Take Me Out to the Ballgame (pts. 11-20)

Take Me out to the Ballgame
(parts 11-20)
co-written by "small1" & "speck"

Part Eleven

"Hey Justin, down here. It's me, Zack," Zack screamed as loud as he could from the deep confines of Justin's heavily abused worn out baseball cleats. Zack gasped in total disbelief as his colossal friend bent down and towered over him. "Justin, you gotta help me, please!"

Justin was unaware of the faint screams of his desperate friend trapped inside one of his baseball cleats just below him. Had he just glanced down, he would have noticed his miniature friend trying with all his might to get his attention.

Tiny Zack was shocked and confused as he noticed his mountainous friend lift something enormous and white just above him. Just as the titanic white mass was casually dropped on top of him, Zack was horrified as he realized it was one of Justin's gigantic socks. Zack was pummeled by the gigantic disgusting sock. He was forced on his back as the thick fabric encased and trapped him. Trapped under his gigantic friend's huge sock, Zack could hardly breath or move, and everything was pitch black.

* * *

Joe held on tightly from the edge of the Tommy's pocket and surveyed his surroundings. Joe had spent many a drunken night in this apartment playing cards and X-Box games with his friends. He was relieved to be in such a familiar place, even though now the size was breathtaking. The living room was barren with the exception of the old couch, a giant screen television, and a small aquarium that sat in a corner on the floor. Joe looked up at Tommy and then peered over at Dillon and J.T. They were all incredibly gigantic. But they were also his best friends in the whole world. If he could somehow make contact, he had no doubt they would do anything to help him.

Suddenly, Joe found himself holding on for dear life as Tommy jumped up from the couch to go grab something to eat from the kitchen. Joe didn't want to get trapped inside Tommy's huge pocket again but he sure didn't want to fall to the floor and immediate death either. Before going to the kitchen, Tommy made a brief stop at the small aquarium. The top was covered with wire mesh. Tommy leaned over and peered inside.

"Hey Dillon, your lizards look hungry," Tommy remarked. "Have you fed them today?"

"Nah, I'll feed em later," Dillon replied with disinterest. "Don't worry about it."

"I don't know why you got those damn lizards anyway," J.T. said. "They are mean as hell and you're always neglecting them."

* * *

Joe looked down in horror as Tommy leaned over the aquarium to check out the lizards. The same lizards that Joe use to tease and torment now appeared to him as prehistoric dinosaurs. Joe was relieved when Tommy walked away.

Tommy headed to the kitchen with his bug-sized stowaway and proceeded to gather some snacks. He grabbed a large bag of potato chips from a cabinet and took a jar of mega-hot salsa from the fridge. He poured the salsa into a bowl and headed back to the living room. Just as he reached the living room he almost ran into Justin, and just avoided spilling the salsa on the floor.

"Hey watch out," Tommy said.

"Sorry man," Justin replied as he reached over and grabbed one of the potato chips. "Mmm, snacks."

* * *

When Tommy almost bumped into Justin, tiny Joe lost his grip on the edge of Tommy's pocket and fell. The giants failed to notice the tiny figure flailing through the air. Joe fell with a tiny plop right into the bowl of salsa Tommy was holding. Joe was glad to be alive, but was horrified as he found himself in the direct center of the gargantuan bowl of salsa. He tried to swim to the edge, but the mixture was too dense and chunky. He was at least thankful that he remained afloat. Joe looked up and screamed to his enormous friends, but his meager voice was just too faint for the giants' ears. Joe began to get very frightened as he realized this was not the best place to be. The thought of being accidentally eaten by one of his giant friends repulsed the shrunken man.

Tommy set the chips and bowl of salsa on the floor, and sat back down on the sofa and grabbed a beer. Dillon reached into the bag and took out a chip and proceeded to dip it in the hot salsa, oblivious to the extremely tiny figure flailing within the bowl.

* * *

The damp, putrid smell of Justin's sock was overpowering to tiny Zack. He had to somehow escape but the sock seemed to surround him in all directions. He turned over on his stomach and tried to crawl. To his relief, he found he was able to move. He crawled with all his might, not even sure which direction he was going.

After a lot of effort, Zack was free of the horrible sock, but he was still trapped inside the colossal shoe. Zack was surprised to see a small speck of light beaming from what he gathered to be the toe area of the baseball shoe. It was a very tiny hole in the toe of Justin's shoe. Zack ran to the light with great excitement, and proceeded to squeeze through the tiny opening. It was a tight squeeze, but Zack slid right through and fell to the bedroom floor. He was free.

Zack looked around at the truly gigantic features of Tommy's bedroom. Mountainous piles of dirty clothes littered the floor, and a baseball bat leaning on one of the walls extended to the sky like a mighty skyscraper. Zack could hear the thundering voices of his friends in the other room and began heading that way. The carpeting made for a difficult journey.

On the way, Zack was amazed when he came across a huge shiny metal object. As he got closer to investigate, he was astounded to realize it was simply a dime. He jumped on top of the metal disk and laid down. Zack was truly unnerved as he realized the dime was slightly bigger than him. He knew he was small, but now he knew just how small. He was desperate to make contact with one of his giant friends, but realized at his size, one of them could simply crush him with one of their enormous fingers. Zack continued his journey to the booming voices of his friends in the living room with just a bit more anxiety than before.

Part Twelve

A huge chip held in Tommy's gigantic hand plunged toward the bowl of salsa that also held a tiny, struggling form.

The huge irregular shaped chip impacted with the salsa, smacking into tiny Joe and pushing him beneath the surface of the chunky concoction. The hot juices of the onions and peppers in the salsa stung the tiny man's eyes as he fought desperately to regain the surface. He broke through and took in gasps of air. He managed to clear his eyes only to focus on the sight of Tommy munching on the salsa-laden chip.

"Tommy! My God! Hear me! Please. Help me!" Joe screamed.

"Hey, share some of that!" Dillon said in a loud voice. He took a chip in his hand and reached it toward the bowl.

"No!" Joe shouted. He tried to slosh out of the way.

Dillon scooped up a generous amount of salsa, but missed tiny Joe.

Joe had no time to relax, however, before he saw Tommy's hand and another giant chip heading toward him.

Tommy's hand slid the chip into the chunky salsa and hesitated. Joe was able to look out at his powerful friend. Tommy's muscular chest and shoulders were outlined beneath his T-shirt. His huge face looked like some enormous monument from ancient history.

For a brief instant, Joe thought he had been spotted by his friend.

But then the chip plowed through the salsa, scooping up salsa and Joe.

Joe felt rapid motion as he was lifted, along with the salsa-covered chip, by his titanic friend.

The chip was moved toward Tommy's open mouth, which looked like an ominous cavern edged with two rows of white teeth larger than Joe's tiny body.

Just as he was directing the chip into his mouth, Dillon made a silly comment.

Tommy, laughing, sprayed tiny bits of chips all over Joe and the uneaten salsa and chip.

Joe waved his arms and screamed. "Stop! Don't eat me! Please!"

When Tommy stopped laughing, he pushed the chip closer to his mouth. But, just as he prepared to munch down, the chip snapped in half. Joe felt a sickening sensation as he went into freefall.

* * *

Zack made a cautious advance into the living room. His colossal friends lounged about, enjoying their beers and a snack of chips and salsa. Zack's own stomach rumbled, reminding him that he hadn't had any food in quite a while.

Suddenly, Zack stopped, paralyzed with alarm, when he heard Tommy curse loudly. He looked toward the massive giant.

Tommy's chip had broke in half, spilling a blot of salsa on the giant's T-shirt. Tommy cursed and brushed at the salsa with his hand.

A few chunks of tomato fell from his shirt to the carpet, but a red stain remained behind on the shirt.

Zack, watching, could not nothing but stare in shock. He watched the chunks of tomato hit the carpet in front of the sofa— and then he saw something move.

"Oh my God!" Zack cried out. "Joe! Joe!"

* * *

Joe was certain that the fall would kill him, but his tiny size combined with the relatively soft carpet to cushion his impact. The worst that happened was that he was forced to rest, stunned from his fall, while he tried to catch his breath.

That's when he heard someone shouting his name. He turned and saw Zack sprinting across the carpet toward him.

"Joe! You're alive!" Zack was shouting.

However, before the two tiny friends could be reunited, J.T. had risen from his seat. The giant's sneakers slammed down on the carpet almost directly between the two tiny men.

Thoughts of each other were momentarily forgotten as Joe and Zack were forced to think of self-preservation as each tiny man scrambled to find protection from J.T.'s enormous and threatening sneakers.

Part Thirteen

Joe screamed in horror as one of J.T.'s gigantic Vans skater sneakers landed right next to him, cutting short the reunion with his buddy Zack. The powerful impact of the sneaker caused the ground beneath Joe to shake, knocking him to his butt. He quickly got up and ran for his life, realizing how close he had just become to be squashed under one of his buddy's titanic shoes.

"No, J.T. don't," Zack screamed at his colossal friend that was about to pulverize Joe underneath one of his massive sneakers. When Zack realized J.T.'s other sneaker was about to land extremely near him, he turned and ran for safety. Zack saw that Joe had avoided J.T.'s menacing sneakers and was running to the far corner of the room. He ran after Joe. "Hey Joe, wait for me."

Joe ran over to the glass tank in the far corner of the room and stopped, exhausted. Zack caught up with his friend a few minutes later.

"Joe, I can't believe you are alive," Zack greeted Joe, trying to catch his breath. "What in the hell happened to you?"

"Oh Zack, am I glad to see you," Joe said with relief. "You are not going to believe this. I was in Tommy's shirt pocket, and I freakin fell in some salsa. Tommy almost ate me."

"Oh God, you've got to be kidding," Zack replied, trying to hold back his amusement, but then burst out in laughter. "You would have probably given him heartburn anyway."

"That's not funny," Joe said giving Zack a playful punch in the arm, but then also began laughing when he thought of the total absurdity of the situation. "If we get back to normal, I'm going to kick those guys asses!"

"Why don't you go over there and do it now big shot?" Zack challenged as he and Joe looked over at their gargantuan friends. "I'll even give you a hand. You take the big one."

Joe just laughed. Suddenly a powerful thud from within the glass tank next to them startled the two shrunken men. One of the tanks hungry inhabitants had mistaken the two tiny men for small prey. The ferocious lizard had jumped at Zack and Joe but was stopped cold by the clear glass wall of the tank. Another lizard followed behind the first and both monsters glared at the tiny men.

"Oh my God, look at Dillon's lizards," Zack exclaimed with shock. "They're as big as dinosaurs."

"Well, look at the big stupid lizards," Joe began taunting the enormous reptiles. He walked up and pounded the glass. "Big stupid lizards trapped in a cage, so sad."

"Joe, stop it right now," Zack pleaded with concern. "Those monsters are gigantic. They could eat one of us with one bite."

"Chill out," Joe replied. "They can't get outta there."

The hungry monster sized lizards just waited silently, their eyes fixed to the tasty looking prey just outside of their reach.

"Somehow, we have got to get the guys' attention," Zack said to Joe. "Got any ideas?"

"Hey, let's walk over in front of the big screen," Joe replied. "One of them should look down and see us sooner or later, and we'll be safe from getting stomped on."

"That's a great idea," Zack responded with enthusiasm. "Come on, let's head over there. I'm ready to get away from these god-awful lizards anyway."

Joe turned and gave the lizards the middle finger, and the guys began their journey across the vast living room.

* * *

"Anyone for another?" J.T. asked as he returned with a handful of beers. He handed a beer to Tommy, Dillon and Justin. "Plenty more where that came from, so drink up guys."

Justin was channel surfing aimlessly with the remote. He stopped on the Scifi channel momentarily. Ironically it was airing the movie, "The Incredible Shrinking Man". It was at the part of the movie where the shrunken man was battling the spider.

"Hey, it's that shrinking man movie," Dillon exclaimed. "Leave it there!"

"That is just ridiculous," Tommy replied. "And it's in freakin black and white. Just turn it to ESPN."

Justin complied. He turned it to ESPN where Sportscenter had just come on.

"I think I'm getting a major buzz," J.T. informed his buddies as he lazily stretched his arms.

"Oh crap, I see some bugs over there next to the T.V." Tommy said with disgust. "J.T., go over there and step on them or something."

Part Fourteen

Joe and Zack had reached what they had hoped might be a degree of safety in front of the television. The TV's screen looked like some unimaginably huge screen from some colossal drive-in movie.

In the harsh glare from the screen, though, the tiny men were actually more conspicuous than ever.

They realized their mistake when Tommy saw them and instantly identified them as pests.

Their giant friend commented on the bugs and suggested lazily to J.T. that he stomp on the little bugs.

J.T., feeling the buzz from his beers, staggered to his feet.

"Oh crap!" Joe screamed. "We gotta get the hell out of here."

Through bleary eyes, J.T. scanned the floor in front of the television. "Where did they go? I don't see any damn bugs?"

Zack joined Joe in running blindly, hoping for some sort of shelter or protection.

J.T.s huge Vans skater sneakers stomped on the floor as he swayed with each step that brought him closer to the television and his shrunken friends.

"We're gonna die!" Joe screamed in terror of his titanic friend who loomed over him like some destructive god.

"J.T., just stomp the bugs and get it over with!" Tommy complained loudly.

Zack grabbed Joe by the arm. "Follow me," he screamed. He led his friend beneath a wide ledge into the dark cavern beneath the television and the floor. Even as small as they were, the narrow crevice felt cramped.

But they were safe from J.T.'s huge sneakers — for the moment. They could peer out and see his giant Vans skate sneakers still standing very close.

"That was too close!" Joe exclaimed, panting and trying to calm his racing heart.

Zack's own chest heaved as he drew in deep breaths of air. "We're gonna get killed if we don't get one of those guys to notice us!"

"They thought we were bugs," Joe said in horror. "They were gonna stomp us like bugs!"

The two tiny men trembled as the reality of their nightmarish situation began to force itself upon their worried minds.

* * *

J.T. complained that the little bugs had disappeared.

Dillon, Tommy and Justin, however, paid him little attention. The three jocks tried to focus their attention on "Sportscenter."

"Just get out from in front of the damn television," Justin ordered. "We can't see!"

Instead of returning to the sofa, however, J.T. wandered over to the cage that held Dillon's pet lizards.

Removing the screen, he lifted one of the lizards from the cage. "He looks hungry," J.T. remarked. He put the lizard down on the floor. "I'm sure this guy can sniff out those pesky bugs!"

The lizard flicked a forked tongue out of its jaws and tested the air. A dim memory still existed in its primitive brain...a memory of the small creatures the lizard had attempted to seize earlier only to be stopped by the transparent walls of its cage.

Part Fifteen

Joe and Zack watched in horror from their cramped cave-like sanctuary just beneath the big screen as J.T. released the hideous dragon-like beast. Luckily, it scurried across the living room floor in the opposite direction of the two tiny cowering young men.

"Oh my God, J.T. let that monster loose in the room," Zack burst out in a panic. "That horrible thing will eat us both."

"No, you stupid lizard. They are over here," J.T. exclaimed with frustration as he walked over and and started to slap the floor in front of the big screen T.V. "Damn, Dillon, why are your lizards so damn stupid? Maybe I can just get em myself."

J.T. reached under the televison and began to feel around for the small "bugs" that had gotten away. It was a tight squeeze for his big hand. He moved his hand all around, patting the floor with his fingers, coming ever so close to his tiny friends. "Hey, what's this?"

Zack and Joe watched with dread as J.T.'s gigantic hand moved about all around them. At their meager size, just one gentle swat from J.T. would mean an instant crushing death. Joe screamed as the colossal hand passed right over them, one of J.T.'s mammoth fingers tapping the floor dangerously close to them. Just when the shrunken men thought J.T.'s searching hand had passed on, it swept back directly on top of them and hovered. Then it slowly descended. J.T. had felt the unusual crevice and decided to investigate. Joe and Zack huddled as far back as possible as they watched with terror as J.T. began to probe the crevice with his massive thumb and forefinger. The small area was too small for J.T.'s fingers, but he effortlessly expanded the area as his fingers pushed their way in, closer to tiny Joe and Zack.

Suddenly, J.T.'s fingers brushed against Joe and he pinched his thumb and forefinger together. J.T. had gently grabbed a hold of Joe's tiny foot. If J.T. exerted any more pressure, Joe's foot would have been crushed.

"Gotcha!" J.T. exclaimed as he began to pull Joe from underneath the television.

"No!" Zack screamed as he grabbed Joe's hands in a futile attempt at preventing his friend's capture. He was just pulled along with Joe. And, suddenly, Joe was released. Joe and Zack ran as fast as they could to the back of the television and the wall. They wanted to get as far away from the menacing J.T. as possible.

"Get the hell out of the way," Justin yelled as he threw a nerf football at J.T. "I can't see the show!" The jolt caused J.T. to release the small creature he had trapped between his fingers.

"Geeze, Justin, whatta have to do that for?" J.T. replied angrily. "I had just caught one of those damn bugs."

"Forget about the bugs J.T." Dillon chimed in as he sprawled out on the living room floor, exhausted and heavily buzzed. "My lizard will take care of those things, eventually."

"Yeah, just have another beer," Justin said apologetically. "Man, I'm getting tired. I'm about ready to crash. I wonder where the hell Joe and Zack are?"

"If they don't show up by morning, we'll start looking for them," Tommy said with a yawn, having just downed his tenth beer. He took a throw pillow from the couch and also laid down on the floor. Justin took the advantage of having the couch to himself and comfortably laid back, eyes heavy, still trying to catch the finish of Sportscenter.

"You guys can't crash yet," J.T. told the guys. "It's only two a.m." But within a couple minutes, J.T. also found himself finding a comfortable spot to crash, next to the couch.

Tiny Zack and Joe walked out from underneath the big screen television, staying as close to the wall as possible. They watched in silent awe at their humongous friends in the center of the vast living room, and contemplated their next move. The horrible monster-sized reptile was nowhere to be found, but they knew it was on the loose.

"The guys are starting to crash," Zack said. "Let's head over there."

"And do what?" Joe replied with surprise. "I think we should stay away from them."

"Those guys are dead to the world," Zack reasoned. "We will be safe until morning. But we have got to figure out a way to get them to notice us when they wake up."

"I guess you're right," Joe consented. "Let's head over there to Dillon. And watch out for that freaking lizard."

The bug-sized guys began their walk across the living room. As they got closer to a passed out Dillon, they were startled by a thunderous roar. Tommy had begun to snore. To Zack and Joe's tiny size, the sound was incredible. The shrunken young men cautiously wondered up to their sleeping friend, and stopped at his mammoth hand. Zack gasped. "Look at Dillon's hand. It's enormous!" Zack reached out and touched the magnificent object. And then to Joe's surprise, Zack began to climb up into Dillon's monstrous hand. He headed directly for the center of Dillon's palm.

"What the hell are you doing?" Joe reacted with fear and dread. "Get down from there before something horrible happens."

"This is freaking incredible!" Zack yelled, and lifted his tiny arms high in the air. "I'm king of the world!"

"Yeah, you're king bug," Joe replied as he reluctantly began to climb into Dillon's enormous hand. "Oh Yuck, it's all sweaty and mushy feeling. Come on Zack, let's get down from here. It's too dangerous."

"Stop worrying, Dillon is fast asleep," Zack told Joe, as he began to jump up and down on the spongy, almost trampoline-like surface of Dillon's hand. "You see."

Suddenly, to Zack and Joe's horror, Dillon's massive fingers began to close around the tiny men. Zack's jumping must have triggered a reflex action within Dillon's hand.

Part Sixteen

Zack and Joe screamed as the massive fingers began to curl around them.

"Run!" Joe screamed in a strangled cry.

They didn't get far before Dillon's massive fist closed loosely around them.

After the sudden action, however, the clenching of Dillon's fist paused midway.

"Now!" Zack yelled. "We have to get out now!"

Zack struggled to climb between two of his friend's massive fingers. Joe followed him.

"Give me a hand," Joe pleaded.

After escaping Dillon's fist, Zack stood on the side of his enormous friend's hand. He reached down and helped pull Joe through the gap in Dillon's fingers.

Having escaped from Dillon's fist, the two tiny men dropped to the floor.

"We have to be more careful!" Joe exclaimed.

"We're not hurt," Zack replied.

"That's not the point!" Joe snapped. "Do you want to end up squished like a bug? And no one will ever know what happened to us!"

"Of course not," Zack said, abashed by his friend's remarks and still shaken by the close call in Dillon's fist. Still, being somewhat of an adrenaline junkie, Zack had enjoyed the elation that surged through his tiny body as a result of nearly being crushed in the giant fist of his sleeping colossal friend.

"We have got to find a way to get the guys to help us," Joe said.

"If we could find a way to reach higher ground, maybe they would notice us. If we could climb onto the kitchen counter or something like that," Zack reasoned.

"It would be like scaling a cliff," Joe said in defeat.

"Maybe not," Zack said. "If we can find a power cord or something, we could climb that..."

Joe still looked doubtful, but he also remained desperate. He agreed to give Zack's suggestion an attempt.

The two tiny men headed toward the kitchen.

* * *

Tommy woke during the night. After a trip to the bathroom, the jock stripped down to his undershorts and decided to stop by the kitchen for a glass of water before going back to sleep.

He walked over to the sink, took a glass from the cabinet and filled it with water from the tap.

He was still somewhat groggy from sleep and hadn't shaken off the effects of all the beers from earlier.

The giant scratched his bare stomach and yawned.

* * *

Joe and Zack found travel easier on the old, well-worn linoleum covering the kitchen floor. They stood in front of the kitchen sink and cabinets and stared up at the distant countertop.

"We'll never get up there!" Joe groaned. He felt even smaller and more insignicant in the shadow of the colossal kitchen appliances and cabinets.

"We won't if we don't try to—" Zack replied, but his words choked off suddenly when he and Joe heard the slap of huge bare feet on linoleum.

They looked up in unison and screamed at the sight of their titanic friend. Tommy, huge, powerful and muscular, clad only in his shorts, walked directly toward them.

Zack felt a surge of electric energy overload his tiny body as he gazed up in absolute awe at his overwhelming friend. Only Joe's wailing that they would be crushed finally brought Zack to his senses.

His delay, however, had proved costly. Tommy was nearly upon them.

"Tommy, man!" Joe screamed in terror. "Down here! On the floor! Please, don't step on us!"


Part Seventeen

Joe ran for his life but all Zack could do was stare in awe as the spectacular foot half the size of a football field made its last stomp through the dim-lit kitchen and landed with a powerful quake right in front of him. Zack had just come dangerously close to becoming an insignificant smear on the bottom of Tommy's mammoth foot. Zack's heart was beating a mile a minute and adrenaline was surging throughout his entire body as he strained his neck and looked up at the most surreal and astonishing sight he had ever seen. Tommy was huge; about 800 feet tall compared to shrunken Zack. Joe was freaking out as he pleaded for Zack to get away from Tommy's monstrous feet.

"Zack, get away from there, fast!" Joe screamed as he watched he friend nearly get squashed to a pulp. "You're going to get stepped on!"

Zack ignored Joe and as he looked up at his mountain sized buddy and yelled," Hey Tommy, look down here. It's me, Zack."

But Zack was just too small to be heard by his gigantic friend Tommy. Suddenly Tommy shifted his foot slightly, barely brushing against tiny Zack. The powerful force knocked Zack flat. He felt like he had just been hit by a car. Joe ran over to Zack, grabbed his arm, and quickly pulled him to safety next to the wall by the sink. Joe shivered as he watched Tommy's intimidating feet shift randomly about as he gulped the glass of water.

"Thanks, Joe. That was close," Zack said with appreciation. "I yelled as loud as I could, but Tommy still could not hear me. I guess we are just too damn small."

"We've got to be more careful or we are going to get stepped on," Joe said to Zack, failing to notice a green flash scurry across the kitchen floor headed right for them. "What the hell were you thinking anyway? Tommy could have obliterated you."

* * *

Dillon's hungry lizard prowled about the apartment and finally made its way into the kitchen. The savage reptile spied motion near the sink and streaked across the kitchen floor toward the small prey, fearless of the giant human in the same vicinity. As the lizard approached tiny Zack and Joe, it opened it's mouth wide in anticipation. Each small prey would be quickly consumed with one bite.

* * *

Joe looked up in horror as the giant reptile eight times his size quickly approached, mouth wide open. Without any time for escape, he just closed his eyes and screamed, realizing he and Zack would probably be consumed in one or two bites. Suddenly, a deafening thud shook the room. Joe opened his eyes and found himself covered with a horrible, sticky, green goo.

* * *

"Oh, YUCK!" Tommy exclaimed with disgust as he felt something cold and wet under his bare foot. He lifted his foot and saw what remained of the flattened lizard sticking to his foot. "Damn lizard! I guess you won't be bothering anyone anymore." Tommy chucked to himself as he took a paper towel and wiped the disgusting remains from his foot.

* * *

"Damn, that was close!" Zack said with relief after he had just watched Tommy accidentally dispose of the monster that was just about to eat him. "Help me get Tommy's attention before he leaves."

The two shrunken college guys began waving their arms and yelling at Tommy to notice them, but he just walked back to the living room, oblivious to their faint voices. He hit the floor and was almost instantly asleep.

"We're never going to be able to climb anything in here," Joe said. "We are going to have to go back to the living room and find a way to get the guys attention when they wake up."

"Okay, you're right. Let's go," Zack replied. "But man, I'm exhausted. We need to get some rest too."

"We'll find a safe place in the living room to rest," Joe agreed.

Zack and Joe made their way to the door that led to the living room and began the daunting task of traversing the carpeted floor. The two exhausted shrunken men headed for the couch as the four giants slept.

"I can't go any farther," Zack said as he and Joe stopped to rest next to an empty Bud Lite can laying on its side. "I need some sleep."

"We can take a snooze in there," Joe said pointing to the opening of the beer can. "It should be safe."

The two tiny college guys cautiously entered the house-sized beer can. Within minutes, they were fast asleep.

* * *

Justin stretched as he was awakened from the morning sun shining through the living room window. He headed for the bathroom. Moments later, he returned with some sneakers and a basketball. He quietly snuck up close to Tommy, grabbed his arm and yelled into his ear. "Hey Tommy, lets shoot some hoops!"

"You freaking jerk. Don't ever do that to me again!" Tommy angrily said as he was startled awake from a deep sleep. After a few minutes trying to wake up, Tommy said, "Go ahead, I'll be out there in a minute."

Part Eighteen

Justin slipped on a pair of hightops, patted his pocket for his chewing tobacco, headed for the door and hesitated for a moment. He quickly scanned the living room. Justin walked over and grabbed an empty beer can to use for a spit-can, and headed out for the apartment's small basketball court.

* * *

Tiny Zack and Joe clutched each other in terror as they were flung about within the empty beer can.

"We've got to get out of here," Joe yelled. "Help! Let us out!"

Both shrunken men feared the can was destined for the trash. After a terrifying few seconds, however, the tumult ceased after Justin placed the empty can on the ledge of a concrete wall adjacent to the apartment complex basketball court.

* * *

Zack and Joe took advantage of the moment to pound feebly against the walls of their aluminum prison. Their teeny shouts did not even carry beyond the can.

Justin began to dribble a basketball as he waited impatiently for Tommy's arrival. When Tommy still didn't appear, he let the ball drop onto the court as he reached into his pocket.

Justin pulled out some of his chewing tobacco. For a moment, he was glad Joe and Zack were not around. They both hated his chewing habit and gave him constant grief about it.

Inside the can, the two tiny men stared up through the open tab. They could see an enormous basketball goal towering over them.

"We must be outside the apartment!" Zack shouted.

"What's going on?" Joe cried. "Who carried us outside?"

* * *

Suddenly, Joe's question was answered when an enormous Justin came into view. Both tiny men began shouting desperately as their colossal friend hovered over the open beer can.


"Oh my God! What's he doing?" Joe screamed as he saw the giant jock's enormous mouth approach the opening of the can.

Zack's mind was close to the answer. He knew that Justin's features warned him of something.

And then, recognizing what was about to happen, Zack screamed.

Justin's mouth loomed directly over the can. Then, his lips parted and he spewed out what seemed an incredible volume of tobacco spit. The two shrunken friends were coated by the revolting liquid. Choking and gasping for breath, they tried to wipe the stinging liquid from their eyes.

"Hey, man! Ready to play?"

The tiny men recognized Tommy's voice.

"Tommy, man!" Joe screamed. "Help! Get us out of here."

Justin picked up the basketball. It would have resembled the Epcot globe at Disney to the two shrunken men.

He tossed the ball to Tommy. "Sure. Give me just a sec."

He leaned over and spit into the can again.

As the two giants began to play basketball, their friends, less than half an inch tall, tried to wade in the disgusting tobacco juice deposited inside the can.


Part Nineteen

The nauseating liquid reached just higher than waist level of Joe and Zack. Moving through Justin's thick, mucky tobacco spit was nearly impossible. The tiny men gagged on the overwhelming fumes as they heard thunderous pounding and stomping from their gigantic friends outside the beer can prison.

"We've got to get out of here," Zack screamed as he continued to wipe Justin's disgusting tobacco spit from his face. "If Justin spits one more time, this crap will be over our heads."

"What can we do?" Joe replied in near panic as he began to pound on the side of the can with his tiny fist. "Help us, please someone help us!"

* * *

Justin and Tommy had engaged in an intense game of one on one. Even though baseball was their game, the two gifted athletes were quite good in all sports, and very competitive. Justin's hightops pounded the court hard with each step and jump.

Justin took the ball and powerfully headed to the basket for a layup. Tommy jumped up in front and made an incredible block, swatting the ball away just as it left Justin's hands.

"We'll have none of that," Tommy taunted proudly as the basketball veered towards the concrete bench and the beer can that held shrunken Zack and Joe. The basketball bounced several times across the court, and eventually bounced onto the concrete bench. It crashed into the beer can, knocking it to the ground.

"Whatever," Justin replied with a laugh as he ran to retrieve the runaway basketball.

* * *

Suddenly, Zack and Joe were jolted violently as the colossal basketball crashed into the beer can. The can was knocked from the concrete bench and landed on its side on the ground below. Ironically, the thick, horrid tobacco spit had probably saved their lives by preventing them from crashing around inside the can during the traumatic fall. Shaken, but unharmed, Zack and Joe realized escape from the hellish beer can was within their grasps.

"Hurry. Let's get the hell out of here," Zack screamed as he and Joe headed for the opening of the beer can. Within seconds, the bug-sized college guys were free from their latest horror.

"Oh God!" Joe screamed when he saw what awaited them outside the beer can. He stood, mouth wide open, frozen with fear. "He's humongous!"

Joe and Zack looked on in awe and amazement as their imposing friend stood in front of them. One of his mammoth basketball shoes could easily wipe out their meager existence with one powerful stomp. His massive body seemed to extend endlessly into the morning sky.

"He is freaking huge!" Zack agreed as adrenaline rushed through his tiny tobacco stained body.
He looked up at his mountain sized friend and screamed with all his might. "Justin, HELP us, we are down here. Look down here!"

* * *

"Crap," Justin exclaimed as he noticed the ball had knocked over his spit can, spilling the contents. He quickly reached down and grabbed the can, setting it back on the concrete bench. As he reached for the can, he noticed a couple of weird looking bugs, but didn't think much of it. He removed his sweat soaked shirt and tossed it aside. He then sat on the concrete wall for a quick break. He looked down between his legs and noticed the unusual "bugs" again. They looked extremely tiny next to his massive sneakers. Just for fun, Justin lifted one of his gigantic sneakers and pounded it down right next to the curious little bugs. As they scurried the opposite direction of the king-sized sneaker, Justin let his other shoe crash down on the other side, blocking their escape route. He let out a little chuckle. Justin then hacked up a giant loogie and let it fly right down on what he thought were some weird bugs. Then he jumped up and resumed his game with Tommy.

* * *

"Oh no, he's going to step on us!" Joe screamed as the monster sized basketball sneaker lifted and stomped right next to him and Zack with a thundering force. Joe and Zack ran from their giant friend's huge foot, but the other one slammed down, blocking their path.

"Justin, what are you doing?" Zack screamed up in a panic at Justin. "It's me and Joe. Don't you recognize us?"

Just then, tiny Joe and Zack were engulfed in a giant lake-sized loogie directly from the pit of Justin's monstrous mouth. The gooey, sticky phlegm stuck to their little bodies like glue. It was the ultimate humiliation.

"If we ever return to normal size, I'm going to kick his ass!" Zack exploded with anger as he tried to wipe the offensive mucus from his face. "YUCK, YUCK, YUCK!"

"Come on. We've got to get off this court before we get stomped on," Joe said to Zack as he too tried to wipe off Justin's gooey spit. "Let's head over for that bit of grass so we can think of what to do next. We'll be safe there."

Between the tree like stalks of grass, tiny Zack and Joe watched in complete amazement as their giant friends played basketball.

"Those guys are monsters," Joe said, cowering behind a stalk of grass. "How are we going to get those giants to notice us?"

"Next time, we'll try to get help from Tommy," Zack replied, still peeved. "Justin is just too stupid. I can't believe that bum didn't recognize us."

Joe looked at Zack and laughed. "Well, you can't really blame the guy. We are way less than an inch tall and we're covered with brown tobacco spit. He just thought we were bugs. Hell, I don't even recognize you."

"Yeah, I guess you are right," Zack agreed. "But what are we going to do now?"

* * *

Suddenly, Joe and Zack were startled by a booming, thunderous noise. Zack looked back in total horror as he saw a gigantic teenager quickly headed their way, weed-eater in hand.

"Oh my God! RUN, or we'll be ripped to shreds!" Joe screamed as he realized the approaching yard worker was only seconds away.

Part Twenty

Joe and Zack looked up to see the enormous teen wielding his colossal weed-eater through the common lawn of the apartment complex. The young worker wore the blue-gray uniform of a local landscaping company, and the name tag on his uniform read "Cameron."

They stared up at the rangy young giant. He looked nearly 1,000 feet tall to the shrunken friends. He was only a kid, maybe 17 or 18 years old, probably making some extra cash mowing lawns for the landscape company. He had longish, dirty blond hair and the scruffy stubble of a goatee. His bare arms and face glistened from sweat.

The tiny men had no time to stand in awe of the titan. With the roar of the weed-eater's engine filling their ears, they tried to escape the path of destruction bearing down on them. A hurricane-force wind pelted them with sharp-edged bits of grass, tiny pebbles of dirt and other hazardous debris.

They broke into a desperate sprint through the stands of tall grass, unable to keep a fix on a safe direction in the maelstrom. Suddenly, a tattered sneaker almost 150 foot long stomped down directly in front of them, landing so close to the tiny men that they almost ran into the side of it.

They screamed and looked up to see the huge weed-eater hovering almost directly over them. A shimmering blur much like a rotating helicopter blade — the spinning cable that sliced though the grass stalks — caused a tornado-like vortex.

"We've got to get away from here!" Joe screamed, trying to make himself heard over the rumbling din.

They were suddenly seized in powerful air currents that flung them in opposite directions at a wrenching velocity.

* * *

Joe whined in terror as he was whipped through the air by the currents generated by the spinning weed-eater spinning cable. He was certain he would be slammed against the deadly blur of the cable and be sliced apart gruesomely.

Instead, he collided with a bone-jarring impact on the tongue of one of the huge teen's sneakers. The worn fabric provided some thin strands for the stunned shrunken man to grab in his fists. The giant, still in motion, took a lurching step as his tiny passenger struggled to remain atop the shoe.

* * *

Zack's stomach lurched as the hurricane-force winds ripped him from his stance and hurled him through the air. He grabbed out toward Joe's arm for support, but his hands clutched only empty air as he tumbled in the maelstrom. Shards of shredded grass and stalks flew past him like debris in a tornado, and he did his best to shield his face from the assault.

In an instant, however, his flight stopped as his body seemed to snag as if caught in a net. He found himself suspended high above the ground, ensnared in a wide network of glossy, sticky cables that looked like nylon fishing line. The net swayed lightly in the diminishing breeze of the weed-eater, and remnants of grass dangled like debris left from a storm.

Zack stirred and tried to pull his arm from the filaments, but they were lined with droplets of a sticky glue-like substance. The strong, gossamer cables clung fast to his skin and clothing. He looked annoyed at the entanglement until realization slowly dawned on him: he had landed in an enormous spider web.

He tried again with new urgency to pull free one of his arms, but as he stretched, another strand of silk snagged his skin. He found himself even more entangled.

His struggles sent vibrations through the web. A movement caught his eye from the base of the web. Moving past a fallen blade of grass, an enormous spider crept from its hiding place. It had a bloated abdomen of contrasting black and yellow bands. Each of its spindly limbs was studded with bristly, dark spikes. The arachnid, easily twice the size of the entrapped man, peered about to be sure the disturbance had passed.

Zack felt the web stretch from the spider's weight as it pulled itself back into its silken perch and positioned itself head-down in the center. The spider plucked at some anchoring strands to test for any activity within its carefully spun trap.

Zack's heart pounded as the vibrations rippled through the web. He fought back a scream as he looked down at the dizzying gap from the web to the ground. He shuddered uncontrollably. The resulting web movements attracted the alert spider.