Sarah nods in agreement. It has been far too long since you've been back, by now you've probably flunked out of your classes for the semester and your rent was way too overdue. Despite the dumpster fire you were going home to, you could at least try to salvage what you could. The car ride is silent, you tell her you'll visit as soon as possible but she doesn't seem to believe you, the thought of you ever being big again was just that. A distant thought.
Sarah opened your door to find the apartment barren, it was by no means clean but it was clear some of Evelyn's agents had wiped your existence from the house. "We can help replace your stuff!" Sarah assures you. Hugging her chest goodbye, Sarah plops you on the futon. It was one of four pieces of furniture left standing, the bed, coffee table, and nightstand had all been left behind. "Goodnight, I'll come by later this week to check in on you. In the meantime I'm leaving a note by the door incase anyone comes in". You thank her for saving you and she leaves. Now alone in your empty apartment, you lay down and fall asleep.
You reawaken sometime late into the night. You scale down the low-sitting futon with ease. Your bare feet tip-toe over the cold wooden floor over to the kitchen. Nothing, not even a single crumb on the ground, it was spotless. Exhausted and utterly defeated, you slouch back towards the bedroom. You make it about halfway past the front door before a searing pain envelopes your stomach. You clutch your abdomen and keel over on the ground. Keeping down waves of nausea and the overwhelming need to vomit, you feel like the world is going to flip upside down. Then, an eerily familiar feeling washes over your body, the same feeling you experienced on your first day as Evelyn's test subject. You're shrinking again. Your 1-inch body drops immediately to less than a millimeter in size. in a minute, you have become almost microscopic. By the time you stop, the world was an alien wasteland of splintering wood, and deep canyons in between the floorboards. Dust covered most of the ground along side some loose change and unswept food crumbs. Even if Sarah returned, she would never find you, the note on the ground was useless.
The next week of your life is both hell and a relief from the pressures of returning to the normal world. Sarah did come by and dropped off some slices of bread and a cap of icy water on the ground but in not being able to find you, she left the building rather disappointed. The bread kept you well fed as well as the great lake of water you now had access to. You were near microscopic, yes, but the only thing here big enough to kill you were ants and flies which as far as you knew were busy by the kitchen. Soon enough though, they would smell your mountain of food and come gathering around. After almost 10 days of primitive survival, and living as a nomad, your physique had shifted into full commando, A simple sash around your waist for carrying food and supplies, and uncut hair everywhere! Sarah had yet to return and it was starting to seem like she had abandoned you entirely.
About 2 weeks in you were awoken early in the morning by the horrifying sight of the front door swinging open and your landlady strolling proudly inside. Her sandaled foot stomped on the crucial note by the door rendering her completely unaware of your presence. This was bound to happen eventually, she needed to sell the place quickly now that you had abandoned it. She was on the larger side and looked tired and sweaty from being outside all day, likely helping new tenants move in. Her city-sized sandal pummeled the ground in front of you, her smallest toe was itself, big enough to swallow multiple skyscrapers under its mass. You avoid making eye contact with the woman's giant pudgy toes any longer and instead, focus your attention on the ditsy freshman girl behind her. Already wear a sorority tank top, she walked around the room followed by her parents as they discuss furniture arrangements. "Yup, the old tenant skipped out on their rent and abandoned the place. But I assure you we cleaned the place up and are pressing charges on them!" You cringe at the landlady's words. Thank god you were still small, it was miles better than explaining to the police you had somehow been shrunk by an evil scientist for the past month.
Standing near the middle of the living room, you are surrounded on all sides by stamping feet besides the left side of the room where the futon was. Hiding under there was your best shot at survival though you could also try approaching your landlady for attention.
