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.
***
Giantess World
Summer Job by Cayce