Chapter 3: Chapter 3
The sound from the corner of the cage resolved itself into a rustling, then a squeak. A hamster, pale gold with a white belly, emerged from a plastic tunnel tube and stared at them with beady black eyes. He was enormous by their new scale, and he moved with the unhurried confidence of something that owned the space.
"New ones," the hamster said, his voice a scratchy tenor. "Great. More humans who think they're special."
Cole pulled Keke closer, shielding her with his body. "You can talk."
"I can do a lot of things. Name's Jasper. Been in this room three years now. You're the first pair I've seen that actually fought back." He sniffed the air, whiskers twitching. "Smells like you had quite the morning."
Keke pushed herself up, wincing. "We need to get to the laptop."
"The big one on the desk?" Jasper gestured with a paw. "That's a trek. The floor is full of dangers. But I know the safe routes."
Cole looked at Keke. She was still trembling, but her eyes had that sharp lawyer focus again, analyzing, calculating. After what he'd done to her, she had every right to hate him, and yet here she was, standing beside him. He reached for her hand. She let him take it, though her grip was stiff.
"I know her password," Keke said. "My sister Mia. She always uses the same one. But we need to get up there."
Jasper scratched his ear. "There's a path along the baseboard. Dangerous but doable. If I guide you, I want something in return."
"Name it."
"When you get big again, or whatever happens, you get me out of this cage."
Cole nodded. "Deal."
The journey to the laptop took the better part of an hour. They crawled along the shadow of the baseboard, past dust bunnies that loomed like mountains and a fallen paperclip that could have crushed them. Jasper led them through gaps in the furniture, over cables like fallen redwoods. Twice they froze as the cleaning robot hummed past, its brushes lethal enough to fling them across the room.
The laptop sat on the desk, open, still glowing with the screensaver. Keke had left it on before she shrank. They climbed up the power cord, hands and feet finding purchase on the braided fabric, and scuttled across the keyboard to the touchpad.
"Her password is 'AmazonsRule2024'. She's obsessed with being the biggest woman alive. She's on the basketball team, you know. Eight foot one. The conference calls her an unfair advantage."
Cole watched as Keke pressed the keys with her whole body, bouncing on each letter. The screen clicked open. She navigated to the video call app, and her fingers hovered over Mia's contact.
"She answers fast," Keke said. "She keeps her phone glued to her hand. But are we ready for her to see us like this?"
"We don't have a choice."
Keke pressed the call button. The screen lit up with a bathroom mirror, steam fogging the edges, and then a face filled the frame. Mia Rodriguez was a monument of a woman, a full foot and more taller than Keke had been at her original height, with shoulders that could carry furniture and a chest that strained the fabric of her sports bra. Her hair was pulled back in a big wide ponytail, and her face split into a beaming grin all juicy lips and teeth.
"Keke! Girl, you never call this early. Wait, why are you using your laptop? You always use your phone—" Mia's voice cut off as her eyes adjusted, and she saw the two tiny figures standing on the touchpad. She blinked once, then her grin widened. "Oh my God. You actually got it."
"Got what?" Keke demanded.
"The virus." Mia leaned closer to her camera, and Cole noticed the way her eyes traveled over him, slow and deliberate. She bit her lower lip, a gesture that made her look far younger than her nineteen years. "I read all the news. The new protocol came out yesterday. Shrunken people aren't considered humans anymore. They're classified as pets now. They need registered owners, or they get sent to holding centers."
Cole felt the floor drop out of his stomach. "Pets."
"Yeah, small guy." Mia's voice dropped, warm and sticky. "But you're lucky. I already started the process. Filed the paperwork last night. I'm your registered owner, you and Keke both. I'm coming to get you."
Keke slammed her fist on the touchpad. "Mia, you can't just—"
"I can, and I did. It's already done. The law went through this morning, and your owner registration is valid as of ten a.m. I checked. I've been tracking this thing since the first reports." She tilted her head, and her eyes lingered on Cole again. "Wow. Keke, you didn't tell me your boyfriend was so built."
"Focus, Mia. We're trapped here. We need food, water, help."
"I'm bringing help." Mia stood, and the camera caught the full scope of her, the long legs, the massive hips, the way her basketball shorts stretched over a rear that could swallow a loveseat. She towered in the frame like a skyscraper. "I've got a travel cage, food pellets, everything. I'll be there by tonight. And don't worry about that hamster you said you heard. I'll take him to the pet shop on the way, find him a good home."
Cole exchanged a glance with Jasper, who had climbed up onto the desk to watch. The hamster's whiskers drooped.
"She's big, that one," Jasper muttered. "Big hands. I've seen her type before. She'll mean well, but she's still got you in a cage."
"Cheer up, little guy," Mia called, speaking to Jasper through the speakers. "Pet shop has wheels, treats, other hamsters. You'll love it. And you two?" Her smile turned predatory, soft and hungry. "You're going to love your new home too."
The call ended. Cole stared at the black screen, at their tiny reflected faces, and outside the penthouse window, the city continued on, massive and indifferent. He reached for Keke's hand again, and this time, she squeezed back.
Mia was coming. They were no longer just two lost people in a giant apartment. They were owned.