By Sneakyk*

You decide that getting the attention of the police officers would be the best course of action in your current predicament, especially since they're here specifically to help with your missing persons case! But how exactly are you going to go about getting their attention? At a mere inch in height, you surely aren't equipped to keep up with their massive strides. Once they leave the store, you won't have much time to get to them, and it would only take a few strides for them to pass you entirely. Attempting to scale one of the two also seems nonviable. Again, your window of opportunity would be very, very brief. You'd likely get trampled underfoot, and even if you do manage to get a foothold, you'd probably get shaken off anyway.

Thankfully, you have a bit of time to act. The police officers will likely spend some time inside of the convenience store, and that precious time gives you a chance to think. You scan your surroundings and spot a pink fake jewel, likely a plaything dropped by a small child. It might seem insignificant... but you might be able to reflect light off of it! You rush over towards it and grab it it. The jewel, which is a good fraction of your height, requires a great deal of effort to move. But move it you can. You push it away from the door, then prop it up, investing a great deal of effort into moving it into position. You break a serious sweat as you frantically work with the gem, the sweltering heat doing nothing to make your task any easier.

At last, you manage to project a beam of light upwards towards the convenience station's door. And not a moment to soon. The door slides open, and out emerges the female of the two officers, holding a spare missing persons paper with your face on it. You train the beam of light directly for her eye, and succeed in attracting her notice. She staggers back, irritated by the light, and turns her attention towards the source, the little jewel on the ground. "What the hell...?" She inquires.

THUD. THUD. THUD. KTHUD. KTHUD. The police officer approaches you, her pennyloafers causing you to lose your hold of the gem. Your tiny body rattles against the concrete surface below, and you wind up falling onto your bottom. Soon you find her squatting over you, looking down in confusion. Turning your attention up from her shoes, you see that the officer is wearing a pair of pantyhose and a formal skirt that, while modest from any normal perspective, fails to obscure her floral-patterned panties. She appears to be a Caucasian in her late 30s, and although lean her body is toned. It is clear she hasn't skipped out on exercise. She appears to be holding a small box in one hand, and your missing person's photo in the other.

The woman shakes her head as she looks down at you, then lifts a foot up and brings it forward, the dirt flaked underside of her pennyloafer looming over your tiny form. KTHOOOOOMBLE. The impact of her sole upon your body would have smashed you into a stain, or at the very least severely hurt you, had you not leapt away at the last moment. The woman looks down in more confusion before realizing her mistake. "Wait a second. That isn't a bug..." She says.

Before you can react, she curls up the missing person's report, situates it under her armpit, and then reaches to get you. You do not resist. You are brought before her face in a gut wrenching blur of motion, her eyes scrutinizing your tiny form. "It's...naked..." She ponders, a grimacing in disgust. As she speaks, her fellow officer heads out and speaks up. "Whatcha have there. Is it a clue towards the case?" Your heart skips a beat. Yes! They're about to put two and two together. Surely the woman will realize that you resemble the missing person they're looking for.

"This? Heck no. It's weird though. It's a weird toy. Looks like a joke. See that? It's squirming around like one of those inflatable advertising men. And. AND. AND. This thing has a boner." The male police officer raises an eyebrow, but guffaws when he realizes she isn't lying. "What the heck. Dang. I don't even want to know. Toss it in the trash." "Mmm....no..." "no..? Don't tell me you're taking a liking to that thing."

"No way. But I bet the K9 unit could get some use out of it" "Good idea." "Yeah. Imma hand it over Peggy once we get back into the station."

The K9 unit? The K9 unit? This can't mean what you think it means. You're the poor sap she's looking for. Perhaps she's handing you off to another department for your protection. Perhaps she's joking. Perhaps she thinks they'd have a better understanding of small things. But all of these attempts to explain her words away fall flat. You know damn well why she's taking you to the K9 unit, and it isn't to save you.

As you ponder the weight of her words, you find yourself falling and falling. You land on a firm but flexible surface, and soon everything becomes dark. You must have landed in the box she was carrying. You find yourself inside of a prison that smells of chocolate, strawberry, dough, and sugar. To each side of you, you see a curled wall. Though the confines of your prison are dim, you can make make out the colors of the walls. One of them brown, one a dark tan, and two of them a lighter tan. One of these tan walls has a gaping opening in it, one that smells strongly of strawberry. The other walls smell of blueberry, sugar, and chocolate, respectively, though truthfully the scents mostly blend into a mélange that is almost otherworldly in its beauty.

As you inspect your surroundings, the box shifts into motion, and the two officers return to their car. "Just a couple more stops and then it's back to the station. Remind me about that weird toy when we get back. Figure Peggy and the dogs'll get a kick out of it. Mostly the dogs."

And with that, the officers drive off. Your worst fears are confirmed. They may have known to look out for your face, but your body is so tiny that the officers didn't recognize you as anything other than a crass and vulgar toy left behind in a public place. "Next stop...Diapertown Daycare. Then an outdoor mall. That one with the really good steak and sushi place. Probably gonna put another sign over by the ballet studio. Then its back to the station" Two stops, indeed, and then you'll be delivered to the k9 unit. How are you going to get out of this mess?