#microphile

Walter lifted the gun in his hand, not aiming it at anyone -- yet. He looked up at the two bouncers. “You know what this is?” he said. Terry and Jack had both seen him use it -- including on the bouncers they were hired to replace. Jack glanced up at a shelf behind their boss, where a glass aquarium served as a display case for former employees who’d annoyed Walter. He could see tiny two-inch-tall men moving around in the aquarium, naked and exposed. “Yeah, boss, that’s your … uh …” Terry’s voice trailed off as Walter aimed it at him. “It’s a management tool,” said Walter. “An effective one. Gets results. Keeps everyone in line.” His finger moved to the trigger, but he didn’t squeeze it -- yet. “Helps me deal with … trouble.” “Is there… uh … trouble you need dealt with, boss?” Jack stammered. He knew he was sweating. He could smell it. He didn’t dare wipe his brow though, he didn’t dare give himself away. “Maybe you should tell me,” said Walter, moving the gun to point at Jack. “Let’s say I had reason to think one of my guys was stealing from me. Would you call that trouble?” “Yeah, for sure, we could help you find out whoever’s taking the money…” Terry blurted out, then stopped himself. “I mean -- or whatever’s being stolen.” Walter looked at Terry, expressionless for a moment. Then he squeezed the trigger. There was a blast of pink light, and both Terry and Jack threw their arms out to try to block the ray that shot from the gun -- it was futile, of course, but they couldn’t help but react on instinct. In an instant, they felt the tight tingle, a firm compression that squeezed them from all sides. When they opened their eyes, they could both see that the office seemed a bit larger than it had been. The ceiling seemed to loom overhead. Walter seemed taller. The shelf with the aquarium full of tiny men seemed higher up, out of reach. They’d only lost a foot of height, but the difference was stark -- from six and a half feet to five and a half feet. Above average height to below average. The shrinking ray had shrunk their clothes along with their bodies, and their shirts still stretched tight across their muscles. Jack, his eyes wide, stumbled forward. “No -- Walter -- don’t!” Walter kept the gun trained on him, and Jack halted. “We didn’t mean to -- it wasn’t that much!” “Shut up, shut up,” Terry muttered. His voice was slightly higher-pitched, and he tried to lower his tone. “Walter -- I promise, it’s a mistake -- we didn’t take anything!” “Is that right?” Walter said. He flipped a switch on the side of the gun, and Jack’s eyes opened even wider. “Please! Please don’t! I can’t be shrunk, please don’t shrink me, boss,” Jack pleaded. “It was only a couple hundred.” “Terry says you didn’t take anything,” Walter said. “He’s lying -- we did -- I’m sorry boss, I’m sorry!” Jack exclaimed. Walter squeezed the trigger again. This time the pink beam shot directly into Terry’s chest. “No!” Terry shouted, falling backwards. As he did, he felt the room swell out around him, felt his body compress more than it had before. He was falling further toward the ground than it seemed like he should, falling and shrinking and disappearing into the folds of his clothes. This time the clothing didn’t shrink to match. Jack watched in horror as his buddy shrank, dwindling down inside his black t-shirt as he collapsed to the floor. Terry struggled to untangle himself from the giant shirt, crawling out of his clothes, naked. He was half his former height, just two and a half feet. He unsteadily righted himself, standing up, fully nude. He now only came up to Jack’s waist. “Fuck you,” Terry spat at Jack. He pointed up at him, and snarled in his high-pitched voice at Walter, “it was his idea.” “Is that right,” said Walter. “I didn’t mean it, boss, please please please I didn’t -- NO!” Jack cried out as the pink beam enveloped him and he felt himself falling just as Terry had, shrinking down down down as Walter’s desk seemed to grow like a skyscraper before him...