel vulnerable. Hell, for her I'd go as far as to say it was a full blown fetish.

Carolyn cocked her head to the side as she looked down at me. "You have been a good boy this morning, Davey. I think some kind of reward is in order, don't you?"

She grasped me gingerly between her thumb and finger and slowly lowered me towards the floor. She laid me face down on top of her sandaled foot, hooking my arms around her middle toe.

"You can be my little toe ring," she said with a chuckle. "I really like that." She wiggled her toes, and I clung to her foot, waiting for her to tire of the game.

"Would you like to kiss me, Davey?" Carolyn asked in her saccharine voice. "Would you like to kiss my pretty toes?"

Wearily, I leaned in to do so. She raised her foot and stomped down hard, jarring me hard enough to knock the wind out of me. If I hadn't been cuffed to her toe, I would have been thrown off of her foot.

"I didn't give you permission," she said with mock sternness, as if addressing a misbehaving puppy. "Ask me."

It was so infuriating, but there was nothing I could do. I knew it, and Carolyn knew it. She was, in fact, reveling in it.

"May I kiss your toes?" I asked, without much enthusiasm.

"You don't sound very excited," she said. "Maybe you need to spend a little more time on the chain."

I choked down my resentment and tried again. "Carolyn, may I kiss your toes?"

Her toes twitched playfully beneath me. "Beg me."

God, I hated her so much. But I couldn't bear the thought of hanging from that chain anymore. I was glad my back was to her, because I didn't want her to see my face burning with humiliation and rage.

"Please, Carolyn. Please let me kiss your toes."

"My pretty toes," Carolyn corrected me.

"Your pretty toes. Please let me kiss your pretty toes."

Carolyn pretended to mull it over. "All right, Davey. Go ahead."

I touched my lips to her red toenail.

"Again," Carolyn commanded. I kissed her a second time, and she wiggled her toes excitedly.

"Ooh, you're getting me a little worked up, darling," she said. "And with my parents in the next room. You're so naughty! Again."

And so it went for another ten minutes or so, until Carolyn finally tired of the game. Just as she was plucking me from her foot, we were both startled by a knock at the door.

"You okay, Carolyn?" Cecile called through the door. "You've been in there a long time."

"I'm fine, Mom," Carolyn called. "I'll be right out."

"Are you having trouble going?" Cecile asked. "I think your father may have some Dulcolax in his suitcase."

Carolyn let out an exasperated sigh. "That's all right, Mom. I'll be out in a second."

There was a pause. Then, "I could go upstairs and get it. It's no trouble."

"I'm fine, Mom!" Carolyn shouted. "Go away!"

Carolyn sighed as she looked down at me. "Parents," she muttered, rolling her eyes. "Pain in the ass."

Then she pressed me to her lips, kissed me noisily, and tucked me into her shirt pocket.

***

After lunch, the rest of the afternoon passed tediously, with me sitting quietly in Carolyn's shirt pocket. There was no more talk of Linda or Eddie. Carolyn's parents either sat quietly watching TV, or they engaged in small talk with her about the weather, about Cecile's ailing heart and impressive regimen of pills, about Carolyn's garden and her grasshopper problem, and so on.

At one point, the conversation turned to finances. Raymond, ever the dutiful father, was afraid Eddie might have emptied her bank account and wanted to be sure she wasn't broke. She assured him that GenetiTech was taking good care of her, which earned a disapproving "tsk" from Cecile.

It was stuffy and uncomfortable in Carolyn's pocket, but still infinitely preferable to dangling from that [EXPLETIVE DELETED] chain. The pain in my arms has receded to a dull ache. Eventually, boredom and fatigue overtook me. I dozed off listening to Cecile describe her latest ordeal at the doctor's office.

My dream was scattered and confused. I was home, and everything was normal. Mom was sitting in her chair, working on her laptop. Dad was snoozing on the couch. Liza and Bethany were sitting on the floor, playing with a familiar dollhouse. I knelt down to peer through the window, and I saw a party in full swing. Folks were eating, drinking, and making merry like there was no tomorrow. So I reached down to open the tiny front door, and I suddenly found myself inside the dollhouse. I wandered through the impossibly labyrinthine corridors, searching for the party, but none of the doors I opened seemed to lead anywhere. I finally found myself in the dollhouse kitchen. Julie, Eddie, Linda, Randy, Mr. Nichols, Chad, and Denny were all standing around the plastic orange table, waiting for me. A colorful banner hung overhead that read "WELCOME HOME DAVE!!!" Behind them, the wall was open, and I knew it was only a matter of time before Carolyn peered in...

I woke up to the clink of silverware and the smell of meatloaf. The immediacy of the dream was fading, but once again I was left with a sense of profound loss. Alone and miserable in Carolyn's pocket, I sat and listened to Cecile yammer on about her good friend Lily who went to the hospital with stomach pains. "They cut her open, but couldn't find anything wrong, so they just sewed her back up again."

***

The girls had evidently consumed quite a bit of wine at dinner, and Raymond had knocked back a couple of Dewar's and waters. After another hour or so of television, Cecile yawned loudly and finally announced that it was bedtime for her and Raymond. I could actually feel Carolyn sigh with relief as her parents trudged up the stairs. When she heard the door to the guest room close, she slipped her fingers into her pocket and fished me out.

"Don't know about you, Davey boy," she said, "but I'm [EXPLETIVE DELETED] exhausted. Did you ever have this much trouble with your parents?"

And there it was again. Carolyn was capable of such viciousness, but sometimes it was her unintentional cruelty that hurt the worst.

"What the hell is your problem?" she asked me, her breath warm and sour with wine. "You've had a bug up your ass all [EXPLETIVE DELETED] day!"

And something in me just broke. I started crying, and I couldn't stop. I wiped at my eyes with my cuffed hands. I can only imagine how ridiculous I looked to her, weeping like a [EXPLETIVE DELETED] baby as I dangled naked between her fingers.

"I miss my family, Carolyn," I told her between sobs. "I want to go home."

"Davey," she said sweetly, petting me with her fingertip. "You are home."

"I have a family, Carolyn!" I cried angrily. "I have friends! I have a [EXPLETIVE DELETED] life! You have no right to take those from me! From any of us!"

Blinking away my tears, I looked into her monstrous face and was surprised to see a glimmer of pity in her eyes. She looked shocked and, for just a fleeting moment, I think she actually realized the magnitude of what she had done to us. For once, I wasn't just a pet or a plaything to her. I was an actual person.

Then, just as quickly, it was gone. Guilt gave way to anger. Carolyn's face darkened as she gnawed her lip. The hand in which she was holding me began to tremble. She gave me a cruel pinch with her thumb and finger, and I yelped with pain.

"Stop whining," she snarled, shaking me. "Stop your [EXPLETIVE DELETED] whining. This isn't about you!"

I struggled in her grasp, earning another pinch. Suddenly, I found myself just inches from her face, staring into her gigantic, bloodshot eye. I could see my own reflection looking back, horrified.

"Selfish little [EXPLETIVE DELETED]! I'm busting my ass trying to keep you little [EXPLETIVE DELETED] happy, and all you ever do is cry and whine and bitch and complain."

She stood up angrily and carried me into the kitchen, still ranting.

"I'm sick of it. I ought to just step on all you little [EXPLETIVE DELETED], or let you starve to death. If I was half the monster you think I am, I'd do that, you know."

She set me down on the counter, then took a plate of leftover meatloaf from the refrigerator. She snatched a large knife from the sink and sliced off a small chunk of meat. She plopped it down on a paper towel. She shoved the leftovers back into the fridge, slammed the door, then tossed the knife into the sink where it landed with a clatter.

"Don't know why I bother feeding you little [EXPLETVE DELETED] anyway. Y'all always leave most of it anyway. Maybe I should just let you go a few days without eating, then see how [EXPLETIVE DELETED] picky you are."

She was holding the paper towel in one hand. She reached over and grabbed me with the other, yanking me roughly into the air. She held me tightly in her fist, my arms pinned, with only my head and shoulders protruding from her closed fingers.

"I wanna go home," she said in a high, mocking voice. "I wanna see my family." She stopped walking and held me up to her face again. "I got news for you, Davey. This is it. This is where you little [EXPLETIVE DELETED] are going to spend the rest of your life. Which, the way things are going, might be another week or two for some of you."

"Carolyn!" Cecile's voice called from the top of the stairs. "Are you okay? I thought I heard you talking to someone down there!"

Carolyn tightened her fist, squeezing the breath out of me. It hurt like hell, but I couldn't even draw in enough air to cry out.

"It was the TV, Mom," Carolyn called back up. "I'll keep it turned down."

"Get some sleep, baby," Cecile said. "It's not good for you to be staying up all hours of the night."

Carolyn let out a long, lingering sigh. "It's barely eight o' clock, Mom. I'll be up in a few minutes."

"You need your sleep, baby. That's all."

"I said I'll be up in a few minutes, Mom," Carolyn said impatiently. "Good night."

Cecile shuffled back to the guest room and closed the door. Carolyn turned her attention back to me. Her rage had faded somewhat, but she was still angry.

"You wanna pretend like I'm a monster, then fine. I'll be a [EXPLETIVE DELETED] monster. Next time one of you little [EXPLETIVE DELETED] disrespects me, you're gonna end up like Eddie."

***

What happened next, I... God, I can barely stand to think about it. It was my fault, you see. If I hadn't pissed her off downstairs, she wouldn't have been so angry when she...

Okay. Let's get through this.

***

Once we were in her bedroom, Carolyn closed the door. She pulled me out of her pocket and dumped me on the dresser. She set the piece of cold meatloaf, wrapped in a paper towel, down next to me. I hadn't eaten all day, but just being that close to the cold, congealed mash of meat and ketchup was enough to make me nauseous. Plus, my stomach was still in knots from Carolyn's tirade.

Carolyn knelt to open the drawer. "Okay, you little [EXPLETIVE DELETED]," she said crossly. "I'm not in the mood for any crap, so you'd better... What the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] is this?"

Carolyn reached down into the drawer and yanked out the cardboard shoebox, dumping out the empty shot glass, the portable toilet, and whatever else had been lying around in it. Water dripped out through wet, torn hole in the side.

They had overturned the shot glass, spilling water against the side of the shoebox. They had then torn their way through the damp cardboard to escape.

But unfortunately, they hadn't managed to escape from the drawer. Carolyn dug through the sweaters, tossing them out of the drawer one at a time, until she spotted them cowering in a corner.

One by one, she snatched them up and set them on the floor. Chad was first, followed by Mr. Nichols. Then Julie, Denny, and finally Randy.

"Don't any of you little [EXPLETIVE DELETED] move, or I'll [EXPLETIVE DELETED] crush you," Carolyn snarled as she stood up. The five of them trembled in terror on the carpet. Carolyn planted a sandaled foot to either side of them and stared down angrily.

"That's it," she said. She was obviously trying to keep her voice down, since her parents were just down the hall. Her toes twitched angrily, and she was clenching and unclenching her fists.

"Obviously, I wasn't clear this morning," Carolyn said. "I've been as patient as Job with you, but I guess that's just not going to work. So now, I'm gonna have to make an example out of one of you."

She suddenly looked over at me, a cruel smile on her face. "So, Davey. Which one?"

I stared at her, startled. "What?"

"Which one gets punished? Who's gonna serve as the example?"

They all craned their necks to look up at me. It was obvious they were all terrified out of their minds. Julie was blinking tears, and Mr. Nichols couldn't seem to stop shaking.

"Why do I have to..."

"You better pick someone," Carolyn said, looking directly at Julie. "Or I will." Julie let out a frightened whimper.

"Carolyn, please don't..."

"One," Carolyn said, glaring at me impatiently. "Two..."

If I said nothing, I knew Julie would end up paying the price. And I just couldn't let that happen. So I finally just blurted out a name.

"Randy," I said.

"What the [EXPLETIVE DELETED]?" he shouted angrily, leaping to his feet. He shook his fist at me. "[EXPLETIVE DELETED] you!"

Carolyn knelt to pick up Julie, Denny, Chad, and Mr. Nichols. Then she stood and tipped her hand on top of the dresser, dumping all four of them near me. Julie scrambled away from Carolyn's hand, rushing over to throw her arms around me.

"Jesus, Dave," she whispered. "What's she going to do?"

I had no idea. The five of us watched with dread as Carolyn turned her attention back to Randy.

"Hey, it wasn't even my [EXPLETIVE DELETED] idea!" Randy shouted up at Carolyn. "Seriously! I tried to talk them out of it. Just ask them!"

"Shut up, Randy," Carolyn said coldly.

"Just ask them!" Randy pleaded. "Come on, Carolyn. I didn't do nothing! You know that!"

"I said, shut the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] up, Randy!" Carolyn placed her foot directly in front of him. Her toes twitched, though whether it was with anger or excitement I couldn't tell.

Randy began to cry. "Carolyn, please."

"Tell you what," Carolyn said, looking down at him. "If you can make it to the bedroom door, I'll forget the whole thing. Bygones."

Randy glanced towards the bedroom door, then back up at Carolyn. "What are..."

Carolyn lifted her foot. "Better start running."

Randy turned and ran as fast as he could across the shag carpet. Carolyn watched him scramble for several seconds. The look on her face was unreadable. No rage, no remorse, no mercy. Just the faintest hint of a wicked smile. It was enough to chill the blood.

Randy made it halfway to the door before Carolyn came after him. Two steps, and she was on him. She slammed her foot down in his path, and Randy plowed headlong into it. He stumbled backwards and fell on his ass.

Carolyn licked her lips. She lifted her foot and placed it over Randy, pinning him beneath the leather sole of her sandal.

"Carolyn," I shouted. "No!"

"Jesus [EXPLETIVE DELETED] Christ, Carolyn," Randy was blubbering from under her foot. "You can't do this! We're family, for Christ's sake! I was married to your [EXPLETIVE DELETED] sister! I'm your..."

Carolyn pressed down with her foot. Randy's scream was cut short as he was crushed to death beneath her shoe.

***

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.]

And then there were five...

Everything was kind of blur after Carolyn killed Randy. I vaguely remember her using the paper towel from the meatloaf to scoop up Randy's crushed remains and carry them to the bathroom, where she flushed them.

Julie was clinging to me, sobbing with her face pressed against my shoulder. But I was too stunned to even try comforting her. All I could think about was that I had chosen Randy to die.

Mr. Nichols was on his hands and knees, heaving up nothing but air. Chad and Denny hadn't move, and were still staring at the damp red spot on the carpet.

Jesus. You can't even begin to imagine...

Carolyn had killed again, right? Only this time, it had been intentional. Utterly premeditated. And she sure as [EXPLETIVE DELETED] wasn't feeling any remorse.

She was suddenly there, looming over us as we stood on the dresser. We stood stock still, terrified by the prospect of drawing her attention. There was nowhere to run, no way to escape. We were utterly at Carolyn's mercy, and that mercy was in short supply.

She glanced down at us, but didn't say a word. She reached past us to open the jewelry box. That horrible "Angel of the Morning" song plinked away, and Carolyn began to hum along with it as she lifted the top tray.

She reached for Mr. Nichols. He cried out in terror as she plucked him up and placed him in the velvet-lined compartment in the bottom of the jewelry box. Still humming, she grabbed us one by one and put us in the box, forcing us to lie among the scattered chains, pendants, and earrings.

I looked into her massive face for any trace of humanity, but her eyes were cold and her smile was detached and cruel. Still humming, she pushed the top tray back down into place. Then she shut the lid and latched it, leaving us cramped together in utter darkness. There was a vertiginous sense of movement as the box was lowered into the drawer. And finally, a jarring thud as the drawer was slammed shut.

***

Complete and total darkness. Absolutely no way to mark the passing of time. There was no room to stand, and barely any to sit up. For the most part, all we could do was lie there and listen to each other as we sobbed in the dark.

I couldn't shake the feeling that I had been responsible for Randy's death. Not only had I been the one to put Carolyn in such a foul mood in the first place, but I had singled him out for punishment at Carolyn's command.

The others tried their best to comfort me. Julie kept insisting that I had no choice, and that it was Carolyn's fault, not mine. Denny claimed I couldn't have known what Carolyn had in mind. But the truth is, I think I did. I think we all did. None of us knew exactly when it was going to happen, but we all knew it would. From the time Carolyn had hurled Eddie against the wall, we had known we were living on borrowed time.

"It should have been me," Mr. Nichols said melodramatically. "You should have selected me, Dave."

I let out an exasperated sigh. "Why the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] would I do that?"

"I'm a liability," he said. "When we get around to making our escape, I'm only going to slow you down."

For a moment, nobody said anything. And then, suddenly, Denny was snorting with laughter.

"What the hell, dude?" Chad said.

"When we get around to making our escape?" Denny said, still laughing. "Dude, you're like Mr. Power of Positive Thinking or something."

"I just think..." Mr. Nichols began.

"Dude, don't sweat it," Denny said. "If we're smart enough to figure a way out of this [EXPLETIVE DELETED] mess, I guarantee you we can, like, figure out a way to get you down the stairs. Right, Dave?"

"Piece of cake," I said, with far more conviction than I felt.

I felt Julie's hand reach for mine in the dark. My wrists were still cuffed together. I felt her fingers run along my wrist, feeling for the handcuffs in the dark. There was a click, and the handcuff snapped open. Julie felt for my other hand and uncuffed my other wrist.

"Thank you," I whispered as she gave my hand a gentle squeeze.

"Piece of cake," she repeated softly.

***

The botched escape plan had been Mr. Nichols brainchild. However, Randy had been the one to rush off half-cocked and put it into motion.

Mr. Nichols had proposed using water from the shot glass to dampen the cardboard so they could dig through it more easily. Then they could use the sweaters to climb up to the gap along the top of the drawer, and fashion a rope out of the towels and blankets in the shoebox to climb down the other side. And then, free of the drawer, they could explore the inside of the dresser until they found a gap or weak spot in the plywood back panel.

Julie had been opposed to the escape attempt from the beginning, fearing harm might come to me if Carolyn found them gone. Of course, Randy didn't give a [EXPLETIVE DELETED] what happened to me. And Mr. Nichols was quick to point out that Carolyn considered me her "special little guy," and would probably be reluctant to hurt me too badly. Denny had promised Julie that, once they were out, he would help her find and rescue me. Which is why Julie had the handcuff key in her pocket, in case you're wondering.

It wasn't a perfect plan--hell, it wasn't even a particularly good plan--but they finally agreed to give it a shot. Randy wanted to go right away, but Mr. Nichols was afraid too much time had passed and they'd be cutting things too close. He suggested waiting until the following morning so they'd have more time. Julie, Chad, and Denny concurred.

Not that it mattered. Randy went off on his own, soaking the side of the shoebox and punching his way through. The others knew they'd catch hell from Carolyn if she caught them with the hole in the box, so they had no choice but to forge ahead and hope for the best. Denny and Chad tied the towels and blankets together, and the five of them made a break for it.

Unfortunately, Mr. Nichols had been right. They'd barely made it as far as the back of the box when Carolyn came in and caught them. Randy had paid with his life.

***

Hours? Days? Time had no meaning inside that [EXPLETIVE DELETED] jewelry box. I waited in vain for my eyes to adjust, before I finally realized it wasn't going to happen. The darkness was simply too complete.

We were hungry. Even worse, we were thirsty. Carolyn had provided us with no water. So far, Mr. Nichols had been the only one to feel the call of nature, so to speak. Rather than soil ourselves, we decided to designate one of the corners to serve as our toilet. He had crawled over there noisily and relieved himself. The smell had been pretty pungent at first, but we'd quickly gotten used to it.

Occasionally in the dark, I'd see a glimpse of my family cheerfully welcoming me home, or I'd watch Randy die in agony beneath Carolyn's sandal. I didn't know if these were dreams or hallucinations. Half the time, I wasn't sure if I was awake or asleep.

So I had no idea how much time had actually passed when we felt the drawer open. The jewelry box was lifted into the air, coming to rest on the dresser with a thump. The latch snapped, and the lid opened. As the tray was lifted up, we were all bathed in blinding light. We screwed our eyes shut and threw up our arms to ward it off.

"Filthy little things," Carolyn said. "Smells like a [EXPLETIVE DELETED] hamster cage in there."

As our eyes adjusted to the light of the bedroom, we stood on trembling legs. "Angel of the Morning" plinked merrily in the background. Carolyn set a white twist-off bottle cap in the jewelry box and filled it with water from the shot glass. All five of us scrambled towards it, stumbling over the scattered jewelry to reach it. Chad and Denny actually tried to knock each other out of the way, much to Carolyn's amusement.

We thrust our filthy hands into the water and cupped it to our mouths, drinking greedily. Carolyn stood over us, watching with that cruel smirk on her face. Her gaze fell on me, and she leaned in close.

"What the hell are you doing out of your handcuffs?" she asked.

I gulped down my mouthful of water. "I'm sorry, Carolyn," I said, startled by how weak and hoarse my voice sounded.

"Not as sorry as you're gonna be," Carolyn said. "Put them back on."

I rummaged through the jewelry in the bottom of the box until I found the discarded handcuffs. I walked over to Julie, who helped me snap them on my wrists. I held up my hands to show Carolyn I was, once again, duly cuffed.

"You got the key?" Carolyn asked, and Julie nodded. Carolyn reached into the jewelry box and picked her up by the waist. She was too weak to struggle.

"Show me," Carolyn said. Julie held up the tiny silver key. Carolyn closed one eye and leaned in for a close look.

"Don't take them off again without asking me," Carolyn said. "Next time, I'll take a lit cigarette to both of you. Got it?"

Julie nodded frantically until Carolyn set her down. As soon as she was free of Carolyn's hand, she scurried over and drank another handful of water.

We waited eagerly, hoping Carolyn would drop some food into the box as well. Instead, she ducked out of sight to poke around in the drawer. When she reappeared, she held her hand over the jewelry box. Clutched between her finger and thumb was the knotted rope of towels and blankets. She dangled it above us for a few seconds before finally dropping it into the box with us.

"Get those things untied," she ordered us. The music was still plinking away, loud and maddening inside the box. We stumbled over to the rope and went to work on the knots.

"Still can't believe you little [EXPLETIVE DELETED] tried to escape last night," Carolyn muttered. "I ought to squish the whole lot of you, be done with you once and for all. Little [EXPLETIVE DELETED] are more trouble than you're worth."

"Last night?" I asked. "We've only been in here one day?"

Carolyn scowled and smacked the side of the jewelry box with her hand. The violent movement sent us all sprawling amidst the mismatched earrings and tangled chains.

"Did I say you could talk?" Carolyn snapped, leaning in close so that her face all but filled the opening at the top of the box. Her breath was a warm miasma of wine and cigarettes. "Did I?"

I was afraid to answer out loud, so I just shook my head.

"I don't want to hear a word out of any of you tonight," Carolyn said. "If I hear just one little peep, I'm gonna stomp the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] out of someone. Understand?"

We all nodded silently and went back to unraveling the knots. With all five of us working on it, it took about ten minutes to separate the towels and blankets from each other. During that time, the annoying music dragged to a crawl and finally stopped altogether.

I glanced at Julie, and she offered me a nervous smile. "Thank [EXPLETIVE DELETED] God," she mouthed silently.

When we were done, Carolyn took the jewelry box in both hands and lifted it from the dresser. We stumbled and fell about inside as she carried it across the room and set it on the floor. She knelt beside us and, one by one, she plucked us out of the box and set us on the carpet.

The spot where poor Randy had met his demise was coated with a layer of white foaming cleaner that was still hissing and bubbling. A blue bottle of Fantastik stood on the floor nearby, towering above us.

Carolyn reached into the box and picked up a handful of the towels we had just united. She dropped them on the carpet next to us.

"Y'all get to scrubbing," Carolyn ordered us. "I want all that blood out of the carpet."

From our vantage, we could still see traces of blood on the individual fibers of the carpet's pile, as well as stains that had seeped down to the pad. The smell was an uneasy mix of chemicals and flowers, and the fumes were enough to make my eyes start watering.

The five of us went to work, using the towels to scrub the carpet fibers. It was slow and laborious, and we had to breathe through our mouths to keep from choking on the fumes.

Carolyn stood up and paced around us for a few minutes, that infuriating smile on her face. Finally, she stepped over to the bed and sat down on the edge of it to watch us work.

She was waiting for us to say something, to make any kind of noise, so she'd have an excuse to punish us. But we were truly afraid for our lives, which was a powerful motivator to keep our [EXPLETIVE DELETED] mouths shut.

Carolyn cleared her throat. When we looked up at her, she pointed at Mr. Nichols and said, "You. Tubby. Get your ass over here."

Poor Mr. Nichols went pale. He approached Carolyn slowly, stumbling across the carpet on quivering legs. Carolyn placed her sandaled foot directly in front of him, just inches away, and wiggled her toes playfully.

"I've got a special job for you, Tubby," she said. She lifted her foot slightly, keeping her heel on the floor. The bottom of her shoe loomed over Mr. Nichols. There was a large, dark smudge on the leather sole that had been left behind by Randy.

"I need you to get under there and lean that mess off my shoe," Carolyn said. "You don't mind, do you?"

The rest of us exchanged nervous glances. Mr. Nichols was terrified, but knew better than to refuse. Trembling, he climbed beneath Carolyn's foot and touched his towel to the sole of her sandal. With shaking hands, he dabbed gingerly at the stain.

"What the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] are y'all staring at?" Carolyn asked us. "Y'all afraid I'm gonna squish him or something?"

She lowered her foot as she said this, pressing Mr. Nichols against the carpet. He squirmed weakly beneath her sandal, but didn't make a whimper. None of us did.

"It's so tempting," Carolyn said, shaking her head. She flexed her enormous toes. "It would be so easy, wouldn't it, Tubby? I could just squash you like a little bug if I wanted to. And you couldn't do a thing to stop me."

She looked directly at me and smiled cruelly. "None of y'all could."

She mashed down ever so slightly, and Mr. Nichols gasped with pain. Carolyn lifted her foot from him. He was lying on his back, struggling for breath, his eyes shut tight. His face was beet red, and tears streamed down his fat, flushed cheeks.

Carolyn snapped her fingers and pointed at the stain. "Y'all get back to work. I want that mess cleaned up in ten minutes."

Mr. Nichols climbed awkwardly to his feet, picked up his towel, and began lumbering back over to join us. He let out stifled, mewling cry when Carolyn suddenly placed her foot in his path and, once again, lifted it slightly.

"Where do you think you're going, Tubby? Get that [EXPLETIVE DELETED] cleaned off my shoe or I'll stomp you."

***

When the carpet and Carolyn's sandal were cleaned to her satisfaction, she scooped us up and dumped us in the jewelry box. She ordered Julie to remove the cuffs from me and put them on Mr. Nichols, who would be spending the night with her. And as bad as I felt for Mr. Nichols, I was just relieved it wouldn't be me.

Carolyn pushed down the tray and slammed the lid, latching it shut. We felt the vertigo of being lifted and moved, and finally the jarring thud of the drawer being closed.

And so went another night in the box. We talked briefly of escape, but nobody had any ideas on getting out of our prison. There was no false bravado, no courageous talk. We were hungry, exhausted, and too miserable to bother being brave.

I made a feeble attempt to mark the time by counting the seconds silently, but I eventually dozed off and lost track.

I dreamed I was in a maze, desperately trying to find my way out. Only instead of running, I was driving in my convertible. Juice Newton was singing on the radio.

"I hate this song," Eddie said, suddenly in the passenger seat. "But it was always Carolyn's favorite. You know, Debbie sang it at our wedding."

"I know. You told me," I said impatiently, concentrating on the winding passages ahead. I had no idea where I was headed, but I was convinced if I just kept moving, I'd eventually find my way out of this labyrinth.

"I did?" Eddie said. "When did I do that?"

"Must have been before you died," I said. Eddie was silent, and when I glanced at the passenger seat, I saw he was gone.

But I saw light at the end of the tunnel. I mashed the gas pedal to the floor and sped down the corridor, my heart pounding as I raced towards freedom.

Until Carolyn's foot came down in front of me, blocking my path...

***

And so it went, the days running together with only half-hearted conversation to interrupt the long stretches of tedium. And just when it seemed things couldn't get any worse, we'd feel Carolyn open the drawer and lift the jewelry box, and we'd find ourselves squinting painfully in the glare of the light.

When I was a sophomore, I had a history professor named Dr. Lavallee who had done a tour of duty in Cambodia, and he once described combat as "long stretches of boredom punctuated by brief moments of sheer terror."

That was life in the jewelry box.

Each morning and evening, Carolyn would pour some water into the plastic lid. It was barely enough for us to drink, and we didn't dare waste it on anything luxurious, like washing. Despite our best efforts, the jewelry box really was starting to smell quite rank.

One night--I think it might have been Sunday--Carolyn dropped some pieces of shredded bread into the box, and we fell on it like animals. Crouched in our own filth, we gnawed on the bread and thanked Carolyn for her generosity.

Some nights, Carolyn would select one of us to spend the night with her. And since time with her meant a bath and time out of that [EXPLETIVE DELETED] jewelry box, we found ourselves begging to be chosen.

Is that [EXPLETIVE DELETED] up or what? I think back on it now, and I just cringe with shame. But at the time, I so desperately wanted things to go back to how they had been. More than anything, I wanted to be her "special little guy" again.

***

She finally picked me one night, and I was ridiculously grateful. I let Julie put the cuffs on me, and I stepped willingly into Carolyn's hand. I even planted a submissive kiss on her finger as she lifted me out of the box.

"They're driving me crazy, Davey," Carolyn confided in me as she carried me into the bathroom. "I don't think they're ever gonna go home."

She held me over the sink, dabbed soap on me with her fingertip, and rinsed me off under the faucet. Then she buffed me dry with a washcloth.

Once in bed, she put me to work on her nipple while she fingered herself beneath the covers. She praised me for my enthusiasm, and rewarded me by rubbing me against her foot and along the underside of her toes until I finally climaxed.

I was trembling with pleasure as well as exhaustion when she pressed me to her mouth and kissed me.

"Don't worry, Davey," she whispered. "We'll get through this. I promise."

***

I spent the night tethered to her wrist by the golden chain. But she needn't have bothered. I wouldn't have dreamed of wandering off. Just the thought of leaping onto her nightstand as I had once done filled me with dread. So I crawled into her hand as she slept and curled up in her palm like a good little pet.

Another dream, incoherent and dreadful. I saw Carolyn kneeling and peering into a dollhouse. And when I knelt next to her, I saw the two of us inside the dollhouse, peering into an even smaller dollhouse. And I was terrified to look behind us, because I knew I'd see our monstrous faces peering in through the window.

***

I awoke when Carolyn shifted her hand. Her fingers closed gently around me, and she lifted me to her face and smiled sleepily.

"Good morning, little guy," she said. "Did you sleep good?"

I nodded and kissed her index finger.

"Did you have fun last night?" she asked.

I grinned. "Yeah, I did."

The sad part is, I wasn't playing along with her or anything. I was completely sincere. Pathetic, right?

"You still like my pretty toes?" Carolyn asked playfully.

For the briefest of moments, the sight of Randy dying beneath her sandaled foot popped into my mind. I willed it away, desperate to cling to the pleasantness of the moment.

I nodded. "I love them," I told her. "I love you."

She sighed. "Poor Davey. I shouldn't have locked you in that little box with the others. I was just mad, you know? I wasn't thinking straight."

"It's okay," I said, stroking her finger. "I understand."

"No, it's not okay," Carolyn said, sitting up. "I mean, they were the ones who tried to escape. But you didn't. I shouldn't have punished you like that."

"When this is all done, and your parents go home," I said, "can we go back to living in the dollhouse?"

"Of course," Carolyn nodded. "I mean, you can. I still haven't decided about the others."

She touched me to her lips, then slipped out from under the covers and got out of bed.

"You don't have to go back in the box if you don't want," she told me. "You can just stay with me today, like you did last week. Either on the necklace or in my pocket."

"I think I'd like it in your pocket," I told her. "If that's all right."

"Sure, sweetie."

***

Carolyn decided to skip her shower that morning, since she was planning on working in the garden. She slipped into her white shorts and gingham shirt, and tucked me in the breast pocket.

"Better get those little [EXPLETIVE DELETED] some water," she muttered. We went into the bathroom and she filled the shot glass with water. Then back into the bedroom. She set the glass on the dresser and knelt to open the drawer. She lifted the jewelry box with both hands and set it down on the dresser. And maybe it was my imagination, but she seemed to be treating it a little more gently than usual.

She popped the latch and opened the box, which was still mercifully silent. She pulled up the tray and gazed down at the others.

"Good morning," she said, which was more than she usually said when she opened the box. She picked up the shot glass and stuck her hand inside the jewelry box to pour water into the plastic bottle cap.

"Just so you know," she said, "Davey will be spending the day with me. If you guys keep behaving yourselves, maybe we'll see about letting you out of that box for a bit."

Just then, the door to the bedroom opened. Carolyn let out a frightened squeal and fumbled with the jewelry box, forcing the tray down and slamming the lid.

"Who are you talking to, Carolyn?" Cecile asked.

"Mom, what the hell?" Carolyn was obviously flustered. I could feel her heart pounding through the fabric of her shirt. "Why don't you knock? I could have been naked!"

"I'm your mother, Carolyn. I've seen you naked." She paused a moment, then asked, "What's in that box?"

"Nothing, Mom. Just jewelry." I could feel Carolyn shifting nervously, but her voice was even and unconcerned. Lying came easily to Carolyn.

"You keep your dope in that box?" Cecile asked. "Is that it?"

"I don't take dope, Mom. I'm taking valium that was prescribed by a doctor. It's over there on the nightstand, if you want to check the label."

"That stuff's no good for you, Carolyn. I don't care what those idiot doctors tell you."

"What about you, Mom? You take like thirty pills a day!"

"Those are for my blood pressure and my heart," Cecile said defensively. "That's different."

Carolyn sighed. "Did you want something, Mom? Or did you just come in here to stage an intervention?"

"I'm doing the laundry, and I came in to get the sheets off your bed," Cecile said.

I felt Carolyn step forward. "I'll get them and bring them down to you."

"Don't be silly, Carolyn. I might as well get them while I'm up here."

I was bounced around slightly as Carolyn and Cecile pulled the sheets off the bed.

"So," Cecile said, "I heard you talking when I was in the hall."

Carolyn's heart was pounding, but her voice betrayed nothing. "Really," she said casually. "What was I saying?"

"I don't know, baby," Cecile said. "I just heard you talking, that's all. I thought you might be on the phone or something."

"Just talking to myself," Carolyn said with a chuckle. "Didn't realize it was out loud. Just imagining what I'll say to Eddie if... when I see him again."

"Oh, baby," Cecile said. I was suddenly mashed between the two of them as Cecile hugged Carolyn tight. "You know I've always worried about you, even before this whole mess began. I'm not surprised you're talking to yourself."

Carolyn pulled away. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"You've never had a lot of friends, Carolyn. Always spent your time alone, or hanging out with Linda and her friends. You never had anyone of your own."

"I had friends," Carolyn said petulantly.

"Your daddy and I were just so afraid you were going to be alone your whole life," Cecile went on. "It was a prayer on our hearts that you'd open up to people and stop being so..."

"Being so what?" Carolyn demanded.

"Difficult," Cecile finally finished. "We were so happy when you got engaged to Eddie, but he turned out to be worse than you. Living out here in the middle of the woods like the damn Unabomber or something."

"Mom, it wasn't like that."

"And now Eddie and Linda are gone, and all you do is sit around in this big house all alone, talking to yourself. That can't be healthy, baby."

"I'm fine, Mom."

"No wonder you have to take dope just to get through your day."

"It's not dope, Mom."

Cecile sighed melodramatically. "Carolyn, I think you should come back to Sweetwater with me and your daddy. Stay a while, until this mess gets settled. Or at least until we hear something about your sister."

"Mom..."

"Your daddy and I are heading back tomorrow," Cecile said. "Just promise me you'll think about it."

"Fine," Carolyn said wearily. "I promise."

***

After a week, Carolyn and her parents had run out of things to say to each other. Raymond kept offering her tips for getting rid of the grasshoppers in her garden, or reminding her she was due for an oil change according to the Kwik Oil sticker on her windshield. Cecile would occasionally mention the name of somebody in Sweetwater, claiming they had asked after Carolyn and would likely be excited to see her again. In between these sporadic conversations were long, awkward periods of silence as they sat and watched TV.

Carolyn finally excused herself to go work in the garden. I was excited by the prospect of being outdoors and was hoping Carolyn would let me roam free. Unfortunately, Raymond insisted on accompanying her. He sat on the patio, chatting with her as she worked. Naturally, I stayed in her pocket for the duration.

After a couple of hours, Cecile called the two of them in to lunch. The three of them ate their sandwiches in silence, except for Raymond's occasional words of wisdom regarding different methods of grasshopper extermination. Carolyn finally stopped him midsentence to announce she was going upstairs to grab a shower. Raymond offered to drive her to Wal-Mart when she was done to pick up some Semaspore bait.

"One more day," Carolyn kept muttering to herself as we made our way upstairs. "Just one more day." Despite her minor frustration, she was still in pretty good spirits. Tomorrow her parents would be on their way back to Sweetwater and she'd have us all to herself again.

Things would be back to normal.

She carried me into the shower with her and set me on the floor while she shampooed her hair. When she was done, she looked down at me and smiled as she played with me with her bare feet. I found myself enjoying the game, and I offered no resistance when she grasped me between her wet toes.

"Now I've got you," she said gleefully. "Naughty little thing." She wiggled her toes, mercilessly grinding me between them. I finally came with such ferocity that I almost passed out. With a spasm, I fell limp between her toes. I lay my head on her wet flesh and kissed her just below her red toenail.

I loved her. I was her special little guy.

***

After the shower, Carolyn set me on the vanity so she could towel herself off. When she was done, she scooped me up and gently dried me with a washcloth. She was still dabbing me dry when we heard Cecile's sobs from the bedroom.

"Oh [EXPLETIVE DELETED]!" Carolyn shouted as she bolted through the bathroom door, still naked. The bottom drawer of the dresser was open, and the jewelry box was sitting on top, wide open. Cecile was staring in horror at the figure of Chad, who squirmed in her gnarled fingers.

"Mom, what the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] are you doing?" Carolyn demanded.

Cecile turned to her, tears running down her flushed cheeks. She looked at me in Carolyn's hand, and her eyes went wide. "Oh my God, Carolyn. What have you done?"

"Mom, I can explain," Carolyn said. For once, her voice lacked the confidence and conviction that had come from decades of lying. For once, she sounded like a little girl who had been caught misbehaving.

"Is it true, Carolyn?" Cecile asked miserably. "Did you really kill Eddie and Randy? Did you kill your sister?"

Carolyn sat me down on the dresser and took her robe from the back of the chair. "Mom," she said as she slipped it on. "Just listen to me, okay?"

"Just answer the question!" Cecile shouted. "Is it true?"

Carolyn held up her hands to quiet her mother and glanced nervously towards the open bedroom door. Her face fell when she heard her father coming up the stairs.

"Mom, just put him down and come downstairs with me," Carolyn said. "I'll explain everything."

"I'm not going anywhere until you answer me!" Cecile shrieked. Chad yelped with pain as Cecile inadvertently pinched him between her finger and thumb.

"What are you two fussing about in here?" Raymond asked as he came into the bedroom. He spotted the tears on his wife's face and rolled his eyes. "Oh, God. What now, Cecile?"

Cecile pointed a finger at Carolyn and shrieked, "She killed them! Linda and Randy and Eddie! It was her!"

Raymond snorted. "What?" He turned to Carolyn. "Pookie, what is she on about?"

"Look!" Cecile shouted, thrusting out her hand to display Chad. He dangled helplessly in her grasp.

Raymond leaned in and squinted as he peered at Chad. His mouth fell open and he jerked back.

"Jesus," he croaked. "Is that... is he... alive?"

"He says Carolyn did this to him," Cecile sobbed. "To all of them! And he says she killed Linda and Eddie and..."

"He's lying!" Carolyn shouted. "I didn't kill Linda, okay? Eddie did!"

"She's dead?" Raymond asked, his voice quavering. "My Lulu's dead?"

"Carolyn, what have you done?" Cecile repeated.

Carolyn was flustered and in a panic, which was something I had never seen before. And for the first time since she had captured me, I felt hope. Not the vague hope that hinged on some convoluted escape plan, but real hope. Carolyn had been caught. Her secret was out. She wasn't going to worm her way out of this one.

Call it a moment of clarity, if you will. An epiphany. A brilliant moment of insight. But for the first time in as long as I could remember, I saw Carolyn as she truly was.

Had I really been so willing to submit to her, to be her pet? God, my stomach was turning at the very thought. She was no longer a goddess to be placated and pleased. She was a sad, frightened woman who had dug herself into a horrific hole and was now desperately trying to claw her way out.

"Mom, Dad," she said, struggling to keep her voice calm. "Just come down stairs with me, and I'll explain everything. I swear. If you don't believe me when I'm done, you can call the police yourself."

"God, Lulu," Raymond said, shaking his head. A tear ran down his leathery face and he wiped angrily at it. "I can't believe she's really gone."

"You didn't kill your sister?" Cecile said, with the faintest trace of hopefulness in her voice.

Carolyn shook her head. "No. I swear. Just put him back in the box and come downstairs with me. There's something in Eddie's lab that will answer all your questions."

"Don't listen to her," Chad screamed. "She's lying! She's going to..."

But Cecile had already stopped listening. She dumped Chad in the jewelry box and walked over to Carolyn.

"You swear?"

Once again in control of the situation, Carolyn shifted into lying mode with ease. "I swear, Mom."

"You didn't kill Linda?"

Carolyn actually smiled. "Of course not."

"Or Eddie or Randy?"

"No. Come on. I'll show you."

She escorted Raymond and Cecile to the door of the bedroom, then stopped and turned. "Hang on a second," she said. "I'll be right there."

She ran back into the bedroom, snatched me up, and dropped me in the box with the others. She flicked Chad in the head with her finger, knocking him backwards. He flew several inches backwards and landed with a thud. He sat up, gasping for air as blood ran down his nose.

"I'll deal with you later, you little [EXPLETIVE DELETED]," Carolyn whispered through gritted teeth. Then she slammed the tray down and closed the lid.

***

I guess you don't have to be Nostradamus to figure out what happened next. When Carolyn finally returned and opened up the jewelry box, she held the tiny, fragile figures of her parents in her hand.

They both lay still, naked and damp from being rinsed off under the faucet. I looked up at Carolyn. Her eyes were red and tearful, but her face betrayed no emotion.

She placed her hand inside the box and gently tipped it, letting her parents slide onto the velvet. She gingerly touched her father with her index finger, then withdrew her hand.

"Get them covered up," she told us, leaning in close. "Try not to scare them too badly when they come to."

She sighed and raised back up. "I have to go take care of their car."

***

It was Julie who first noticed that Cecile wasn't breathing. Chad and Denny, ever the Boy Scouts, rushed over and tried to administer CPR, but it was no use. Cecile had not survived the process.

Eddie's machine didn't actually shrink things, you see. It disintegrated them and then created a tiny copy. The process wasn't gentle. I had puked and pissed myself when Carolyn had zapped me. Others had suffered similar fates, or even voided their bowels.

But poor Cecile had a bad heart, and it had obviously given out during the scanning process. Her tiny copy had been dead when it was created.

"Poor Raymond," Julie said as she covered Cecile with a blanket. "I don't know how we're going to break the news to him."

I felt bad for Raymond, but at the moment, I was actually more worried about breaking the news to Carolyn.

***

Raymond eventually stirred, and Julie carried him water in her cupped hands. He moaned, then awoke with a start.

He sat up and glanced around. Carolyn had left the jewelry box open and on top of the dresser, because I guess she couldn't bear the thought of her parents waking up in the dark.

He looked at the velvet walls and the monstrous jewelry scattered all about. He craned his neck to gaze up at the ceiling, impossibly high above us. He looked at me, then at Julie.

"She did it, didn't she?" he said softly. "Whatever she did to you, she did to us too."

I put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Raymond."

He pulled away. "I don't even know you. Any of you." He looked around nervously. "Where's Cecile? Where's my wife?"

Julie approached him and knelt, taking his hand. "She... I'm afraid she didn't make it, Raymond. She's gone."

His mouth opened and closed, but at first he didn't make a sound. Finally, he whispered, "No."

He climbed unsteadily to his feet and made his way over to Cecile. He pulled the blanket down from her face and stared. Then something broke inside him. He wailed loudly, like a wounded animal, as tears ran freely down his weathered cheeks. "Cecile," he sobbed. "Oh, God, Cecile!"

He was still sobbing over her when Carolyn came back into the room. She peered into the box, and her mouth fell open.

"What happened?" she demanded. "What the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] happened?"

"You killed your mother," Raymond roared, glaring up at her.

"No!" Carolyn said. She leaned in and poked her mother's lifeless body with the tip of her fingernail.

"Leave her alone!" Raymond shouted. He grabbed an earring and hurled it as hard as he could at Carolyn. It fell well short of the mark, landing with a clatter among some other jewelry. "You killed her!"

"I didn't," Carolyn insisted. "I mean..."

"I'll never forgive you for this," Raymond said.

Carolyn reached down and gently picked her father up. He screamed and thrashed in her grip as she lifted him out of the jewelry box.

"Put me down, you bitch!" he screamed. "You [EXPLETIVE DELETED] monster!"

"Dad, please don't be like this." The words spilled from Carolyn as she desperately tried to placate her father. "It was an accident. I didn't mean for any of this to happen, but I didn't have any choice. Things just keep getting out of control, and every time I try to rein it in, everything just spirals. I swear to God, I didn't mean to..."

Her father was sobbing, no longer paying attention to her pleading. Carolyn placed him back in the jewelry box and touched her finger to his face. He pulled away and screamed, "Get the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] away from me!"

Carolyn's hand moved over to her mother. She reached down and gently scooped her into her palm, blanket and all.

"I'll go bury her in the garden," she told Raymond. He offered no response.

Carolyn turned and hurried out of the bedroom, but not before she started crying.

***

Chad got a reprieve of sorts. With everything else that was going on, Carolyn sort of forgot all about him.

That afternoon, she carried the jewelry box into the bathroom and set it down on the counter. She turned the water on and let it run for a minute or so before she pulled up the stop. She let about an inch of warm water run into the sink before turning off the faucet.

"Davey, go ahead and get out of those handcuffs," she said. "Y'all get undressed, and I'll let you get cleaned up."

Over the past week, most of us had shed our filthy clothing and taken to draping ourselves with blankets or towels when modesty prevailed upon us to do so. We disrobed and, one by one, Carolyn lifted us up and gently set us in the sink. Her father was the only holdout, refusing to remove his towel or even acknowledge her. Carolyn finally gave up and just left him in the box.

I didn't really need the bath, since I'd just showered with Carolyn a couple of hours before. But I wasn't about to pass up the opportunity, especially given how rare they had been over the past week.

She left us alone while we bathed, which was something of a welcome respite. No massive fingers roughly soaping us up. No fists holding us under the tap. Just a long, leisurely soak. It was almost enough to make me feel human again.

After twenty minutes, Carolyn came back in. She lifted us one at a time from the sink and dried us off before slipping us into the pocket of her bathrobe. Raymond was the last, still draped in his blanket and squirming defiantly in her grip.

When she finally pulled us out of her pocket, we were back in the guest room. The dollhouse sat on the dresser, completely empty. Carolyn placed us inside it gently, setting us on the plastic floor of the living room.

The first thing she put back in place was the portable toilet in the upstairs bedroom. Next was the shot glass, full of water, in the kitchen. She took the cardboard box from the closet and opened it, tossing the lid on the bed. Rather than dump its contents out, she reached in and gently set each piece of furniture in its proper room. And, to our delight, she deposited a huge pile of clothes on the floor in front of us.

As Carolyn helped us resettle, we scrambled to dress ourselves. Only Raymond refused to participate, standing in the corner of the dollhouse and glaring at his daughter as she arranged the furniture.

***

Dinner that night was shaved turkey, sliced cheese, and saltines. It was a feast, and we all tucked in with enthusiasm. Except for Raymond, who simply stood to the side of the paper plate with his arms crossed, bitterly watching his daughter.

While we ate, Carolyn sat down on the edge of the bed with the cardboard box sitting on the floor next to her. She reached into the box and pulled out Mr. Nichols' Honda Civic and gave him a playful wink as she set it on the floor next to her bare foot. Next was Denny's beat up Escort, with it missing fender. Finally, she set down the silver Lincoln Town Car that belonged to Raymond. She looked to her father for some kind of response, but he just turned away from her.

Carolyn shook her head sadly. "Your car is still downstairs, Dave," she said. "I'll bring it up later."

She hadn't produced Eddie's pickup or Linda's little Toyota, which were obviously still in the box. Instead, she placed the lid back on and put the box in the closet.

When we had eaten our fill, Carolyn didn't even chide us for wasting food. She picked us up one at a time and deposited us in the dollhouse. Her father was last. She held him for a second, stroking him with her index finger. He squirmed and pulled away from her, but said nothing. Shaking her head sadly, she slipped him into her pocket. Finally, she bent down to pick up the paper plate.

"Goodnight, little guys," she said. "It's going to be better from now on. I promise."

And with that she snapped off the light and left, closing the door behind her.

Denny turned on the light in the living room, which did little to illuminate the vastness of the guest room. I was still standing at the edge of the dollhouse, staring.

"What's up, dude?" he asked, coming up behind me. "Deep thoughts?"

"Always," I said, grinning. "But check that out."

He looked out into the darkness as well and saw what I had been looking at.

The door to the guest room was closed. But a tiny sliver of light shined underneath it. The barricade was gone.

"Dude!" Denny said. "The Great Escape is on!"

I nodded. It wouldn't be that night, obviously. Even if we could figure out a way down off the dresser, we'd be leaving poor Raymond at Carolyn's mercy. I wanted to believe even someone as monstrous as Carolyn wouldn't harm her own helpless father. But Carolyn had recently proven to be capable of atrocities we'd never imagined.

So no, it wouldn't be that night. But soon. Very soon.

***