The old ship
Family's New Shrink Ray
chapter 24
by
copier
· original author:
smashedunder
"That one," Bianca said, pointing. It was the largest in the pier, and when Nicole followed her gaze, she raised an eyebrow.
"You're sure?" Nicole asked. "Seems unusually, uhh... extravagant for you."
"Definitely," Bianca nodded resolutely. "That's the one."
The group approached the ship, narrowly avoiding the last few dock workers as they streamed indoors to grab food. The ship, like most large things, was a lot bigger up close than it had been closer to shore. It was a rectangular vessel that was large enough to fit... at least three, maybe four of Nicole's houses. It was old, but bobbed in the water with the steady confidence of an aged blacksmith. The main deck was open to the air, a walkable space with lots of deck to swab, with a path leading to the bridge. Beneath the deck, there was a large shaded area that housed seating, as well as lots of snack bars which were currently unattended. And beneath that... Patricia opened her mouth slightly as she realized there were several dozen cars fastened in the hold.
"Why are there cars on a ship?" Patty wondered aloud.
Nicole took another look at the starboard side of the craft. The barnacles had mostly eaten away at the paint, but there was just enough that remained for her to make out the name of the vessel: The Virgin's Kiss.
"Wait, I think I remember this..." Nicole's two friends looked at the girl as she was lost in thought. "Yeahhhh... this isn't just any ship, it's the ferry! There's an island further out to sea, and the Virgin's Kiss takes people from there to the mainland. Sometimes they bring their cars or vice versa. My parents took me there when I was young...er."
It was an interesting bit of news. Patty hadn't much cared about anyone who wasn't in her immediate vicinity, and Bianca hadn't lived in the area long enough to familiarize herself with the wider geography.
"Blah blah blah, yap, yap, yap," Patty said, mocking Nicole with a hand puppet. "So, are we gonna shrink this thing or what?"
Bianca nodded her head. "Yeah, let's do it! But we'll need to do it quick."
"Don't need to tell me twice," Patty said. She'd been holding the shrink ray in preparation for eventually shrinking Nicole. She raised her hand and then fired--the beam engulfed the ship, and the light reflected in the trio's eyes. Soon, the boat contracted until it was barely the size of a bathtub toy.
"Excessive," Nicole said, though it wasn't accusatory.
Patty huffed. "We can tinker with the size later. In the meantime..." She grabbed a giant fish net on a pole and plunged it into the water, straining to fish the little boat out. Finally, the thing had been entrapped. She dug the boat out of the net and tossed the pole aside, bringing it closer to her face. Soon, her eyebrows jumped. "Whoa, score! Check this out!"
The other girls crowded next to her, where nearly rice sized on the boat, a skeleton crew's worth of engineers and at least a few snazzily dressed women (who must've been running the concession stands) were cowering in fear on the deck.
"They must've stayed on the ship," Nicole said.
"It doesn't matter," Bianca mused hungrily. "They'll be the perfect 'extras' for this next scene." She licked her lips.
The two girls snickered--they knew exactly what sort of grace Bianca would extend to their film's extras. This was going to be great!
"So, what now?" Patty said. "There's no way we're filming the scene here. I don't wanna be around when they start asking about what happened to that boat."
"Yeah, and the fish smell is starting to burn my nose," Nicole complained, pinching her nostrils together. "I guess we can..."
"You're sure?" Nicole asked. "Seems unusually, uhh... extravagant for you."
"Definitely," Bianca nodded resolutely. "That's the one."
The group approached the ship, narrowly avoiding the last few dock workers as they streamed indoors to grab food. The ship, like most large things, was a lot bigger up close than it had been closer to shore. It was a rectangular vessel that was large enough to fit... at least three, maybe four of Nicole's houses. It was old, but bobbed in the water with the steady confidence of an aged blacksmith. The main deck was open to the air, a walkable space with lots of deck to swab, with a path leading to the bridge. Beneath the deck, there was a large shaded area that housed seating, as well as lots of snack bars which were currently unattended. And beneath that... Patricia opened her mouth slightly as she realized there were several dozen cars fastened in the hold.
"Why are there cars on a ship?" Patty wondered aloud.
Nicole took another look at the starboard side of the craft. The barnacles had mostly eaten away at the paint, but there was just enough that remained for her to make out the name of the vessel: The Virgin's Kiss.
"Wait, I think I remember this..." Nicole's two friends looked at the girl as she was lost in thought. "Yeahhhh... this isn't just any ship, it's the ferry! There's an island further out to sea, and the Virgin's Kiss takes people from there to the mainland. Sometimes they bring their cars or vice versa. My parents took me there when I was young...er."
It was an interesting bit of news. Patty hadn't much cared about anyone who wasn't in her immediate vicinity, and Bianca hadn't lived in the area long enough to familiarize herself with the wider geography.
"Blah blah blah, yap, yap, yap," Patty said, mocking Nicole with a hand puppet. "So, are we gonna shrink this thing or what?"
Bianca nodded her head. "Yeah, let's do it! But we'll need to do it quick."
"Don't need to tell me twice," Patty said. She'd been holding the shrink ray in preparation for eventually shrinking Nicole. She raised her hand and then fired--the beam engulfed the ship, and the light reflected in the trio's eyes. Soon, the boat contracted until it was barely the size of a bathtub toy.
"Excessive," Nicole said, though it wasn't accusatory.
Patty huffed. "We can tinker with the size later. In the meantime..." She grabbed a giant fish net on a pole and plunged it into the water, straining to fish the little boat out. Finally, the thing had been entrapped. She dug the boat out of the net and tossed the pole aside, bringing it closer to her face. Soon, her eyebrows jumped. "Whoa, score! Check this out!"
The other girls crowded next to her, where nearly rice sized on the boat, a skeleton crew's worth of engineers and at least a few snazzily dressed women (who must've been running the concession stands) were cowering in fear on the deck.
"They must've stayed on the ship," Nicole said.
"It doesn't matter," Bianca mused hungrily. "They'll be the perfect 'extras' for this next scene." She licked her lips.
The two girls snickered--they knew exactly what sort of grace Bianca would extend to their film's extras. This was going to be great!
"So, what now?" Patty said. "There's no way we're filming the scene here. I don't wanna be around when they start asking about what happened to that boat."
"Yeah, and the fish smell is starting to burn my nose," Nicole complained, pinching her nostrils together. "I guess we can..."
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November 12
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