Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Bec Chambers never really minded being the new kid on the block. She was used to it by now.

Her parents had to move around pretty often due to the disasters that her dad tended to leave in the towns they moved to. Lucky for them, her mom was incredible with cleanup, and they’d never really been followed by the endless drama. It was a fresh start, every single time.

At sixteen years old, she’d already moved more times than she could count (though she did keep track in her journal – forty-three). Thanks to her dad, they could never manage to stay in one place for long.

Bec was just like her dad in all the wrong ways. She was just as powerful, just as unpredictable, or so they all said. She couldn’t do what he did, yet. Her father said she had potential. But for as much as her father encouraged her to always go bigger, her mother was there telling her to rein it in.

No half measures.

Don’t make the same mistakes your father does.

Please… don’t make life so hard for yourself.

All in all, she preferred not to have to use her abilities at all, though she was getting pretty good at using them with a more subtle touch. She was terrified of letting go and making a mess that she couldn’t clean up, so she was determined to keep everything she did as contained as possible.

If only people weren’t so good at pushing every single one of her buttons!  

And when she walked down the street in the dim twilight on a warm August night, she was faced down with a choice. And really… what choice did they expect her to make?

All she was doing was exploring the neighborhood. Scoping out the sights, the places to go sneak a quick smoke, the neighbors that looked like they’d give out good candy at Halloween. She wasn’t bothering anyone. She wasn’t asking for trouble.

But these three boys looked like they were going to give it to her anyway.

              “Hey.” The one in the middle said. He was tall and broad, like he played sports. Probably basketball or soccer, if she had to guess. Not stocky enough for football. And that sandy blonde hair was cut like his family had money. Not the type she would have expected to be a neighborhood bully, but… it wouldn’t be the first time she’d seen it.

He looked so arrogant. Something in those cold blue eyes. Either he didn’t have enough experience being told no… or he’d had too much experience, and was taking it out on her.

              “Uh, hey.” Bec said, trying to keep her face neutral. If she could just get through this without incident, that would be best. She didn’t want to make a mess she couldn’t handle cleaning up. But she clenched her fist behind her, fingers tingling, just in case.

              “You’re uh, new around here, aren’t you?” The boy asked, folding his arms. Bec nodded, brushing a strand of her auburn hair over her shoulder.

              “Yeah. Just moved in. My name’s Bec. Becqu- uh… R-Rebecca.” She pointed down the street to the house her father was renting for the next six months. Who knew if they’d even manage to stay there that long?

              “Don’t you know it’s not safe for pretty little ladies out on the streets at night?” He said, cocking his head back to look down his nose at her. She raised an eyebrow.

              “Uh, thanks for your concern, but I can handle myself just fine.” She shot back, and the boy scoffed out a condescending laugh. The other two snickered, and her eyes ghosted over them.

The one with reddish-brown hair… he wouldn’t look at her, even when he laughed at the leader’s joke. His face was dusted with freckles, and the way he turned his face away from her told her he probably felt self-conscious about them. Art student, maybe?

The other one was overly loud and deferent. He was shorter than any of them – smaller than Bec, maybe, but he carried himself like he wasn’t. Shy about his height, but clearly in-shape. She’d put money on him being in wrestling.

              “That’s because you don’t know the rules around here, little missy.” The blonde one said. “I’m Adam Lochner. That's Kyle Sanchez." He jerked his chin to the shorter boy with tan skin. "That's Lance Ellison." He pointed at the other boy, who looked away. "Let me tell you about how things go here at Meadow Heights, okay?”

Bec rolled her eyes.

              “Thanks, Adam, but I’m pretty sure I’ll figure it out.” She turned to walk away, back to her house, but he reached forward, his hand closing around her bicep. She froze, her heart racing.

              “Hey, this isn’t optional.” He said, his voice low and hard. Bec turned to him, narrowing her eyes.

              “Listen, you don’t know me, so I’ll be nice, and let you know real quick that you don’t want to do this.” Bec said, her fingers tingling more. Hey, just because she didn’t want to make a scene didn’t mean she wouldn’t defend herself if she had to. “Back off.”

She definitely didn’t want to start something she couldn’t finish. If she let herself get carried away… this could get messy.

She heard her mother’s voice in her ear. No half measures. Don’t make the same mistakes your father did.

Her father’s voice shouted gleefully into her other ear. Go big! Push harder! Let it all free!

              “Bitch.” Adam said, his fingers tightening. “You wanna do this the hard way?” The shorter boy grinned.

Make them pay, Becca-baby!

Don’t make a mess you’re not willing to clean up.

              “Ooh, bitch, you pissed him off!” He snickered. Adam turned to him.

Go big or go home!

Reign it in. Don’t make life hard for yourself.

              “Kyle, shut the fuck up.” Adam snapped. Bec blinked at him, letting out an irritated sigh. Her eyes flicked to the other one, the quieter one, and the way his face tensed when Adam grabbed her. Interesting.

But he still didn’t say anything. Adam’s grip tightened on her arm, and she sighed.

Ugh, god… only a few days in this house and she was already going to be getting in deep. It wasn’t even school time yet! She had the summer reading list to go over! She had to at least try and catch up on the curriculum.

Her jaw was grit tight and she swallowed. She wouldn’t make the same mistakes as her father, she could do this. She could! She would make it work this time.

But… not like her father did. There was too much danger in going big.

She put her hand on the back of his, which was still closed around her arm. It hurt – the guy was pretty strong, and clearly he was preparing for more of a fight. He’d definitely done this before with other kids, maybe other girls.

How many of those kids had been afraid of him? How many had worried about what he would do, and couldn’t defend themselves?

She could feel her anger building, and with it, her power.

              “Fine.” She said, looking up into Adam’s arrogant blue eyes. “We’ll do this. Just remember… I gave you a chance, okay?”

Adam opened his mouth to respond, but she didn’t give him the opportunity. Instead, she let the lightning pounding against her heart finally flash through her fingers. A flash of light, a sudden, sharp noise, and Adam was gone.

Well, he wasn’t gone, he was still there, on the street, modified beyond what any of them would have expected.  

The other two immediately straightened up, and she could almost feel their panic rise. It was exciting, she couldn’t deny it.

Thanks dad, for that.

But she had to keep her cool, and be careful. They’d only been here a few days, she didn’t have the leeway to get really noticed. Still, she couldn’t suppress a little smile. It always felt good to let it all out.

And it wasn’t like this asshole wasn’t asking for it! Maybe she’d gone a little further than she meant to, but… she could always figure out what to do later.

              “Bitch, w-what the fuck?” Kyle said, squaring his shoulders, staring at the expression on her face, trying to be brave. Bec wasn’t fooled, she could see him shaking even in the darkening twilight.

A streetlight flicked on, bathing both of the guys in orange, fluorescent light. It probably made her look terrifying, too.

               “Lance, let’s…let’s get the fuck out of here.” Kyle said, when Bec didn’t offer any explanation.

Lance seemed frozen to the spot, unable to take his eyes off Bec’s face. She only kept his gaze, looking at him imperiously. She knew she wasn’t exceptionally pretty, but there was nothing like feats of the supernatural to catch a guy’s attention.

His bottom lip trembled delicately, and she felt a little guilty for needing to involve them all, but… she learned from her mother. She couldn’t do things in half-measures, not if she wanted to fly under the radar.

And hey, they were still a part of this! They were still going to sit there and watch whatever Adam had been about to do without stopping him. 

Luckily, she could defend herself, but what about the other girls that hadn’t been strong enough? How had they felt?

              “Stay still.” Bec said quietly, surging forward, careful of where she stepped. She didn’t want THAT kind of cleanup. She placed her hand on Kyle’s shoulder. Another flash, and he was gone too.

When she turned to Lance, He didn’t even try to run. He didn’t even look down, which might have given him a glance into his own fate.

              “What did you do to them?” He asked, stepping back, his eyes wide. Bec shook her head.

              “Wouldn’t want to spoil the surprise.” She said evenly, placing her hand on his arm. Another flash of light, and he was gone.

Well, none of them were really gone. Just… altered in a way that none of them were expecting. She knelt to the ground, grateful for the streetlight that silhouetted all three of their bodies lying on the sidewalk.

              “Dammit… as if I needed more on my plate.” She mumbled, gently gathering the three unconscious boys up into her hand. Just because she’d done this didn’t mean she wanted to hurt them! They weren’t even awake yet, that wouldn’t be fair. She wasn’t her dad!

No half measures, Bec.

Well, this was kind of a half-measure. She hoped her mother would understand, because her father definitely wouldn’t. She couldn’t just let it slide, but… she wasn’t going to let herself go crazy, either. This was okay, this was... this was just handling things HER way.

She sighed.

Well, at least she wasn’t going to be bored this summer.

Chapter Text

Lance woke up, his head aching and brain foggy. Where was he? He didn’t recognize whatever room he was in, and whatever was underneath him definitely wasn’t standard carpet.

What the hell?

He blinked looking around him, but he was having trouble parsing what he was looking at. Torn up paper all over the floor, but it was way thicker than normal paper. It was almost like canvas. The light was warm, but unfamiliar.

And… was that glass all around him?

Something beyond the floor to whatever glass was moving, and he felt his heart jump into his throat. He tried to move back, but caught a glimpse of something smaller moving out of the corner of his eye.

Oh shit… that was Adam!

Lance pushed himself up, stumbling in the thick layer of paper around his ankles, trying to get closer. His hands smashed up against another layer of glass… or Plexiglass. Plastic, or something. God, it was like three inches thick!

              “Adam!” He shouted, cupping his hands to be heard through the thick plastic that separated them.

The taller boy clutched his head, spitting into the colorful paper.

              “What… what the fuck is this?” He said, but Lance could barely hear him, muffled through the layer of plastic between them.

              “Dude, where the hell are we?” Lance called back, his breath shallow. Adam shrugged, brushed off the weird papers that were clinging to his blue jacket. He glanced to the side opposite from Lance, where Kyle was pressed, waving his arm at Lance.

But Lance couldn’t hear what he was saying through two layers of the stuff. He swallowed.

              “Oh, good, you’re all awake.” A voice so loud it could have been played through concert speakers crashed over them, and Lance winced, his head still pounding. He looked up to follow the noise, but… he couldn’t even comprehend what he was looking at.

It was that girl – the one that Adam had insisted they introduce to the neighborhood. She’d been cute, totally Adam’s type, but Lance had gotten a weird vibe from her. Usually, when they approached the new kids, they got some money from them or something. That was all. Adam usually didn’t let his games go too far. Well, there was Randy, but… they were gone, now.

But the girl that loomed over him like a fairytale giant wasn’t possible. Her big brown eyes hovered over them, narrowed, as if she was trying to figure them out.

              “That makes this easier.” She said. Her smile looked a little annoyed, like she didn’t want to be doing this. Lance felt his breath leave him, and he stumbled back, falling into the shredded paper.

Which… holy shit, wasn’t just paper, it was bedding. The kind that his sister used for her guinea pigs. And it was thick enough under him that it didn’t even hurt to fall into it. He took in a short, gasping breath.

              “What the hell?” Adam shouted up, and Lance looked at him, standing tall, face red. Or… as tall as he could stand at what must be four inches tall. He didn’t look afraid at all, totally unlike how Lance was feeling. “What did you do? What the hell is this?”

The girl sighed.

              “Hey, I didn’t want to do this.” She huffed, folding her arms and leaning back. “I warned you, okay? Don’t blame me because you don’t like the outcome!”

              “F-fuck, how can you blame this on me?” Adam shouted up, his face reddening further. “You fucking… you shrank me!” He smacked his little hand onto the terrarium glass, looking up furiously.

Bec’s mouth turned up at the corner.

              “Uh, yeah.” She said, tucking her hair behind her ear.

              “That’s not fair!” Adam shouted, starting to sputter. “Change us back, you can’t… you can’t keep us like this!”

Lance wished he would stop shouting, but he didn’t disagree. He turned up to look at Bec’s massive face, and watched nervously as she pressed her lips together, narrowing her eyes at Adam’s tiny form.

              “Not fair…?” She said, scoffing. “And what exactly were you going to do, when you didn’t think there’d be any consequences? I told you to back off!”

Adam folded his little arms, refusing to be cowed, even when he was looking at someone that outsized him a hundred times.

              “We were… we were just gonna get some money, okay? That’s it!” He said, and Lance felt his own stomach curdle. God, how stupid were they?

Bec snorted out a laugh.

              “Money? What do you need kid’s money for?” She asked, tilting her head, leaning closer to the terrarium as if she was examining Adam. He wrapped his jacket around himself, blushing furiously at the idea of being inspected. “You’ve got plenty.”

              “F-fuck you!” Adam spat back. What was he supposed to say? It wasn’t exactly untrue.

              “Yeah, right.” Bec said, rolling her eyes. “So you were gonna bully me out of the twenty in my purse, and… what, buy a pizza or something? God, you’re arrogant.”

              “Shut up!” Adam snapped, gritting his teeth. “You don’t know anything about me!”

Bec sighed, resting her cheek on her hand, looking down at him with a soft smile.

              “Yeah, okay.” Her tone was infuriatingly condescending.

Lance caught Kyle moving out of the corner of his eye, and watched his mouth move, even though he couldn’t hear him. Bec huffed a breath out her nose and shook her head.

              “Yeah right! And let you guys go right back out to be this awful again? No, okay? I did this, I gotta see it through.” She said, and Lance watched Kyle fold up on himself, his eyes wide. He shivered.

Adam didn’t shut down.

              “What the fuck, so you’re just gonna… keep us like this f-forever?” He said angrily, but Lance heard just the barest hint of fear under his voice.

              “No, come on! Do I look like I want to be dealing with you three for the rest of my life? No thanks! I got stuff to do, okay? Don’t worry, you’re not gonna be like this forever.”

Lance felt something like hope in his chest. While he didn’t really want to be like this at all, knowing that there was going to be an end to it made him relax a little. But… who knew how long she meant?

              “So what, we’re your summer pets or some shit? Gonna make us fight or something? Are you gonna try and teach me tricks?” Adam spat, and Lance winced. Why the hell did he keep antagonizing her? He banged on the plastic between them, and his face flushed.

              “Shut up, asshole!” Lance shouted, his heart pounding. “S-stop pissing her off!”

Bec glanced down, her eyes focused gently on him, and she let out a quiet noise. But then Adam flipped Lance off, and started shouting again.

              “Shut up, coward! Just cuz… just cuz I’m like this doesn’t mean I’m going to give up, got it?” He glared up at the girl over them, who only sighed, annoyed. “I’m not gonna be your fucking pet!”

Bec shrugged.

              “Whatever you say, bud.” She looked at the three of them, tapping at her lip. “Alright, who’s going first?” She asked.

Lance felt his body go cold, every muscle tensing.

First? First for what? He didn’t like the look in her eyes, a little sparkle like she knew something they didn’t.

Which, considering what she’d already done to them, really could be anything. All his anger from shouting at Adam deserted him, and he stepped back, sinking into the stupid paper bedding underneath his feet.

Her eyes flicked over Adam in the middle. He put his hands up, shaking his head.

              “Not you. You’re last.” She said, and there was an edge to her voice that there hadn’t been before. Her lip even curled a little. What the hell was THAT supposed to mean? Lance felt terror as she focused on Kyle, pursing her lips. He saw the guy fall to his knees and put his hands together, like he was praying. Bec raised an eyebrow and shook her head.

              “Mm… maybe…” She murmured.

Then her eyes turned to Lance, and her expression shifted.

She looked Lance up and down, something that must have been easy considering how little of him there was left, and nodded, smiling slightly.

              “Yeah, you first.” She said, reaching in through the open top of the room he was caught in. He let out a terrified, humiliating squeak, scrambling away from her approaching hand, his heart racing like he’d never felt before.

No, no no!

He felt like a prey animal trying to escape from a godlike predator. She let out a quiet tsk, chasing him into the corner, where he pressed his back into the sticky silicone joint and sank down into the paper bedding. He threw his hands up to cover his head, shaking violently.

              “I… please…” He managed, and Bec sighed.

              “I’m not going to hurt you, buddy.” She said patiently. “I got you here without hurting you, didn’t I? Don’t worry.” Her voice was so soft and gentle that Lance felt his fear loosen involuntarily, like he really was just a mouse that responded to gentle reassurance.

But then her fingers wrapped around him, and the panic was back.

He wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting, but the warm, living softness that pressed into him from all directions wasn’t it.

He could feel the incredible power of just her finger muscles, all of which would be able to pin him easily. Her heartbeat slammed through her skin, throbbing against his body.

She was so incredibly powerful, but she was also incredibly delicate as her fingers easily slid around him, scooping him gently into her palm without pinching, twisting, or hurting him. He considered fighting, but where would that get him? Dropped on the floor, probably.

              “N-no… don’t…” He whispered.

She closed her fingers around him gently, cupping him softly in a loose fist, enough that he could probably wriggle free if he tried. But then he was moving, his inner ear screaming while he flew through the air. He let out a panicked breath and grabbed for anything he could reach, his tiny hand closing around one of the wrinkles in her palm.

              “You two behave, okay? Quit whining, I’m not going to kill him.” Bec said down into the cage he’d just been taken out of, and realized that one of them must have said something. He could feel her voice vibrating through her hand, but he couldn’t catch his friend’s voices.

              “W-where are you taking me?” He asked, but his voice didn’t come out strong enough. She didn’t even look down. Instead, she began walking, each step sending a painful jolt through his body. He winced, clutching his fingers into her palm again, trying to keep from panicking.

She’d said she wasn’t going to kill him, that was good, right? He… He wasn’t about to die.

But he was gripped in someone’s fist – completely helpless, smaller than a person could even be. It didn’t matter what was coming next, it wasn’t up to him at all. She could pick him up, move him without even noticing his resistance.

He’d never imagined being this helpless, completely out of his own control. He choked on his own dry throat, but he refused to cry. There was no way he was going to let himself start crying.

Where was she going? Was there even a point in wondering?

What did it mean that he was first?

Why him? Why did he even hang out with these losers in the first place if this is what it got him? He was soft one, the easy target. No wonder she’d picked him to be first – she probably thought he’d be the easiest to break. Whatever torture she had planned for him, he’d be the one to give up first.

Oh god, did she have a dark torture chamber somewhere in the basement with tiny little weapons? Nail clippers or a pair of scissors? Was she going to put him in the microwave and threaten to start it if he didn’t talk? Would she just put him on the floor and step on him?

But she didn’t take him to a torture chamber, or the kitchen, or anywhere else.

No… this was the bathroom. He swallowed heavily as she nestled him carefully into a soft folded washcloth. His shaking legs folded instantly as he sank into the soft layers of terrycloth.

              “Okay, you can stop acting like I’m about to eat you.” Bec said, glancing at the door. “You’re gonna be fine, it’s just a bath. But that friend of yours needs to stew for a while, so I can’t just tell him, you know? I’m gonna make him sit with it, the arrogant little bastard.”

Lance blinked, his mind having trouble catching up. A bath?

His first thought was that he didn’t need a bath, he’d just showered earlier than morning. He hadn’t taken a bath since he was a baby, probably. But… he couldn’t really process anything but relief that she wasn’t about to do something horrible to him.

              “I bet you’d look good in green.” Bec said, reaching down into a drawer under the counter. “Here, you can wear this once you’re done, okay?” She set down a pair of comfortable gym shorts and an emerald green t-shirt next to him. They looked soft and smelled like laundry detergent. And… they were his size. So small they looked like scraps of fabric between her fingers.

He blinked down at them, his mind spinning in confusion.

              “You’re… you’re not gonna…?” He stammered and Bec sighed, a slight smile on her face.

              “Oh my god, you guys think that just because you guys tried to take my money I’m going to torture you?” She scoffed. “I’m not my dad, okay? I’m not insane.”

He swallowed, his face reddening.

              “Jeez, why does everyone think I’m going to kill them the second they find out what I am?” She said, sighing and looking away. “I didn’t… ask to be born this way, okay? And… just because I was doesn’t mean I’m a monster.” She choked on the word monster, and looked away.

Her voice was bitter, and for a second, Lance caught a glimpse of the girl underneath the terrifying giant. She ran the sink for a minute, running her fingers under it until it was warm.

              “No, okay? I’m not gonna hurt you, I’m not gonna do anything. But you guys, blondie especially… You gotta learn your lesson.”

She trailed off and filled up a shallow saucer, placing it on the counter next to where she’d set Lance. He looked at it nervously, waiting for the other shoe to drop. But she only scraped her fingernail against the bar of vanilla scented soap and left it on the edge of the saucer.

“Listen, you guys can’t just go around shaking down new kids, okay? I mean, that’s really shitty of you guys, especially with kids who don’t know you. I mean, you could really scare someone, or hurt someone. You just happened to mess with the wrong girl this time.”

She paused, looking down at Lance with an expectant look. He blinked up at her, then startled. She was waiting for him to answer!

              “Oh… yeah, I know.” He said, flushing guiltily. He knew it was wrong, but if he didn’t stick with Adam, then he risked being one of those kids with their money stolen. Better safe than sorry, at least… that’s how he justified it.

She shrugged, pushing herself to a stand.

              “Just… take your bath, okay? I’ll be back in ten minutes.”

Then she was gone. Really gone, she even closed the door. Lance let out a long breath he hadn’t realized had been stuck in his chest, and let the tension flow out of his limbs. He couldn’t stop shaking.

Was that all she wanted, was for him to take a bath? He shook his head. No way was he going to strip down and take a bath in… what looked like an actual dish. But even as he thought about it, he couldn’t deny that the idea of washing off in some warm water sounded really good. That, and… the fact that she had clothes for someone his size was both encouraging and terrifying.

Did that mean she’d done this kind of thing before?

Should that relieve him as much as it did? Now that his brain had time to think and calm down, he could tell in the way she’d picked him up that she already knew how to do it. She hadn’t hurt him, not even by accident.

At least… at least she cared enough to be careful with him.

Because who was this girl? How was she able to do things like this without blinking an eye?

He glanced at the door, then shrugged, slipping his shirt off. He wasn’t about to turn down a small comfort, not when the world was this messed up. Maybe he’d wake up and find out this was all a dream.

He finished undressing and stepped into the water. Dammit, she’d even got the perfect temperature. Even though the water was thicker than he was used to, like half set gelatin, it still felt nice on his achy muscles. He carefully slipped in, letting the warm water surround him. He wasn’t going to enjoy this, he was just going to be here long enough to let his muscles relax.

That was it.

Chapter Text

Adam wasn’t freaking out. He wasn’t.

He wasn’t freaking out because none of this was fucking happening! None of this was real – not the giant teenage girl, not the plastic terrarium he was being kept in, not the guinea pig bedding he was settled into, not the screams of his friends as they were taken, terrified and squirming, from their own little partitions.

He’d been frozen to the spot when Lance was taken, but he’d gotten himself back together when the giant witch came back for Kyle.

              “Leave him alone! Get your hands off him, you fucking bitch!” Adam had screamed, pounding on the wall that separated them while she cornered and captured Kyle, who fought and screamed like her touch burned him. And it might have, she’d done this much to them, who’s to say she couldn’t fry them too?

              “Don’t worry, I’ll come back for you later.” Bec had said, hoisting Kyle, scared and screaming, out into her hand, walking away and closing the door.

She still hadn’t brought Lance back. What had she done to him? The fear of not knowing was actually going to kill him.

God – she’d taken Lance an hour ago, and there was still no sign of him, other than the gut-wrenching moment when she’d dropped off his clothes in his third of the cage. Adam looked at the faded pair of jeans and too-big brick red shirt and had almost passed out.

When he’d told Kyle, the poor kid had started to freak out a little, which wasn’t helping anything. Kyle had made a joke.

              “W-what if she ate him, right? I mean… aren’t we small enough?” He said, but Adam couldn’t laugh.

Why did she have his clothes? Where was Lance himself?

She’d said she wasn’t going to kill him, but who knew if that was a lie or not? What if she’d eaten him – swallowed him whole like Kyle had said, and she was about to do the same to Kyle, then him? Had she taken his clothes off to make him go down easier?

What it she’d given them to her cat to play with? What if she was torturing Kyle right now with a pair of nail clippers, already bloody from dismembering Lance?

No! Stop!

He clenched his fists hard, panic rising. He couldn’t think like that. No, he had to believe her, they were still alive. They had to be.

But… there were a lot of things you could do to someone and have them still be alive. He shivered, thinking of what had happened to Randy.

Stop it – that was an accident, it’s OVER. He told himself, the way he always did. This was totally different! What Bec had done to them was clearly not an accident. She’d done this on purpose, to hurt them, or scare them, or worse.

Maybe this was revenge. Maybe this bitch knew Randy or something, maybe she was just a psycho, getting off on making him feel like he was having a heart attack. Maybe she just liked having tiny victims to torture. Stripping them and cutting them to pieces or humiliating them some other way.

He swallowed heavily.

For a moment, he felt a pang in his gut. Regret. He shouldn’t have done this! He shouldn’t have even talked to this girl.

He shouldn’t have been shaking down kids for money anyway. Hadn’t he already learned his lesson? Hadn’t his father already had to clean up that mess for him once?

Because Jesus fuck, what would his dad think if he saw Adam like this, smaller than his thumb and kept in a freakin’ animal cage like a… a mouse or something? His face burned with the idea of being seen like that, his father leaning down over the cage like Bec did, his hand curling roughly around his only son.

He could even picture the disdainful look on his face, the same one he had whenever Adam disappointed him. He had no doubt this would be the most disappointing thing he’d ever done in his life.

Adam shivered. He’d rather die than be that vulnerable, especially in his father’s hands. Who knew what he’d do?

Sure, his father had cleaned up the whole Randy mess for him, but… the things he’d forced Adam to do to repay him would never leave him.

The door opened, and his heart leapt into his throat. She didn’t have Kyle’s clothes, and he wasn’t sure if that made him more or less afraid of what was coming for him. She sat down in the chair across from him, brushing her hands off.

              “Now… it’s your turn.” She said, her voice harsh.

              “N-no!” Adam shouted, stepping forward, pressing his hands to the plastic cage wall, glaring at Bec’s looming face. “Not until you tell me what happened to them!”

Bec raised an eyebrow, leaning closer.

              “No? You do realize you can’t exactly stop me, right?” She said, pressing her fingertip to the plastic where his hand was. He swallowed, realizing his hand didn’t even cover the tip of her finger. He pulled his hand back.

              “Fuck you, let me go!” He shouted, folding his arms. Bec smirked, shaking her head.

              “Do you even realize what you’re asking?” She said, reaching into the top, her hand coming down for him. He let out a panicked shout and headed for the corner, even though he’d watched it fail with Lance and Kyle. “You wouldn’t survive a single day like this if I let you go.”

              “I don’t care! You can’t keep me here, let me go!!” He shouted, his chest rising and falling like a panicked little animal.

Her hand approached, but he refused to give in. He dove for the side by her pinky, slipping past her hand and darting to the other corner.

              “Woah, slippery little guy.” Bec said, grinning. Her hand moved faster than he’d ever even realized hands could move, pinching him delicately between two fingers. He gasped as she gently squeezed his chest, drawing him out into the air. He struggled violently until he caught a glimpse of the ground beneath him, and froze. He closed his eyes and prayed that she wouldn’t drop him.

She didn’t, she just set him gently into her other palm, curling her fingers up around him like another cage. He hated the feeling of soft skin underneath him. It was too hot, too close. He thought about jumping off the side, but thought better of it.

              “Put… put me down!” He shouted, his face reddening. He didn’t like this. He hated everything about this. He didn’t like being small, and it was a million times worse in her hand. At least when he was sitting in the cage, he wasn’t being touched! He curled himself as tight as he could, minimizing the contact his body had with her hand.

              “Wow, you really don’t like being held, huh?” Bec asked, standing up. Adam swallowed while the bottom dropped out of his stomach, but he refused to give her the satisfaction of knowing that she was getting to him.

              “Nobody does, you crazy bitch!” He shouted, his head pounding. Bec shrugged, the motion sending him up and down like a wave.

              “I don’t know, some people do.” She said dismissively.

              “Maybe because they’re sick in the goddamn head!” He shouted back, and Bec looked down at him, her face clearly tinged with annoyance. She sighed.

              “Okay, can you chill? I’m giving you what you want, jeez.” She said, and Adam paused. What he wanted?

Was she about to make him big again? He bit his lip, not even daring to hope as she opened a door, and the cool night air flowed over him.

              “Well, here you go.” Bec said, kneeling to the ground, tipping him roughly onto the wood of the back step.

              “W-wait, what?” He called up, scrambling to his feet, trying to regain what little dignity he had left. Bec cocked an eyebrow, still kneeling over him.

              “I’m letting you go. Good luck, little guy.” She stood up, and he stepped back, craning his neck as she stood over him like a skyscraper. “Oh, be careful though, the neighbor’s cat got into our yard last night. I wouldn’t want to cross a cat if I was that small.”

              “You can’t just—”

              “Hey, buddy boy, I can’t hear you. I’m just gonna assume you’re thanking me, and I’m gonna go to bed.” She stepped into the room, looking down at Adam with a smile. “Goodnight. Stay safe.”

Then she closed the door, leaving him outside.

For a moment, he couldn’t really believe what was happening. Was… she really letting him go free? But the more he looked around at the dark backyard, the more he wondered if this was really a gift, or just another form of torture.

He walked over to the edge of the step, peering down. He probably wasn’t much taller than three inches. Even a fall from the step could mean a broken leg. He stepped back, swallowing heavily.

What the hell was this supposed to be? Was she counting on him giving up? Was she waiting on the other side of the door for him to beg for help?

Well, he wasn’t going to give in. He wasn’t going to call for help, no matter what. He’d figure out a way off this step, and then…

Then…

And then what?

What was his plan? Where was he going to go?

He couldn’t go home, that was for sure. If his sister Lily didn’t snatch him up as a doll first, his dog would eat him for sure.

And if neither of them got him first, he would end up at the mercy of his father. There was no way that was happening. He could just imagine it now.

His dad would put him in some kind of paperweight or something. He’d have to sit in an even smaller prison while his father glared down, using him to hold down legal briefs or stacks of contracts.

His coworkers would come by and wonder, and his father would sneer dismissively, tipping Adam’s little body out into his big, rough hand.

              “That’s my failure of a son. This is where I keep him so he can’t get into any more trouble.” He’d say, pinching Adam between his fingers, dangling him helpless and humiliated in front of the poor paralegal he was trying to impress. “Look at him. Isn’t he pathetic? Can’t even get out of my hand by himself.”

No. Non-starter. He would absolutely not be going home.

Maybe he could—

Something flew past him, wings the size of his arm fluttering past. He stepped back, his heart racing. What the hell was that?

He heard something rustle in the grass, and he froze, opening his eyes as wide as they could to see what was moving. Was it just a bug? Or a little mouse or something? Or… was he hearing the cat she’d been talking about?

Jesus, he was so small.

Even the familiar wooden fence towered around him like a border around the earth. What if this was like that old cheesy Honey, I Shrunk the Kids movie? What if there were scorpions or some other shit out there? Where was he supposed to sleep?

Maybe he could just… live in the walls of someone’s home, like a real mouse. He scoffed at the thought. But… what if there were mousetraps? What if he got caught by someone who didn’t know how to take care of someone so tiny?

At least… at least Bec hadn’t hurt him. Maybe he should—

Something else rustled in the grass, and his mind went blank. What, was he going to stand here on the back step all night, or was he going to start trying to escape?

He walked to the edge and sat down. It looked about fifteen feet of a drop. Could he make that without getting injured? Maybe if he dangled and dropped, he’d make it without breaking anything. He pushed himself off, lowering himself until he was just hanging on with his hands, then… he let go.

It was a bit further than he expected, and he hit hard, his legs collapsing underneath him. His body didn’t hit as hard as he’d been expecting to hit, but the fall still knocked the wind out of him. At least nothing was broken.

He stood and looked up at the looming step, biting his lip. Well, this was a one way trip. No way was he going to be able to climb back up that step. Movement caught his eye, and he startled back.

Holy shit, there were bugs on the side of the step. And… they were the size of his entire hand, if not bigger. He fought down a girly scream and looked away, trying not to imagine bugs that massive crawling on him.

Ugh, too late.

But now he was staring into the grass, where it rose to his chest, sometimes up to his neck. If he was three inches tall, that was pretty long grass. Didn’t this family ever mow the lawn?

A breeze rustled through the grass, and he paused, shivering as it brushed against him. At this size, the grass edges felt razor sharp, and he could feel the scratchy fibers already catching on his clothes.

He took a step into it, willing himself forward, and shivered when he felt the grass stalks hook to his clothes, almost as if they were pulling him back.

Headlights flashed over the backyard, and he ducked before he realized what had just happened. His heart racing, and feeling like a cowardly idiot, he stood back up, smacking the clingy grass away from his hair.

Goddamn, this sucked in every way possible. He just… he just wanted to go back home and lay in his own comfy bed and not think about anything that happened today. He just wanted to go back to his life and not feel so small and helpless!

He took a few more steps into the grass, forcing his legs to keep trudging forward.

Okay, this wasn’t so bad. Once he got used to the clinging grass always scraping against his newly thin skin and the skittering bugs around his feet, it was mostly like walking through the woods or something.

And it was better that whatever was waiting for whatever Bec had been planning to do with him in the first place. Who knew what Lance and Kyle had endured before they’d met their untimely end?

She had to have eaten Lance, that was the only thing that made sense. She’d taken off his clothes so they didn’t hurt her stomach and swallowed him down. Whole, probably, just to be extra cruel. She’d probably given Kyle to the cat or something. Probably no clothes left, just tattered shreds.

His face twisted in guilt. It was his fault that they were gone, now. All because he had to prove to his father that he wasn’t a waste of space.

Whatever. It wasn’t like he’d forced them to hang out with him. They wanted to feel cool too! It was their fault as much as his.

But still… what a way to go.

At least… at least out here, he was in control of how he died. At least she didn’t get to torture him directly. This was a win.

It had to be a win.

Something rustled in the grass, and he tried to calm his pounding heart before he realized that this sound was different. He’d heard the sounds of the suburbs at night, before. Crickets chirping, grass rustling, he could even hear the bugs skittering.

But something had changed, now. Something was watching.

He turned, slowly, only to lock eyes with the one thing he was hoping Bec had been lying about. Shimmering green eyes, reflecting the light pouring from the house windows, high in the air above him. Silky black fur that blended in with the darkness behind it. A golden collar with a bell on it that didn’t ring when it moved.

A cat.

He let out a quiet whimper, his body flooding with adrenaline. He couldn’t move. He had to stay still. Any sign of movement and… Jesus, he’d seen cats with toys before. His little sister had a cat called Mr. Fluffy. He hated the thing.

This wasn’t helping matters.

As slowly as he could, without drawing attention, he stepped back, wincing with every rustle of the grass.

It was prowling. He’d never really understood that word before he’d seen it blown up to the size of a damn elephant, but it’s exactly what he would call the terrifying thing it was doing. Its shoulders were low to the ground, its eyes like glass, unblinking and wide.

Jesus… it was the most terrifying thing he’d ever seen in his life.

All he could think about was Mr. Fluffy at home batting around a squeaking little mouse toy, and imagining himself in that toy’s place. The squeaking coming from his own mouth.

Oh god… what was he going to do? How was get going to escape from this thing? How was he going to get out of this one?

He kept backing up, but his foot slipped on a rock that was probably only a speck of sand, and he fell backwards, his heart racing. By the time he’d gathered up the courage to peek out over grass, he thought he’d been prepared, but he wasn’t.

The cat was looking at him now, its massive dead eyes locked onto him like a homing missile. The bottom dropped out of his stomach, and he tried to freeze, but deep down, he knew it was too late. The cat began to move toward him.

He couldn’t help it – he ran. The cat was on top of him in a second, silently descending from the sky like death with four paws. One of its passive paws slammed into his side, and he flew several feet before hitting the ground.

Despite gasping in a breath, he hit the ground running. He dove for the step, slipping between the cross-hatched wood into the damp, muddy dirt under the step.

He sank in the muck up to his ankle, and it reeked of rotting leaves and mold and dirt, but the cat hit the step with a yowl, its claws pressing into the holes between the slats of wood.

Adam let out a whimper as the cat hit the wood, bending the slats with its incredible mass. Its paw squirmed at the openings, and he watched claws the length of his entire hand stretch out, trying its hardest to sink those claws into him.

The claws scraped against the wood, and he shivered, letting out a whimper at the sound, like nails on a chalkboard.

He stepped on something soft while backing up, and fell ass-first into the soft dirt, watching in horror as a snake the size of a boa constrictor writhe around in the dirt around his feet. It wrapped around his ankle and he screamed.

Oh god, no, not a snake, a worm! Nothing more than a slimy, pink earthworm, one as big around as his entire leg. Jesus, the thing was longer than his entire body. He couldn’t help the horrified sound he made as it slithered around underneath him, making the dirt swell and undulate. The slimy pink length brush up against his arm and he jumped away with another scream. It felt like a squishy pink muscle flailing around on its own.

The cat let out another yowl, batting at the wood again, and he let out a dry sob.

A beetle the size of his entire head scuttled over his chest, its tiny legs scrabbling across him. He was so small he could feel the actual weight of this bug as it crawled over him. He couldn’t suppress a gag. One of its tiny hairy feet caught on his shirt and thrashed on him. He flailed, sending it flying with a shriek.

Was there nothing that was safe at this size? Was everything so crazy and dangerous? The wet dirt was soaking through his shoes and his pants, making him shiver. Why was he so cold? It was August, but he felt like he’d been put in a freezer.

He curled himself close in the dirt under the step, letting his panic finally overtake him. He couldn’t do this! He didn’t want to be small, he didn’t want to be eaten by a cat, he didn’t want to be out here anymore.

              “H-help! Someone help me!” He cried out, but who was going to hear him down here in the dirt under the back step? There was no way Bec was actually watching him, she’d let him be chased by the cat under the step here. She really had just left him out here to die.

              “P-please…” He whimpered as the cat finally retreated. But who knew how far it would go? Maybe it was just sitting there waiting for him to emerge so it could rip him apart.

An ant crawled over him, and he choked out another dry sob as he flailed his limbs to get it off him, but another one followed right behind it. Their legs and antennae brushed against him, making his skin crawl. No matter what he did, he couldn’t stop them from crawling on him.

His hands were covered in muck and freezing water and grit, and every time he tried to brush himself off, he just smeared the sludge over himself more.

Dammit, he didn’t want to die! He didn’t want to die…

Then something echoed above him, and the wood trembled over his head. He curled up, his heart racing.

Oh god, as if it wasn’t bad enough, now his only shelter was going to come down on his head. But then something massive crushed the grass right on the other side of the wooden grate, and he watched as Bec’s head lowered down to peer inside.

He let out a sigh of relief, unable to hide how his body slumped.

              “Oh man, what are you doing under there?” Bec asked, putting her hand flat on the ground. “Come on, that’s… that was a little too much, okay…? I didn’t mean for it to be that bad, I promise. I’m sorry…”

He crept forward, peering at her from the other side of the wooden grate. She couldn’t get to him from here, he could stay under here and stay out of reach.

              “H-how did you know I was here?” He asked, trying to sound harsh, but his voice didn’t have any of the bite it had an hour ago. Bec sighed and rolled her eyes.

              “My mom found you. Said she chased a little human under the porch. I’m sorry, I didn’t think she’d be up this late.”

Adam blinked, processing the information he was hearing. Wait… her mom… chased him?

              “B-but the cat…” He breathed, stepping closer. Bec didn’t move her hand, just kept it there patiently. “Your mom’s a cat…?”

              “Ugh, god no, my mom’s not a cat. She just… looks like that sometimes, you know? My dad does this thing, and it's like... God, it’s so embarrassing. Okay, can we not talk about my parents right now? Come on, I’ll take you inside and you can wash off. That was my plan before… well, never mind.” Her fingers twitched, beckoning him closer. “Come on, Lance and Kyle are waiting for you, okay?”

Wait, what? They were still alive?

              “D-don’t lie to me! You k-killed them, didn’t you?” He cried, backing up. Bec let out an offended noise.

              “What the hell, what is wrong with you? I didn’t kill them!” She said, wrinkling up her face.

              “You ate Lance!” He screamed, his chest tight. Bec’s mouth dropped open.

              “W-what are you talking about?” she asked, furrowing her brow. “What…? Are you insane? I wouldn’t eat someone, that’s fucked up! I'm not... you know... I mean, my aunt... whatever, never mind!”

              “A-and Kyle… you…”

              “Oh my god, I gave them a bath and new clothes! Jesus Christ, what is going on inside your head?” Bec said, her voice both hurt and annoyed. “I guess if you think so little of me, I can just leave you here overnight!”

              “No!” The words were out before he could stop him. His face burned with the humiliation, but the idea of spending the night out here, surrounded by cats and bugs and worms and dirt was just too much. “N-no… don’t… don’t do that.”

Bec sighed, putting her hand back down.

              “Come on, let’s go, okay? Maybe we can just chalk this up to… a tie.”

              “A tie??” Adam burst out. “You shrank me! You… you put me outside!” He said incredulously, but he was more afraid than he meant to sound. Bec scoffed.

              “Well, you threatened me for my money and, don’t forget, you asked me to let you go!” She shot back, and Adam swallowed. Okay, so that was true. “Dude, if you don’t come back, Lance is gonna freak out all night, okay? He was already really worried when I told him what I did with you.” Bec said, and Adam couldn’t help the feeling that flooded him when she mentioned Lance.

Was it true, was he still alive?

Or was she just lying to him to get him back in her clutches? Honestly, though, at this point, he didn’t care. He was just so sick of being wet and cold and tiny. He slipped through the wooden grate and gingerly stepped into her hand.

The warmth was immediate, and he couldn’t help an involuntary shiver of relief.

The world spun around him as she stood and carried him back in through the back door.

              “Come on, let’s go. I’m tired, okay? I’m going to bed.” She mumbled as she carried him through the house.

Chapter Text

Bec padded through the house, Adam cupped in her palms.

Adam himself tried to keep himself from seething. It was some crazy whiplash to think he’d just been outside, drowning in freezing mud and running away from a cat at three damn inches tall. Now he sat, cradled in warm, soft hands, still caked in drying mud.

He wanted to scream, but he was getting so tired. And he didn’t dare say anything that would get him put outside again.

              “Honey!” A man’s voice rang out from beside them, and Bec jumped, sending Adam sprawling in her palm. “Becquerel, sweetheart, what have I told you about having boyfriends over?! It’s after dark, baby girl. He’s gotta go home!” He boomed. Bec groaned loud enough that Adam felt it rumble through her hand underneath him. He risked a glance at the intruder.

He was a pretty unassuming-looking guy, all around. The kind of guy that he’d expect to see at Burning Man or the maybe local dive bar. His hair was curly and shoulder length and streaked with gray. His face was tanned and covered in fine smile lines. He was even wearing some hokey ragged Nirvana tee. Adam thought if they were the same scale, he’d actually be taller than this guy. He didn’t even seem much taller than Bec! He was skinny, too, but covered in lean muscle, like a runner.

He turned his blue and shining eyes down to look at the cowering, filthy little teenager in Bec’s hands.

              “Ugh, dad!” Bec sighed as her dad leaned closer. “Don’t do this, I’m… I don’t have time to deal with this right now! And… stop calling me that, call me Rebecca, please?” She griped.

              “Oh, don’t be so shy! I won’t hurt a hair on his little human head. And it’s a perfectly good family name, darling, I won’t have you out here trying to rebrand yourself! You can change your name when you’re 18, if you want to, and not a moment before!” He said, wagging his finger in Bec’s face.

              “Rebecca’s a human name.” She grumbled under her breath. “Becquerel’s a freak name.”

“I’m Harlan, son. Nice to meet you.” The man grinned and extended a finger to Adam, who reared back as far as he could. There was something really off about this guy. “Gotta say, my baby girl doesn’t want to introduce me to boyfriends very often. Can’t imagine why!” He laughed, running his hand through his hair.

              “Come on, daddy, he’s not… look at him, he’s not my boyfriend!” Bec flushed, looking away.

              “Oh, good thing, too! If you brought home a boyfriend this dirty, I’d be wondering what happened to my sweet little baby girl! Come on, buddy, you don’t have to be scared, I don’t bite!” He laughed out loud. He poked his finger closer, and Adam scrambled back until his hands hit Bec’s wrist.

Adam flinched, completely taken aback by this man’s casual energy. Shouldn’t he be freaking out, seeing a person so small? He was treating Adam like he was just a normal guy Bec happened to bring home.

              “Oh my god, Dad, stop! You’re embarrassing me!” Bec said, flushing, pulling Adam away from him. “Leave him alone!”

              “Well, sweet pea, the rules are the same for non-boyfriends, I’m afraid. He can’t be in your room after sunset, young lady!” He tapped his wrist, his nail clicking against the plastic hiking watch he was wearing.

              “Jesus – dad! He’s… I mean, this afternoon, I might’ve… They were bothering me, okay? I… changed him, you know? Don’t pretend you don’t see it!” Bec snapped, and her father’s eyes lit up.

              “Oh! Oh… I get it, you got your hands on him, huh?” He asked, grinning excitedly. He tilted his head. “Sorry, he just still looks so… human, I didn’t even realize. Humans are just little souls in fleshy shapes, right? I guess he looks a little different from your average, garden-variety. Though he looks like you might have dug him up out there!”

He burst out laughing again, and Bec sighed, waiting for his glee to pass.

“I mean, what, did you give him a nose job or something? Let him lose a little weight? Come on, Becca, what’d you do to him?” His eyes shone as he bent back down to look closer. Adam blinked up, confused.

The man in front of him had the energy of any awkward, goofy man he might have encountered at a basketball game or something, but there was something behind those eyes that scared him. As Harlan leaned closer, he could see throbbing power pulsing behind those blue eyes. He shivered.

              “Come on, dad, don’t be such an old-fashioned loser, okay? He’s… don’t act like you don’t know he’s different! I just… I made him twenty times smaller, isn’t that enough?” Bec turned her face away. “Why are you always pushing me? I was trying to lay low!”

              “Well, I’m sorry, sweetheart! He’s so close to normal I didn’t even notice… I’m just glad you’re finally taking an interest in the family art, sweetness!” He said, smiling lovingly. Adam furrowed his brow, but Bec scoffed. “I mean, of course he’d look better with a few extra arms, maybe a recalibrated circulatory system… A row of spines would look pretty damn good too.”

Bec huffed.

              “Whatever! I like how he looks right now, okay? You know I have my own ideas about humans, and I know you don’t respect them!” Bec shot back, and her father frowned, looking hurt.

              “Honey, I respect your projects! I… I just don’t always understand them. Is this about the music again?” He said, putting his hand on her shoulder.

              “Dad!” Bec said, her face flushing red. She glanced down at Adam and swallowed. “Don’t… not in front of Adam!”

              “Becquerel…” Harlan said, his voice dropping to something serious for the first time. “If it’s about this… sound nonsense again…”

              “Stop it! It’s not about that! It’s… I should have known you wouldn’t understand!”

“I’d like to, honey, I just don’t know why you keep yourself so limited! Come on, baby, tell me what you’re doing with this one! Did you do any internal work? A little mental tuning?”

              “I’m – I just wanted to teach them a little lesson, okay? They tried to take my money, and I—"

              “You know, I don’t tend to leave them nearly this human.” Harlan interrupted. “When I get my hand on someone, I really dig in, you know? I really go for it!” He made a fist and shot Bec a toothy grin. “Remember Alan? With all those tentacles and teeth and the hair… Man, and Nancy? Whoop, poor lady didn’t know what hit her! I mean, did you see what I did to—”

              “Yeah, I know, dad!” Bec sighed. “I know. We had to move last week because of it, believe me, I know!” She turned away, and her father’s lip pushed out in a pout.

              “Aww, Becquerel, you know I don’t want to keep… you know, moving us around. I just… sometimes people just really get under my skin, and I just can’t handle it anymore!” His tone started to get more energetic, his hands flailing wildly. Adam curled up next to Bec’s thumb, hoping to escape notice. “And god, Roger was just really pissing me off that day and I stepped in a puddle – a puddle, Beccy! – and what was I supposed to do? NOT give him all those extra arms? Though… they didn’t really end up like arms, though, did they… more like tentacles. Maybe whips?”

              “I don’t know, dad, maybe reign it in, like I do?” Bec said, turning away. “At least we only had to move twice because of me. What are you up to now, huh? Forty?”

Her father folded his arms.

              “Young lady, I won’t have you talking to your father that way! If I hear another word like that, I’ll step in and take over your little project.” He said, grinned down at Adam. Adam shivered. He definitely didn’t want that.

              “You don’t understand me!” Bec shouted, turning and storming up the stairs, slamming her door shut behind her and locking the door.

She looked down at Adam in her hands, sighing with frustration.

              “S-sorry you had to see that. My dad’s such an awkward… embarrassing idiot, okay?” She mumbled. Adam didn’t even know how to respond. “God, you’d think he was harmless and stupid, right? Ugh, wrong. I keep telling him he has to act more like a jerk, so people quit baiting him, but nooooo. I swear, he just likes looking for trouble.”

She stopped ranting and looked down, as if she’d just remembered Adam sitting in her palm.

              “Jesus, whatever. I’m so done, okay? I’m going to bed.”

She gently lowered Adam back into the aquarium, but he realized she’d taken out the partitions. She also set some fabric over the paper bedding, making it more comfortable, and slightly less humiliating.

He turned around, watching her turn off the lamp and flop down in her bed, not even bothering with her clothes or hair or anything.

              “Adam!” Lance said, carefully wobbling over in the thick, soft flooring. Adam stared openly.

Lance wasn’t even wearing his old outfit; he had on something totally different. Normal looking shorts and a T-shirt.

In fact, Lance looked great. He looked so clean his skin was glowing, and his hair was soft and brushed.

              “W-why do you smell like… vanilla?” Adam crackled through his raw throat. Lance wrinkled his nose, taking a step back when he saw how dirty Adam actually was.

              “Why do you smell like actual dirt?” Lance shot back. Adam flushed. Lance didn’t look like he’d been eaten. Or tortured, or put in the dirt, or had anything bad happen to him at all.

              “Wh-what did she do to you?” He asked suspiciously. Lance shook his head.

              “Gave me hot water and new clothes.” He said, tilting his head. “She said she put you outside.”

Adam shivered, feeling a little embarrassed.

              “I… I thought she… I thought she was going to kill me, too.” He admitted. Lance snorted.

              “Kill us? Yeah, not even close.”

Kyle stepped closer and Adam looked at him. He’d been given new clothes, too, a pair of soft black sweatpants and a red T-shirt.

              “Oh my god, what… the whole time? Just… a bath and clothes?” Adam wheezed out, his face reddening.

Kyle shrugged.

              “Well, yeah. I mean, she like scared the shit out of me first, but yeah, she gave me these and told me to wash up. Dude, she even left the room.” He said, his head bobbing.

              “But we were kinda freaked out when she didn’t bring you back.” Lance admitted, looking down and fidgeting with the hem of his shorts. Adam looked away.

              “I… thought she ate you.” He murmured, looking down at his filthy, still soaking clothes. Kyle blinked.

              “Ate me? W-what? Why?” Lance asked, eyeing the sleeping teenage girl nervously. Adam scoffed out a laugh.

              “I… I don’t even know. It just – when she brought your clothes back and wouldn’t tell me what happened to you… I mean, it was like an hour before she came back for me. I was kinda freaking out.”

He hadn’t expected to feel like such a moron. When he wasn’t expecting to die out in the backyard, he’d imagined himself as a little heroic survivor. But… now he just felt like an idiot for choosing to suffer pointlessly.

But still… at least he hadn’t been bathed and dressed like a pet. At least… at least he was still himself

              “Dude, you look awful.” Kyle said, making a face.

              “W-well at least I’m not a pampered little pet.” He mumbled, and Kyle stepped back, a hurt look on his face.

              “Woah, Adam, not cool!” Lance said, folding his arms.

              “Yeah, what the hell, man?” Kyle echoed, his face flushing. He looked down at his outfit. “We… we’re not pets, okay? It’s just clothes.”

              “Just her clothes.” Adam said, his face burning. His own clothes were starting to dry to his skin and make him itch, but there was no way he even wanted to consider letting her dress him up like a doll. No matter how comfortable and normal the clothes looked.

Because here, in the warmth of the bedroom and the softness of the bedding and blanket underneath him, the terror of the backyard felt further and further away. He hadn’t nearly died, he’d survived. The cat hadn’t scared the shit out of him, he’d escaped it!

He WAS a survivor. The other two were just little bitches who let themselves be taken care of like girly little dolls.

Kyle nudged him gently in the arm, but Adam pulled away.

              “Leave me alone, okay?” He said, trying to storm away. The damn bedding was so thick that every step was wobbly and embarrassing, but he stomped his way to the corner, where he flopped onto his side and curled up into a ball.

The thought of Harlan, huge and grinning with his finger extended still made him want to shiver

“God, this whole family’s insane. We’re so fucked.” He mumbled. Right outside the room was an actual eldritch freakin’ god who wanted to turn him into some fleshy tentacle monster abomination, and here his daughter was just keeping Adam like a pet in a cage!

He couldn’t even run away. He was so helpless, surrounded by a family that wouldn’t help him anytime soon.

He could hear the other two talking about him, but he refused to give them attention.

              “Do you think he realized she put beds down?” Kyle whispered, watching his filthy best friend flop himself into the corner on the floor. Lance shook his head and glanced over.

It wasn’t perfect – it wasn’t the same as a real mattress, but she’d cobbled together something that looked pretty comfortable out of a pencil box and a folded-up scarf.

              “What’s his fuckin’ damage?” Kyle murmured, shaking his head.

              “Dude, it’s Adam. He’s nothing BUT damage.” Lance sighed. He looked over to where Adam was curled up, filthy and shivering. He probably should have gone over and tried to help him again, but he wasn’t interested getting insulted again.

Adam was the one who got them into this whole damn mess in the first place! Maybe he deserved a lonely night covered in mud.

              “I’m uh… I’m gonna go to bed.” Lance mumbled, flopping down into the soft fabric. Kyle joined him, kicking his feet up.

              “Think he’s feel better tomorrow?” Kyle mumbled, his eyes flickering closed.

              “Who knows?” Lance replied, drifting off to sleep.