ADVENTURES IN MINIATURIZATION
By Minimizer
Chapter 79
Trembling with anticipation, they risked sitting up in the back seat in order to watch what was happening. Caitlin started when she realized she was looking out at a set of giant fingers grasping the vehicle, but quickly recovered. She was in no danger. The man could not see her through the tinted glass, even if he had been looking their way.
Abruptly the SUV became level again and stopped moving. At a glance, Caitlin could see they were now at floor level. The man started walking away from them into the distance, and soon disappeared through a windowless door.
They were in a silver-walled room that was otherwise featureless and unadorned with furniture or other accoutrements. Only the section of floor they were sitting on was flat. The rest was curved, as though they were inside a huge, upside-down bowl. On the far edge of the room was a door recessed into the wall; it was through this that Tom had departed. On the other side, they could see what appeared to be the frame of a much larger passage, as though that entire section of wall could be opened if necessary. That must be how the car got in at full size, Caitlin thought.
Soon they realized they could just barely hear voices in the distance. Caitlin lowered one of the rear windows slightly and the sound came in more clearly.
"Tom Evans, loading restoration protocol," the British voice was saying. "Security ID ten seven alpha niner. Subject is miniaturization vehicle project prototype beta."
"Confirmed," another voice said. It sounded mechanically altered, as though coming through a microphone or computer speaker. "Proceed with restoration."
A low hum began to build and the air seemed to shimmer. Randi's hands were now shaking uncontrollably, but not from fear, only breathless anticipation.
Suddenly the walls glowed with a flare of blue. There was sound like a lightning bolt crackling, and then a smell of ozone. The three women felt a brief shock, as though they had just received a spark of static electricity, and that was all.
"Look!" Tania blurted out. "The walls! Look how close they are!"
"You're right! We're back to normal!" Caitlin half-shouted, and at once the three women were hugging each other, almost weeping from joy.
They had done it! After everything they had been through, they'd beaten all the odds and gotten back to normal size!
Now they only had to get out of SciTek! Caitlin quickly calmed the others down. "We can celebrate later!" she said, urging them to silence. "We aren't out yet. Look, the door's opening up! Quick, back down on the floor!"
As they ducked, Caitlin remembered the cracked window and closed it again, afraid Tom might notice it. He didn't stop at the SUV, however. Instead he went to the other side of the room and pushed on the larger door. It slowly receded and then slid out of his way, revealing a short tunnel beyond. He walked into the darkness there and disappeared.
"Look at this," Randi said after he was gone. She held up a tiny piece of thread, with a familiar-looking bent staple tied to the end of it.
"Is that what I think it is?" Tania asked. "But why didn't it get big with the rest of us?"
Caitlin thought about it for a moment, trying to remember some of the technical details they had overheard at the board meeting. "This must not be an enlarging machine," she said after a moment. "It's a restoring machine. It only restores small things to their original size. It doesn't grow anything that's already normal."
"I don't care, I'm keeping it for a souvenir," said Randi, putting it in her pouch.
At that moment Tom returned, dragging a large, thick cable that looked like a huge power cord. This he inserted into a slot on the underside of the Expedition, and then he walked over to the front door.
With a sigh he patted one hand on the edge of the SUV's hood. Then, as though speaking to it, he said, "It's all right, girl. You did good. I've got new ideas for you. We'll have you running perfectly in no time. I won't let them cancel this project out from under us."
This guy needs to get a life, Caitlin thought, shaking her head sadly. Still, his preoccupation with the SUV was good news, as it meant he was less likely to notice the women hiding in the back.
Tom opened the door and got in, not even bothering to look back over his shoulder. Then he turned the keys, which were already in the ignition. They felt only the barest shudder as the engine activated. It did not rumble or vibrate, but simply began to hum ever so slightly. Then, Tom shut the door and began to drive forward slowly.
The SUV moved into a dimly lit tunnel and then climbed up a ramp, emerging into a small parking level. Several other vehicles were visible, including a jeep, motorcycle, Hummer, and something vaguely resembling a deuce-and-a-half. These were all in various states of assembly, and several strange-looking engines were also scattered about. No one else was in the area, however, apparently having gone home for the day.
Tom shut off the vehicle, took the keys, and got out. Then he patted the hood again as if to say goodbye, then walked away, not looking back. It simply never crossed his mind that anyone could have been in the vehicle with him, and besides, his thoughts were obviously elsewhere at the moment.
The three women sat up and watched him go through the tinted glass. He moved to the other side of the parking area, went through a door, and disappeared into a sunlit area beyond.
"Oh, it can't be that easy," said Caitlin. "Do you think it could? Can we just go out that door and be done with this place?"
"No way," Tania said doubtfully. "You just know they're monitoring the doors. There could be any number of guards outside."
"Besides which," said Randi, "anyone walking out there dressed like us is bound to draw attention."
Caitlin looked around. There were no cameras in sight, but she suspected they were there nonetheless. She figured that the entrances to this parking area required a security pass, but getting back out did not, which would explain the ease at which Tom had departed. Still, a hidden camera would have no trouble picking up the three women as soon as they left the SUV, and she had no desire to get caught so quickly after getting back to normal size.
Normal size! It seemed amazing, after the events of the previous few days, but here they were, fully restored. All she wanted was to get back to her apartment and go to sleep in her own, blissfully normal-sized bed. And yet, as she thought about it, she knew she would miss it somehow. Being small had been a great adventure, after all, despite the dangers she'd faced.
Suddenly they saw the door opposite the room open up again, and a familiar shape entered the parking garage. It was the director, John Radcliffe! He began to walk across the concrete towards them, avoiding the scattered parts of a motorcycle as he did so. He seemed to be wearing an unusual smile on his face.
"Oh, crap," said Tania, even as the three women hunkered down in the back seat, hoping he was just passing by and would not see them.
Instead, he walked directly up to the SUV, opened the front door, and stood there, looking inside.
"Ah, so you are in there," he said calmly. "I suspected as much. Before you go, I wonder if I might have a few words with you?"