Take Me Out To The Ballgame (parts 1-10)

Take Me Out To The Ballgame
co-written by "small1" & "speck"

Part One
Justin grabbed a bat and walked up to the plate. It was a hot, humid night, and the smell of hot dogs filled the air. Justin, quite impressive at over six foot tall, waited for the pitch in an almost trance-like state.

"Hit one outa here!" Tommy yelled at his friend from the dugout as he swatted at some mosquitos flying around his face. "Damn, these bugs are awful!"

Justin swung at the pitch, and the ball went soaring high and far outside the park. It was a home run. Justin ran the bases and his team-mates greeted him with high fives when he reached home base. He plopped back down on the bench next to his buddy Tommy.

"Great job," Tommy said as he gave Justin a punch in the arm. Justin punched him right back.

"I just can't wait to get this game over with so we can do some partying," Justin exclaimed. "Did Zack and Joe get the beer?"

"Yeah, they got it all right," Tommy said. "I hope the bums don't drink it all."

* * *

Zack and Joe had snuck into a fenced off area of land about a half-mile behind the baseball stadium. Having ignored the "danger", and "keep out" signs, the two college guys grabbed a couple beers, and set the rest of the six pack on a steel drum that partly stuck out of the ground. Hidden from view was the word "TOXIC" in bold letters. In the distance, they heard the announcer say it was the end of the fifth inning. Joe yawned as he looked in the direction of the lights of the baseball stadium.

"That has got to be the slowest game of all time," Zack exclaimed while in the process of downing his beer. "God, I hate baseball!"

"Just chill out," Joe said. "After the game, we'll hook up with Justin and Tommy, and we will have the rest of the weekend to party. Zack and Joe had not yet noticed the green slimy liquid that was oozing out of the side of the steel drum.

"Oh my God, what is this crap?" Joe said in disgust as he accidentally put his hand in some of the horrible sticky fluid. He started to rub his hands on his shirt.

"Yuck, it's everywhere!" Zack exclaimed as he jumped up and moved away from the container. "Grab the beer, and let's get the hell out of here!"

"Yeah, let's head back to the game," Joe agreed. "Man, I am not feeling too good."

"Everything is spinning," Zack replied in a garbled voice and then fell to the ground unconscious. Joe soon followed. The guys began to come to about ten minutes later.

Part Two

Zack was the first to wake. He saw his friend Joe sprawled out next to him.
He crawled over and shook Joe's shoulder. "C'mon. Wake up!"

Zack was still fighting a dizzy feeling. Joe started to wake up, mumbling something.
Zack took a moment to look around.
He saw something odd.
There was a huge metal cylinder directly in front of him. There was even a label.

"Can't be!" Zack exclaimed. But, blocking any wider view, was a huge beer can. Zack got to his feet and started to walk toward the enormous can.

"Oh my God!" Zack cried. "If that's a beer can..."

He shook his head to try to rid himself of such an absurd, impossible thought. He closed his eyes and slowly opened them again.

"No!" Zack cried.

Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder.
He wheeled around to see Joe. Joe was a big, blocky guy. He stood about 6'3" tall to Zack's 5'8" tall.

"What's going on?" Joe asked. "What happened? I feel like I've been run over by a truck."

"Joe, I think...I don't know how...not exactly..." Zack stammered, unwilling to actually say the words.

"What is it?" Joe asked impatiently.

"Look!" Zack pointed to the colossal aluminum beer can.

"Cool! What is it? Some sort of prop beer can for a prank?"

"No, I don't think so." Zack looked all around. His courage failed as he glanced behind them at an enormous barrel that completely dwarfed the beer can. If the beer can looked as big as a tanker truck, the steel drum was the size of some enormous skyscraper.
And then he remembered their exposure to the strange green slime that leaked from the now mega-sized steel drum.

"We've shrunk!" Zack cried.

"No way," Joe said, but as he looked around, he also began to notice how everything has changed. In the far distance, no more than a glow on the horizon, were lights. The lights from the ballfield only half a mile away. But, that was a measure of distance that hardly carried any meaning now to the two shrunken men.

"How small are we?" Joe wondered aloud.

Zack walked around to the front of the beer can. The open tab was as big as a door.

"We're small!" Zack exclaimed. "Hell, we're probably no more than half an inch tall."

"We're as tiny as a bug!" Joe added, his normally deep voice sounding very teeny and squeaky.

Zack felt sick to his stomach as he stared into the dark interior of the beer can. "Don't you think I know that?" Zack snapped.

"Well, what are we going to do?" Joe replied.

Zack tried to clear his mind to think.
He knew their friends, Justin and Tommy, were at the ballfield. He also knew that he and Joe had parked the car right outside the fenced in lot where they were now. Justin and Tommy would be looking for them after the game.

The ballfield seemed an impossible distance, but they could go back to the car and wait. Justin and Tommy would come to them, if for no other reason than they knew that Joe and Zack were getting the beer.

"C'mon. We've got to reach the car."

"The car! We can't drive a car!"

"I know that," Zack said, losing patience. "But we'd never make it to the ballfield. But I know Justin and Tommy will come looking for us."

Again, the two tiny men stared in awe and fear at their gigantic surroundings. "And when they do," Zack added, "we have got to get their attention. They're our only hope!"

Part Three

Zack and Joe began their journey to Zack's car parked just outside the fence with a brisk jog. The terrain was quite daunting. It was mostly dirt, but rocks the size of huge boulders littered the escape route. Old broken pieces of asphalt were mountainous obstacles and giant weeds seemed to extend endlessly into the vast night sky.

"Zack, this is just horrible," Joe was saying as he was trying to keep up with Zack. "I can't believe this is happening to us. It has got to be a nightmare or something."

"Just keep your cool, and focus on getting back to the car," Zack said trying to console his worried friend. "Justin and Tommy will find us and help us out."

"But what if we don't make it back to the car in time? It's so far away and the game is almost over. Or what if they don't see us because we are so small? We'll be stranded out here forever..." Joe was now starting to mumble in a panic.

"Okay, hold on for a second," Zack stopped and grabbed Joe by his shoulders. "We will make it back to the car. Justin and Tommy will look for us, and this is going to work out. We will get to a doctor and I am sure there is an antidote for this crap. Hell, it may wear off by itself. But you have got to calm down."

"I'm sorry. You're right Zack. I have got to get a grip," Joe said as he took a deep breath. "Now, let's get out of here and back to the car."

The two college guys continued to their destination with a renewed sense of urgency. Trash left by other environmentally unfriendly trespassers had now become enormous obstacles for the shrunken young men. They darted around gigantic bottles, cans, and other unrecognizable trash.

Zack and Joe's journey was abruptly interrupted by a enormous black mass. The wall was scruffy and beat up. The shape and smell seemed eerily familiar to the young men.

"What in the hell is it?" Joe asked, as he and Zack backed up to take in the entire view of the massive structure. "Oh my God, it can't be!"

"Yep, it's an old giant boot," Zack replied in amazement. "Can you imagine the size of the foot that would fit into that thing?"

"I sure wouldn't want to be caught in the path of someone that huge," Joe speculated as he began to think of how tiny he and Zack had become. "We are going to have to be careful when we meet up with Justin and Tommy. You know how big Justin's feet are. I don't want to be accidentally crushed under those monsters."

"You're right about that," Zack agreed. "We are so small, they might think we are bugs or something. Come on, let's go around this thing."

After going around the giant boot, Zack and Joe were presented with a smooth dirt surface, and the fence was about two miles away for them. And the car was right within their sights outside the fence.

"Almost home!" Zack exclaimed. "Come on, let's go Joe."

"I am right behind you buddy," Joe replied as the two guys journeyed into the impending vast open area. "What is that buzzing sound?"

* * *

"Awesome game guys!" Coach said in a hoarse husky voice. "Now hit the showers, and those of you who need a ride back to campus, meet at my van in 30 minutes. And don't nobody get into no trouble this weekend. Practice is Monday at five sharp."

Justin crammed his gym bag with his dirty, sweaty baseball uniform. There was just enough room for his baseball glove as he tried to zip the bag shut. Tommy had already made it to the showers.

"Hurry up man," Tommy urged Justin as he returned from the showers. "We've got to find Zack and Joe and commence the partying."

"I'll be back in a flash," Justin replied and hurried for the showers. Tommy put on some jeans and a blue t-shirt. He had forgotten to bring some shoes so he just put his baseball cleats back on. He thought they looked pretty cool on him anyway.

Justin returned from the showers to an impatient Tommy and threw some shorts on and a Tim Couch Cleveland Browns football jersey. "Let's jet!"

Justin and Tommy grabbed their stuffed gym bags and exited the locker room in search of their buddies.

Part Four

Justin and Tommy were aggravated to leave the locker room at the baseball field and find that their friends were not waiting for them in the parking lot.

"This is just like those clowns," Justin grumbled, kicking up a shower of gravel with his baseball cleats.

Tommy thought about the situation. "Well, they wouldn't have waited here where the coach might have seen them, not with the beer and all," he said.

"Yeah? Well, where the hell are they?" Justin complained.

Tommy scanned the vicinity. Not too far away he saw the old fenced-in lot. Beneath the soft glow of some overhead lights, he thought he could just make out a car.

"Isn't that Zack's car?" Tommy said, pointing in the direction of the old lot.

Justin looked and grunted. "Sure as hell better be," he said, and started walking in that direction, and Tommy followed close behind him.

* * *

At that very moment, their friends were cowering behind a large boulder. Joe had a nasty gash along his right arm.

They listened for a moment for the horrible buzzing noise. They heard only silence.

"I think I drove it off," Zack said of the mosquito that had viciously attacked his friend.

Joe, wincing from the pain of the bleeding wound on his arm, nodded. "Thanks for that, man."

An ominous buzzing from the insect's wings had been the only warning before the blood-sucking creature had launched its onslaught, stabbing repeatedly about Joe's head and shoulders with a stiletto-like blade that made up its mouthparts.

"Hell, I could have squashed that damn bug with a single swat of my hand," Joe said. "But now... did you see it? It was as big as one of those things...those flying dinosaurs."

"Pteradactyls?" Zack asked.

"Yeah, those. Only a lot meaner."

"We'll just have to be more alert," Zack said. But he had been thoroughly frightened when the crazed insect had attacked his friend. But, he took some comfort in the knowledge that he had acted quickly, grabbing up several small rocks and hurling them against the creature. Success came when one of the rocks tore through the creature's translucent wings, causing the mosquito to veer off and disappear into the darkness.

"At least we're closer to the car," Joe said. The colossal automobile filled their entire horizon. It looked like some beached cruise ship on wheels.

"Yeah," Zack said. "All we have to do is wait for Justin and Tommy. Once they find us, this nightmare will be over."

"Yeah, man," Joe said, but as he started to walk forward again, he froze.

"What is it?" Zack asked before he too felt the ground tremble and heard the fearfully loud yet familiar voices.

Then, both tiny men screamed.

* * *

Tommy and Justin stomped through the gravel lot outside the fence.

"It's Zack's car alright," Justin commented. "But where's Zack and Joe?"

Tommy sat down on the hood of the automobile. "Who cares? Where's the beer?"

Justin dug into his pocket. He chuckled as he took out a key. "Zack gave me one of his keys once," he said. "Maybe we ought to just take the car and leave those jokers stranded out here."

He dangled the key as he continued to crunch gravel beneath his baseball cleats with every step he took. "What do you say?" Justin asked Tommy.

"Maybe we should give them a few minutes," Tommy said. "They've got to be around here somewhere."

Justin slapped at a mosquito on his arm. "There's nothing here but damn bugs," he complained.

Part Five

Justin unlocked the door to Zack's dilapidated old faded orange Nissan 200SX and peered inside while Tommy jumped off the hood of the car and walked over to a gate in the old rusted fence. Each step made a loud crunching noise as the loose gravel was pressed down and strewn behind his shoe as he walked. Just as Tommy reached the gate, he looked down and saw something tiny darting across in front of him. Without much thought, Tommy lifted his baseball cleat over the tiny creature and mashed down, twisting his shoe a little to ensure the desired result. He lifted his shoe and looked at the unrecognizable smear left on the bottom.

"What the hell are you doing?" Justin asked slightly perturbed as he saw what he was looking for in the back seat of Zack's car. "Oh yeah, we just hit pay-dirt!"

"Oh nothing, I just stepped on a bug or something," Tommy replied as he stood at the gate of the fence next to a "KEEP OUT" sign. "Damn things are everywhere."

Justin was almost giddy as he saw the ice chest and three cases of beer in the back seat of the Zack's Nissan. He was quite pleased when he opened the lid to the ice-chest and found it full of ice cold beers. "Well, if you're done crushing little bugs, are you ready for a cold one?" Justin asked as he pulled two cans of beer from the ice-chest.

"Hell yeah!" Tommy replied.

"Here, catch," Justin said as he tossed his friend an ice cold can of beer.

Even though the gate was chained shut, there was plenty of room for a person to squeeze through the edge of the gate and get to the vacant lot. Tommy took a giant gulp of his beer and pushed on the gate. "Do you think the guys went in there?"

"Why the hell would they go in there?" Justin replied as he dug around the trash in the floorboard of the car. "Hey, man I found a flashlight."

"I think we should go in there and look for them." Tommy said with a slight worried tone to his voice.

"Are you crazy? Don't you see that damn "Danger KEEP OUT" sign. There is probably a toxic waste dump in there or something," Justin said as he grabbed his and Tommy's gym bags and walked over to the gate where Tommy was standing. "We will just chill and down some brews while we wait on those guys to show up. Take a load off." Justin threw the gym bags on the ground and then sat down using his gym bag as a back-rest. Tommy promptly sat down next to him.

* * *

"Oh my God, they're freakin giants," Joe screamed in fear and shock as his gargantuan friends came into sight. "We've got to get out of here."

"Thats just Justin and Tommy you numb skull," Zack said in an effort to calm Joe down. "But, man, they are whoppers, ain't they?"

The ground beneath them shook and both Zack and Joe stood awe-struck as they watched Tommy walk over to the fence. Each step their mountainous friend took felt like an earthquake to tiny Zack and Joe. Zack stretched his neck and looked up at his enormous friend. "He must be over 800 feet tall! Come on Joe, help me get his attention."

Just then Tommy stomped one of his mammoth cleats on the ground, creating a ground shaking event that knocked Joe and Zack on their butts.

"I'm not going anywhere near that monster!" Joe exclaimed in a panic as he stood up and pondered an escape route from this nightmare. "Look at his freakin feet. If we go near him, we might get stepped on by those horrible things.

Zack was unnerved by the incredible size of Tommy and the thought of being anywhere near those massive shoes of his made him quite uneasy, but he knew the consequences of inaction.

"So you want to just stay out here and get eaten by a rat or something," Zack tried to reason with Joe. "Our only hope is to make contact with Tommy and Justin and get them to help us."

"Oh no, he's coming inside," Joe screamed in a panic as he watched giant Tommy push on the gate and almost start to squeeze inside. "Run, he'll crush both of us!"

Joe started to calm down as he realized Tommy had no intentions of venturing inside the gate just yet. But his heart started pumping faster as he watched Justin walk over to where Tommy was standing. "Oh, God, now we have two giants to deal with!"

"They are our friends, Joe," Zack pleaded, just as he was shook to the bone as Justin tossed his gym bag on the ground. "Let's go over there and try to get their attention."

"No way!" Joe replied. "They are giants, and we are just bugs to them. And you know what giants do to bugs don't you?"

Zack noticed that Tommy and Justin had sat down next to the fence to drink some beers.

"You can wait here, you scaredy cat," Zack told Joe, oblivious to the jet sized dragonfly that had spotted him from high overhead. "I'm going to go get some help from our friends."

As Joe stood and watched Zack walk towards their two colossal friends, he noticed a spooky shadow descend rapidly towards Zack.

"Zack, watch out!" Joe screamed at the top of his lungs as he witnessed the mammoth flying monster swoop down and grab his bug-sized friend. "Nooooooooooooooooooooooh!"

Part Six

Joe watched in horror as the huge winged insect scooped up his tiny friend in its scaly legs. The six legs formed quite an efficient snare for tiny prey.

The insect's wings buzzed as the insect, with a body that looked 48 feet long, ascended aloft in the dark.

"Joe! Help me!" Zack cried as loudly as he could.

Joe stood in shock. He was almost more frightened at the prospect of being left alone than the fact that his friend was about to become a snack for a giant insect.

Finally, he broke free of his fear-induced paralysis and began to chase after the insect.

The dragonfly's erratic flight took it right through the fence and into the wide territory beyond.

Joe halted again at the boundary that separated him from his two colossal friends and their enormous feet.

"Zack! Are you all right? Zack! Answer me!" Joe shouted.

When he got no reply, Joe made the decision. He walked under the fence and started into the open. He looked up just in time to see the insect begin to fly back down in a steep descent.

"Zack!" Joe shouted. "Zack!"

* * *

Zack had tried to break free from the grasp of the dragonfly's scaly legs, but with no luck. The insect's mouthparts clicked and grinded close to his head and shoulders.

Suddenly, the blur of motion seemed to stop. The insect was at rest. Unfortunately, that meant it could give its tiny captured prey its undivided attention.

"Hell! Will you look at that?"

Zack recognized Justin's loud voice. "Justin! Help me! Please, Justin! Help!"

Justin and Tommy stared down at the dragonfly that had alighted on top of Justin's gym bag.

"What the hell is it anyway?" Tommy wondered aloud.

"Some kind of bug," Justin commented.

The dragonfly was trying to use its legs to work tiny Zack closer to its sharp-edged mouthparts.

"Guys! Help me! Can't you hear me?" Zack screamed.

Tommy had finished his first beer. Lazily, he drew his hand back and tossed the empty can toward the dragonfly.

* * *

The awful insect kept clicking its razor-sharp mouthparts together. Suddenly, something impacted with a thud. The startled insect released Zack from its grasp and took back into the air.

Zack, also startled, felt himself sliding over a vast landscape. Below him, he saw a cavernous opening...a side pocket on Justin's gym bag.

He tried to desperately scramble back up the side of the bag, but he could gain no traction and plunged down into the deep prison of the pocket.

* * *

Poor Joe witnessed the entire scene. Reluctant to approach too closely, his little shouts for attention went unheard by his titanic friends.

And then, he saw Tommy hurl that giant can through the air. Joe had screamed until he saw the can was going to miss him.

The can plunged down almost on top of the dragonfly. Joe saw the huge winged insect take flight again and vanish into the darkness.

"No! Zack!" Joe cried, convinced the chance to save his friend from the insect's clutches had been lost.

And then, to his horror, the giants moved.

* * *

"I'm tired of waiting out here with these bugs," Tommy announced, standing and stretching his lanky body. "Let's take Zack's car and go. Those two clowns can find their own way home."

Justin shined the flashlight beneath his face. "Why? You scared of the dark, man?"

"No," Tommy replied. "But this is boring."

"Chill out and grab another beer."

Justin shined the flashlight beam across the ground.

* * *

Joe sank to his knees as Tommy's enormous cleats stomped down thunderously all around him.

"No! No! Please, don't step on me," the tiny man cried.

Suddenly, an enormous baseball cleat lifted and hovered directly overhead.

Joe screamed, "NOOOH!"

Part Seven

Tommy stood up and awkwardly stretched his arms and jostled around in the loose gravel a bit to regain his composure. Downing his first beer so quickly gave him a slight buzz. He was completely unaware that his friend Joe was cowering in complete terror down on the ground just under one of his massive baseball cleats. His gigantic shoe forcefully pounded the gravel with a loud crunching noise as he returned to the car to grab a couple more beers for himself and Justin.

All Joe could do was scream in terror as the colossal black mass from above descended rapidly on top of him. He was sure that in a split second, his tiny body would be pulverized under the gargantuan baseball cleat of his friend Tommy.

As Tommy's baseball shoe descended upon Joe, it created a gush of air between it and the ground that sent tiny Joe hurtling though the air just before it landed and crushed the gravel beneath it with a hair-raising crunching noise. As Tommy walked away, Joe found himself slipping into the shoe-print left by his friend's powerful foot.

Just happy to be alive, Joe made his way out of the shoe-print and and took a deep breath. His adrenaline raced as he looked over at the giant he knew as Justin, sitting drinking a beer with his massive legs spread out, and titanic shoes pointing high in the air. Joe knew he only had seconds before Tommy and the danger of being crushed by his giant shoes would return. He made a decision and began running toward the hulking Justin.

Joe ran until he was exhausted. Even small distances seemed so far for the extremely tiny young man. He walked up to one of Justin's mammoth legs and looked up at his intimidating friend. A devoted college athlete, Justin's physique was impressive. To Joe, he appeared as some sort of colossal God, instead of one of his drinking buddies. Joe noticed one of Justin's enormous hands resting on the ground and decided to cautiously approach the monstrosity.

Joe walked right up to one of Justin's gigantic fingers and reached out to touch it. Justin was preoccupied with talking to Tommy, who had returned from the car with more beers. Joe was mesmerized by the sheer size of Justin's hand. Without considering the consequences, Joe decided to crawl up into Justin's huge palm and try to get his attention. Just as he was about to climb one of Justin's monster-sized fingers, he was startled when someone called out his name.

"Hey Joe!" Zack called out from the edge of the gym bag pocket high above. After gagging on the nauseating foul smell of dirty, sweaty baseball gear seeping through the gym-bag, Zack had used all his strength to climb to the top of the side pocket and was precariously holding on to the edge when he looked down and noticed Joe next to Justin's monstrous hand. "What are you doing?"

"Oh Zack, you're alive! I thought your were a goner," Joe said with excitement and relief. "I am going to try and get Justin's attention."

"Man, I don't think that is a good idea at all," Zack yelled down at his shrunken buddy. "It's so dark out here, he might think you're a bug or something. Why don't you climb up here where I am."

"I don't think I can climb up there," Joe yelled up at Zack as he made his way over to the base of the gigantic gym-bag. "Why don't you come down here?"

"You can make it Joe," Zack tried to give Joe some confidence. "And if we are in the gym-bag, we can ride out of here with Tommy and Justin when they leave. So we won't be stranded in this God-awful place."

"Okay man, here I come," Joe said as he reluctantly began climbing the titanic gym-bag. "This is just beyond crazy."

About halfway up the gym-bag, Joe's climb was interrupted by powerful vibrations. He held on for dear life. Justin and Tommy were startled when a large pick-up drove up. A tall, husky man emerged from the truck and walked up to the young men.

"You kids shouldn't be out here," the man warned. "This is a very dangerous area!"

"We are just chillin out waiting on our friends," Tommy informed the man. "We ain't hurtin nothing."

"I'm serious. You guys pack it up now and take off or I'm calling the cops," the man said in a very serious tone. "This is not a good place to hang out."

"Okay, okay man, we're going," Justin replied as he shifted and reached over to grab his gym-bag. "Oh crap, there's a bug trying to crawl into my gym-bag."

Justin effortlessly swatted off his gym-bag what he thought was a tiny bug. Had he noticed where the bug had landed, he would have stomped it.

Justin was oblivious to the miniature screams of Zack and Joe as his massive hand sent Joe hurtling through the air. Luckily, Joe landed on a soft piece of moss next to a discarded beer can. Justin grabbed the gym-bag, causing tiny Zack to plummet back down into the deep dark, and foul smelling side pocket, unaware of the fate of his friend Joe.

"Well, I doubt the bug would live long in your gym bag," Tommy joked as he grabbed his own gym-bag. "I can even smell that nasty thing over here."

The man sneered unamused as he watched the two college guys walk back to their car. He then began walking over to where Joe had landed.

Just as Joe regained some composure from his terrifying flight through the air, he looked up in total horror as gigantic work-boots stomped their way in his direction. In a panic, he ran into the discarded beer can and trembled as the world around him shook. And then silence, followed by a horrible crunching noise. Joe feared he had made a ghastly mistake when he realized the giant was slowing crushing the aluminum can with his massive boot. As the can was compacted, Joe's faint screams went unnoticed by the giant.

Just as Joe thought the end was upon him, the crushing stopped. And the can was lifted high into the air. Joe was alive, but had no idea why or what was happening to him.

"And you kids take your trash with you," the man barked as he threw the half crushed can in their direction. Tommy caught the can in the air and threw it in the back seat of the car with all the other trash. The gruff man watched as the guys drove off. Zack lay exhausted in the side pocket of Justin's gym-bag, and Joe lay in the half-crushed beer can, passed out from the recent commotion.

"Let's go back to my apartment and call some friends," Tommy suggested to Justin. "Zack has my cell phone number. I'm sure those clowns will show up sooner or later."

"Sounds like a plan," Justin agreed as he turned and looked in the back seat at all the beer and smiled.

Part Eight

Tiny Joe could feel a steady, rumbling vibration from the car's engine as Tommy and Justin drove away from the abandoned lot.

Although his body felt bruised and ached in more than a dozen locations, tiny Joe knew he had been fortunate. He had almost been crushed inside the empty beer can that he was still inside. And he didn't like to think of how close and how often he had almost been stomped on.

He felt frustrated, too, that his reunion with Zack, shrunken like himself by the same strange substance they had encountered in the old lot, had been cut short. And because Justin had seen him and mistaken him for a bug.

He flashed back to the sight of massive Justin. In his colossal friend's enormous shadow, Joe had felt like a bug.

The tiny man curled up inside the half-crushed beer can and waited for the ride to end.

* * *

Zack tried to get comfortable in the pocket of Justin's gym bag. But the awful smell from his friend's sweaty clothes stung his eyes and filled his nostrils.

And he felt horrified by poor Joe's fate. His friend had been so close to joining him when Justin's huge hand had reached down and swatted Joe off the side of the gym bag.

Justin had thought Joe was a bug.

And, Zack realized, he would have to be careful or Justin or other giants would also mistake him for a bug.

The sight of Justin's enormous hand continued to haunt him. Justin hadn't expended any effort to swipe away tiny Joe like...like a bug.

Would that same huge hand eventually do the same to Zack?

He hoped Joe would be safe, but he didn't feel optimistic. They should have concentrated harder on staying together. One little guy alone didn't stand much of a chance in such a huge, dangerous world.

* * *

Tommy and Justin arrived at Tommy's apartment. The car's engine turned off, and the vibrations stopped. Both Joe and Zack, from their separate locations, became instantly alert.

Justin grabbed his gym bag. Zack felt a lurching motion as the bag swung through the air in Justin's huge hand. Zack looked up from the bottom of the pocket chamber on the side of the bag and saw his friend's huge upper body and head. Now was not the right moment, but soon he would have to take a chance at making contact with his titanic friend.

"I'm gonna toss some of this trash in the dumpster in the alley," Tommy said. He started to grab up some of the litter in the car's back seat.

Joe watched from inside the nearly crushed beer can. He saw Tommy's hand approach. "Tommy! Hey! Help me!" The tiny man yelled as loudly as he could.

But Tommy grabbed up the can and some other trash in one fist. His huge baseball cleats stomped over the asphalt as he walked toward a towering dumpster in the alley.

"No! What are you doing?" Joe screamed in terror. "Don't throw me in the trash! Help!"

The lurching motion knocked Joe off his feet. He tried to scramble back toward the can's open tab. But the ground was so fearfully far below.

But Tommy was now almost within reach of the huge, rust-covered dumpster.

Joe tried to decide whether he should risk a jump to possible safety before Tommy trashed him.

Part Nine

Joe slid back and forth within the boot-crunched beer can, screaming out for Tommy to hear him. Joe knew all too well that if Tommy tossed him into the dumpster, he would never survive. At his meager size, he would probably become a snack for some horrible creature. Joe tried to block out the memory of Zack's near demise from the clutches of the monster-sized dragonfly, but he could not.

Through the can's opening, Joe was horrified as he saw the foreboding opening to the dumpster rapidly approaching him. His friend Tommy, now an all-powerful giant, was about to dispose of him as trash. As Tommy lifted his handful of trash to the dumpster's open door, the beer can that held tiny Joe was tilted and Joe found himself sliding towards the open tab of the beer can. It was now or never. Joe mustered all his strength and courage, and jumped from the can.

* * *

Zack felt like throwing up as Justin lifted the gym-bag quickly into the air and carried it away with him. Zack looked up from within the side pocket of the gym-bag and saw Justin's face for just a split second. He yelled out for his friend, but then the gym-bag lurched again. Justin headed for the stairs that led to Tommy's second floor apartment.

"Hurry up slow-poke," Justin yelled to Tommy. "Stop worrying about the damn trash. Let's get the beer carried up to the apartment."

"Get J.T. and Dillon to help," Tommy yelled back. "They should be hanging out in the apartment."

Justin lugged the baseball gear into the apartment and found Tommy's roommates sitting on the floor in front of a big screen television playing some sort of fighting game on the X-box.

"Hey look, the baseball boys are home," Dillon greeted Justin mockingly. "I hope you guys bought plenty of beer."

"We've got a load of beer in the car," Justin replied as he threw his baseball cap at Dillon. "How about some help carrying it all up here?"

"No problem," J.T. said as he jumped up and hustled to the car. "Did you guys win tonight?"

J.T. rushed by Justin without waiting for an answer. He really didn't care anyway. J.T. cared nothing for baseball, but he would fake a faint interest just to make his friends happy. Dillon followed J.T. to the car while Justin threw the gym-bags in a corner of Tommy's room. Justin then kicked off his baseball cleats and set them next to his gym-bag. He proceeded to jump on the worn out but comfortable couch in the living room and waited for the guys to return with the beer.

* * *

Joe screamed as he fell like a sky-diver from the aluminum prison of the beer can. Fearing certain death from the incredible fall, Joe was surprised when he landed on something soft and blue. But then he fought to hang on as he began sliding down the blue material, and into some sort of cavernous opening. When he came to a stop, Joe realized he was secure within the front shirt pocket of his gigantic friend Tommy. As he looked up at his intimidating giant friend from within the pocket, Joe decided it would be in his best interest to be very still and quiet for the moment. He was petrified of what his colossal friend might do if he felt something moving around in his shirt pocket. He was still emotionally terrorized from the encounter with Justin's powerful jumbo-sized hand. Joe's dread changed to a morbid fascination when he realized he could hear and feel Tommy's mammoth heartbeat. Suddenly, he felt safe, if only for the moment.

"Come help us with the beer," Dillon said to Tommy as he approached the car. "Why are you guys driving Zack's car?"

"It's a long story," Tommy replied with a sigh as he reached for one of the cases of beer. "I think Zack and Joe will end up here sometime tonight. Those guys are probably up to something if you ask me."

"Try down here in your pocket, you freaking giant," Joe thought to himself and laughed at the surreal circumstances he found himself in. "You guys go ahead, don't mind me. I'll just hang out in here for a while."

* * *

Zack really needed to get out of the putrid smelling gym-bag. Tiny Zack crawled up the side pocket and was awe-struck as he looked out into the vast expanse of Tommy's bedroom. From the open door that led to the living room, all Zack saw were two gargantuan white socked feet resting on the edge of the couch. He had always joked about how big Justin's feet were, but now they appeared frightfully large, even from a room away. Zack knew he had to keep his distance from those monsters.

Zack was startled when he looked down and saw Justin's enormous baseball cleats sitting next to the gym-bag. All he could do was stare at the massive building like shoes for several minutes. Then Zack began the daunting task of climbing down the enormous gym-bag, careful to avoid the colossal sized baseball shoes at any cost. Zack had no intention of falling into the vast, deep cavern of one of those whopping things. He knew there would be no exit. Zack continued his very careful climb down the enormous gym-bag.

Part Ten

Tommy began to relax on the comfortable sofa, as he talked with his friends, J.T. and Dillon. He reclined on the sofa cushions and enjoyed another can of beer.

"So, where's Joe?" J.T. asked.

"I don't know," Tommy answered. "He and Zack just disappeared. They were supposed to meet us after the game."

"Too bad," J.T. said.

* * *

With Tommy's body reclining at an angle on the sofa cushion, Joe found it possible to climb from the depths of his friend's shirt pocket. But he was slightly hesitant about exposing his tiny body to possible scrutiny by his giant friends. What if they mistook him for some kind of bug? A casual swipe of a hand could mean disaster for shrunken Joe.

* * *

At the same time, in the much quieter bedroom, Zack was trying to make his way off the enormous gym-bag and onto the carpeted floor.

He wasn't quite certain what he would do once he was free to roam through his friends' apartment. He could approach Justin — and those enormous socked white feet — and seek some assistance. Surely, now that he was in a well-lit apartment, he could contact his giant friends and get them to help him.

Maybe there would still be time for one of his giant friends to go back to the parking lot and search for Joe. Zack hoped his friend, who had also had the misfortune of being shrunk to the size of a bug, was still all right.

He had no way of knowing that Joe hadn't been left behind at the old lot.

* * *

In the living room, J.T. indulged in one of his favorite activities — getting on the nerves of his friends. The slim blond guy's green eyes sparkled as he looked across the room at his much larger, more muscular friend.

"Whoa, Justin!" J.T. said. "Maybe you should change those socks, you think? That's a damn strong foot odor."

Justin, trying to watch television, scowled. "Lay off," he snapped. "I can't hear."

J.T. nudged Dillon. "We may have to open a window for some fresh air," he said.

Dillon laughed, and Justin scowled again, but he got to his feet. "Fine," he grumbled.

Justin walked toward his bedroom to fetch a fresh pair of socks.

* * *

Tommy was the only guy not to get involved in the exchange over Justin's smelly socked feet. He was relaxing, completely unaware of his tiny friend Joe peering from the edge of his pocket.

His stomach rumbled. "Hey, there any chips or something to eat?"

"Yeah," Dillon told him. "There's plenty of stuff in the kitchen, so just get off your butt and get something."

* * *

Zack had almost descended halfway to the floor from the gym-bag when Justin's enormous socked feet stomped back into the room. Zack, completely alarmed by the sudden arrival of the giant, lost his balance and fell.

He fell right into one of Justin's enormous baseball cleats.

"No!" Zack screamed when he realized how he had tumbled into his worst nightmare. The stench in the baseball cleat was unbelievable.

He tried to look for Justin. He could hear Justin moving around in the bedroom.

Suddenly, he saw Justin looming overhead. He had something in his hands. Something that he let fall — right into the baseball cleat.

* * *

Justin had changed into some fresh socks. He simply dumped the sweat-soaked socks directly into his baseball cleats on the floor next to his gym-bag.

As Justin emerged from the bedroom, he nearly bumped into Tommy, who was returning from the kitchen with a bag of chips and a bowl of hot salsa.

"Mmm, snacks!" Justin said.