The Device
Mark wiggled his tiny grub body after Tommy left him stranded atop his own desk.
"That moron," Mark grumbled as he tried to gain control over his new body. He didn't have real legs, just six tiny protuberances near the front of his tube-shaped white body. The legs couldn't even get good purchase on the wooden desktop.
"Dammit!" Mark complained. His white-hot anger at Tommy's lack of responsibility solved nothing. He would simply have to wait for Tommy to return and fix this god-awful nightmare.
His constantly wiggling, however, had gotten the tiny grub too close to the edge of the desk. Suddenly, the grub tumbled from the desk and plunged the long drop to the hard floor.
Mark groaned after the impact. He felt bruised but undaunted. While still trying to get adjusted to the situation, he heard the terrific noise of the front door opening.
"Finally!" Mark rejoiced. "Tommy's back! He can turn me back to..."
His hope turned to ash. He saw his nephew and the boy's friend walk into his lab.
"Uncle Mark!" Perry yelled. "We're back from the park. It was boring."
Mark saw two sets of sneaker-clad feet moving across the floor. The two twelve-year-olds were not as huge as Tommy, but they looked monstrous just the same.
The transformed scientist felt his own nephew's shoe slam down only inches from him.
"Perry!" The man shrieked wordlessly. "Don't step on me!"
His nephew's sharp-eyed friend happened to glance at the floor and saw something tiny and pale white.
Mr. Pensky's strange eyes fastened on the large youth as he bent forward.
"Looks like this one got out," the boy said and plucked the grub off the floor between two fingertips.
Mark groaned from the immense pressure that felt like it would disgorge his internal organs.
Perry looked at the grub and reached for the jar containing all the others. With a single swipe, he unscrewed the lid.
"Put him back in with the others," Perry said.
"No!" Mark tried to scream at his nephew. "No! No!"
Seth dropped the tiny grub into the jar that swarmed with dozens of other identical grubs. Mr. Pensky fell screaming into the writhing mass.
"Hey, since your uncle's not home at the moment, could we feed his frog?"
Perry scrunched his features into a dubious frown. "I don't know..."
"Just one grub," Seth said. "He will never know..."
"That moron," Mark grumbled as he tried to gain control over his new body. He didn't have real legs, just six tiny protuberances near the front of his tube-shaped white body. The legs couldn't even get good purchase on the wooden desktop.
"Dammit!" Mark complained. His white-hot anger at Tommy's lack of responsibility solved nothing. He would simply have to wait for Tommy to return and fix this god-awful nightmare.
His constantly wiggling, however, had gotten the tiny grub too close to the edge of the desk. Suddenly, the grub tumbled from the desk and plunged the long drop to the hard floor.
Mark groaned after the impact. He felt bruised but undaunted. While still trying to get adjusted to the situation, he heard the terrific noise of the front door opening.
"Finally!" Mark rejoiced. "Tommy's back! He can turn me back to..."
His hope turned to ash. He saw his nephew and the boy's friend walk into his lab.
"Uncle Mark!" Perry yelled. "We're back from the park. It was boring."
Mark saw two sets of sneaker-clad feet moving across the floor. The two twelve-year-olds were not as huge as Tommy, but they looked monstrous just the same.
The transformed scientist felt his own nephew's shoe slam down only inches from him.
"Perry!" The man shrieked wordlessly. "Don't step on me!"
His nephew's sharp-eyed friend happened to glance at the floor and saw something tiny and pale white.
Mr. Pensky's strange eyes fastened on the large youth as he bent forward.
"Looks like this one got out," the boy said and plucked the grub off the floor between two fingertips.
Mark groaned from the immense pressure that felt like it would disgorge his internal organs.
Perry looked at the grub and reached for the jar containing all the others. With a single swipe, he unscrewed the lid.
"Put him back in with the others," Perry said.
"No!" Mark tried to scream at his nephew. "No! No!"
Seth dropped the tiny grub into the jar that swarmed with dozens of other identical grubs. Mr. Pensky fell screaming into the writhing mass.
"Hey, since your uncle's not home at the moment, could we feed his frog?"
Perry scrunched his features into a dubious frown. "I don't know..."
"Just one grub," Seth said. "He will never know..."