Not A Toy 062

Maisie's heart was racing near as fast as she was.

The graduate quietly thanked her past self for opting not for her more significant heels today. Her sandals had a small lift to them, which clapped against the wooden floor as she sprinted as well she could. The noise sounded less impactful even to her though, a rhythmic reminder of how much the diminutive girl had lost. She hadn't run like this in a long time, not since her pre-university years when she had been taking dance classes more regularly - taking up sprinting to lift her cardio. As her breath turned more ragged, she was wishing she hadn't slipped from her exercise as much. Still, it was adrenaline that spurred her on, peppered with fear and panic.

Her body had relented in its dwindling, she was certain of that much at least, but she didn't have a moment to stop and take in how small she had become. Had Sophie made her the size of a pen? A lighter? An ant? Her mind wanted only one thing; to be away from this strange redhead!

Sophie lifted herself from the floor, watching with a quiet marvel at the effectiveness of her device. Twice now she had used it on a living organism and twice it appeared to function perfectly. The shrinking of the stool was not a surprise to her as she had known it had a near perfect success rate with inanimate objects. The scientist paused for just a moment, her sense of awe overtaking her anxiety, albeit fleetingly - as fleeting as the tiny woman who sprinted in fear from her.

Sophie couldn't hear her hurried steps, nor any heavy breathing, and so the visual was almost silent to the full sized woman. Where did this girl think she was going exactly?

She shook herself from her reverie. Would you stop being amazed by the science? Go and get her before she wastes any more time! The scientist's internal self chastised her.

Sophie turned around the table, one of her steps crossing a distance that the dwindled woman would need more than a dozen to match. Despite her absurdly small size, the little brunette was moving as quick as she possibly could.

"Ugh, you two are so panicky!" Sophie groaned. Perhaps she should have explained her actions better before miniaturizing the two, came the errant thought. She dismissed it though, that would have taken time she didn't have.

Maisie heard that voice echo across the room, accompanied by footsteps sounding against the wood. She slowed her pace for just a moment as she came before... the graduate gasped as she realized this enormous 'structure' was just the desk she had plucked the device off when she had first walked into this room. It looked so alien now.

Nervously, the shrunken girl risked a glance over her shoulder. The stranger was moving so fast! She was getting close!

Maisie looked back, her eyes leapt about the enormous world in front of her. She could climb onto the first shelf and get behind the hard drive, or maybe she could crawl beneath it, perhaps she could even duck into the 'alley' beneath these two huge objects?

Maisie didn't have time to weigh her options, and so she made a choice.