Birthday Present (Part One)

Greg wakes up and blinks his eyes open groggily, but sees nothing. Wherever he is, it’s pitch dark. The room he’s in seems to be moving, swaying gently as if he’s on a boat or something. What the fuck?

He strains to remember where he was last. He was at work, at the lab. He stayed late after everyone went home, excited to finalize the two-year-long project. The shrink ray.

The floor beneath him makes a particularly sharp jerk, throwing him against the wall. It feels weird, like it’s made of… cardboard?

He hears the sound of keys jingling and a door being unlocked and opened. The sounds seem to be amplified somehow, coming through the walls louder than they should be. Then he hears a man’s voice, also strangely too loud.

“Abbie, honey? Come here for a second. I have something for you.”

He recognizes that voice. Is that Mr. Park? The owner of the company? What the hell is going on?

He hears a series of footsteps approaching, like someone running down a flight of stairs.

“Oh, hey Daddy! What are you doing here?” It’s a young woman’s voice, a girl probably around twenty years old. “Ooh, you got me a present?!”

The room moves in the direction of the girl’s voice, knocking him off his feet again. It shakes sickeningly around him and he hears the sound of tearing paper all around, much louder than it should be.

Suddenly the roof lifts off of the room and blinding light floods in, hurting his eyes. He blinks them shut and waits a moment to let them adjust, then slowly opens them and looks up. What he sees makes the blood drain from his face.

Peering down at him is the very pretty face of a giant girl, looming above him as big as an office tower. Her jaw drops and she squeals with joy, jumping up and down excitedly as she stares down at him.

“Oh my god, no way!” she says. She immediately reaches into the box, far too quickly for his comfort, and starts gently prodding him with her terrifyingly huge fingers. Her fingernails are painted bright pink with glittering sparkles. He instinctively backs away from her but quickly finds himself backed up into the corner of the box.

“Aww, don’t be scared, little guy!” she coos. “This is that guy from your lab, right? The guy I said I liked? Oh my god, he’s like, soooo cute! I get to keep him?”

“You sure do, kiddo. He can be like your little pet. Happy birthday!”

“Oh my god, like, thank you so much Daddy! You’re the best!” She flings her arms around her dad to give him a hug, showing no concern for how violently this causes Greg to be flung around inside the box she’s holding. The nerve of these people! He’s a human being, not some girl’s pet!

“You can’t tell anyone about him, okay? And take good care of him. It was a real hassle to get him for you, so I won’t be happy if I have to get you another one.”

“Of course! I wouldn’t do anything to hurt my cute little pet!” She returns to peering down into the box, starts gently petting his head with her finger. “Do you have a name, little guy?”

He stares up at her, wide-eyed. Her face is beautiful enough to be intimidating under normal circumstances. As she stands now, towering over him, beaming down and gently licking her enormous lips, she’s absolutely terrifying. His throat dries up as she smiles down at him expectantly. “Aww, are you shy? You are so cute!”

“I believe his name is Greg,” Mr. Park says.

Abbie wrinkles her nose. “Greg? That’s so boring! I’m gonna name him something else.”

“Whatever you want, honey,” Mr. Park says. “He’s all yours now.”

Greg scoffs. “You can’t just change my name! What the hell is wrong with you people? Mr. Park! What do you think you’re doing shrinking me against my will and…”

Abbie bursts out laughing, casually drowning out Greg’ voice. “Aww, look who found his little voice! I like it! It’s so, like, squeaky and cute!”

Is she not at all fazed by the fact that this is happening against his will?

“That’s not....”

“I’m gonna name you... Snuggles!” She interrupts him cheerfully. “Because you’re so cute and you’re gonna be like my cuddly little teddy bear. What do you think, Snuggles?”

He can’t believe this. “What do I think? I think fuck you, you little brat! I’m a human being, you can’t do this to me! You won’t get away with…”

“Aww, I think somebody is a little cranky,” she giggles. “Don’t worry cutie, we’re gonna have so much fun together!” Ignoring his continuing rant, she puts the lid back on the box, sealing him and his tiny voice in darkness again as he keeps screaming at her uselessly. “Okay well like, I guess I’ll just go to my room so he can get used to his new home. But like, thank you so much Daddy!”

“You’re welcome sweetie. I’ve gotta get back to work anyway. Have fun with your new toy.”

“Thanks Daddy! I will!”

The box shakes him around violently as she jogs up the stairs and goes to her room. She sets the box down somewhere but doesn’t open it right away. He hears her rummaging around the room for several minutes. It sounds like she’s doing something with packing tape.

Then without warning, she snatches up the box again and sets it down on what feels like a soft and bouncy surface. The lid of the box comes off and light streams in, and then she tips the box onto its side, throwing him onto all fours on its upturned inside wall.

“Okay cutie, come on out!”