Maneuvering his red sedan into the last free parking space, Bryan stepped out of the car. Before him stood the cement building, the once white walls stained from age and weather, one side of it serving as a convenience store and the other as an automotive repair shop. The parking lot was located near the back of the building, with the gas pumps located in the front of the building.
Bryan rubbed his stomach as it growled indignantly, he really hoped they had his favourite orange scone in stock.
As he walked, a loud clinking sound caught his attention. Looking down he saw a discarded bottlecap roll to a stop before him, not particularly notable since the parking lot was rather litter laden. He continued around the corner, an unpleasant smell tickling his nose causing it to wrinkle.
One of the young station employees leaned on the wall ahead, a cigarette in one hand and a cellphone in the other. Bryan knew him by sight, the tall 22 year old's name tag read Derrick. He was dressed in the usual Keystone station company shirt, black slacks, and sneakers. The attendant didn't seem to notice Bryan as he passed, too engrossed in his cellphone.
Bryan stepped through the threshold into the store, the cool conditioned air washing over him mercifully. "Hey there, Mr. Smith. Good morning!" Greeted Paul, the station manager, a burly man in his late thirties. He was dressed in a worn company shirt, black carpenter slacks and work boots. Bryan greeted him back as he continued to the counter where the pastries and coffee resided. His stomach grumbled an impatient reminder.
Returning shortly to the counter with his scone and coffee, Bryan noticed a group of tiny ants crawling over the counter top. Paul approached the counter, and noticed Bryan's staring. With a grunt he brushed the ants off the counter, sending them to the floor, and looked back at Bryan with a friendly smile.
"Will that be everything?" Paul said as he rung up the items, and Bryan promptly nodded. With a friendly wave, Bryan exited through the sliding glass doors and back outside. He had already almost finished the scone, and drank the warm liquid gratefully as he passed Derrick and back around the corner to the parking lot.
The hungry man stopped as he finished the last of the pastry, despite it being packaged and not fresh, it still filled the gap in his stomach. He was almost feeling better despite his perplexing situation in the laboratory, before a familiar feeling became apparent in his gut. His face went pale as the sensation continued through his body, his muscles tingling. This sensation was one he exclusively associated with shrinking.
Not a second sooner, then the ground seemed to lurch beneath his feet, his vision blurring as his body seemed to both stretch and condense. He hit the ground roughly moments later, the feeling subsiding quickly as his body recovered. Bryan sat up stiffly and rubbed his head, his face nearly white from shock and panic.
While still in the same location as before, the surrounding landscape appeared vastly different. Towering before him was the cement wall of the gas station, looming many miles in height. All around him spanned an endless landscape of asphalt, dotted with boulder-sized pebbles and gigantic bits of trash. His heart sunk as he took in this whole new world.
Every test Bryan had preformed with the shrinking formula was done under a controlled environment in his laboratory. The little excursion he had planned wouldn't of even seen him leaving the safety of the shipping box, and always with the antidote close at hand. Murphy's Law struck against him now, as the falsely failed formula lay dormant until now, shrinking him to an incredibly tiny size far away from the antidote, which still lay in the cardboard box at his home. This all seemed like some horrible nightmare to the now little man.
Stepping towards a huge structure, tiny Bryan realized what it was with a lump in his throat. The barely noticeable bottlecap he had kicked earlier now rivaled any building in size, standing almost twice as high as the shrunken man. He approached it, marveling its size and imagining the dozens people it could easily house. A sudden chill went down his spine as he caught sight of a horrid being that appeared around the corner of the bottlecap. Ducking behind cover, Bryan watched an ant the size of a truck meander before him. The disgusting creature appeared shiny with grease and covered in fine hairs crawled along, busily brushing the ground with it's revolting antennae.
Bryan was never a fan of insects, and before now, had never thought of encountering one at a shrunken size. The huge beast seemed to discover what it was searching for, and speedily raced off, leaving the tiny man behind.
Standing back up, Bryan walked away from the spacious bottlecap, his mind clocking at full speed in search of an answer. How could the formula still take effect almost 24-hours later? What caused it to lie dormant in the first place? And, more importantly, how was he going to survive in a world of giant insects? His little feet walked over a massive wad of hardened gum, pressed flat into the ground.
All around him was filth, now unmistakably visible from his new perspective. Ponds of noxious liquid dotted the landscape, along with crushed cigarette butts bigger than metro trains. The foul smells that accompanied such a terrain were also magnified, causing further discomfort to the distraught man.
As he approached the corner of the massive cement wall, a new, yet very familiar scent assaulted his nose, the smell of cigarette smoke. With timid steps, Bryan walked around the corner, his jaw nearly dislocating as he took in the sight. The previously encountered ant seemed trivial when compared to the now gigantic station employee. Still leaning against the wall, his cigarette nearly spent, the young station attendant looked positively god-like. The tiny man watched as the giant's huge arm lifted the burning cigarette to his lips, and expelled a hurricane-worth of smoke from his massive nostrils.
Snapping from his stupefied gawking, Bryan needed to formulate a plan. The titan's gigantic footwear loomed in the distance, the Fallen skate brand logo visible in the dark suede material making up the sneaker. The ground trembled as the sneaker shifted slightly, Bryan swallowed hard as he imagined just how huge it was up close.
His only coarse of action was to try and get the young titan's attention. Unfortunately, Derrick barely noticed him before at normal size, how could Bryan ever hope to get the careless guy's attention at a size smaller than an ant?
He decided to...
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