He knew- he knew about her all this time?! Fear washed over her – was this a trap? She took a stumbling step back, eyes shooting towards the edge of the desk where her string and clip still hung, beckoning her to safety. But she wouldn't be able to make it in time, especially not now with her injured arm – he could cross the distance and pluck her off the string in a heartbeat. Her chest clenched at the idea of those huge hands crushing around her, and spots grew in her vision, either from fear or the headache or both.
Flight instinct took over despite the impossibility of escape, and Liv jolted forward to make a run for the edge. But suddenly everything was hazy, and with the sudden dizzy spell she found herself tripping over a large erasure and crashing to the table.
Liv heard him swear as he saw her fall, and as the table shook from the quickened, thudding steps coming towards her, she could only feebly push herself up to her knees. Big, brown eyes met hers from where he was now kneeling in front of the desk, all the humor gone from them now as she felt him assessing all four inches of her.
Any slimmer of hope to escape was gone, and Liv was left feeling completely empty as she sat before this giant who still towered above her despite the kneeling. A giant who had known about her here all along, who had probably been tracking her for who knew how long when she thought she had been taking things without leaving a trace. Liv clenched her bag tight and broke eye contact, unable to hold the gaze of someone so large without shaking. She saw how easily he could cut open human bodies, and couldn't help the gruesome thought of how she would look splayed out on the same table as he dissected her own small body.
"Sorry, I didn't really think that through," he sheepishly spoke up again, voice mercifully hushed now; she didn't think she could handle anything louder as her head pulsed in time with the pulsing pain in her arm. "With the surprise lights and all. I was going for a dramatic entrance but…Are you okay?"
Liv looked back into the doctor's eyes with surprise. He seemed genuinely concerned. A tiny glimmer of hope flickered in the back of her mind, one that wondered if this man would actually help her. That she wouldn't have to be alone anymore. Hesitantly, she raised the sleeve of her jacket to showcase the nasty cut stretching from her elbow to shoulder; she saw his eyes widen as he caught sight of it. "I," she cleared her throat once she noticed him lean in slightly from her soft voice, and tried again a little louder, "I was looking for antiseptic wipes." Her heart felt like it was going to burst as she waited for his response.
His eyebrows shot up and his eyes darted to the side where they had been last. "Oh the wipes. I moved them back out there," he shot up to his full, tall height, a movement that was natural for him but so sudden and frightening to Liv when something the size of a skyscraper was moving around. She flinched back as his shadow fell over her, and he paused, realizing what just happened, and took a self-conscious step back so he wasn't towering so much over her, and the tension in her shoulders visibly lessened a fraction. "Right. I'll go get one then." He moved towards the door before stopping to look back at her. "I'll be right back with it- alright?" he said hesitantly, as if expecting her to vanish as soon as he left.
And Liv realized that maybe he was as in need of someone else as she was.
That thought calmed the frightened part of her brain, the survival instinct that screamed at her to run and get away from something that posed an enormous threat to her just from sheer size alone, and she gave him a little nod of confirmation.
A nod he must've seen, because a small smile played on his lips as he turned to leave. The sound of drawers being opened filled the quiet morgue as Liv sat on the giant desk to assess the situation she had gotten herself into.
Soon he returned with the promised square packaged antiseptic wipe, and though Liv had been expecting him, she still couldn't help a small flinch as he filled the doorway and crossed the expanse between them in a few seconds. He knelt back down in front of her and ripped open the package with unconscious ease, where it would have taken Liv a little more extra strength.
"I'm Ravi by the way," the doctor said as he pulled the wet wipe free and folded it back into a small square. He said it in a nonchalant way, as if afraid to push her into talking, and she knew from overhearing countless conversations that he was trying his best not to ramble on in the way he tended to do.
She watched his movements carefully. "Liv," she offered in return.
The smile grew on his face and he beamed down at her. "Nice to formally meet you, Liv. I like that you keep it under sixteen syllables, it gives us a nice flow. Let me see what I can do with this nasty cut," Ravi moved closer, eyeing the slice on her arm before the hand holding the antiseptic wipe moved towards her.
Liv couldn't stop a gasp as she jerked back, the fog of exhaustion lifting with the sudden shock of that giant hand coming at her. A hand bigger than her, one that could easily enclose her in a fist. Though she had dealt with the outcome of the boat party with witnessing everything towering above her, she had completely avoided getting close to anyone, and with this new encounter came the shock of realizing exactly how small she had become. "Wait!" she shouted before the hand could reach her, heart pounding again as she scrambled backward to sit on the erasure.
Ravi's hand froze.
"You're alright," he quiet, calm voice, keeping as still as possible as Liv eyed him again. "That was a little abrupt of me…" His hand retreated hesitantly. "Would you like me to take care of your scratch, or would you prefer to? I'm used to doing the work myself – it'd be a little weird if one of the bodies on the table moved to help." He gave a little huff of laughter that gently blew the short hair around Liv's face. "Right, anyway, I am totally willing to help and I can tell you're completely exhausted - but if you're feeling up to it then go for it."
Liv paused, a little surprised that he was actually waiting for her answer. She had expected being treated like an interesting science experiment if she had ever gotten caught, not as a person. But the doctor- Ravi - was talking to her the way someone normally would five months ago when she had been the right size. She looked down at her arm with a frown as the pounding in her head started back up again and made her feel dizzy. Cleaning it would definitely hurt – there was no doubt about that, but having someone with fingers outsizing her working on her delicate arm frightened her, if he was too rough there was a risk he could easily break it. But she felt so weak she wasn't entirely sure she would be able to do it correctly by herself…
Steeling hers nerves, Liv looked back up into Ravi's deep brown eyes where he watched her as still as possible while waiting for her response. She couldn't explain why, but she felt deep down that he was safe. "It's okay…You can do it- but, please be careful."
Ravi gave her a serious nod, looking a little surprised that she agreed to let him do it. "You don't need to worry," he replied, eyes zeroing back in on the deep scratch down her forearm.
His hand approached again, steady and slowly, then finally he gently wiped down the expanse of the cut. Liv bit her lip to keep from gasping at the sting of the medicine and the insanity of staring at those huge fingers.
"How long have you suspected?" Liv asked, mostly to keep her mind off how close he was to her. He had leaned over the desk and she could feel his warm breath wash over her in soft waves while his body blocked out the view of the room. There was no way she would ever get used to this.
Ravi's eyes lit up with excitement even as he continued carefully concentrating on her arm. "I had my suspicions the night of the boat party. I was on duty that night to look at the bodies of the crazy drug dealers, right? A lot of the party goers were upset from the carnage that broke out from the fight but they were fine, while the rest had all disappeared, just vanished without a trace! There was only about five people dead from the shootings so they in no way accounted for everyone missing. There were weird things going on that no one else was even willing to discuss. Some of the other people said maybe you all got on another boat for some reason, which is entirely ridiculous. Then I saw you about a month ago on the cameras, sneaking out to get food. I'll admit I was a little surprised but then I went back to look at the tape the day the body bags arrived from the night of the boat party and low and behold, since I was looking for you, I saw you slip right out of the bag and shimmy down the table when I wasn't looking." His hand retreated and he leaned back a bit, a huge smile forming on his face as he unconsciously ran the other hand over his closely trimmed beard. "Which I give you mad props for by the way, getting down using the table legs like a giant fireman's pole – very clever and very dare devilish of you."
Liv frowned at his words, "So you've known I was here for a whole month?"
Ravi looked a little sheepish. "Well, yeah. I wanted to talk to you right away but I thought you would be too upset or frightened and there never proved to be an opportunity, so I decided to wait for the right moment. But I do admit to 'accidentally' leaving food and water out for you to find."
Liv shook her head, "How have you been so normal to me?" she couldn't help but blurt out. He was talking like it was nothing to come across a four-inch-tall person on your desk.
"What am I supposed to be?" Ravi said with a brushed- off laugh.
"Freaked out, and getting ready to do crazy science experiments or something." Liv watched the humor leave his eyes as she said this, his head cocking to the side as if something like that had never even crossed his mind. "I've been terrified of someone finding out about me for months and you're acting like getting shrunk is an every-day occurrence. You're the only one who knows about me."
His eyebrows raised, "That must be hard. Y'know - dealing with this on your own." He leaned forward to prop his chin on his hand in thought. Then he perked up suddenly, "Like I said earlier, I have so many questions if you don't mind my asking. It's so fascinating that you remained exactly the same but scaled down to a smaller size," he shook his head with a smile as he put the swab back in the ripped package to throw away. "I mean, I can imagine the extreme difference would cause someone to freak out entirely since everything is so large all of a sudden but you can see more details in everything at your size right? That you didn't get to see before?"
Liv blinked, a little caught off guard by the quick subject change. "Yes, I can."
"Amazing. Oh! You probably need a bandage or something I'll be right back!" He scooted away from the desk this time before standing up, giving her a quick wave as he left the room again.
A small smile tugged at the corners of her lips. She had been alone for so long; talking to someone, no matter how incredibly large he was, helped her feel like she wasn't trapped in some hellish dimension. Helped her feel more human.
She let the strap of her purse slide down her arm and rest beside the erasure she was sitting on. The stinging from the medicine had faded and the angry burning from the infected cut felt cooler now, but she still felt sick. Ravi was right, she was completely exhausted. She hadn't slept well for a while, loud bumps outside of the walls jolted her awake in fear and the pain in her arm kept her from slipping off to peaceful sleep. Liv sighed and rested her head on her knees. Just to close her eyes for a little bit.