Diving headlong back down the fingernail was your best bet. you hit the paper page and tumble onto your back watching the giant hand-guided pencil grind the page inches from where you are. Rising to catch your breath, you watch the pencil glide back and forth as Ellie draws. Suddenly, the giant spear halts, flips over and crashes back into the page with the eraser. The cylindrical steam roller barrels straight towards you, small spirals of pink rubber piling up like rubble in its wake. You had barely enough time to dodge out of the way as the eraser's head scratched ruthlessly into the paper. You look up to see if you'd been spotted but alas, Ellie's gaze was blank, music still blasting into her ears.

The next hour felt like the final boss out of a video game. You were kept on your toes constantly having to roll out of the way from a giant pencil. Your muscles ached and begged for rest, if something didn't happen soon, that pencil blade was going to slice right through you. As you watch the graphite tip drag closer toward you, something miraculous happens. The sharp tip snags against a wrinkle in the page and is wrenched free from the wood around it. The black rod rolls across the paper coming to a halt beside you. Above Ellie sighs in frustration and goes to sharpen her pencil. You wrap your arms tightly around the broken tip and find that despite its large size, the material is quite light, enough for you to lift it easily over your shoulders like a medieval battering ram. Up ahead, Ellie's fingers are wrapped around a small, metal sharpener; the print of her thumb faces you. Small bits of eraser and splinters from the pencil are still stuck to the fingerprint, if you could hit it just right, Ellie was sure to feel it. You take off running, first a light jog and then a full sprint. You wouldn't get a second chance at this. You inch closer and closer until finally, the pencil end jabs harshly into the soft flesh of Ellie's thumb.

"Aghhh Fuck!" Ellie yelps, her hands shoot up near her chest. You set the rod down and watch her large eyes dance around the page until they center, miraculously, on you. "What is that?" She mutters. The same hand now drifts slowly back down until her thumb and forefinger surround you. Your small brow already begins to sweat just feeling the heat radiating off her skin. The fingertips gingerly compress together, plucking you from the notebook and lifting you miles into the air up to her giant emerald eyes. You watch the void-like pupil widen its powerful gaze. Before Ellie had said anything, you knew you'd been recognized.

"There's no way you're a real person right?" Ellie smirks at first only to drop her expression as she sees your tiny hands wave and pound furiously at her fingers. "Fuck, you are real, aren't you. Are you from Jackson? Tap once for yes and twice for no" . You give it your all in a solid two thud into Ellie's skin. "Ok, not from here. Am I able to make you big again?" One thud. "Interesting. If I do agree to this, you promise you won't try and kill me?" Two thuds. You reach into your bag and pull out the barely functioning shrink ray. There was no way to explain how to charge it from here so you gestured towards the girl's ear. She acknowledges and raises you against it. You can see small masses of earwax surrounding the chasm of the ear canal, it's disgusting but you need her to hear you. "Hey! Thanks for rescuing me! I just need this device charged and I'll explain everything once I'm big again". "Fine, what do I do?" You could tell she was growing less enthusiastic about your breakage of physics and more suspicious by the minute. "I can regrow the device from here, It can probably use the same cable as your tv to charge after that". Ellie lowers you near the table, flipping an emergency switch near the butt of the gun, you watch as it expands in the blink of an eye, becoming the size of a mountain to you. Ellie swaps out her TV cord and sure enough, the gun starts to charge.

30 minutes go by of awkwardly waiting and a painful silence between Ellie and you. Her right hand not so subtly hides a pistol behind her back, you'd be at gunpoint but it sure as hell beat being tiny. Plus you trusted your combat skills enough to overpower her if the time came. The shrink ray flashes a blaring green light. Ellie grabs the gun and aims it at you. A pale blue light explodes out of the barrel and encases your body. Blue was a relief, you'd never told her which trigger was which. Your body begins to grow until you're finally standing tall at your original height.

Instead of a joyful companion, you are met with the barrel of Ellie's pistol. "Alright, I did what you asked, now talk". Her tone was eerily different, somehow you knew she wouldn't hesitate to end your life here and now if you didn't start yappin'. "I'm Abby, I live in the next town over. I was scavenging for supplies when I found this device, I learned how it works and used it to hide when a patrol came through. I sorta hitched a ride with them until I was dropped right outside your door". You hold your breath, best to keep things vague for now. "Sure. Anyone else I should worry about?" Ellie's expression remains unchanged, her eyes narrow as her fingers tap the trigger. "There are other people, yes. But they don't know I'm here much less that I found a shrink ray!" Your voice swells, purposeful or not, it seems to help your act. "Alright, say I believe that bullshit, what should I do with you now?" Ellie cocks her gun, aiming it at your forehead, now's the time for a hail Mary if ever you had one. "Please! I'm begging you, I have nowhere to go, just let me stay here, prove to you that I am who I say I am!" You begin to bawl, crying never came naturally but in this instant, the pressure firmly cemented your deception into Ellie's mind. "Fuck, ok. I won't shoot you, yet. Let's go talk to Joel and figure something out"

Your hand remained hidden behind your back the entire walk down the street to Joel's house. It held a kitchen knife stolen from Ellie's countertop, a last resort if it came to that. Joel's house was noticeably larger than Ellie's and the man inside looked considerably in the 4 years since that photograph was taken. The man was kind and welcoming and even made some tea for the two of you. You cradled the knife in your palm as the three of you sat in the living room talking about life and potential work options for you. "So, Abby. Where was it you said you were from again?" Joel asks abruptly. Not expecting the sudden pry, you hesitate, Ellie and Joel exchange glances.