Brutal winter wind pierced through your jacket, and no matter how many layers you seemed to have, the Rocky Mountains' weather tore through it biting at your pale skin. You stand on an icy cliff overlooking a sight many would have considered to be extinct. The walled city of Jackson stretched below, covered in bright streetlights, armed guards, and the laughter of families gathering around for what looked to be a winter festival. Joining the gnawing bitter cold was a subtle hint of jealousy in the back of your mind, the Fireflies had always been your family but rebuilding the world was too important to them to indulge in these kinds of activities. Slinging your heavy backpack off your shoulders, you peer into its dark contents. Inside was a device just as hard to believe existed as a real city with electricity and clean water. Today, it seemed, was a day for the impossible.
The shrink ray had a surprisingly simple design despite what its name might imply. A chamber for a specialty battery with a typical charging outlet, in front of it, two triggers, the closer one to shrink and the further one to grow. Finally, a knob depicting various sizes spanning from miles in height to less than a nanometer for shrinking, though it was hard to picture anyone willingly getting that big or small no matter the reason. Placing it back in the bag, you start to walk down the cliffside towards a small outlook posted on the border between these hilly woods and the large stretch of barren land surrounding the city. Your gloved hand shoves into your pocket and pulls out an old photograph speckled with dried blood, one you've seen a thousand times over the past 4 years but you stare at its contents regardless. The picture is of an older, gruff-looking man carrying a girl over his shoulders, the two are laughing at one another and the bottom text reads "The first of many memories, From Joel"
Your eyes sting from the cold and even though the last few words are hard to read, you know them by heart. The same loving parent carrying his kid was a cold-blooded murderer who had escaped death more times than he ever deserved. He threw the future of the human fucking race away for one person. The math was simple, everyone at the Fireflies had seen it, even Dad after some debate. Despite their efforts, all the countless hours of work, rewarded with a bullet to the head. You can feel your blood boiling, what you'd do to that man if you got the chance, there'd be no mercy. You grit your teeth, studying the details of his hair, face, and body frame. You study the girl too, if they've been cooped up here all this time, then perhaps she could lead you to him. Owen was certain they were but only one person could sneak in without being seen. Shoving the photo back into your pocket, you slowly approach the rear of the building listening for movement inside. Obnoxious laughter echoed out through the garage next to you and as you peer around the corner you see two horses waiting patiently for their riders. The two men rose from their card game and headed through a rusty, metal door. Taking advantage of the opening, you dart behind one of the horses and quickly pull out the shrink ray. The horse is carrying a large milk box on the side of its saddle filled with all sorts of canned food, ammo, and a lone comic book folded at the bottom. Pointing the barrel at yourself, you set the device to its highest shrink setting of 1 foot and pull the trigger. A stale green light engulfs your vision as you feel your body slowly shrink to around the height of the horse's ankle. Firmly wrapping your arms around the horse's hind leg, you pull yourself up onto its large backside. The horse spooks and begins to shuffle its massive body around feeling your presence on its back. Turning the dial once more, you scramble over to the box and pull the trigger again. A wave of nausea, stronger than before overcomes you as the world grows much larger. You eventually stop shrinking and at just an inch tall you squeeze yourself in between comic book pages. The horse forgets about you and with perfect timing the two men come back outside, fully geared up to ride back home for the holiday.
A large blanket is thrown over the box, blinding you for the short ride back. You hear the giant hooves of the horses smashing into the ground as they walk and the booming voices of the men joking above you. You still can't believe the plan was working, you had all tested the device back at base but you've never really expected it to work when you most needed it. The world rumbles deeply as the large, wooden gates slowly crack open letting the two scouts pass through. Light fills your boxed world as the blanket is removed and a giant gloved hand descends into your domain. The fingers wrap around the comic above and below you and squeeze. You feel your fragile body easily compact under the pressure and if things get any tighter, you might just pop! The comic is lifted into the air only to immediately be tossed onto the ground. The long freefall did nothing to help your fear of heights and when you crash to the ground, your body is sent flying out of the book and onto a shallow bed of snow. You nearly vomit at the sight of the man's gigantic boots in front of you, his equally large arms stretching over you knocking loudly on the painted door to your right. The man turns away and you are left stranded in the cold snow, waiting for someone to answer.
You stand shivering in grey daylight surrounded by falling snow, flakes graze the cover of the comic behind you as the ruckus of city life bellows from far across the street. Vendors selling meat, spare parts, and crops holler at people passing by. The clip-clopping of hooves pound the dirt roads and dark backstreets carrying travelers, natives, and everything in between. Suddenly the large wooden door before you creaks open revealing a warmly lit interior and the massive, black Converse sneakers of the home's owner. As the person bends down to pick up the comic, you crane your small head back as far as it can go until your mouth opens with shock. The woman's auburn hair, emerald green eyes, and a deep scar across her right eyebrow herald another instance of exquisite luck: a common theme of your day thus far. The woman smiles as she picks up the issue, she has yet to notice your shrunk self between her legs. You don't have long as she remains captivated by the cover art, you make a break for inside, scampering past her shoes and onto the soft, warm carpet inside. A foot crashes into the ground next to you with its sister already sailing over your head. You watch the giantess' footsteps as she shuts the door behind her and walks over to her desk. Seeing a person that large sent shivers down your spine, sure, she could kill you with a single step, but a part of you wouldn't mind being this size forever. Quickly, you pull out the shrink ray and run your hand along the serrated blade tucked away on your hip. Adjusting the knob and setting the device to grow, you aim the weapon at yourself ready to take this woman hostage. You pull the trigger expecting the same pale green light to surround your body but nothing happens. Strange. You pull the trigger again and this time a couple of sparks burst out of the barrel and drop pathetically down to the floor. Confused and a bit frustrated, you turn the weapon around and read the LED screen just above the battery. Dead... Completely dead. How could you have not noticed it earlier?? You could have sworn it was fully charged before you left. Your heart pounds in your chest, your mind already coming up with horrible scenarios in which you are this small forever. No! This is not how you die! You aim the gun back at you and squeeze the trigger as tight as you can. Again and again, you squeeze and squeeze hoping for something to come out but nothing does. You smack the side of the device, take the battery out, and put it back in again but to no avail. You scream, you wail, you curse yourself for being so stupid. In your rage and frustration, you throw the device onto the ground, the knob pops clean off, and the internal wiring surges. The gun goes haywire sending sparks in every direction, green light spewing from every crack, the light pierces your chest and arms sending painful waves of vertigo up your spine and into your head. You keel back in agony, your bones growing and condensing at random. The pain is too much to handle and your vision goes black.
You awake with a heavy head and legs of jelly. The world seems bigger than before but not by much. However, the biggest difference was that the shrink ray was completely and utterly dead. Your only chance at salvation was out the window in pieces. Your only inkling of hope was in the woman sitting peacefully at her desk on the opposite side of the room flipping through comic pages and listening to music. Your eyes widen with excitement, the hair, the freckles, the scars on her forearm. This has to be that girl Ellie! Getting her attention might just keep you alive long enough to find Joel, what you'd do when you saw him was a later problem for future Abby. Right now, you have to decide where you are going to go. The house from what you could tell was not very clean at all, dust rained constantly onto the carpet, and clothes and dishes lay scattered all around.
You stand in the center of the home. North is Ellie sitting at her desk, West is the bedroom area littered with clothes. East is the living room with a couch and, gulp, a dog bed housing a slumbering German shepherd. Northwest is the bathroom and Northeast is the kitchen area...
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