Things had gone terribly wrong. The mission had failed. And now she had a unknown pill in her. She did not even know how she got away. It was a miracle.
Why couldn’t they have just given me a gun. God damn it.
Shawna had been running for quite some time and decided to take a quick rest. She had landed herself somewhere in the center of Manhattan. All of a sudden she felt a weird sensation. Her body froze; just up and stopped moving. Then her mind became fuzzy. Her vision became blurry.
When she could see and move again she was laying on the ground and a girl she did not know was holding her hand and helping her up.
"Are you ok?"
Shawna shook her head in an attempt to get rid of the weird feeling.
Feeling slightly better, she replied, "Oh, yes, I'm fine. Thank you."
The girl pulled her up. She was in a school uniform, which made Shawna miss her life before ‘everything’.
"I am terribly sorry about that. I did not see you there."
She felt the funny feeling come back and knew she had to get out of there.
"It is ok. Umm... Excuse me, I have to go."
A sudden twinge in the back of her mind gave her a feeling of being exhausted. She knew she was not actually tired, but still she could not shake off the feeling.
Ugh. Must be that blasted pill. I wonder what it is doing to me.
...strange feeling... strange girl...
"strange feeling... strange girl." I did not think these thoughts. Why are there words in my head.
Shawna was overwhelmed by exhaustion. She found an alleyway and sat down to rest.
What is happening to me...
She did not know how long she had been sitting in the alley but all of a sudden she no longer felt tired. She stood up slowly just in case her body was still doing funny things. She put her hand against the wall of the building bracing herself. After a second the wall felt like it was moving away. It was if it were on wheels and the more she leaned against it the further it rolled away.
She glanced around frantically, trying to figure out what was going on. The wall moved away faster causing her to fall forward. The concrete began to shift below her.
Shawna realized that she was shrinking. The process did not hurt like she thought it should. She just felt as if she was shivering and being tickled at the same time.
When she was finished she stood to analyze her newly huge surroundings. Shawna figured she was about two inches tall. Looking around the alley she noticed people coming her way.
Damn. Got to get out of here.
The people walked straight to her and knelt down to pick her up. They lifted her without any trouble (seeing there was not much she could do). Struggling in the mans grasp, she felt him squeeze quite a bit. She tried to tell him to put her down, but the words would not come.
"Caught you at last." The man’s voice sounded like thunder.
Shawna realized that he was from the Government, which was who she had attempted to infiltrate. He did this to me.
The twinge was back along with the feeling of refreshment, but also confusion and worry.
The man started to squeeze a bit harder. Ouch. I wish he would quit squeezing with his big hand. This is scary.
The man dropped Shawna into his briefcase. Before he closed it she noticed that there were four men in total, all of them in suits. Man... there are a lot of them. And they are all from the government. This is BAD.
The man closed the briefcase and Shawna was thrown around within it, almost getting crushed by the man’s cellphone. After a little bit the briefcase was placed down and the men started talking. Shawna could not hear exactly what was being said but she noticed three different voices, meaning either one of the men left or one was silent. Shawna guessed that it was the former.
Something caused the briefcase to shake like there was an earthquake. And at the same time the twinge caused her to feel faint. The pain that it was sending her was immense. She saw an image of three of the men flash before her eyes.
She heard one of the men clearly and guessed he had risen his voice a bit. He had said, "Hey, miss, are you alright?" The twinge responded to the question. The pain increased and it gave off a wary feeling. Then a girl’s voice answered the question. "I am very sorry. I just have this screaming headache. I am ok." the briefcase was shifted and was being opened as the man replied, "I have some Tylenol. Would you like some?"
Something fell and Shawna guessed it was the girl with the headache. Her twinge disappeared.
She looked up to find the briefcase was wide-open and the men were away from it. They were standing over the fallen girl.
Shawna took their distraction as a chance to get away. She climbed out of the briefcase and onto a café table. Knowing she had to get off the table Shawna looked around for a way down to the floor. She was lucky that the walls were ridged and provided hand and foot holds.
She climbed down as quickly as possible. As she reached the ground the girl was waking up. A commotion centered around her, which luckily included the Government men. As the girl awoke so did the twinge. It was less painful, and felt confused. ...What changed, I wonder?... Shawna realized that it was the girls thoughts. She knew that they had a connection and that she had to get the girl's attention. She began to pay attention to the conversation that was going on above her head.
"Why don't you go get changed and I will get you a glass of water."
"Fine."
The girl was going to get changed so Shawna followed her into the changing room. She kept under the tables until she reached the room and then slipped under the door.
The girl was at her locker and so Shawna hid behind the trash can. She figured the best means of communication would be through their strange mind connection.
The girl was walking for the door so Shawna screamed out with her mind.
STOP. Don't move.
The girl stopped.
You can hear me, right? Answer the question by whispering the word "yes" aloud.
"Y-yes."
...Good...
The girl panicked. Ohigod. What the hell is going on?! Shawna could feel the panic sear through her. It made her head hurt slightly.
No. Don't panic. You panicking makes my head hurt. You feel random emotions in the back of your mind, right? Answer in the same manner as last time.
"Yes."
I will explain details further later, but right now you have to listen to me. Do you understand?.
"Yes."
OK. Make sure no one is coming. When the coast is clear place you hand down on the ground on the left side of the trash can, palm up and open fisted.
...What?! Why in hells name would I do that?...
Because you said you would listen to me.
...You can hear my thoughts!...
And you can hear mine. That is how we are communicating at this very moment. Now put your hand on the ground.
"Fine." The girl did as she was told. When the her was on the ground Shawna instructed her not to panic.
"OK."
Shawna hesitated for a second, but then walked out from behind the trash can and climbed up onto the girls hand, sitting down in the center.
Don't get any funny ideas. You can feel my pain and fear.
...OMIGOD!!!...
The girl lifted Shawna up towards her face. It turned out that it was the girl who had knocked Shawna over in the street.
"You", she whispered. "What happened to you?"
I told you I would explain later. Right now we have to get out of here.
"Was it those men out there?"
Yes, now move. They can’t find me or you. Understand?
"Yes. Hold on. I am going to put you in my pocket. Do not struggle. I won’t do anything to you. I am telling the truth."
I know your words are the truth. I can read your mind, remember?
"Right..." Shawna almost chuckled at the idea of knowing someone else’s thought, but then remembered it was a two way deal.
The girl placed Shawna in her pocket, which was quite snug but not uncomfortable.
Shawna concentrated hard on seeing through the girls eyes. She was not completely successful but she did get snippets of what was going on outside of the pocket. The thing that stood out to her the most was the fact that the Government men were rummaging through their briefcase. She knew exactly what that ment.
Run.
...What?!...
You have to run. They are going to look for me. You can’t be here when they do.
...But...
Run now!
The girl had exited the café and was about to get in the car. But she glanced back over her shoulder, giving Shawna one more snippet glance at the men. They had gotten up and were talking to the manager about something.
Shawna knew exactly what they were talking about. Fear shot through her and she felt like all was lost, like she had failed again.
...RUN!!!...
The girl took off running.
...Where am I supposed to go?...
Shawna thought about the question for a moment. Do you have any money on you?...Yes...
How much?
...Two hundred in cash and a credit card...
Shawna knew the credit card was useless, but the cash would come in handy.Go to the Acela train station.
...What!...
Train station. West 34th street.
...Why?...
We are going to hop a train to Boston.
...Boston?! We are in Manhattan. Why would we go to Boston?!...
We can get help there.
...Why do we need help?!...
Shawna hesitated, not wanting to scare the girl. They will kill you and torture me.
The girl sped up slightly, and Shawna could feel the fear radiating from her mind. She tried to send calm feelings to the girl.
Shawna had to see if anyone was following them. Do not turn around or stop. Take me out of your pocket and hold me just over your shoulder facing behind you.
The girl did as she was instructed. Behind them the girls mother was following in her car, but had gotten stuck at a red light.
...How can you be so calm when you are that size?...
Shawna did not know how to answer the question. She had grown up knowing things like this were possible. But being two inches tall was beyond what she had ever experienced. She did know one thing though; the girl whose pocket she was in was a kind person, to whom she could trust.
I trust you... Only your mother is following us. Take this alleyway. Oh and you can put me back in your pocket.
While in the girls pocket, Shawna could feel the girl get warmer and warmer. She had been running for twenty minutes. And when she finally stopped she was breathing pretty heavily.
...Thank goodness I play sports, otherwise I would have died with all that running...
Shawna could not help but laugh. She knew that the thought was not supposed to be heard which made it funnier, but at the same time uncomfortable.
After a while the girl addressed Shawna again. ...The ticket says departure is in a half hour. You want some lunch?...As long as we don’t miss our train.
...How does a sandwich sound?...
Not meaning to be heard, Shawna automatically thought, Big.
The girl giggled.
...Sorry. That is kinda funny...
Shawna felt annoyed, but knowing it was two way decided to get over it quickly.
...Ok. How does a chunk of turkey and a chunk of bread sound?...
Better.
Shawna felt ridiculous eating a bread crumb and a piece of turkey the size of a bread crumb, but she decided not to complain. The girl found them an empty cabin to sit in.
...My name is Elizabeth, but you can call me Liz. What is yours?...
Shawna
...Well nice to meet you Shawna...
You too.
Shawna was completely comfortable with Elizabeth and felt no fear of what was to come. ...I wonder what’s in store... As Elizabeth thought that Shawna felt herself falling asleep.