Little Scare (Ch 7)

Ryan's curiosity nearly cost me my life, but Calleigh stops him just in time.

Motion on the bed woke me from my sleep, slowly opening my eyes to the light that I saw illuminate the darkness a few seconds later. It felt so much better sleeping on her bed versus on her nightstand. It was softer and less textured. Listening in the distance, I could hear the shower turn on, making me close my eyes again. She’s going to be a little bit so why not just relax some more before having to get up. There’s really nothing else for me to do.

Sleep started to pull me back in until the bed shifted slightly to the left before a voice from above called to me, “Wake up, it’s almost time to leave. I would like you to eat something before we go so you’re not hungry in my pocket. Stretching, I made myself out from under the washcloth into the light, where I was greeted by Calleigh sitting on my side of the bed next to the pillow, smiling. I smiled back at her, “I’m awake. Was just waiting for you to finish getting ready.” Lowering her hand down, I eagerly crawled into it to enjoy the warmth of her skin. Under the washcloth wasn’t cold, but it wasn’t the heat I wanted either.

Carrying me into the kitchen, Calleigh took a tiny piece of banana from the one she ate as well as a partial spoonful of milk to wash it down. That was all it took to fill me up for most of the day, so the only thing I would require help with for a while is using the bathroom, which she did right before we left. The sounds of her shutting the door to her car, starting her engine and the noise from the road sounded so loud and a bit muffled from inside her pocket. It kind of added to the thrill that I could be hidden away by anyone and taken away, whether known or unknown. If Calleigh had never found me in her pocket that first day, this is where I would be on the way to her house while trying to figure out how to get her attention. That thought somehow excited me.

The drive wasn’t too terribly long, I was grateful for the ride because now the constant motion as she walked, rocking me up and down repeatedly, overtook my body once again. I was glad I had long since got used to it otherwise this would be a bad trip every time. My joy was hardly contained when I heard Natalia’s voice, nearly falling out of the pocket to say hi to her. “Be careful,” Natalia laughed as I caught myself before going over the edge of the pocket. “Sorry. Just got ahead of myself. I’m always happy to see either of you in the morning when it isn’t your house I stayed at.” “I know. Just don’t want you falling on the floor again as soon as we get here,” Calleigh added her concern. “Not the best way to start the shift.”

Agreeing with her, I waved at Natalia and pulled myself back down into the pocket so they could get to work. I knew it was going to be quite a few hours before I’m able to get some leg stretching so I just curled up in my usual spot in the bottom corner and drifted off to sleep. It was sometime later when the feeling of needing to pee woke me up with the motion of Calleigh walking not helping. When she stopped, I tried to hit her pants hoping she would feel it, but I got no response. Sighing heavily, I climbed up to the top of the pocket and poked my head up. I made sure to stay mostly in it so that I didn’t accidentally fall out. Looking around, I saw that the coast was clear and made another attempt to get her attention by yelling out, “Calleigh!” She stopped what she was doing with the evidence and whispered, “Are you okay?” “Yeah, I just need to pee.” “Okay, hold on.”

A few minutes went by before I saw her fingers reaching for me. I was more than happy to let Calleigh lift me up and place me onto the table next to the large microscope. Underneath it was a folded piece of Kleenex. “Sorry, it’s all I can do for you right now. I hope that is okay.” I nodded, “I can work with this. Thank you.” Dragging the folded tissue to more in the center, I stood on top of it and released my bladder. The relief was long overdue and now that the pressure was gone, I felt I could move around. Walking around to the edge of the microscope, I leaned against the leg of it and watched as Calleigh worked.

Every so often she would look at me and smile before continuing. It was about an hour later when she finally said something, “You’ve been watching everything I do since I put you down. Didn’t think what I was doing was that interesting.” Without missing a beat, I responded to that thought, “It’s not what you’re doing that I’m interested in.” I actually thought I saw Calleigh blush a little as her smile grew, “You are so sweet.” The printer sounded the results of her latest lab work, interrupting whatever this moment was.

Pulling out the paper, Calleigh said to me, “Get under the microscope. I need to show this to Horatio. I won’t be long.” Nodding, I made my way to the center of the machine’s shadow, staying well out of sight. About a half hour later, I got a little bored and went to the edge of where the light hit the table. There was no one in the room still so I started to walk a little out of the shade until something caught my eye. Looking in the distance, I saw someone enter the room that I had already ran from before…Ryan. Without a second thought, I turned and hurried back under my hiding spot, shaking, hoping he didn’t see me.

His midsection was all I could see as I watched him walk around the table for a few minutes, messing with either the equipment or the evidence. I turned away from him thinking I was in the clear. Everything seemed okay until I felt a forceful gust from behind sending me out from under the microscope and into the middle of the table. Before I could do anything, a large glass jar looking object was placed over top of me. Fear of him finding me out like this took over, so I curled up as much into a ball as I could, keeping one eye visible so I could see what he does. It only took maybe half a second to notice that it was a glass beaker that he put over me.

Grabbing a piece of paper, Ryan slid it under me and flipped the beaker. I landed at the bottom, holding onto my legs so that I didn’t splay out. I was too scared to let him see me. There was no telling what he would do even if he realized I wasn’t what he was thinking. The beaker began to slide back and forth, slamming me hard into the sides. One time my head hit just enough to disorientate me slightly. When the shaking stopped, my vision cleared just before something long and sharp poked right in the middle of my curled body, just missing going through any part of my skin. When it opened, I made a good assumption that he had found some pointy tweezers to try and get me to open up. Ryan did this a few times, and with each retreat ended up with me resuming my position.

Just when I thought it was over, the tweezers returned and made contact with my upper thigh. Stabbing right in the center of it, I screamed out as he spread the two points open, ripping a hole in my leg, nearly tearing it completely apart. Pulling back, I could feel the blood rushing out of my wound as the feeling of my left leg began to fade. “What kind of bug IS this?” Using the tweezers, he pushed me around, smearing blood under me all over the bottom of the jar.

The sounds of heels were barely heard approaching the doorway followed by a voice I was wishing I heard before all of this, “Ryan! What are you doing?” “I saw this bug under the microscope and I’m trying to figure out what it is. When I poked it, a lot of this red stuff started coming out. It almost looks like our blood. It also made what sounded like a scream.” The next time Calleigh spoke, I could hear the fear in her voice, trembling in an almost crying tone, “Ryan. Please give that to me.” Instead of handing me over, he asked Calleigh, “Are you okay? It’s just a bug.” My mind began to get fuzzy from all the blood loss that still flowed out. It wasn’t as much anymore, but it may be because I’m running out of it.

Calleigh’s pleas got more fearful, “I’m begging you. I can’t explain everything to you right now, but I will tell you that this is no bug. She’s a human being and you’re killing her.” The rest of my senses were fading when the beaker was passed into Calleigh’s hand, hardly noticing her tilting it so that my nearly unconscious body could slide into her waiting palm. It was then that I had my first out of body experience. Watching from above, I saw Calleigh use a small cotton piece dampened with saline to clean me up the best she could, carefully spreading my limbs out so she could see the damage.

Ryan was leaning in close to witness a human body emerging from under all the blood Calleigh managed to clean off. Placing a folded Kleenex on the table, I was carefully placed on it so that she could use both of her hands. Without cleaning my blood from her palm, she grabbed a second pair of tweezers to use as another hand. Ryan suddenly realized what he had done, and asked, “Did I just kill her?” “I don’t think so. I can see she’s breathing, but she lost a lot of blood. I need to wrap her leg up somehow.”

Looking around the room for the best thing to use, he found the First Aid kit that was in a box hanging at the back of the room. Pulling out a square of gauze, he used the scissors to cut it into the thinnest strips he could and handed them to Calleigh. She in turn used one pair of tweezers to hold up my torn leg while with the other managed to somehow wrap my thigh with enough pressure that held with the tinies piece of tape I’ve ever seen. My astro self was in awe of how she was able to do all that with just a couple pair of tweezers. This woman is nothing but surprises.

My vision began to shift after Calleigh washed her hands and proceeded to pick me up to place me back in her palm. Everything was going black but the feeling of the heat from her skin enveloped me. I opened my eyes for a minute to see her and Ryan staring down at me in worry before I passed out. My dreams were full of pain while I watched what looked like two fabric pieces made out of skin being sewn together using red thread. It was more like veins than anything cotton. Each time the needle went through the edge of the squares, I felt the stabbing sensation. It went on over and over again until both pieces were completely stitched together. Right at the last pass of the needle, my eyes opened to somewhere unfamiliar.

It was dark with a sliver of light at the stop that brought in just enough for me to somewhat see my surroundings. Beneath me was a clean folded Kleenex with only a spot of blood on it from where it seeped through my bandage. Feeling it, I admired the work Calleigh did. I noticed that it didn’t really hurt all the much anymore. That’s when my dream made sense. It was my body healing rapidly and painfully. A miraculous new ability to my shrunken size. Taking in my surroundings, I saw behind me was a stack of papers that were of various colors, assuming to be something important. To my right there was a small bowl that held a few paperclips and some loose change. On the bottom next to my little bed was a pen and pencil side by side. This was when my conclusion came to the fact that I was in someone’s desk drawer, just wasn’t sure whose.

The answer to my question came the moment the drawer opened, blinding me in the sudden light for a few seconds. After my eyes adjusted, I looked up to see Horatio’s blue eyes peering down at me with such a caring expression as he stood over the drawer. Seeing that I was awake, he smiled, “Hey there. How are you doing?” “I’m okay.” “How’s your leg?” Rubbing the bandage, I replied, “Strangely much better. It still kind of hurts, but its nothing near as bad as before.” “That’s good to hear.” Looking back up at him, I asked, “How long have I been out?” Sitting down in his chair, he held his caring gaze on me, “Only a couple of hours. I kept checking on you to make sure you were still breathing.” I smiled, “Thank you. I’d like to see Calleigh and let her know I’m okay.”

Nodding, Horatio said, “I’ll give her a call.” Bringing out his phone, he dialed Calleigh’s number and waited for her to pick up. “Hey Horatio! How’s Melissa?” “She’s better. She woke up a few minutes ago and wants to see you.” “Great! I’ll be right there.” Listening to her voice on the other end of the phone made my heart skip a beat. I really couldn’t wait to show her I was alive because of her. I was getting deep into that thought when Horatio spoke and refocused my attention back to him, “Are you okay with me helping you out of my desk drawer?” My body froze when he asked me that. I was always uncomfortable with men touching me, and now here’s a giant one offering to hold me with one hand. I knew he would understand if I refused, but I had a lot of respect for his character and if there was any man I had to choose to help me with anything, it would be him.

Not making him wait any longer, I gave him a nod, “I’m okay with it.” Moving his hand down to place it palm up next to me, I first slowly reached out to touch it. For a man’s hand, it was really smooth. I expected at least a little roughness. Getting my legs underneath me, I used his hand like a wall I could lean on. Using my good leg, I stood up before attempting to put pressure on my injured one. Not feeling the pain I thought I was going to, I assumed it was almost all better. I took a few steps with it just to test it out before pulling myself onto Horatio’s hand. Lifting me up, he took note on my practice walking, “How did that feel?” “Felt great. Almost like nothing happened.” “That’s good news. Probably should still take it easy for a while to make sure you don’t hurt it anymore.” Nodding, I agreed, “Might be the best thing to do.”

Sitting in the middle of Horatio’s hand still made me a little uneasy, but at the same time I felt completely safe. Sighing, I looked up at him to ask, “So, Ryan knows now.” “He does,” he answered, “He’s even asked how you were doing while you were unconscious.” “Really? How is he doing with knowing about me?” “It took him by surprise like it did with all of us.” Calleigh and Natalia walked in just as he said that, closing the door behind them to keep people from overhearing our conversation. Calleigh heard what he said as they were walking in and added, “And he feels guilty for hurting you. I can see it all over his face when he asks about you.” I smiled the second I heard her voice, causing me to turn around so I could face them, “Hey Calleigh! Hey Natalia!” Natalia returned my greetings with happiness and worry at the same time, “Hey!”

Calleigh looked relieved that I looked so much better, “Hey girl. I’m so glad to see you awake. I was scared that you wouldn’t make it. Ryan has been just as worried as we were.” Seeing her face, I remembered back on how she sounded when she first saw Ryan with me. The fear I heard in her voice was so heartbreaking. She was actually scared that I was going to die. Me, a tiny person that is hardly any bigger than a large ant. That thought made me smile knowing she cared for me so much, “I’m not mad at him. He had no idea what I was, no different than when you first saw me. I actually want to tell him that he’s forgiven.” Pulling out her phone, Natalia said, “I’ll text him to come here.”

In the middle of Horatio passing me to Calleigh, making me feel so much more comfortable, Ryan opened the door to join our group conversation. As soon as he saw me sitting in Calleigh’s hand, he began to apologize, “I’m really sorry for hurting you, and almost killing you.” I smiled at him, “It’s okay. I don’t hold anything against you. Besides, I now know how fast I heal at this size, and you also now know about me. That helps a lot. Which,” I said before turning to Horatio, “It may terrify me more than my first day being shrunk but having everyone here know about me will make everything so much easier for all of us.”

Giving me a nod, Horatio responded with similar thoughts, “I agree. Give me about an hour and I’ll have everyone rounded up at the front desk so we can tell them. I’ll make sure they know you’re not to be touched.” That was more than enough time for Calleigh to assess my leg. Slowly unwrapping it, it was revealed that it was almost back at one hundred percent. Cutting another sliver from the gauze, it was rubbed against some ointment and what was still slightly open on my thigh was rewrapped. Since I was awake, I held up my leg for Calleigh to do what she did before. Probably a lot better than anything I could ever do. Satisfied with my progress, both she and Natalia walked to the front with Ryan so Horatio could give out the announcement.

In front of me was a huge gathering of giants all over the place. There was fear in me, but not as much as when I first met Calleigh and Natalia. I think the last few days have got me a little more used to my size. Though this time there will be a lot more people who will know about me. Not sure how this will work out, but I would rather do this than trying to stay hidden and worrying about being spotted. Horatio had Calleigh stand on a chair while she held me up high for everyone to see as he spoke, “Alright, there is something you need to know. As impossible as it may be, in Calleigh’s hand here is a living, shrunken person. She is real, and she is off limits.” There were murmurs around the room as he continued, “You are allowed to see her if that is what she wants, but do not ask to hold or even ask to touch her. And if I find out that you told anyone outside of this building about her, you’ll be answering to me. Do I make myself clear?” Everyone nodded and I heard a lot of yeses all over the crowd while all of their eyes stared at me.

Even with all those giant people staring, I still wasn’t as afraid as I figured I would be. As everyone left, Calleigh stepped back onto the floor so that when they passed by, each person got a good look at me up close with me waving all the while. The last to approach were Eric and Ryan. This was Eric’s first time seeing me, so he had questions, “Hey. Who is your new friend?” “Looking down at me, Calleigh answered, “This is Melissa. How she got here is still a mystery and a scary story when we found her. Natalia and I have been taking turns enjoying her company at home.” Answering every possible question he may have in one go, it left him with nothing else to ask. All he ended up doing was smiling and saying to me, “It’s very nice to meet you.”

The rest of the shift was spent with Natalia after Calleigh passed me to her. Walking through the halls with me freely open in her hand while people passed by was a different feeling. There was no fear of being spotted now that everyone knew. As she was getting her things from her locker, I felt the love for Natalia building. As much as I adored Calleigh and wanted to be with her, my heart pulled for Natalia. Something tells me her slightly more wild side is going to make tonight interesting.