Shrunked Man.pdf

It was a bright sunny Tuesday morning when Shelly stepped out of her apartment building, Briefcase in hand and coffee in the other, ready to start another long day at the office. Little did Shelly know, this day would turn out quite differently than expected.

As she strode purposefully down the sidewalk, absorbed in thought, her foot suddenly came down on something small and squishy on the pavement. "Oof!" A tiny voice cried out from underneath her shoe.

Shelly froze and slowly lifted her foot to see what she had stepped on. Her jaw dropped open in shock. There, on the ground, was the figure of a naked human male, no taller than the length of her foot. He was covered in dark red bruises and struggling to catch his breath.

"What the...who are you? How did you get so small?" Shelly sputtered in disbelief, pointing accusingly at the tiny man.

The shrunken man glared up at her, still wincing in pain. "I'll have you know I'm Darren, co-founder of NanoTech Solutions! And your clumsy foot just crushed me half to death with that awkward attempt at a dance move!"

Shelly's eyes widened. "NanoTech Solutions? Aren't you the guys working on that top secret shrink ray project?"

Darren nodded grudgingly. "That's right. Looks like it's working a little too well. I was testing it myself and must have miscalculated. Now look at me!"

Shelly's mind was reeling, trying to process this bizarre situation. A real, live shrink ray? A tiny, naked man who was apparently a bigshot tech executive? It all seemed too fantastical to be real.

She knew she should call the authorities, but some impish part of her couldn't resist the temptation to toy with her new miniature captive first. Holding her shoe menacingly over Darren's head, Shelly slowly extended her index finger and poked him on the chest, watching him wince and scurry away.

"Heeey! Careful there Goliath!" Darren yelped. "I'm bruised, not broken. Yet."

Shelly smirked down at the helpless little man. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to tickle you with my fingernail," she said condescendingly. "Squeamish, are we?"

Darren shot her a withering look. "Will you quit it? This isn't funny! I'm a dignified businessman, not your toy!"

"Yes, a dignified businessman in the buff," Shelly teased, waggling her eyebrows. "Gee, I wonder what the NanoTech board would think if they saw their fearless leader now!"

She picked Darren up between her thumb and forefinger, holding him up to her face for inspection. The tiny man squirmed and pouted, looking like a cross between a furious angry baby and a prissy toddler.

"You can't keep me prisoner! I'll have your job for this, you...you Amazonian harpy!" Darren threatened.

Shelly just laughed. "Ooh, I'm shaking in my boots! Like you're in any position to do anything. Face it, you're at my mercy, little guy."

While Darren grumbled and struggled in her grip, Shelly plucked a used tissue from her purse and extended it towards him. The shrunken executive cringed but was forced to climb onto the offered cloth, now afraid she might drop him.

"I'm putting you in my purse for safe keeping until I figure out what to do with you," Shelly declared, unfolding the tissue and placing Darren into the center. "Consider it protective custody."

She placed the tissue into a side pocket of her handbag, tiptoeing around her tiny captive. "Better stay put in there, or it'll be a bumpy ride. And try not to drool on my lipstick, if you please. I just applied it."

Sealing the pocket shut, Shelly zipped up her purse, the sounds of Darren's muffled protests and threats only spurring her on. With a wicked grin, she slung the bag over her shoulder and continued on her way to work, her oversized heels clicking confidently on the sidewalk.

Poor Darren was in for a long, humiliating day - and Shelly planned to savor every minute of torturing the imperious little man. Maybe she'd even make him into her office pet. The NanoTech kingpin's new life as her shrunken captive had only just begun!