Jake drove slowly up the dark suburban street, squinting at the house numbers as he passed. He found the one he was looking for at the end of the street. He eyed the drawn curtains in the windows nervously as he parked in front of the house, thankful that Richard had done him the courtesy of at least leaving the porch light on. Not for the first time, Jake hesitated, bewildered that this was actually happening. He had never met up with someone from the internet before, let alone a man older than his own father. What if he had something sinister planned for him? If the old man had been telling the truth during their chats, Jake would be palm-sized in a matter of minutes -- and at that size, he would be extremely vulnerable. If Richard's warm, gentle demeanor online was merely an act and he actually sought to hurt Jake for some reason, there would be very little the tiny man could do to stop it. Plus, he had taken great pains to keep this rendezvous a total secret from everyone he knew, so no one would have any idea where he'd gone off to. Indeed, this entire adventure was seeming more and more foolhardy with every passing minute, and Jake nearly threw his truck back into gear and went back the way he came.
But he couldn't bring himself to do it. After all, he'd been talking to Richard about this for a while now, and he hadn't ever felt any twinges of suspicion during their talks. And this was his greatest fantasy realized, a dream he had never dared to believe could come true; it would be such a waste to just throw away this opportunity. It was reckless, yes, but he simply couldn't resist the temptation to actually experience being tiny in the hands of a giant. So, trying and failing to calm his racing heart, Jake got out of his truck and made his way up the path to the front door of the house.
When he raised his fist to knock, the door swung open on its own, revealing a foyer dimly lit by candles. Jake's heart leapt to his throat, but with some effort, he was able to clear it enough to call out, "Richard? Are you there?" He took a tentative step over the threshold into the house when a light suddenly burst forth from the darkness. It struck his chest like a physical force, knocking the breath out of him, and he stumbled and fell. When he opened his eyes, blinking the blinding spots out of his vision, he faintly registered that the ceiling seemed curiously far away. With a groan, he sat up -- and froze. Looking around at his gigantic surroundings, Jake immediately realized that he was much, much smaller than he was supposed to be.
Just how tall is Jake now?