The Dangers Of  Daring Officer Dolly

Chapter 5.  "Small Ships Passing In The Night"

by Skytower

Merry McCormack lived in a small blue and white house at the edge of the park. The house was two stories high with an attic and a cellar. On the top floor were a bedroom and a bathroom. On the bottom floor were a kitchen and two other rooms. One of the rooms Merry had converted into a gym the other was a rarely used living room.

Merry climbed the stairs to her bedroom carefully holding the small wine box in her arms. She was tired after almost two days straight of pure physical work. Tired but satisfied and exited as well.

Even before her alteration and enslavement by The Group Merry had lived a lonely life. From an early age she had decided to be a police officer and her single-minded pursuit of that goal, plus her love of science fiction and fantasy had consumed her life. From the age of physical maturity Merry had found herself attractive to almost everyone but for all the wrong reasons. Merry stood at a goddess-like stature of one inch over six feet. Her face was perfect, her breasts were large, her waist small and her hips compelling. In only a few year the men and boys she met at Star Trek conventions went from talking to Merry to mumbling incoherently while staring at her chest. The girls and women on those conventions either tried to get too close or treated her rudely to drive her away. High school was a nightmare, and only the fact that Merry was never hesitant to fight saved her from continual harassment. Had Merry decided to use her beauty she could have been popular. But Merry resented the treatment she received and built walls around herself. Those few times she had let the walls down hadn’t lasted very long. In many cases, both for girls and boys, her friendships ended in wrestling matches or knock-down drag out fights. She had been accused of teasing, being frigid and much worse.

Merry walked into her bedroom and over to the dresser. On the dresser was a small bed, a night stand/lamp combination and an ultra-small radio alarm clock. The collection looked like doll furniture; and the brass bed, a copy of her bed, actually was from a doll set. But the lamp and the radio alarm clock actually worked. That was one of the benefits of working for The Group; there was no technical problem they couldn’t solve. Merry opened the box and carefully took out the contents. In her hand was a woman, a human woman. Her name was Margarita Chevron and she was nearly twenty inches tall. Merry placed the sleeping woman onto the bed and looked at her.

Margarita Chevron was Asian by heritage and her slight body and face illustrated that. Merry ran her fingers along the sleeping woman’s body and couldn’t deny the thrill that went through her. With a strong effort of will power Merry reached over and pulled a small blanket over Margarita’s body.

"This is really weird." Merry said. "I mean... I’ve been small before, and I’ve known smaller women, when you’re my height almost all the women are smaller. But... You’re like me. Sort of." Almost on her own Merry’s fingers traced Margarita’s body, pressing down against the blanket until the sleeping woman’s body was nearly silhouetted by the fabric. Merry swallowed hard and felt a flush come to her face. Deliberately she took a step back and a deep breath.

"It’s a good thing you’re not much bigger. I made this stuff, or I found it… well I asked for the alarm actually, just a few weeks after they started to shrink me and... well I always tried to make it bigger... so they’d make me bigger. Thirteen inches... that’s what they like though. Anyway... I hope we can be friends... I mean... friends, but not friends... I mean... Well... Good night."

Merry pulled off her yellow sweat suit and eased her body into a nightgown. Her body still surged against her, demanding attention. Merry knew that in the bottom drawer of her dresser was a vibrator. The vibrator seemed to call to her and it took everything Merry had to deny it. The Group could be watching and Merry didn’t want to give them the show of self love. Also Margarita could wake up. The thought of the young woman waking up as Merry played with her self was mortifying enough to defeat the waves of lust that hit against her. Why she was getting turned on Merry couldn’t say. She had lived most of her life with a confirmed heterosexual orientation. Merry didn’t shudder at or disdain lesbians, but she liked men. At least she had like those very few who had gotten close to her. The feel of a mans body as it merged with hers was a thrill, but seldom had she gotten that same thrill from a woman. There was a slight thrill at times, but never enough for Merry to act on. But quite a few times since she had been altered that thrill had been there.

"Is it the size?" Merry whispered as she got into her bed. "Lights out!" She called in a normal tone of voice the ceiling light shut off. Merry was left with the pale white light of the streetlights filtering in through the window. Her voice dropped to a whisper again. "I’ve been handled enough at that size and smaller, did I turn people on? A few I know that for sure. What if that was a man? Would I still be turned on?"

Merry tried to picture a man only twenty inches tall and burst out giggling.

"Oh God!" Merry whispered as the giggling subsided. "I’m tired. Two days to clean up that mess at the library plus staying on duty so no one would suspect… I’m just tired that’s all."

Merry turned over onto her side so that she faced away from the shrunken woman. Then she closed her eyes and willed herself to sleep.

Margarita Chevron woke up slowly. Waking up slowly was actually the way she preferred to wake up. Consciousness to the young woman meant enduring various types of pain. Physical pain in the form of her body being twisted and shaped by the demons that possessed it; or mental pain from those same demons after her body was crafted to a form that fit their evil designs. Even those times when Margarita was alone in her own body there was the pain of memories.

But this morning when she awoke; and it was morning, somehow she knew that, there was no pain. No physical pain. No mental pain. Her back and neck muscles weren’t numbed by the frigid stone altar nor were her wrists and ankles were not held by steel chains. Margarita realized that not only was she on a soft mattress she was also covered by a soft sheet. She felt carefully with her hands. It was a bed. For the first time in nearly two years her head rested on a pillow. A sheet had been put over her nude body.

She was safe?

Margarita opened her eyes and saw a small alarm clock on a nightstand beside her. The digital readout read: "6:47 AM".

"I’m safe." She whispered and sat up. The sights that greeted her eyes mocked the young woman’s declaration. She lay on a bed, but the bed was on a dresser. She was in the bedroom of a giant.

Margarita stepped out of the bed and looked around, trying to take it all in. Across from her was a bed and beyond that a door. To the left of the door was a closet. The closet door had been left open and clothes hung neatly on hangers. The wall across from the bed held a plasma screen television. To the right of that was a shelf filled with video tapes and dvds. To the left was a giant poster of Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman. There was a small round hamper in the corner. In the ceiling was a chandelier style light.

"A fake." Margarita whispered.

But she knew it wasn’t. The furniture and the room could be faked, as someone who studied architecture Margarita knew it could be easy to build out of scale. But next to the dresser was a window. Early dawn light filtered through soft blue curtains. The breeze and the sounds of the yard beyond that window could not have been faked. Nor could the smells of an early morning. The soft light of the dawn refracted off of the old metallic screen and that certainly could not have been faked. Margarita looked around at the top of the dresser and a final shock waited for her. There was a mirror mounted on the back of the dresser. Margarita’s reflection gazed back at her. She was nearly twenty inches, or fifty-one centimeters tall. But aside from the height her body was unchanged. There were no horns, no tails or extra arms. No demonic visage leered at her. Her body was slim, with slight breasts that were highlighted by pink aureoles. Her hips were slender and flowed into long legs. A sparse patch of black hair lay between her legs. Her jet black hair fell past her shoulders, a wild tangle that hadn’t been combed in ages. Her face reflected the Asian side of her heritage. Sparse eyebrows over small brown eyes, a short wide nose and a small delicate mouth. Her jaw was strong and in some ways her most impressive feature. Margarita had been called beautiful in her life and she never denied it.

The memories started to come as Margarita realized that her body was hers alone once more. She saw the images float in the mirror, behind her reflection. Her mother’s obsession with her father’s death, the constant moving from one country to another, from one: ‘cure’ to another and the fateful meeting with Sylvia. Finally her own capture and watching helplessly as her mother and Sylvia fought to the death and her mother lost.

Margarita would have screamed as the memories came back to her, but a yawn behind her silenced the young woman. She spun around and saw that someone was sleeping on the bed. A giantess was waking up.

The woman woke up as she yawned and Margarita saw her stretch. For a moment there seemed to be a look of fear on the giantess face. Then her toes touched the bar at the foot of the bed and her fingers pressed against the wall above her. The yawn turned into a sigh and the woman looked over at Margarita.

"Good morning." She said smiling pleasantly.

"Huh?"

The giantess sat up and cast aside the sheet that covered her. Beneath she sheet she wore a sheer white nightgown with flowers on it. It was belted just bellow her breast and cascaded down to her ankles. It was the type of nightgown that covered a person but revealed just about everything. Margarita had been called beautiful in her life, but never stunning. This woman was stunning. She had long blonde hair deep blue eyes and a figure that made Margarita’s look positively boyish.

"How are you feeling?" The Woman said standing up and taking a step toward the dresser.

"I don’t know." Margarita said, gripping the side of the bed hard enough to turn her knuckles white.

"My names Merry McCormick. We sort of met the other night."

"Night…" Margarita looked at her as a dim set of memories filtered past her fear. "You grew!"

"Yea." Merry said nodding. "I do that. Well… I don’t do it, they do it too me, but… Hey are you hungry?"

"Hungry?"

"Well there didn’t seem to be any food in that secret room. When was the last time you ate?"

"Secret room?" Margarita staggered and half fell onto the bed as the memories hit a mind that was moving past the shock.

"Mom!" She screamed. "Mom’s dead!"

The words opened a floodgate and Margarita started to cry. The grief, so long delayed, was so intense she didn’t even notice when Merry picked her up and cradled the shrunken young woman in her arms. She rocked Margarita back and forth as the grief poured forth. Margarita’s tears soaked Merry’s nightgown and her small fist beat and tore hysterically at it.

The storm of grief was fierce but brief. Once the waves of it had washed out Margarita came to herself once more. Her sobs subsided and Margarita became aware of where she was.

"Let go!" she pleaded in a voice choked with emotion. "Please put me down!"

Merry lifted her and put her back down on the top of the dresser. As her tears faded Margarita realized she was naked. She dived into the bed and pulled the covers up to her neck. Merry reached over and opened the draw. The move caused the bed to shake. She took a box of tissues out of the draw and put it by the bed. Margarita was astounded as she reached for a tissue. The box actually fit on the nightstand and the tissues were the right size.

"I’ve cried a bit myself." Merry said as Margarita dried her eyes and blew her nose. "Actually as far as being small goes I think we have a lot in common."

"You’re not small now."

"No."

Margarita took a deep breath. It was comforting somehow to be in a bed.

"I’m sorry about your nightgown."

"What?"

Merry looked down and saw that the shrunken woman had torn the top of her nightgown in half, exposing both of her breasts.

"I hope it wasn’t expensive."

"It was but I don’t pay for it." Merry said.

With a casual motion she pulled off the ruined gown. Underneath it she wore nothing and Margarita turned her eyes away as Merry opened a draw further down. She pulled out a gold sports bra and a pair of form fitting blue exercise shorts.

"What happened to my mothers… body?" Margarita said. "What happened to all of it? You’re a cop right?"

"Yes I am." Merry said putting the clothes on. Again Margarita couldn’t help but cringe as Merry moved. The woman was so huge; too huge and far too close for comfort. "But what happened to you goes way beyond normal laws. The people I work for, I call them: ‘The Group’, took care of Sylvia and Frank and all the rest of it. Your mothers remains are in a funeral home."

"What about all the other stuff?"

"The Group has it."

"There was a book." Margarita said, carefully choosing the words.

"The book that contains the spell that might put you back at full size?" Merry finished. "They have it."

"How did you know?"

"You talked a bit before you passed out." Merry said. "Can you tell me what happened?"

Margarita tried to wrap the blanket more tightly around her body.

"When I was twelve dad died in a car accident. They never found the body. Mom couldn’t accept that. First there were private detectives, then psychics, mediums… Either he was alive and was staying away from us or he was dead and wanted to contact us. Mom got heavy into spiritual and magic stuff."

"That was rough for you." Merry said.

"Every year a new town, a new country, hell sometimes a new continent every week. Mom took just about any job anywhere and when I was old enough so did I. But it got to be too much for me. We were down in South America when Mom found the book buried under an old ruin. She was happy, but I’d had enough. We had a big fight. After that we stayed together, I had no place else to go… Mom scanned the book and put it on the internet. Sylvia wrote back to her and that started it. We moved here, Mom and Sylvia got to be great friends, so I really wasn’t needed anymore. Sylvia kept stalling Mom on the book, telling her they needed to practice before they could find dad."

"So one night she decided to practice on you." Merry said.

"I was the only virgin Sylvia had within easy reach." Margarita said. "She drugged our food, but not good enough. I woke up half way through the spell she was working casting and Mom broke in before it was finished. They fought, Mom lost."

"I’m sorry."

Margarita wipe her face with the tissues.

"I was stuck. Sylvia couldn’t put me back the way I was, but she could use my body as a holder for demons. So she started summoning them, putting them into my body and having them steal stuff for her."

"I spotted one and tracked you to the library." Merry said. "When I found you, you were a snake thing wandering around the ac ducts."

"Sometimes the demons weren’t cooperative." Margarita said. She looked around the room. "So now what?"

"Well the people I work with have the book."

"What are they going to do with it?" Margarita voice rose and she looked at Merry with suspicion. "Hell what are you going to do with me? Am I a new pet or something?"

"No." Merry said, taking a step back. "You’re not a pet."

"Then I can just walk right out of here?"

"If you want." Merry said. "But where would you go?"

"I…" Margarita stopped. "Our apartment?"

"It was re-rented six months ago." Merry said.

"My stuff?"

"Sold because there was rent due."

"Oh God." Margarita whispered.

"I’m sorry." Merry said. She took a step over to the dresser and Margarita was too pre-occupied to notice. "I might be able to track down some of your stuff, if you can tell me what to look for."

"I don’t have anything." Margarita said. She lifted the sheet and looked at her body. "Hell I don’t even have clothes!"

"I’m sorry."

"Why didn’t you put clothes on me?" Margarita shouted. "You get small!"

"I get too small." Merry almost pleaded. "All I got is for thirteen inches… and we’re not really the same body type."

"I won’t walk around naked!" Margarita shouted and buried her face into the pillow.

Suddenly Margarita felt the sheet pulled off of her. Merry’s hand clasped around her body and the young woman was lifted out of the bed and set down.

"I got an idea." Merry said.

Margarita stood too stunned to move as Merry pulled a white gym sock out of one of the drawers. Merry held it up beside her and then took a pair of scissors and cut it nearly in half. Margarita yelped but made no other move as Merry picked her up and eased the cut sock up past her legs. Once it was over Margarita’s breasts Merry took a small string from the same drawer and looped it under her arms. She tied it with a bowknot.

"There we go." Merry said cheerfully. "Not perfect, but at least you’re not naked."

"Thanks." Margarita whispered. The sock covered her from just above her breasts to just bellow her waist. The improvised garment felt rough against her skin. It was very much like wearing a terry-cloth towel. But while she was not nude anymore fear had now worked its way into Margarita. Merry had picked her up and dressed her as if Margarita was a doll. And to Merry she was doll sized. For the first time since she had woken up Margarita realized how vulnerable she was. Had the giantess chosen to spank her, or even just throw her out the window Margarita would have been helpless to resist.

"It… it is better. I’m sorry."

"That’s ok." Merry said. "You hungry or anything?"

"I guess." Margarita said. "Do you… do you have a bathroom?"

"Sure." Merry said. "The best for our kind anywhere." She reached over but stopped as Margarita shrunk from her hand. "If you want you can use the ladder."

"Ladder?"

Merry stepped back and gestured to the side of the dresser. Margarita looked down and saw that a plastic ladder had been fastened to the side.

"The ladder’s good." She said.

Being on the floor was even worse for Margarita. She was an infant wandering through a bank; everything was above her. The floor was hardwood and not only spotless but heavily waxed. Margarita could actually see her own reflection. She followed Merry, keeping well away from the giant woman’s legs, as Merry led them out into the hallway. To the right was a stairwell that led downward. To the left was an open door into a bathroom. Margarita followed Merry into the room. It was a small bathroom, at least for a full sized person. Directly across from the door was a tub/shower combination. Above the tub was a glazed window. To the left was a sink, to the right a small closet and a toilet. The walls were tiled in a roman pattern and the tile on the floor matched them.

"There you go." Merry said.

"Ah?" Margarita asked looking up at her. Then she looked at the toilet. To Margarita it looked like some relic from an age of giants.

"This one." Merry said. She leaned over the toilet and tapped the top of a rectangular box next to it.

Margarita walked carefully around Merry and looked at the box. It stood around three feet or nearly a meter high. Around the top were glazed square windows. The front was a door with a small handle. Three quarters of the way up the door was a small crescent-moon cut out. Margarita opened it and saw a small toilet inside. Next to the toilet was a rack with a magazine and bellow it were two rolls of toilet paper.

Her mouth opened the shrunken woman looked up at Merry.

"I… I’ll be downstairs." Merry said. "You can use the sink too if you want… makes a good bath. The controls are up here." She gestured at the top of the sink. "And the ladders here."

Merry quickly left the room, closing the door behind her. Margarita turned and saw that a small cat door had been installed into the larger door. She looked back at the small toilet and picked up the magazine.

"Starlog?" She read the name aloud.

A little while later Margarita walked cautiously down the stairs. The stairs from the second floor to the first had been modified for a shrunken woman. On the left hand side set against the wall were a set of small stairs, built into the larger stairs. They only extended out in width three inches, but that was wide enough. Margarita actually found them a bit small for her stride. The stairs led down to a living room. Across from the steps was the front door. To the right of that against a set of windows was a large couch. A stack of paperback books was on a coffee table in front of the couch. There was also a round dining room table with three chairs around it. Ahead of her Margarita could see a kitchen and to her right at the bottom of the stairs was another room. Margarita followed the sounds and peered around the corner to see Merry working out.

Merry’s face was a mask of concentration. The only expression she allowed was a small smile that played across her lips from time to time, almost as if she was going to break out laughing. In front of her was a flat piece of plywood board as tall as she was and twice as wide. Strangely shaped holes had been cut out of the board at irregular intervals. Merry’s fist moved in and out of the holes at an insane speed. Margarita watched as Merry stuck her fist through a hole high up in the board. Merry’s fist opened and a small black marble fell from it. Even as she pulled that hand back her other hand moved through a hole further down, turned and caught the marble and then pulled back. In this way Merry moved her arms and body up and down the board, never failing to catch the marble as it was released. The room was stocked with all sort of exercise equipment.

She stopped when Margarita stepped fully into the doorway.

"Hi." Merry said cheerfully. She put the marble down and walked over to her. Margarita took a step back and Merry stopped. "Did you try the bath?"

"Ah… no." Margarita said.

"Oh… Well are you hungry?"

"Sure." Margarita said.

She shrank back as Merry walked past her and into the kitchen. Margarita swallowed and then followed her. The kitchen was as spotless as the rest of the house was. It was also as small. There was a small round table set into the center of the room. On the far side was a sink and above that cabinets. To the right was a door and to the left was a stove.

"Here you go." Merry said reaching down for her.

"I’ll use the ladder!" Margarita said dodging Merry’s hand.

"Oh… Ok." Merry said.

Margarita climbed the ladder that was set into one of the table legs and stepped onto to the tabletop. A small doll table, complete with two chairs and a small vase with a plastic flower was waiting for her. Merry put a small bowl and a spoon onto the doll table and then put a small glass of milk onto it.

"Hope you like Cheerios." Merry said dropping a handful into the bowl.

"Thanks." Margarita said. She sat down in the chair and sat still, looking at Merry. Merry took a bowl and filled it with Cheerio’s and then sat down and started to eat.

Hesitantly Margarita took one of the Cheerio’s and bit into it. It had been a while since a meal wasn’t shoved down her throat and she ate slowly. The flavor was actually more intense than she remembered, even if it still tasted like cardboard.

"Why am I here?" Margarita asked.

"I couldn’t think of anyplace better for you." Merry said. "And I figured you needed to wake up in a friendly place."

Margarita didn’t reply at first. She ate a little more.

"What about the book?"

"The Group has it. They’ll figure it out."

"And they’ll help me? Just like that?"

Merry nodded.

Margarita drank some of the milk.

"Why?"

Merry didn’t respond for a few minutes, she seemed to be listening to something.

"Why?" Margarita repeated the question.

"They say they can’t think of a reason not to help you." Merry said.

"Oh. What about you?"

"Me?"

"You were small last night, I remember, then you were big."

"It was two nights ago." Merry said. "And they altered me, they know how they did it. You’re kind of a mystery."

"They altered you?"

Merry nodded.

"Why?"

"To do stuff for them." Merry said.

"What stuff?"

"Ah…" Merry was silent for a minute and once again Margarita sensed the tall woman was listening to something only she could hear.

"They say I should tell you the whole truth." Merry said with a worried look on her face. "So here goes: The Group wants to take over the world, but they are just starting out. I do jobs for them, jobs that require someone small."

"They want to take over the world?"

"Yea." Merry said. "I didn’t really believe it myself at first, but they’ve made progress."

"You’re helping them take over the world?" Margarita nearly shouted the question. She couldn’t believe how calmly Merry was talking.

"Yea." Merry said. "I know it sounds kinda crazy, but they really are helping people too."

"What did they do to you?" Margarita asked.

"They altered me so that they could shrink and grow me." Merry said. "I know how it sounds, and there are times it’s been rough, but I’ve done a lotta good. More good than I ever would have done as just a cop."

"They want to take over the world!" Margarita shouted again. "How can you go along with that?"

"They’re good people." Merry insisted. But she sounded doubtful. "They helped me save you."

"Yea and now what? You’re not good enough? One tiny woman can’t do what they want and they want another?"

"I’m good enough." Merry said and there was a flash of anger in her eyes. "I’ve never failed them."

"Can you hear yourself?" Margarita demanded. "Can you hear what you’re saying? They want to take over the world! Don’t you know how crazy that is?"

"There’s a lot wrong with the world and they can fix it." Merry said. This time there was no doubt in her voice. "They’re brilliant. There’s nothing they can’t do."

"Including brainwashing." Margarita snapped. She stood up and walked toward the end of the table. "I don’t care what’s on the outside, I’m not staying here."

"Stop!" Merry called.

Margarita broke into a run but Merry’s hand closed around her body and pulled her back.

"Let me go you slave!" Margarita shouted. "You said I could leave if I wanted too!"

"That was before I just told you everything." Merry said. Now they’re telling me you have to stay with me until they cure you."

"What! How the hell are they talking to you?"

"In my head." Merry said. "It’s part of the alteration they did on me. They can see and hear what I see and hear and they can talk to me."

Margarita stopped struggling and looked at Merry.

"You’re not a slave you’re a robot!"

"I am not!" Merry said, but her face twisted up in pain.

"You’re a wind-up toy!" Margarita shouted.

"I’m not! I’m an operative! Like James Bond!"

"More like Jane Bondage!" Margarita started to struggle again. "Let me go!"

"You’ve got no place to go!"

"I’ll find a place!"

"I’m sorry." Merry said. "But no."

To Margarita’s surprise Merry placed her back on the table and let her go.

"You can’t leave." Merry said.

She got up and went over to the back door. Merry locked it with a key and then put the key into a pocket in her workout shorts.

"I’m going to go finish my workout." Merry said. "You can go anywhere you want in the house, but the phone won’t work for you. The other windows and doors are locked."

"You robotic bitch!" Margarita swore.

"I’m sorry." Merry said again. She looked like she was about to cry. "They aren’t evil. Really I…

"Stuff it you robotic cow!"

Merry ran out of the room.

When Merry was upset she worked out. She was upset now but didn’t even try to go back to her martial arts. That sort of workout required a steady mind and her mind was anything but steady.

"You heard all of that." Merry said running up the stairs.

{Of course. But truth was essential.}

The Group’s voice appeared in Merry’s mind and she wondered if all four of them were watching her or if it was only one.

"Why?" Merry pleaded. "She wasn’t ready."

{She’ll never truly be ready for that sort of information.}

"I don’t understand." Merry said. She entered the bathroom and closed the door. "I could have told her in a few days, or…"

{Or never. We know you Officer Dolly. We know how lonely you are.}

"Then why?"

{If you had waited to tell her she would have been constantly suspicious, and when you did finally tell her she would have suspected that you hadn’t told her simply because you wanted the two of you to get close. She would have thought you were building a friendship only to enlist her as an ally.}

"But you don’t need her do you?"

{No. But if you had told her all of this a week from now what do you think her reaction would be?}

Merry sat on the tub.

"What happens when you cure her? She knows now."

{Information that can easily be erased from her mind. You know that.}

"I do." Merry sighed. "I’d like to swim for a while."

{An hour?}

"An hour’s good." Merry said. She reached over and turned on the water, using the automatic settings for temperature and water level. Then she stripped off her workout suit, leaving it on the floor.

A few seconds after she was naked Merry felt a wrench in her body and the room changed. It took her only a moment to recover from the shrinking. She was now thirteen inches high and the bathtub was a perfect swimming pool.

{We will leave you alone for the hour. Remember; be entirely truthful with Miss Chevron.}

"I will." Merry said. She reached the top of the ladder and jumped into the water.

Margarita finished eating and then explored the house. Unfortunately Merry had been right. The doors and windows on the first floor were locked, and the window in Merry’s bedroom was a straight drop of at least twenty-five feet. A height far too high to jump from and land safely. Margarita found that she could get at the knives in Merry’s kitchen draw, but didn’t relish the thought of attacking Merry with one of them. And Merry’s gun was no where to be found.

Irritated Margarita went through Merry’s drawers and closet. But she didn’t find anything she could use. She did find a spare set of handcuffs in a box with a vibrator, but that wasn’t helpful and it was a little bit scary. It was one thing to be held prisoner by a crazy person, it was another, as Margarita knew well, to be held prisoner by a kinky crazy person. In the closet, on their own little hangers, Margarita found a number of small dresses. There were almost a dozen of different styles, but no bra’s, panties or shoes. Under the bed was a long plastic bin filled with fabric and sewing supplies.

The video collection was useless as well. It consisted mainly of Star Trek and Mystery Science Theatre 3000 episodes. The television wouldn’t even turn on though Margarita got frustrated enough to jump up and down on the remote control.

Still frustrated she wandered into the hallway. Merry was still in the bathroom and as much as Margarita didn’t want to interrupt her the shrunken woman did want some answers. So steeling herself she pushed the small cat door open a crack.

Merry’s clothes were on a heap on the floor, but Merry was no where to be seen. Puzzled Margarita walked into the bathroom.

"The key." Margarita whispered realizing that escape was within her grasp. Looking around she walked over to the clothes and fished around through them until she pulled out a set of keys.

"You’re not going anywhere." Merry said.

"My God!" Margarita barely got the words out through her shock. Sitting on the edge of the tub was Merry. She was nude and wet and smaller than Margarita was.

"Think it through." Merry said walking over to the ladder. Margarita watched as Merry climbed down. "Who’s out there that you can go to for help?"

"The police." Margarita said.

"I can think of five guys on the force who’ll take and you and sell you on ebay." Merry said walking over to her. The top of Merry’s head barely reached above Margarita’s breasts. "And that’s assuming you can make it across the park in broad daylight."

"What…" As if to assure herself that this wasn’t an illusion Margarita patted Merry’s head, feeling the wet hair. "What are you doing this small?"

"Swimming is part of my workout." Merry shrugged, stepping back. "The tub’s cheaper than a pool and a lot easier to keep clean. And no one stares at me."

"Do you have any idea what sort of freak you are?" Margarita demanded.

"I’m not a…"

"The hell you aren’t! What did you just ask and they wait till your done and then grow you again?"

"Usually I have a set time." Merry said patiently. "This time I asked and they said they’d give me some time alone."

"So they aren’t listening in right now?"

"I don’t think so."

Margarita smiled.

"You’re an idiot." She said. Margarita turned and headed toward the door.

"You’re not leaving." Merry said dodging in front of her.

"Hello!" Margarita called stepping close enough to Merry so that she could look down at her. "Size difference here."

Grasping Merry under her arms Margarita lifted the smaller woman up and moved her aside.

"See? Now stay out of my way shorty."

Merry’s leg hit her stomach with enough force to drive the air out of Margarita’s lungs. Gasping for air she stumbled back and dropped the keys.

"You’re not leaving." Merry said again. Her voice was calm and firm.

Margarita growled and tackled her. But Merry was still wet from the tub and Margarita found that it was like trying to get a hold of a slippery balloon. For a few minutes the two of them wrestled, neither able to get a firm grip or advantage on the other. Margarita’s sock was twisted off of her body in the struggle. Then Margarita grabbed hold of Merry’s hair and twisted it, forcing her head back.

"Gotcha!" Margarita snarled. As soon as Merry reached up with her hands Margarita let go of her hair and seized Merry’s wrist. She twisted Merry’s arms behind her back and forced her onto the floor. Merry grunted in pain but Margarita’s greater weight pinned her down.

"How do you like it!" Margarita demanded. She twisted Merry’s arms further up behind her back and Merry cried out in pain. "How do you like that Sylvia? Huh?" Forcing Merry’s wrist together Margarita grabbed them with one hand. With the other hand she started to spank her captive.

"How do you like it now Sylvia!" Margarita shouted, giving Merry a hard slap. "Still think I’m gonna do what you want? Still think I’m gonna steal for you? Answer me!"

Her mind too clouded with a haze of hate and pain to realize what she was doing, Margarita spanked as hard and as fast as she could, not truly hearing Merry’s cries of pain. In her mind she could only hear Sylvia. But as she spanked Merry twisted the wrists that were held in Margarita’s grasp. It took her a few minutes but at last one of them came free. Merry twisted her body out from underneath the larger shrunken woman and kept spinning until her legs were locked around Margarita’s stomach. Before Margarita could react Merry jabbed hard under the arm that was closest to her. Margarita yelled in pain as the arm suddenly went limp. Enraged she reached over with her other arm, but Merry caught Margarita’s hand with both of her own. She twisted the hand and shifted her weight at the same time. Margarita fell onto her back with Merry’s legs still locked around her stomach. Merry started to squeeze with her legs, forcing the air out of Margarita’s lungs and not letting it back in. At the same time she twisted Margarita’s hand, keeping the girl in severe pain.

"Let me go!" Margarita shouted. She kicked her legs in an attempt to get free but Merry’s grip was unbreakable. With one arm held and the other still numb Margarita had no leverage. Merry’s legs were relentless in their pressure. Gradually Margarita’s vision turned gray and faded all together as she lost consciousness.

Once she was sure Margarita was out Merry let go of her hand and pulled her legs out from under the girl. Margarita moaned but lay still.

{Well that was exiting.}

"She called me; ‘Sylvia’." Merry said.

{Miss Chevron has been severely traumatized. We really aren’t sure if staying with you is the best idea.}

"I can help her." Merry said. "I’m the best one who can."

{She is a danger to you. When you are training at this size it would be easy for her to overcome you.}

"No it wouldn’t." Merry said. "She doesn’t know how to fight."

{There are numerous weapons in your house. The danger is too great. We can keep her here.}

"No!" Merry pleaded. "She needs help, I can help her."

{She is unstable. While you are away who knows what she might do.}

"Please." Merry said. "Please just give me some time. I have that collar you made me, it’ll fit her. I can put it on her when I go out."

{Do you think that will endear you to her?}

Merry could hear the laughter in the tone of voice, but she pressed on.

"Please let me try at least. She’s been through a lot, I know what it’s like. Her mother’s gone, she’s got nothing… no one…"

{So she is your perfect companion?}

"It’s not like that!" Merry said.

{You can not lie to us Officer Dolly.}

"I don’t want to sleep with her I just want to help her." Merry protested. "I like helping people, that’s why I became a cop. Please."

The Group was silent for the next few minutes but Merry knew better than to say or do anything. They were debating and any action on her part might tip the debate. So she stood and tried not to pay attention to the stinging from her spanking.

Everyone wants to spank me, Merry thought ruefully.

{It will take us about a week to decipher the magical spells in the book. You can have her until then. But when you are training at this size or when you are out of the house she will be collared.}

"I understand." Merry said. "Thank you."

{Prepare to grow once more.}

Oh God I hope I can help you, Merry thought as she grew. Then she added, for both our sakes.

Margarita woke up slowly again and again she was in a bed. But this time there was a difference. Her body was sore and the memory of the fight was fresh in her mind. But there was more. She was nude again, but not completely. Margarita felt her throat. Something was fastened around it. It wasn’t leather, but it was tough and there seemed no way to get it off.

Opening her eyes Margarita looked around. She was in the bed on top of the dresser once more. A glance at the mirror confirmed what she had suspected. A bright blue collar was around her neck. The collar was wide, covering her neck completely. A thin plastic wire ran from the collar to a ring set into the top of the dresser. Margarita gave an experimental tug and found no give to it. A note was next to the ring. Margarita picked it up, surprised that it was her size.

"Margarita." She read aloud. "Sorry about the collar, The Group insisted. I have to work, but I’ve keyed the tv remote control so it will work for you. Don’t try anything. Merry."

"Robotic bitch!" Margarita swore tossing the note away. For a few minutes she tugged at the ring, then the string and finally the collar. Nothing worked. She couldn’t even feel a seam on the collar. Margarita sighed and looked at her body. "She could have at least left me the sock."

"Don’t tell me I did that to you." Margarita said as Merry limped painfully into her bedroom.

"Nope." Merry said. She limped over to the bed and sat down. Merry was wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt and sweatpants. "Just another fun night at Trawley’s Tavern during football season. A couple of the regulars got into it over a bad call with a couple of out of towners.

"What did they all gang up on you?"

"Something like that." Merry said.

Merry winced as she pulled the sweatshirt off. One eye was blackened and slightly swollen, her left arm was bandaged from wrist to elbow. Her stomach and chest were covered in bruises. "When you’re built like me and you’re in a mob fight some guys figure it’s time to grab for what they can." Merry said. "And they always shout: ‘Cop a feel!’ when they grab." She unhooked the front of her bra and eased it off, then fell flat onto the bed. Her breasts also sported some large bruises. "What have you been watching?"

"Not a lot to choose from." Margarita said. "Haven’t you ever heard of premium channels?"

"Rip-offs." Merry said, kicking her sneakers off. "Anything they show I can get on dvd."

"What about The Group? Can’t they pay for it?"

"They can, I don’t want them too."

"Don’t you take anything from them?"

"A gift now and then." Merry said "Nothing more."

"A slave should have better stuff."

"I’m not a slave!" Merry snapped leaping to her feet. For a moment her eyes blazed at Margarita.

"Ok, OK!" Margarita screamed and nearly fell off of the small bed backing away. "I’m sorry!"

"No… Don’t…" Merry took a deep breath and sat down on the bed. "Margarita you don’t have to be scared of me or The Group. We are going to help you."

"What about this?" Margarita said tugging at her collar.

Merry sat down and eased herself out of her pants and panties.

"That was The Group, they didn’t think you were stable enough to be trusted."

"Do you think I am?"

"Yes."

"Then get this thing off of me."

"I can’t. I’m sorry."

"Yea right."

"Look they told me it will take them about a week to figure out how to cure you. After that you’re free ok?"

"Just like that? You’re going to let me walk away knowing everything?"

"Well… no, they will make sure you don’t remember anything about me or them."

"So they’re going to wipe my mind?"

Merry sighed.

"Lights out!" She called and the light on the ceiling went out.

"I’m too tired to go through this right now. We’ll talk in the morning."

"I don’t want anybody messing with my mind!" Margarita shouted.

"In the morning." Merry groaned sternly.

She turned over and Margarita realized that she would get no further in the argument. But a deep resolve was born in the young woman.

I have to escape, she thought. She felt the string that hooked her collar to the ring on the dresser. It took her a few moments to realize that it was fishing line. Experimentally she bent it, then twisted it. When Margarita released it the line slowly returned to its original shape. Getting off the bed Margarita looked closely at the ring. It was a brass eye-hook. At the base was a slight gap where the twisted metal met itself. The line was looped around the metal and tied into a knot. The knot looked like it had been partially melted together. It was impossible for Margarita to untie. She looked at the hook again. Then an idea hit her. Taking the line she scraped it against the gap. After a few minutes there was a slight but definite groove in the plastic.

"No one messes with my mind." Margarita whispered glancing over a Merry to make sure she was asleep. She started to scrape the line against the metal as hard as she could.

A few hours later Margarita pulled with all her might and the line finally snapped. Panting she sat down on the bed to consider her next move. Margarita had no doubt that the doors and windows downstairs were all locked. Climbing down from the dresser she went through the pockets of Merry’s clothes but could not find the keys. She checked the bathroom and found only the sock, which she put on again. Then she went down stairs. The house was creepy in the dark, but not as creepy as what Margarita imagined what would happen to her if she stayed in Merry’s care. Memories of the time she had spent chained to the altar haunted the young woman. In every ritual she had been completely helpless to look away as Sylvia took control of her mind. Sometimes the rituals Sylvia used to summon the demons required a mating dance. With Sylvia controlling her like a puppet Margarita had danced naked in the moonlight with mystic symbols painted onto her body. Sylvia never failed to laugh at Margarita’s pain.

"I won’t go through that ever again!" Margarita vowed.

After an hour of searching the downstairs Margarita was forced to admit that Merry had hid the keys too well.

"I’m not going through it all again." Margarita vowed again. "I’m not, I’m not, I’m not!" She took a steak knife out of the drawer and cut the fishing line as close to her collar as she could. The she went back up stairs. Merry was still sleeping, her nude body dimly visible in the pale streetlight that filtered in through the curtains. Margarita climbed to the top of the dresser. Once there she walked over to the edge and leaped to the windowsill.

"My God!" Margarita whispered as she saw the world outside for the first time at night. That it was a moonless night served only to make the landscape before her seem even more alien. Merry’s window looked out over a small yard. Beyond the yard were more yards and houses. Margarita could hear dogs barking and she could see into some of the houses. The scale was frightening. But the fear of what Merry and The Group would do to her was terrifying. Taking the knife Margarita started to saw her way through the screen. After she had made a large enough hole Margarita dropped the steak knife through it and watched as it fell to the ground. Then she turned back and leaped from the windowsill to the floor. Going to the plastic bin under Merry’s bed Margarita pulled it open. Out of it she took a role of embroidered ribbon and climbed back up the dresser. She tied one end of the ribbon to the eye hook, twisting it so that it would fit. The other end she tossed out of the window. The fabric was a half and inch wide and heavily textured. Margarita took one last look around the room and then started to climb down.

"No one messes with my mind." She whispered resolutely as she climbed down into the night.

Merry woke up because of the buzzing. Since she was often quite small Merry had become very cautious about letting insects into her house. At thirteen inches spiders and bees, not to mention wasps and hornets were deadly creatures. Every joint in her house was caulked, every screen secured. So when something buzzed past her head she immediately opened her eyes and sat up. The buzzing stopped. Merry wasn’t fooled. It was still in her room. But that was forgotten instantly when she saw the fabric that lead from the dresser to the window. Merry got up and went to the screen. A square hole had been cut and the fabric ended just a few feet from the ground.

"Oh no!" Merry whispered. She pulled the fabric up and shut the window. Then she pulled on her spare uniform. The Group was silent and Merry prayed they stayed that way. If she could get Margarita back before they realized she was gone Merry might be able to keep her. If not then The Group would have her and the urge to experiment on the young woman might prove to be too much of a temptation. Despite what Merry told Margarita the enslaved young woman had her doubts about The Group’s motives and goals.

Grabbing her patrol officer’s flashlight Merry went outside and started to look.

There were four directions that Margarita could have gone and Merry didn’t have a clue which one she had chosen. Worse there was no trail to follow. Falling back on her instincts Merry started the search by walking around the block. She shined her flashlight into the bushes, back yards and under the cars of her neighbors without worry. Anyone looking out would just see a police officer, and Merry was well known. After her block Merry made a larger circle and covered another block, and then another. When she had covered from her house to the highway, almost 15 blocks, Merry gave up and walked back to her house. The park loomed in front of her and Merry headed toward it. She had hoped that Margarita would have stayed away from the woods. There were too many animals and at her size Margarita was their prey.

Luckily Merry knew the park, both at her full size and her shrunken state. She struck out Southwest, keeping off the main trail and staying on a smaller trail. It was a trail beaten down by cats, dogs and other small creatures. Merry knew from her own experience that it would appeal to a shrunken woman. It was an hour or so before she found Margarita. Unfortunately someone else had found her first.

It was a small copse; a depression surrounded by thick trees and small thorn bushes. It was a perfect place for a bunch of teenagers to light a fire, tell some stories and generally camp out. It was also a great place for a buzz/pot party. In this case the light was supplied not by a fire but by a portable tv/vcr combo that was playing a porno movie. Merry had no idea how Margarita had stumbled into it, the noise the kids were making should have warned her off. The sound of moaning and panting on the video had led Merry to the place. But somehow Margarita had missed the sounds and they had caught her. Margarita was stuck to a tree trunk with a strip of duct tape around her waist. She was nude and off of the ground by at least a foot. Her arms and legs were free and they waved pathetically as she sought to fight off her giant tormenters.

Merry knew one of them. His name was Mike, a handsome young punk who hadn’t realized that being handsome wasn’t a license to do anything he wanted. He stood thin and wiry with dirty blonde hair and a hint of stubble on his chin. At the moment he was wearing only a pair of jeans and taking a drag from a hand rolled joint. He exhaled the smoke into Margarita’s face. When she tried to wave the smoke away Mike jabbed at her hands and arms with the hot end of the joint. Beside him a girl with scarlet and gold streaked black hair giggled. She was wearing black panties, a torn black T-shirt and was thin enough to qualify for anorexia treatment. Her thin nose was pierced and it was hard to tell how old she was through the heavy make up she wore.

"You sure she’s the one?" The girl asked.

"Gotta be close." Mike said. He reached out and pinched one of Margarita’s breasts. She screamed and beat uselessly at his hands. "I thought it was just some bad beer then, and she ain’t got the boobs of the other one…"

"You and your boobs." The girl said laughing. "Mine ain’t big and you love’em."

They both laughed and he reached over and put his hand into the hole in her shirt.

"Big or small they feel good." Mike said.

They embraced and kissed with hot passion, their hands roaming over each other’s bodies.

"What do you think she is?" She asked when they parted.

"Some sort of mutant." Mike said. "Like in the comics."

"Hey!" The girl leaned back onto the ground and pulled down her panties. "Think she do some work down here?"

Mike laughed and took something out of his pocket. There was a clicking sound and the switchblade opened.

"Enough!" Merry said harshly. She stepped out of the woods and into the firelight. "Leave her alone."

"Jeasus!" The girl said pulling her underwear back up.

"Move away from her." Merry said taking another step toward them.

"Uh-uh." Mike said. He pressed the blade of the knife against Margarita’s throat. "You back off."

"Or what?" Merry demanded. "You kill her you go up for murder. That really worth it?"

Mike hesitated.

"What do you want with her?" The girl demanded. "We found her first!"

Merry was about to respond when some instinct told her to duck. She moved, but an instant too late and something hard slammed against the back of her skull. Dazed Merry dropped her flashlight as she dropped to her knees.

Three of them, she thought as her arms were crossed behind her back and wrapped in duct tape. I should have waited.

Merry’s head cleared with Mike and his girlfriend leaning over her. Another girl was standing beside them. She was a little taller than the first one and she had on a white T-shirt and a black skirt. Merry guessed they were sisters.

"You keep getting in my way!" Mike growled. "Why do you keep doing that?"

"It’s called; ‘The Law’." Merry growled back. "You do something wrong you pay for it."

"Well you did something wrong fuzzette." Mike’s girlfriend said. "You didn’t see Lizzie."

"And now you pay for it." Mike said. He reached over and savagely tore the front of Merry’s shirt open.

"Ohhh!" Lizzie said.

"Those are big enough for all of us." Mike’s girlfriend said as Mike tore away Merry’s bra.

"You want heads or tails Jessie?" Lizzie asked feeling Merry up.

"The only one’s getting head here is her." Mike said unzipping his pants. "Hold her."

Merry struggled but it was useless. Jessie and Lizzie hauled the helpless officer to her knees and each took a handful of hair to pull her head back.

Mike pulled down his pants and his penis snapped to life before Merry’s eyes. It was already dripping.

"Open up bitch!" He snarled slapping her face.

Merry opened her mouth and he slammed the erect member into it. At the same time the two girls started to claw at Merry’s breasts.

"Oh yea!" Mike groaned.

Merry put her emotions away as much as she could and let her body respond. She had very few options, if she bit down Lizzie and Jessie still held her fast, and who knows what they all might do to Margarita. The only thing she could do was go along with the rape and pray for a break. In the meantime Mike’s cock moved in and out of her mouth, it’s tip slamming against the back of her throat. Merry didn’t gag. She had only had a few lovers in her life, but she had always known how to please them. She took everything he had and didn’t retch, despite the fact that his penis felt like an old tire and his cum tasted like sour mayonnaise. At the same time her breasts were responding to the stimulation of the two women. They nipples were getting hard and that was setting of a chain reaction in her body. Merry let her body go and tried to control the hate building in her soul. The hate would get in the way of her survival. But in the back of her mind plans for vengeance were springing to life.

Mike pulled out suddenly, surprising Merry. His cum sprayed across her face and into her eyes, making them sting.

"She got head, now I get tail." He said, stepping back and striking a macho pose.

Laughing the two girls shoved Merry down and pulled her pants off.

"Hey she’s wet!" Lizzie shouted.

"Figures." Mike said.

Merry was rolled onto her stomach and shoved hard into the dirt. The branches and twigs bit into her sensitive breasts and she couldn’t help but fight back as one of the girls’ ground her face into the soil. Merry tasted fresh dirt and beer and liked neither.

"Hey if he’s getting tail I’m getting some tongue!" Jessie cried.

Merry’s head was lifted by another handful of hair and her face was shoved between Jessie’s legs.

"Do her!" Lizzie ordered.

Merry was glad they couldn’t see the anger and disgust on her face. Again she obeyed the order, her tongue pressing forward against Jessie’s pussy. At the same time Merry felt her legs being pulled apart and she braced herself as Mike’s cock was shoved into her ass. He howled as he pumped away at her. While he assaulted her Lizzie reached under Merry’s body and squeezed her breast as hard as she could.

Merry tried to focus on something far away, but failed. Her body demanded the attention of her mind and her frustration battled with her instinct for survival. She tried to clench against Mike and failed, tried to ignore the pain in her breast and failed and tried not to think about where her tongue was: and failed.

I’m being raped, Merry thought and with that thought came all the shame and humiliation that was the essence of the act. Merry would survive it; there was no way she could allow herself to believe that her life would end at the hands of people like Mike, Jessie and Lizzie. But that was small consolation.

Mike didn’t last long and there was a sigh of satisfaction and exhaustion as he pulled out of her.

No stamina, Merry thought scornfully, grabbing onto the thought as vindication. His type can never last.

In the meantime Merry had kept up her assault on Jessie’s sex, driving her tongue in every direction until she heard a gasp of pleasure. Jessie fell back panting. After a moment Merry realized there was no one on her and she rolled over onto her back.

Mike was a few feet away. He lay on his stomach, his face buried between Lizzie’s legs. Lizzie lay on her back and fondled her own breasts. Jessie had retrieved the joint and was happily puffing away.

Be happy while it last, Merry thought savagely. She started to twist her arms under her back, pulling at the duct tape. It was strong, but they had wrapped Merry’s arms before ripping off her shirt, thus the duct tape was not sticking to her skin. Merry didn’t have to tear it she just had to get her arms out of her torn sleeves. And Merry’s arms, even the injured one, were very strong. She worked at it industriously but quietly and hoped she had time.

The dawn was just breaking over the horizon when Jessie crawled over to Merry.

"Hey fuzzette." She said with the dazed sluggishness of a high. "You up for another round?"

Merry’s arms shot silently out from behind her back and grabbed the teen’s neck even as she threw herself forward and kissed her captor. Jessie’s eyes went wide with shock, then pleasure and then shock again as Merry’s fingers found the pressure points she needed. She tried to scream but Merry’s kiss silenced her. The teen’s eyes rolled up into the back of her head and she fell limp.

"You bitch you strangled my sister!"

Merry sat up but not in time to stop Lizzie from throwing herself onto her. Merry saw the knife in her hand and brought up an arm to block it. But it was the injured arm and there wasn’t enough strength to fully stop the blow. Merry gasped as the knife went into her side and she felt her body grow weaker as blood rushed out of her. With a last burst of strength Merry head-butted Lizzie’s face and was satisfied to feel the bones in the teenagers nose break. Lizzie fell back screaming.

Lizzie’s pain did not last long. A blue beam hit her and she fell to the ground unconscious.

Merry looked over to see Deborah and Delilah walk out of the woods. Deborah walked over and shot Mike while Delilah walked over to Merry.

"I don’t care how much you plead next time Officer Dolly." Delilah said. There was irritation in her voice but Merry was sure she saw concern in the young woman’s eyes. "I don’t care how much you…"

What ever else she was going to say was lost as Merry blacked out.

Margarita Chevron had never felt more wretched in her life. She had thought nothing could equal the pain of being held by Sylvia, but she had been wrong. Now with her wounds bandaged she sat in a birdcage and waited. She had at last met The Group. Tremont, a short thin person with slicked back black hair had freed her from the tree. As he had done so he had felt every inch of her body. By that time though Margarita was past complaining. While he freed her Margarita had seen twins with brown hair and slim bodies work on Merry. Their movements were crisp and professional. The fourth member of The Group was a short stocky girl with black hair. She had carried the limp bodies of Mike, Lizzie and Jessie into a van.

Margarita had watched it all numbly, the shock of the night still fresh in her mind. Tremont had pressed something against her face and she had blacked out. When she woke up Margarita was in the birdcage. She was clean, bandaged and alone. The room was small, with a metal table, medical instruments and a desk and chair.

"What could I have done?" Margarita asked herself. The question had an answer of course, but not one she was willing to face. She had kept silent while Merry was being raped. Silent and still. She might have been able to escape but fear kept her from moving. Even if she could have Margarita wasn’t sure she would have done anything to help Merry. The shame of that terror and her actions gnawed at the shrunken woman’s heart.

Margarita looked up as the door opened and the twins came in. They were wearing identical lab coats thrown over tight fitting blue halter tops and short mini-skirts. There was a difference in them, a slight difference in the blue eyes. One seemed to be a different, harder shade of blue. Other than that they matched each other perfectly.

"Well you’re awake and alive." One of them said. She picked up the cage.

"How is Merry?"

"The same as you." The other twin said.

They left the room and walked down a wood paneled corridor that was lit by flickering torches. At least that is what it was supposed to look like. It took Margarita only a moment to realize that the flame on the torches was a hologram and that light came from the base of the torches.

"It’s my fault." Margarita said.

"Yes it is." The twin carrying her agreed.

"Where exactly did you think you were going to go?" The other one asked.

"Merry said you were going to mess with my mind." Margarita said. "I was scared."

"So you ran to a group of drunken dregs?" The twin holding the cage shook her head.

"I was running from a raccoon and I ran right into them." Margarita protested. "I didn’t mean to get caught."

"Dear girl no one ever means to get caught." The twin gave the cage a swing back and forth.

"At the very least Delilah you have to admit that this series of events prove what I had concluded about Officer Dolly."

"Agreed." Delilah said. She glanced down at Margarita. "It would have been nice for her to have someone though."

Before Margarita could ask any more questions they opened a door and stepped out into a sunroom. The room was filled with sunlight and from the angle of the sun Margarita guessed that it was nearly noon. The room was about twenty feet or 60 meters long and the curved glass made room for dozens of exotic hanging plants. Margarita was carried over to a glass table and her cage was placed on top of it. Molly and Tremont were sitting in chairs next to the table. Both were wearing lab coats similar to the twins. Molly’s was thrown over a shapeless sweatshirt and jeans, Trent’s was thrown over a pair of shorts and a T-shirt. On the table, lying on her own small rope hammock was Merry. She was nude except for a bandage wrapped around her waist.

"Hi." Merry said. Her voice was a little weak and she was pale.

"I’m sorry." Margarita said. The sight of the smaller woman stunned her. Even when Merry was shrunk she seemed strong, capable. Now she looked a little like a broken doll. Margarita pressed forward against the bars of her cage. "Are you alright?"

"You were scared." Merry shrugged. "I’ll be fine."

"Officer Dolly you really are too forgiving." Delilah said. "It is Margarita’s fault that you were raped and stabbed."

"You were going to mess with my mind!" Margarita shouted.

"Simple hypnosis." Tremont said calmly. "It is not like we were going to perform brain surgery."

"But…"

"Do you really think we’d let you go knowing what you know?" Molly asked. "We are planning on taking over the world, what sort of supervillains would we be if we left a loose end like you laying around."

"Typical ones." Deborah said.

They all laughed and even Merry smiled slightly.

"So what now?" Margarita asked slumping against the bars.

"Same as before." Deborah said. "Once we cure you we’ll provide you with a set of memories, a new set up in life and see you on your way."

"My alternate idea also had some merit." Tremont said with a slight smile on his face.

"What was your idea?" Margarita asked.

Tremont smiled at her and The Group laughed. Merry caught Margarita’s eye and shook her head slightly. Margarita took the hint and stayed silent.

"The main difference now is that you will not be at home with Officer Dolly." Deborah said. "We are just letting you see her now so that you can say goodbye."

"I won’t remember her?"

"No." Merry said, and if her voice quavered because of her wound or emotion it was impossible to say.

"But…"

"No hard feelings Margarita." Merry said. "But you can’t live a normal live and know me. And you don’t work for them like I do. You’re not made out for my sort of life. You deserve a normal live."

"She’s correct." Tremont said. "You have shown you are not capable of living an abnormal life."

"Your adaptive potential is far too low." Deborah said. "We’ll give you a nice safe life to live."

"You can watch soap operas." Delilah added.

"But…"

"Or game shows." Tremont said.

"But…"

"That’s enough." Delilah said cutting her off. "Come on now, back to your room. Officer Dolly needs her rest."

Merry watched Delilah take the cage away and a part of her heart sank. The look on Margarita’s face, a combination of guilt and terror, called out to her. But Merry knew that arguing would do no good. Not trusting herself to speak she simply waved goodbye.

"Don’t cry Dolly." Deborah said. "It’s for the best."

"I know." Merry said. "She’s been through enough as it is."

"That is why technology is better than magic." Tremont said. "No cost."

Merry could have argued the point with him but she didn’t. Instead she stretched out and welcomed the sun onto her nude body. It was a strange quirk of the alteration The Group had done to her that Merry’s body healed faster when she was small. That suited Merry perfectly. Above all else she hated being laid up healing.

Still Merry couldn’t dismiss the gap she felt in her soul. From the moment she had held a shrunken Margarita in her arms, and realized that other women could be shrunk, Merry had hoped she had found a friend. Even then Merry knew deep down it was a silly idea. Or at least that is what she told herself now.

Delilah’s re-entry into the sunroom broke into her thoughts. She guided a large metal box on wheels into the room and stopped it in front of the table.

"This is a little treat for you." Molly said.

"For me?" Merry sat up.

"For you." Deborah said. She reached over and picked Merry up off of the hammock and set her down on the table.

With a flourish Delilah undid a catch on the box and opened it. Inside in three cages were Mike, Lizzie and Jessie. They were the same height as Merry.

"Now there are two ways this can go." Delilah said. She placed a small box with a red button down in front of Merry. "You can either push the button, or you can decide not to push the button."

"If you push the button the three of them will take a one way trip to the microscopic world." Deborah said.

Merry looked at the button.

"And if I don’t?" Merry asked.

"We have plans for them." Delilah said. "None of them can be operatives like you of course, but we have other uses. Menial tasks that will be more suitable for their limited abilities."

Merry swallowed hard. She looked at the button and her mouth went dry. Then she looked up at the three shrunken captives. Lizzie and Mike were curled up in little balls in the corner of their cages. They were actually whimpering in fright. Jessie pulled at her bars like some wild animal. But there was terror on her face as well.

Merry remembered the rape. She remembered every detail. The tastes, the smells… the pain. She remembered what they had done to Margarita. She closed her eyes and fought back the tears. There could be no trial or arrest for Mike, Jessie or Lizzie. Not after they had seen Margarita. Justice, their justice, lay with her.

For a long while Merry stood there, trembling. Then she stepped back.

"I didn’t think you would." Deborah said picking up the remote. "But it felt good to have the option didn’t it?"

"No." Merry said softly. "No it didn’t."

"Oh Dolly you are an idealist." Delilah said with both amusement and affection in her voice. She closed up the box.

"You sit and enjoy the sun." Deborah said. Tremont and Molly stood up and they all followed Delilah as she wheeled the box out of the sun room. "We have some work to do."

After they were gone Merry got back onto her hammock and got comfortable. She had no idea what was in store for Mike, Jessie and Lizzie. But she did know that personal vengeance could not dictate justice. It was one of the principles of government, of civilization, that she had always passionately believed in.

"But The Group can decide." She said aloud. "For them it won’t be vengeance. They are a third party with no emotional involvement, just like the courts are supposed to be. Those three aren’t getting away with what they did to me and Margarita. The Group will see to that. All I have to do now is rest."

With those words Merry closed her eyes and let herself drift off to a sleep calmed and warmed by the sun.

End.

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