Dust (Patreon)

"I quit. I'm fucking done. Find someone else to sell those ugly rags during a goddamn pandemic. I'm not shrinking so some rich asshole can get richer on my back." Lex said triumphantly as she slapped her resignation letter on her manager's desk. Under her mask, the young woman was beaming, proud to finally stick it to the Man. Or in this case, Jeff.

"Okay, Alexandra..." Jeff monotonously replied, his eyes stuck to the monitor in front of him displaying a completely empty sheet. "Good luck out there..." he finally continued after what felt like an eternity. Lex hated the guy. Even now she could see the faint trace of a creepy smile on his unmasked face as he fared her well in the most disingenuous way. She shivered at the thought of what a loser like him would do if she shrunk now.

Without another word, Lex turned around, grabbed her helmet and left the apparel shop by the back. As the heavy door clicked shut behind her, the young woman sighed in relief. The shrinking virus had been raging all around the world for over two years and didn't show signs of stopping. After witnessing how society had come to accept the virus' victims as mere statistics, Lex's willingness to risk her life for a meager amount of cash selling t-shirts to dumb teens came to an end. While she didn't actually have much sympathy for the "shrinkies" - as most people referred to them - the idea of becoming one herself was terrifying.

Reaching her parked bike, Lex removed the sweaty mask off her face, lit a cigarette and took a long drag. "Fucking hell..." she whispered to herself in the silence of the back alley. The young woman grabbed her phone and unlocked it.

"Just quit. Drinks at yours?" Lex typed with her left thumb on the broken glass. Another long drag later, the chime interrupted her short-lived reverie.

"Home in 15. Grab food. I'm getting bottles." the text notification flashed.

"Cool. See u" Lex replied before opening her social media apps. 

Scrolling through her feeds, photos and videos popped for a few seconds before disappearing forever. Most of the posts had the same topic. Close friends and celebrities alike showed their latest interactions with shrinkies. Experts shared their opinions on what the future held. The news, as always, promised unmissable news in 15 minutes. 

Taking another drag of her mostly consumed cigarette, Lex stopped scrolling. The video featured a shot glass filled to the brim with cheap vodka. In it, floated a dozen microscopic folks. Lex felt a shiver run over her skin and a hint of wetness between her legs as the hot blonde filming herself downed the shot in one gulp.

"Fucking hell..." Lex repeated to herself, letting the cigarette butt slip from between her slender fingers. She giggled at the irony of the blonde brat bragging about downing shrinkies while hanging in a club unmasked.

Checking the time, Lex put the key in her bike and turned it on. The engine roared to life blowing the weed and trash behind it. Another notification popped on the screen.

"You'll never guess who got the virus right in front of me. Be home in 10." Lex smirked as her ankle boot crashed on the still smoking cigarette to snuff it out. Her foot twisted twice before rising above the bike and setting on the foot peg. The engine roared twice and the motorcycle launched through the dirty back alley for the last time.

The only thing worth Lex's attention today was yet to come...

A bit of unaware for a change! I've been wanting to make something related to the shrinking virus for a while. While I love shrink rays and characters who can simply snap their fingers to shrink people, the virus idea remains a very strong contender in my favorite ways to reduce people's size. What's more, it comes with a lot of societal implications that are just incredible to explore in a size context. 

As always, I hope you enjoy this new piece! Lots of details in this one so make sure to zoom in :D