by littlest-lily » Tue Sep 20, 2022 3:58 pm
Chapter 7
I’m not quite sure that I’m coming to when my eyes blink open. I’m in total darkness and there’s a buzzing in my ears, almost like the sound of white noise. But I start taking notice of various sensations - the stuffy air quality, the pounding in my head, the churning in my stomach, vibrations against my skin - and I slowly come to grips with the fact that I’m conscious again. I try to push myself to sitting and it’s a struggle at first as my muscles are feeling shaky and sore. I’m reminded that, no, today wasn’t just a terrible dream.
It would seem that I’m back in the plastic box, and from the ambient sounds outside I can tell that we must be on the road. A little confused by the papery texture of the floor, I figure out that Nathan must have put a tissue in here too as a lining. Maybe to make sure I don’t crack my head open as my limp body gets thrown around while he drives. Thankfully I didn’t roll too deep into it and suffocate instead.
I wonder how long I’ve been out, but I don’t have much longer to spend with my own thoughts as the car is already slowing down. I try to take a few deep breaths, steeling myself even as I feel my heart rate picking up.
When the box lifts up I notice I don’t get jostled quite as violently as the last time I was in here, more like a steady elevator in the darkness. There’s a click and I squint preemptively against the light as the lid swings open.
“Oh good, you woke up. Did you have a nice nap in there?” My vision clears and I take in the massive face looming above me. Nathan observes me intently before glancing at something off to the side, apparently the shrinking device which monitors my vitals as his next comment is, “Looks like your oxygen levels are back up too. Much better. I do prefer you to not be unconscious.”
He really doesn’t sound all that worried about the fact that I’d fainted and proceeds to promptly tilt my cage so that I slide out onto his palm. He gathers his things as he loosely wraps his fingers around me and then gets out of the car.
From the sun shining almost mockingly despite it being evening, I can see that the weather has cleared up, the rain having vanished just as swiftly as my previous life did. I peer out through the gaps between the titan’s fingers and catch glimpses of things that are actually vaguely familiar. I’ve been to Nathan’s apartment exactly once as he hosted a holiday party here this past December for his team. The parking garage is just across the street from his apartment building, and the general area is quite nice, dotted with a variety of trees and greenery despite the otherwise urban setting.
We enter the building and from there it’s a quick walk as the target destination is on the ground floor. I stare at the dark wood of the apartment door before it opens, taller and more intimidating than an actual fortress, and I feel a distinct sense of dread. This is another prison. My new world. I wonder what awaits me beyond this threshold.
A wave of cool AC hits us as Nathan steps inside and says, “You remember the layout, I don’t need to give you a tour? I can do a refresher later if you’d like.”
I don’t answer, looking in every direction. Everything feels so wide and distorted from my perspective, but from what I see and can remember I do get my bearings. The entryway leads right into a hallway, the entire apartment on the rather long and narrow side. There’s a coat closet and small bathroom to the immediate left, and then the hall opens up into the living room and kitchen, with his bedroom, which I've never entered, far in the back. The place looks immaculate, and I remember noticing last time that he seems to keep things particularly clean and tidy. Even the air feels sterile. I don’t see a scrap of carpet here, everything is cold and hard and nothing like the cozy space I’ve gotten used to living in.
We enter the kitchen area when the fleshy platform I’m on starts lowering and tilting, and I brace myself as I know what’s coming - Nathan rests his hand on the dining table and dumps me onto its surface before he continues walking on. I hurry to my feet, still feeling a little faint and preferring the more stable ground, but also intimidated by the empty, open landscape. To this day it’s easy to feel as vulnerable as a prey animal, especially when dealing with such a mammoth predator as my new captor has proven to be.
I stay on my guard as the titan returns after having tinkered around in the kitchen and he’s holding something - an almost comically tiny bowl to him that I quickly realize is a dipping sauce plate, a flat and circular one that might typically hold soy sauce. Except in it there’s water. He sets it down in front of me, the clatter of the ceramic sharp against my eardrums. Like a kid feeding his pet hamster.
“Drink up. I’ll be making dinner now - this won’t take long. I recommend you stay put.” Even before he’s finished his sentence he’s started walking away again, moving around the kitchen to pull something together. His movements in the background disconcert me, but any break I can have from him is appreciated.
I hurry over to the round dish. As small as it was to him, it’s closer to the size of a fish pond to me and I have to fully stand to reach over the edge of it. I dip my hands into the water and take avid gulps, relishing in how it feels against my dry throat. My body's grateful for the hydration after the long day I’ve had. I still feel tired, the headache lingering, but this is definitely helping. The table is otherwise completely empty and I saw how far the drop is to the floor, so I don’t bother exploring the area. I sit beside the dish, leaning against its cool surface to rest while remaining wary. And I wait.
Noise and smells start filling the room, and just the aroma of plain rice in the rice cooker makes my stomach complain loudly. I wonder how this is going to go down. Is he going to put something on a plate for me like he did with the water? Is he going to make me wait? Make me earn the food somehow? I’m not sure what to expect from him.
After about ten minutes or so Nathan comes back to the table with a simple meal in tow - some kind of vegetables and meat in a sauce over rice. He just has the one basketball court-sized plate along with his own set of chopsticks and water glass, nothing that seems meant for me. That is, outside of a wet wipe that he pulls out for himself but then tears a corner off and places it on the edge of his plate.
He turns his attention to my small form on the other side of the table and waves his hand out. “Come here. I’m sure you’re starving at this point. I’d rather not have you passing out on me again.”
He’s inviting me right to his plate. Not only would Leo usually make sure I had some amount of utensils or dishes of my own, he would generally cut up smaller pieces for me to make things easier. Not that I expected that amount of care and attention right now, far from it, but the unfamiliar territory as I make my way towards the pile of food is nerve wracking.
The lip of the dish is high enough that I actually have trouble getting myself on top of it, especially with my muscles so sore and weak. I try to hurry, anxious to do it on my own to avoid testing Nathan’s patience or inviting his touch. But I’m still not quite fast enough.
“So pathetic,” he mutters, an elbow propped on the table so he can lean chin against hand as he enjoys watching me struggle. Two long wooden poles appear on either side of me, making me gasp as they pinch my torso. The titan's using his chopsticks to lift me up and onto the plate.
He then proceeds to pick food up instead, starting his meal without addressing me further. I sit on the edge of the dish for a moment, watching a piece of chicken that’s as big as I am disappear into his mouth, making me shudder. I’m not fully sure what's expected of me… but I’m also very hungry. I slowly inch towards a couple of grains of rice, reaching out and snagging a crumb before scuttling back. These aren’t the most relaxed eating conditions but survival mode kicks in as I take in the sustenance.
I notice that as Nathan eats he’s scooting the food more in his direction, forcing me to travel a little further to get the next morsel. I crawl to the closest thing - a tiny piece of broccoli - and suddenly there’s the wooden pole shoving me over, not hitting me hard but knocking me off balance. I scramble away, hearing a sharp exhale above signaling amusement from my tormenter. He toys with me like this for the entire meal, pushing me around, occasionally snatching me between the chopsticks to relocate me, clearly entertained by whatever little game he’s playing.
I’m determined to fill my stomach and manage to do so bit by bit, and my body is once again grateful as I regain some strength. The flavors aren’t nearly as good as Leo’s cooking, but that’s the last thing I worry about right now. My hands are sticky by the end since I wasn’t offered any utensils, and I figure that’s what he provided the scrap of wet wipe for, so I use it. It’s a harrowing meal, but I get through it okay enough.
Nathan’s almost done eating himself when he finally starts talking to me. “Hmm, I’m just remembering that you’re vegetarian. You might have to get over that at some point, I’m afraid. Any actual allergies I should be aware of?”
I glance up at him and just shake my head no.
“You’re being awfully quiet,” he says, mouth curling up on one end. “Earlier I couldn’t get you to stop whining.”
I finish cleaning myself off as I glare at him. “What do you want me to say?” I wasn’t quite meaning to give him attitude, and I wince at the sound of my own tone.
But there isn’t retribution quite yet, his smile only widening at my demeanor. “Honestly I’m rather curious to hear how you ended up in your situation. Let me guess - you never actually had the flu?”
Ugh. I don’t really feel like chatting right now. I just want to be left alone. But I force myself to converse. Building a relationship with Leo ended up benefiting me, after all. This is a very different situation, but I still have to try what I can... Maybe the more he hears me talk, the more he realizes this is me, someone he knows and surely gives a shit about on some level? Maybe he’ll second guess himself eventually.
“No,” I say, answering his question. “It had already been a few days by the time I sent you that email.”
“He gave you access to your email? And that’s what you decided to do with it?"
“No, he… We answered messages together.”
“I see.” He leans back in his chair, eyeing me with keen interest. “You know, it certainly sounds like you two had quite the connection. If I didn’t know better, I’d say you’d entered your shrunken arrangement willingly, Lily. Don’t tell me you also share in this fantasy, from the other side?”
My temper flares up. Not only is the taunt absurd, but I don’t want to talk about my relationship with Leo with him. “I don’t,” I respond, tense, “We weren’t… like that.”
He laughs at this. “Fair enough. I suppose you wouldn’t have been so eager to come along with me if that had been the case. Still, the way he wrote those forum posts, the way he’d dote on you… such an odd way to treat his shrunken prisoner.”
I glower. “What, like a person?”
“Oh, is that what you still see yourself as? I’d meant more as a beloved little pet. I mean, look at you… how could you count as anything more?”
This gives me anxiety. I try and insist, “I mean, I… we’re talking right now, aren’t we? As people?”
He leans forward again, lowering his head slightly, and I reflexively recoil, almost falling backward off the edge of the plate. His tone is smooth and controlled as he looks at me with a mirthless smile. “See, that’s what makes this so enjoyable. You have all of the mental and emotional faculties of a human. But absolutely no amount of power. No autonomy. No say in anything that happens to you.”
He abruptly reaches towards me, taking me by surprise, and this time I do fall off the plate, knocked down by an index finger that’s suddenly on top of me, pinning me against the table, crushing against my chest and pushing up on my windpipe. I gasp for air but find none, eyes widening with panic as I struggle against the impossible weight. Nathan lowers further, hulking over me, staring at me with his icy stare.
“It would be so easy to snuff you out of existence,” he says softly, “Just the slightest bit of pressure…”
I stare pleadingly into his silvery gaze, unable to say anything, unable to breathe, only weakly writhing against him. The pressure releases and I’m coughing, putting a hand up to my throat as I push myself up on my elbow, my whole body shaking.
The titan straightens back up. “Have you ever heard of a real person ever being that weak?” He chuckles at the look on my face and terrified demeanor. “Don’t worry, my dear Lily. I don’t plan to kill you.”
I’m not so sure about that. He almost just did. In fact, at this point I’m not sure he hasn’t already taken someone's life.
“What happened… to the others?” I ask him in a strained, shaky voice as I slowly get back to sitting. “Obviously I’m not the first.”
His eyes narrow. I think he’s continuing to be surprised by my resilience. Again, not displeased, just interested. “You're only my seventh, actually,” he says casually, “All of the others I’ve sold off. Which I’m not exactly supposed to do, but I think I’ve done a particularly good job at being discreet. I'm not sure I’ll ever want to get rid of you, though. I’m getting much more enjoyment out of this than I did with strangers.”
Lucky me. Something he said catches my attention. “What do you mean, you’re not 'supposed' to?” Obviously, human trafficking is illegal, but it sounded like there was more to it than that.
He frowns, looking a bit perplexed by my question. “Did your boyfriend never tell you? Acquiring a shrinking machine comes with all sorts of strict rules and regulations. The most important of which is to stay extremely secretive, so that word of this technology doesn't reach the public sphere. Could you imagine the chaos otherwise?”
It’s in this moment that I realize just how little I know about the shrinking device and where it came from. “No, he didn’t… didn’t ever mention that…”
The laugh this time is a mocking one. “Jesus Christ, how is that man still alive? It’s not exactly in the fine print. Breaching some of these rules can literally result in a hit man being sent after you. Well, that’s not exactly stated verbatim, but the severity of the consequences are heavily implied.”
I stare into space, stunned by this new information. Did Leo really not know about this? If he did, no wonder he was so paranoid about trusting me to be bigger again and risk me speaking out. It’s not just about getting arrested on the off chance someone believed me. If word got out he could be… killed? Why didn’t he tell me about this?
But then my thoughts start to fizzle out. Why am I even worrying about it? I can’t speak out anyway, not anymore. None of it actually matters.
“But the risk is so worth it,” Nathan continues, “The power one yields with these devices is absolutely incredible. I’ve upgraded twice now, and the technology has only improved more with time. Speaking of which… I’m sure you’re curious about what my device can do that his older model couldn’t.”
This certainly gets my attention. I’m still recovering from him almost crushing me and the trembling across my body only intensifies. “No, I… please, Nathan, today’s been… too much…”
But he’s already reached into his pants pocket and I’m whimpering as he brings the shrinking device up into view. “Oh, relax,” he says, “I’m sure you’ll be happy about this one.” To my surprise, instead of aiming it my way, he sets the device down next to the plate. He props both elbows on the table, leaning forward as he gazes smugly down at me. “What if I were to have you… grow. To a foot tall.”
I gasp audibly as I feel a sudden tingling against my skin, along with an intense warmth and accompanied dizziness. I’m getting taller as I sit there, everything shrinking around me, my legs bumping up against the dinner plate, the titan looking more like my old boss by the second. I look down at the device, shocked that he’s not holding it or even touching it. I’m also reeling from the fact that since I’ve been shrunk I’ve never been taller than six inches, and now I’m about to double that. The dining table is only the size of my old apartment and shrinking. Everything feels closer, I’m feeling… stronger…
“There,” says Nathan as I reach Barbie doll size, “I bet that feels like a bit of a relief, doesn’t it? Voice activation is particularly useful, I'll mostly be using that to change your size. Ah- hold on, now.”
I’m hurrying to my feet at this point and start backing away from him, looking wildly around, trying to see if I can jump down to a chair or something. Large hands are reaching for me but they look so much less intimidating compared to a few seconds ago, and I try to push against him, my adrenaline spurred on by this new size. Annoyed, he swipes forward faster than I can react to and grips both hands around me, pinning my arms down and immobilizing my legs.
“Let’s not get any funny ideas,” he says, his voice frustratingly calm as I thrash against him, “I just figured I’d bring you up here so I can really show off this next part.”
I’m not listening, fighting him desperately, wanting to hurt him, even if it’s all for nothing, kicking fruitlessly and wiggling hard. I manage to pull an arm free and claw at his wrist, and in response he roughly yanks me off the table, holding me out above the tile. It’s not a fatal drop, but it would hurt, and then the hand that’s around my torso is squeezing, and I cry out as there’s a searing pain in the arm that’s still pinned down. He pinches his thumb against it hard, nail digging in.
“Stop struggling. Now.”
The pressure in my arm is getting excruciating, the joint in my elbow bending farther than it should and any second now he’s going to break it. I’m still far too small to have any chance of besting him. I wince. Relent. And become pliant in his grasp.
“That’s better,” says Nathan, relaxing his grip. He continues to glare at me and hold me aloft, as if waiting to make sure I’ve calmed down. He’s also spending an extra few seconds to take in my features, particularly the details in my face that are big enough to catch at this size. I’m sure I’m looking more like his old employee, too. But this moment doesn’t appear to be at all helpful to my situation. If anything, for the first time, I think I’m noticing… lust?
Shit.
Satisfied at my submissive demeanor, he lets go of my legs, just holding me around the torso now, so that he can bring a finger up to my face and then slowly run it down the length of my body, following every curve with an intimacy that leaves me shivering with disgust. And then he brings me back to stand on the table, setting me down, and I don’t try to run this time when he pulls away.
“As I was saying,” he says with a curt smile, reaching for the shrinking device. “Let’s continue with the demonstration, shall we? Just a quick setting change…” A few button presses later, he puts the device down again. “Alright. Shrink back down to an inch for me.”
My heart sinks along with the rest of me as I head back to miniscule status. But something feels different this time. It’s the same dizziness and tingling and warmth, but… the surface of my skin feels weird too. A tickling, a… shifting… I realize it’s my clothes moving against my skin. My clothes… are getting looser…
I'm shrinking but my outfit is not. This is a new kind of horror as fabric starts billowing around me, hanging over my too-small body, and the collar of my shirt is dipping lower, revealing too much. I pull the fabric up against my chest, but as I take a step back to do so, my leg gets tangled in my shorts so that I trip backwards. I fall into a heap as my clothes take up more and more space, becoming tarp-like, then tent-like, until I’m drowning in the fabric.
I’m left in darkness as Nathan’s voice, growing in magnitude once again, echoes with his laughter. “This one’s rather fun isn’t it? Unfortunately I can’t quite isolate any item that I want. That upgrade is prohibitively expensive, for now. But for whatever reason clothing and other fabric seems to work quite well."
I'm done shrinking now and frantically try to push my way through the dark, stifling maze, looking for some kind of seam that might lead to an exit. But I'm getting assistance whether I want it or not. The fabric shifts violently and I yelp as I tumble, rolling right out of the giant garment that's getting lifted into the sky.
I lay faceup, taking in the bizarre sight of my massive shirt looking puny between Nathan's fingertips. He looms over my small, now completely naked form sprawled on my own pile of clothing, a look of satisfaction playing on his face.
"There you are. And even more enticing now without all those clothes…"
I want to cover myself up, but survival instinct takes precedence as I see Nathan set down the shirt and reach for me instead. He pinches me between his fingers, rubbing them gently together so he can feel every part of me. But gentle for him is still incredibly rough for me, especially against my bare skin. I think I might start hyperventilating from the overwhelm of the nudity and fear of anything remotely sexual on the horizon–
After less than a minute of this, though, he sets me back down on the table, where I scramble to my feet and hug my arms protectively over my chest, pointlessly trying to cover up. I watch as the titan gathers up my oversized clothing into one hand.
“As much as I’d like to enjoy that little naked body of yours," he says coolly, "I think I’ll wait for a different evening, I have other things to attend to tonight. Let’s give you some dignity back, shall we? Adjust clothing to match subject.”
The AI of the nearby device obeys, the pile of gray and black fabric retreating on their own and becoming a tiny pile in the center of Nathan's palm. This has certainly been quite the demonstration. I shiver as I'm starting to feel cold, all the more anxious to get dressed again.
Cruelly, he reaches his arm out several inches further, depositing my clothes a good thirty feet away from my perspective. Left with little choice, I turn and head in that direction, away from where the giant's sitting.
“Wait, Lily. There’s one more setting I want to show you first.”
No more… Nerves frayed and not thinking straight, I pretend I didn't hear him, stubbornly continuing my trajectory. If he could just give me a minute…!
I stop in my tracks. Forced to stop. There's a brand new sensation inside of me. At first it feels like a ball of anxious energy, akin to the pressure I might feel during a panic attack. But it's a different kind of pressure, an insistent force of some kind that I feel in my upper back. I take a stumbling step backwards. There's something… pulling me. As if there was an invisible string looped through my shoulder blades and yanking me back. What the fuck?
I turn to look back at Nathan, my eyes wide with confusion. Bizarrely, I feel the pulling sensation shift as I move, the ball of pressure swooping around to my chest now. He sits there, calmly, back to leaning his chin on his propped up hand as he smirks. In his other hand that's resting on the table is the shrinking device, aimed right at me. His thumb is pressing the button, despite my size staying the same.
The pressure is unbearable and I stagger as I take another step. I try to dig my heels in and resist the pull of my own body, but it's like there's a magnet inside of me and I can't control it. I stumble forward again, try to stop, fail, and continue inching towards the device. Fighting back is becoming too painful and soon I'm taking slow but steadier steps, staring up in horror at my captor as I involuntarily make my way to him.
As I get closer, Nathan brings his hand down, laying it flat before me on the table. I'm forced to climb up onto his fingers, forced to walk down the length of them to his open palm.
"There's a good pet," he purrs, "Such an obedient little thing…"
Only once I reach the center of his hand does he take his thumb off the button and the painful pull finally vanishes. He lifts me up, slow enough that I manage to stay on my feet, and I can do little else but try to hug my arms around my naked chest again as his eyes bore into me. Even this he doesn't allow - he goes to try and pinch my hand to pull it away, but I relent before his ridiculously large fingertips can get a grip on me, throwing my arms aside in frustration at my helplessness and just letting him look at me.
I don't think his face is capable of reddening, but I certainly notice his pupils dilating ever so slightly with arousal, sharply visible against the light blue of his irises. “I can't believe this is the body you’ve been hiding away all this time," Nathan says softly, holding me too close to his face so that he can take in my minute features. "From what you were wearing at work I'd always thought you must have been scrawnier. You are going to be so much fun to play with, little one.”
I can feel the bile rising up in my throat. I hate hearing Leo's nickname for me coming out of this man's mouth.
He smiles coldly and lowers me down again, and I descend much further than I was anticipating, past the table, down, down, down to the floor. He slides me off of his palm and I land between his sock-clad feet on the cold tile, looking around wildly at the new landscape. His other hand appears to dump my clothes down too, this time dropping the pile right on top of me.
"Get dressed. It's time to introduce you to your new living arrangements."
[b]Chapter 7[/b]
I’m not quite sure that I’m coming to when my eyes blink open. I’m in total darkness and there’s a buzzing in my ears, almost like the sound of white noise. But I start taking notice of various sensations - the stuffy air quality, the pounding in my head, the churning in my stomach, vibrations against my skin - and I slowly come to grips with the fact that I’m conscious again. I try to push myself to sitting and it’s a struggle at first as my muscles are feeling shaky and sore. I’m reminded that, no, today wasn’t just a terrible dream.
It would seem that I’m back in the plastic box, and from the ambient sounds outside I can tell that we must be on the road. A little confused by the papery texture of the floor, I figure out that Nathan must have put a tissue in here too as a lining. Maybe to make sure I don’t crack my head open as my limp body gets thrown around while he drives. Thankfully I didn’t roll too deep into it and suffocate instead.
I wonder how long I’ve been out, but I don’t have much longer to spend with my own thoughts as the car is already slowing down. I try to take a few deep breaths, steeling myself even as I feel my heart rate picking up.
When the box lifts up I notice I don’t get jostled quite as violently as the last time I was in here, more like a steady elevator in the darkness. There’s a click and I squint preemptively against the light as the lid swings open.
“Oh good, you woke up. Did you have a nice nap in there?” My vision clears and I take in the massive face looming above me. Nathan observes me intently before glancing at something off to the side, apparently the shrinking device which monitors my vitals as his next comment is, “Looks like your oxygen levels are back up too. Much better. I do prefer you to not be unconscious.”
He really doesn’t sound all that worried about the fact that I’d fainted and proceeds to promptly tilt my cage so that I slide out onto his palm. He gathers his things as he loosely wraps his fingers around me and then gets out of the car.
From the sun shining almost mockingly despite it being evening, I can see that the weather has cleared up, the rain having vanished just as swiftly as my previous life did. I peer out through the gaps between the titan’s fingers and catch glimpses of things that are actually vaguely familiar. I’ve been to Nathan’s apartment exactly once as he hosted a holiday party here this past December for his team. The parking garage is just across the street from his apartment building, and the general area is quite nice, dotted with a variety of trees and greenery despite the otherwise urban setting.
We enter the building and from there it’s a quick walk as the target destination is on the ground floor. I stare at the dark wood of the apartment door before it opens, taller and more intimidating than an actual fortress, and I feel a distinct sense of dread. This is another prison. My new world. I wonder what awaits me beyond this threshold.
A wave of cool AC hits us as Nathan steps inside and says, “You remember the layout, I don’t need to give you a tour? I can do a refresher later if you’d like.”
I don’t answer, looking in every direction. Everything feels so wide and distorted from my perspective, but from what I see and can remember I do get my bearings. The entryway leads right into a hallway, the entire apartment on the rather long and narrow side. There’s a coat closet and small bathroom to the immediate left, and then the hall opens up into the living room and kitchen, with his bedroom, which I've never entered, far in the back. The place looks immaculate, and I remember noticing last time that he seems to keep things particularly clean and tidy. Even the air feels sterile. I don’t see a scrap of carpet here, everything is cold and hard and nothing like the cozy space I’ve gotten used to living in.
We enter the kitchen area when the fleshy platform I’m on starts lowering and tilting, and I brace myself as I know what’s coming - Nathan rests his hand on the dining table and dumps me onto its surface before he continues walking on. I hurry to my feet, still feeling a little faint and preferring the more stable ground, but also intimidated by the empty, open landscape. To this day it’s easy to feel as vulnerable as a prey animal, especially when dealing with such a mammoth predator as my new captor has proven to be.
I stay on my guard as the titan returns after having tinkered around in the kitchen and he’s holding something - an almost comically tiny bowl to him that I quickly realize is a dipping sauce plate, a flat and circular one that might typically hold soy sauce. Except in it there’s water. He sets it down in front of me, the clatter of the ceramic sharp against my eardrums. Like a kid feeding his pet hamster.
“Drink up. I’ll be making dinner now - this won’t take long. I recommend you stay put.” Even before he’s finished his sentence he’s started walking away again, moving around the kitchen to pull something together. His movements in the background disconcert me, but any break I can have from him is appreciated.
I hurry over to the round dish. As small as it was to him, it’s closer to the size of a fish pond to me and I have to fully stand to reach over the edge of it. I dip my hands into the water and take avid gulps, relishing in how it feels against my dry throat. My body's grateful for the hydration after the long day I’ve had. I still feel tired, the headache lingering, but this is definitely helping. The table is otherwise completely empty and I saw how far the drop is to the floor, so I don’t bother exploring the area. I sit beside the dish, leaning against its cool surface to rest while remaining wary. And I wait.
Noise and smells start filling the room, and just the aroma of plain rice in the rice cooker makes my stomach complain loudly. I wonder how this is going to go down. Is he going to put something on a plate for me like he did with the water? Is he going to make me wait? Make me earn the food somehow? I’m not sure what to expect from him.
After about ten minutes or so Nathan comes back to the table with a simple meal in tow - some kind of vegetables and meat in a sauce over rice. He just has the one basketball court-sized plate along with his own set of chopsticks and water glass, nothing that seems meant for me. That is, outside of a wet wipe that he pulls out for himself but then tears a corner off and places it on the edge of his plate.
He turns his attention to my small form on the other side of the table and waves his hand out. “Come here. I’m sure you’re starving at this point. I’d rather not have you passing out on me again.”
He’s inviting me right to his plate. Not only would Leo usually make sure I had some amount of utensils or dishes of my own, he would generally cut up smaller pieces for me to make things easier. Not that I expected that amount of care and attention right now, far from it, but the unfamiliar territory as I make my way towards the pile of food is nerve wracking.
The lip of the dish is high enough that I actually have trouble getting myself on top of it, especially with my muscles so sore and weak. I try to hurry, anxious to do it on my own to avoid testing Nathan’s patience or inviting his touch. But I’m still not quite fast enough.
“So pathetic,” he mutters, an elbow propped on the table so he can lean chin against hand as he enjoys watching me struggle. Two long wooden poles appear on either side of me, making me gasp as they pinch my torso. The titan's using his chopsticks to lift me up and onto the plate.
He then proceeds to pick food up instead, starting his meal without addressing me further. I sit on the edge of the dish for a moment, watching a piece of chicken that’s as big as I am disappear into his mouth, making me shudder. I’m not fully sure what's expected of me… but I’m also very hungry. I slowly inch towards a couple of grains of rice, reaching out and snagging a crumb before scuttling back. These aren’t the most relaxed eating conditions but survival mode kicks in as I take in the sustenance.
I notice that as Nathan eats he’s scooting the food more in his direction, forcing me to travel a little further to get the next morsel. I crawl to the closest thing - a tiny piece of broccoli - and suddenly there’s the wooden pole shoving me over, not hitting me hard but knocking me off balance. I scramble away, hearing a sharp exhale above signaling amusement from my tormenter. He toys with me like this for the entire meal, pushing me around, occasionally snatching me between the chopsticks to relocate me, clearly entertained by whatever little game he’s playing.
I’m determined to fill my stomach and manage to do so bit by bit, and my body is once again grateful as I regain some strength. The flavors aren’t nearly as good as Leo’s cooking, but that’s the last thing I worry about right now. My hands are sticky by the end since I wasn’t offered any utensils, and I figure that’s what he provided the scrap of wet wipe for, so I use it. It’s a harrowing meal, but I get through it okay enough.
Nathan’s almost done eating himself when he finally starts talking to me. “Hmm, I’m just remembering that you’re vegetarian. You might have to get over that at some point, I’m afraid. Any actual allergies I should be aware of?”
I glance up at him and just shake my head no.
“You’re being awfully quiet,” he says, mouth curling up on one end. “Earlier I couldn’t get you to stop whining.”
I finish cleaning myself off as I glare at him. “What do you want me to say?” I wasn’t quite meaning to give him attitude, and I wince at the sound of my own tone.
But there isn’t retribution quite yet, his smile only widening at my demeanor. “Honestly I’m rather curious to hear how you ended up in your situation. Let me guess - you never actually had the flu?”
Ugh. I don’t really feel like chatting right now. I just want to be left alone. But I force myself to converse. Building a relationship with Leo ended up benefiting me, after all. This is a very different situation, but I still have to try what I can... Maybe the more he hears me talk, the more he realizes this is [i]me[/i], someone he knows and surely gives a shit about on [i]some[/i] level? Maybe he’ll second guess himself eventually.
“No,” I say, answering his question. “It had already been a few days by the time I sent you that email.”
“He gave you access to your [i]email?[/i] And that’s what you decided to do with it?"
“No, he… We answered messages together.”
“I see.” He leans back in his chair, eyeing me with keen interest. “You know, it certainly sounds like you two had quite the connection. If I didn’t know better, I’d say you’d entered your shrunken arrangement willingly, Lily. Don’t tell me you also share in this fantasy, from the other side?”
My temper flares up. Not only is the taunt absurd, but I don’t want to talk about my relationship with Leo with him. “I don’t,” I respond, tense, “We weren’t… like that.”
He laughs at this. “Fair enough. I suppose you wouldn’t have been so eager to come along with me if that had been the case. Still, the way he wrote those forum posts, the way he’d [i]dote[/i] on you… such an odd way to treat his shrunken prisoner.”
I glower. “What, like a person?”
“Oh, is that what you still see yourself as? I’d meant more as a beloved little pet. I mean, look at you… how could you count as anything more?”
This gives me anxiety. I try and insist, “I mean, I… we’re talking right now, aren’t we? As people?”
He leans forward again, lowering his head slightly, and I reflexively recoil, almost falling backward off the edge of the plate. His tone is smooth and controlled as he looks at me with a mirthless smile. “See, that’s what makes this so enjoyable. You have all of the mental and emotional faculties of a human. But absolutely no amount of power. No autonomy. No say in anything that happens to you.”
He abruptly reaches towards me, taking me by surprise, and this time I do fall off the plate, knocked down by an index finger that’s suddenly on top of me, pinning me against the table, crushing against my chest and pushing up on my windpipe. I gasp for air but find none, eyes widening with panic as I struggle against the impossible weight. Nathan lowers further, hulking over me, staring at me with his icy stare.
“It would be so easy to snuff you out of existence,” he says softly, “Just the slightest bit of pressure…”
I stare pleadingly into his silvery gaze, unable to say anything, unable to breathe, only weakly writhing against him. The pressure releases and I’m coughing, putting a hand up to my throat as I push myself up on my elbow, my whole body shaking.
The titan straightens back up. “Have you ever heard of a real person ever being [i]that[/i] weak?” He chuckles at the look on my face and terrified demeanor. “Don’t worry, my dear Lily. I don’t plan to kill you.”
I’m not so sure about that. He almost just did. In fact, at this point I’m not sure he hasn’t already taken someone's life.
“What happened… to the others?” I ask him in a strained, shaky voice as I slowly get back to sitting. “Obviously I’m not the first.”
His eyes narrow. I think he’s continuing to be surprised by my resilience. Again, not displeased, just interested. “You're only my seventh, actually,” he says casually, “All of the others I’ve sold off. Which I’m not [i]exactly[/i] supposed to do, but I think I’ve done a particularly good job at being discreet. I'm not sure I’ll ever want to get rid of [i]you[/i], though. I’m getting much more enjoyment out of this than I did with strangers.”
Lucky me. Something he said catches my attention. “What do you mean, you’re not 'supposed' to?” Obviously, human trafficking is illegal, but it sounded like there was more to it than that.
He frowns, looking a bit perplexed by my question. “Did your boyfriend never tell you? Acquiring a shrinking machine comes with all sorts of strict rules and regulations. The most important of which is to stay extremely secretive, so that word of this technology doesn't reach the public sphere. Could you imagine the chaos otherwise?”
It’s in this moment that I realize just how little I know about the shrinking device and where it came from. “No, he didn’t… didn’t ever mention that…”
The laugh this time is a mocking one. “Jesus Christ, how is that man still alive? It’s not exactly in the fine print. Breaching some of these rules can literally result in a hit man being sent after you. Well, that’s not exactly stated verbatim, but the severity of the consequences are heavily implied.”
I stare into space, stunned by this new information. Did Leo really not know about this? If he did, no wonder he was so paranoid about trusting me to be bigger again and risk me speaking out. It’s not just about getting arrested on the off chance someone believed me. If word got out he could be… killed? Why didn’t he tell me about this?
But then my thoughts start to fizzle out. Why am I even worrying about it? I can’t speak out anyway, not anymore. None of it actually matters.
“But the risk is so worth it,” Nathan continues, “The power one yields with these devices is absolutely incredible. I’ve upgraded twice now, and the technology has only improved more with time. Speaking of which… I’m sure you’re curious about what my device can do that his older model couldn’t.”
This certainly gets my attention. I’m still recovering from him almost crushing me and the trembling across my body only intensifies. “No, I… please, Nathan, today’s been… too much…”
But he’s already reached into his pants pocket and I’m whimpering as he brings the shrinking device up into view. “Oh, relax,” he says, “I’m sure you’ll be happy about this one.” To my surprise, instead of aiming it my way, he sets the device down next to the plate. He props both elbows on the table, leaning forward as he gazes smugly down at me. “What if I were to have you… grow. To a foot tall.”
I gasp audibly as I feel a sudden tingling against my skin, along with an intense warmth and accompanied dizziness. I’m getting taller as I sit there, everything shrinking around me, my legs bumping up against the dinner plate, the titan looking more like my old boss by the second. I look down at the device, shocked that he’s not holding it or even touching it. I’m also reeling from the fact that since I’ve been shrunk I’ve never been taller than six inches, and now I’m about to double that. The dining table is only the size of my old apartment and shrinking. Everything feels closer, I’m feeling… stronger…
“There,” says Nathan as I reach Barbie doll size, “I bet that feels like a bit of a relief, doesn’t it? Voice activation is particularly useful, I'll mostly be using that to change your size. Ah- hold on, now.”
I’m hurrying to my feet at this point and start backing away from him, looking wildly around, trying to see if I can jump down to a chair or something. Large hands are reaching for me but they look so much less intimidating compared to a few seconds ago, and I try to push against him, my adrenaline spurred on by this new size. Annoyed, he swipes forward faster than I can react to and grips both hands around me, pinning my arms down and immobilizing my legs.
“Let’s not get any funny ideas,” he says, his voice frustratingly calm as I thrash against him, “I just figured I’d bring you up here so I can really show off this next part.”
I’m not listening, fighting him desperately, wanting to hurt him, even if it’s all for nothing, kicking fruitlessly and wiggling hard. I manage to pull an arm free and claw at his wrist, and in response he roughly yanks me off the table, holding me out above the tile. It’s not a fatal drop, but it would hurt, and then the hand that’s around my torso is squeezing, and I cry out as there’s a searing pain in the arm that’s still pinned down. He pinches his thumb against it hard, nail digging in.
“Stop struggling. Now.”
The pressure in my arm is getting excruciating, the joint in my elbow bending farther than it should and any second now he’s going to break it. I’m still far too small to have any chance of besting him. I wince. Relent. And become pliant in his grasp.
“That’s better,” says Nathan, relaxing his grip. He continues to glare at me and hold me aloft, as if waiting to make sure I’ve calmed down. He’s also spending an extra few seconds to take in my features, particularly the details in my face that are big enough to catch at this size. I’m sure I’m looking more like his old employee, too. But this moment doesn’t appear to be at all helpful to my situation. If anything, for the first time, I think I’m noticing… lust?
Shit.
Satisfied at my submissive demeanor, he lets go of my legs, just holding me around the torso now, so that he can bring a finger up to my face and then slowly run it down the length of my body, following every curve with an intimacy that leaves me shivering with disgust. And then he brings me back to stand on the table, setting me down, and I don’t try to run this time when he pulls away.
“As I was saying,” he says with a curt smile, reaching for the shrinking device. “Let’s continue with the demonstration, shall we? Just a quick setting change…” A few button presses later, he puts the device down again. “Alright. Shrink back down to an inch for me.”
My heart sinks along with the rest of me as I head back to miniscule status. But something feels different this time. It’s the same dizziness and tingling and warmth, but… the surface of my skin feels weird too. A tickling, a… shifting… I realize it’s my clothes moving against my skin. My clothes… are getting looser…
I'm shrinking but my outfit is not. This is a new kind of horror as fabric starts billowing around me, hanging over my too-small body, and the collar of my shirt is dipping lower, revealing too much. I pull the fabric up against my chest, but as I take a step back to do so, my leg gets tangled in my shorts so that I trip backwards. I fall into a heap as my clothes take up more and more space, becoming tarp-like, then tent-like, until I’m drowning in the fabric.
I’m left in darkness as Nathan’s voice, growing in magnitude once again, echoes with his laughter. “This one’s rather fun isn’t it? Unfortunately I can’t quite isolate any item that I want. [i]That[/i] upgrade is prohibitively expensive, for now. But for whatever reason clothing and other fabric seems to work quite well."
I'm done shrinking now and frantically try to push my way through the dark, stifling maze, looking for some kind of seam that might lead to an exit. But I'm getting assistance whether I want it or not. The fabric shifts violently and I yelp as I tumble, rolling right out of the giant garment that's getting lifted into the sky.
I lay faceup, taking in the bizarre sight of my massive shirt looking puny between Nathan's fingertips. He looms over my small, now completely naked form sprawled on my own pile of clothing, a look of satisfaction playing on his face.
"There you are. And even more enticing now without all those clothes…"
I want to cover myself up, but survival instinct takes precedence as I see Nathan set down the shirt and reach for me instead. He pinches me between his fingers, rubbing them gently together so he can feel every part of me. But gentle for him is still incredibly rough for me, especially against my bare skin. I think I might start hyperventilating from the overwhelm of the nudity and fear of anything remotely sexual on the horizon–
After less than a minute of this, though, he sets me back down on the table, where I scramble to my feet and hug my arms protectively over my chest, pointlessly trying to cover up. I watch as the titan gathers up my oversized clothing into one hand.
“As much as I’d like to enjoy that little naked body of yours," he says coolly, "I think I’ll wait for a different evening, I have other things to attend to tonight. Let’s give you some dignity back, shall we? Adjust clothing to match subject.”
The AI of the nearby device obeys, the pile of gray and black fabric retreating on their own and becoming a tiny pile in the center of Nathan's palm. This has certainly been quite the demonstration. I shiver as I'm starting to feel cold, all the more anxious to get dressed again.
Cruelly, he reaches his arm out several inches further, depositing my clothes a good thirty feet away from my perspective. Left with little choice, I turn and head in that direction, away from where the giant's sitting.
“Wait, Lily. There’s one more setting I want to show you first.”
No more… Nerves frayed and not thinking straight, I pretend I didn't hear him, stubbornly continuing my trajectory. If he could just give me a minute…!
I stop in my tracks. [i]Forced[/i] to stop. There's a brand new sensation inside of me. At first it feels like a ball of anxious energy, akin to the pressure I might feel during a panic attack. But it's a different kind of pressure, an insistent force of some kind that I feel in my upper back. I take a stumbling step backwards. There's something… [i]pulling[/i] me. As if there was an invisible string looped through my shoulder blades and yanking me back. What the fuck?
I turn to look back at Nathan, my eyes wide with confusion. Bizarrely, I feel the pulling sensation shift as I move, the ball of pressure swooping around to my chest now. He sits there, calmly, back to leaning his chin on his propped up hand as he smirks. In his other hand that's resting on the table is the shrinking device, aimed right at me. His thumb is pressing the button, despite my size staying the same.
The pressure is unbearable and I stagger as I take another step. I try to dig my heels in and resist the pull of my own body, but it's like there's a magnet inside of me and I can't control it. I stumble forward again, try to stop, fail, and continue inching towards the device. Fighting back is becoming too painful and soon I'm taking slow but steadier steps, staring up in horror at my captor as I involuntarily make my way to him.
As I get closer, Nathan brings his hand down, laying it flat before me on the table. I'm forced to climb up onto his fingers, forced to walk down the length of them to his open palm.
"There's a good pet," he purrs, "Such an obedient little thing…"
Only once I reach the center of his hand does he take his thumb off the button and the painful pull finally vanishes. He lifts me up, slow enough that I manage to stay on my feet, and I can do little else but try to hug my arms around my naked chest again as his eyes bore into me. Even this he doesn't allow - he goes to try and pinch my hand to pull it away, but I relent before his ridiculously large fingertips can get a grip on me, throwing my arms aside in frustration at my helplessness and just letting him look at me.
I don't think his face is capable of reddening, but I certainly notice his pupils dilating ever so slightly with arousal, sharply visible against the light blue of his irises. “I can't believe this is the body you’ve been hiding away all this time," Nathan says softly, holding me too close to his face so that he can take in my minute features. "From what you were wearing at work I'd always thought you must have been scrawnier. You are going to be [i]so[/i] much fun to play with, little one.”
I can feel the bile rising up in my throat. I hate hearing Leo's nickname for me coming out of this man's mouth.
He smiles coldly and lowers me down again, and I descend much further than I was anticipating, past the table, down, down, down to the floor. He slides me off of his palm and I land between his sock-clad feet on the cold tile, looking around wildly at the new landscape. His other hand appears to dump my clothes down too, this time dropping the pile right on top of me.
"Get dressed. It's time to introduce you to your new living arrangements."