Be Careful What You Wish For Ch. 2:

When Steve had heard the broadcast about the new strain of shrinking virus he wasn't paying attention when they had mentioned that the side effects were unknown. Through volunteers aiding in research, they stumbled across several new features added to the shrinking virus. Now when shrunk, all the pores in the body open up, making the tiny very absorbent. The skin also grows the ability to taste anything it touches, something all the test subjects agreed was one of the worst side effects. Another interesting thing they found was that when pressed hard enough against human flesh they became very adhesive to it. From what it seemed, once that happened, the only way to get off was to be found and peeled off. No amount of struggle on any tinies part was ever enough to break free in any of the tests. By the time they had broadcast this new information they found the day after the initial broadcast, it was already too late for Steve. As the broadcast was airing Steve had just finished walking under his sisters door and into her room. Had he heard that broadcast, maybe he would have been a little more careful...

    Ten hours.. For ten hours the girls slept. Steve wished with all his might to be free of his predicament. A wish got him into this mess, maybe it could get him out. He wished as hard as he could but as the ten hours of being trapped in her disgusting sock and shoe were drawing closer to an end, so was his optimism. Because she had left her socks and shoes on while she slept, her feet continued to sweat more and more as the night went on. He wished for death, insanity, whatever could free him from this torment. But the virus wouldn't let him die, and unknown to scientists yet, won't let him lose his mind. It will be held perfectly intact, forcing him to suffer every second of it til hopefully one day he might find his freedom. But for now, he was nothing more than toe jam under her toe, absorbing all the sweat that touched him and tasting every drop. At this point her feet would have tasted quite disgusting to a person at normal size, but for Steve at a mere eight of an inch tall, the taste and smell was over a hundred times stronger.

    He knew Alice was waking up as her toes started to wiggle around him. All he could do was go along for the ride and wonder what the day would bring. He never really talked or dealt with her much so he had no clue as to what she was doing when she was out all the time. He soon found it wasn't much. After a quick breakfast the girls hurried off outside. A few blocks from Haley's house was an entrance into some hiking trails, and that's where the girls headed. The girls loved the outdoors and hiking. As Steve was finding out, the reason that Alice's feet typically stink so bad is because of all the time in the hot humid southern summer weather hiking.

    As they were getting deeper into the woods Alice wanted to stop because her sweat soaked socks were bothering her. They stopped for a minute once they found a downed tree to sit on and Alice took her shoes off. She swung her legs back and forth to let some wind blow between her toes and hopefully dry at least a little sweat. After less then two minutes she got bored and stopped caring so she placed her shoes back on and continued the hike.

   Finally! Steve thought as he felt her foot slide out of the shoe. Words can no longer describe how bad the inside of her shoes had gotten. It was a hot, wet, steamy, sweaty, and never ending taste of torment. He wasn't aware of it, but by this point he had absorbed so much of her sweat, and concentrated its essence so deep within his being that if we were able to grow the second she removed her foot from her shoe, he still would have tasted her sweat within him for many months to come. Still, he would not be so lucky.

    The breeze felt nice as she swung her feet, the taste however remained unbearable. He was very disappointed to find just how short lived his reprieve would turn out to be. After a mere minute he found himself right back in the tormenting confines of his new home. The quick break did next to nothing for her feet. Once she started walking again everything became just as wet and disgusting as it was before she'd stopped.

    By the time they returned to Haley's house it was almost eight. Steve had only received that one quick break and spent the rest of the long hot day in an ever-worsening scenario. She didn't stay long at Haley's. The next day Alice was supposed to go camping for a week with Haley's family, so she wanted to get home and get ready. They agreed to meet at eight in the morning and Alice left.

    When she got home she was exhausted from the hot days hike. She made sure her alarm was set so she wouldn't forget it and plugged her phone in. She sat down on the edge of her bed and got her bag out to start getting it ready, but sitting down after such a long day felt so nice she decided to rest for a few minutes first. legs still hanging off the edge of the bed, she laid back and closed her eyes for a minute...
   
    Being in a sock and shoe at an eighth of an inch tall makes the sound of people talking very muffled, but not completely impossible to understand.. Sometimes.. But when Steve heard that she was going home to get ready his heart filled with excitement. He knew that she would go home and the first thing she would do would be shower. Once she washed her feet he would finally be free! He didn't care if that meant going down the drain and having to wait to get big. Anything would be better than this. All day her foot stink just got worse and worse, and poor Steve was forced to endure all of it without her ever even realizing what she was doing to him. He felt so helpless. He wished so bad that she would find him. He just knew if she found him she would set him free and this nightmare would end.

    The walk home was no worse than the rest of his day, at least this time he had hope and something to look forward to. His heart fluttered with excitement when he heard the front door slam shut. "Almost there," he told himself. Then there was the rhythmic thumping of her running up the stairs. So close. He heard the door to her room close. He heard a thud as she sat down and dropped her bag on the floor. He became highly confused as to why she had stopped moving. "She should be getting ready for a shower right now," the thought to himself angrily. "At least take off you shoes!" he screamed, "for the love of God please take off your shoes!"

    His cries fell upon def ears. She wouldn't have been able to hear him even if he was on her shoulder. He was far too tiny now. He started crying. She had been completely motionless for some time now and that could only mean one thing. She fell asleep. He knew he would have to spend another night in a sock that had now been worn for three days, along with a foot that hadn't been washed in the same amount of time. Then there was the shoe that was old and ratty but still managed to have no holes allowing for no fresh air whatsoever. He couldn't help but think of all these things while being trapped there.

    It was only nine when Alice drifted off to sleep. Her alarm was set for six and the only time she would wake up before that would be to climb fully into bed and get comfortable under the covers, just to fall back to sleep. The addition of the covers only made her feet sweat more. Steve thought his hell might never end. Why did he wish for this. It was so foolish. He wished he would have thought a little more clearly before making that wish. Who knows how long he might be stuck here...


To Be Continued...