A/N

Thanks to Christine and mckydstarlight for the wonderful reviews! Things are getting better!


The silence after Sam's statement felt like the room filled with water. It was a suffocating, heavy silence that made it easy for Jacob to hear his own heartbeat.

It's been five days. I was attacked. Did he just say ...?!

"What?" Jacob's voice, though low out of nerves and confusion, shattered the silence all the same. He let out a breath like he'd had it knocked from his lungs by a surprise impact. Sam couldn't be telling the truth. There was just no way. People didn't just suddenly shrink to under four inches tall. Sam was crazy and Jacob was alone in the room with a crazy person. That was all there was to it.

"You think you're a laugh riot, don't you?" Jacob asked, his voice wound up tight with a growing fear of the man who just told him he was miniaturized. "That or you're insane."

With short, halting movements, Jacob got to his feet, sticking close to the wall as he sidled away from Sam. Now that he was standing, Jacob realized that Sam was very tall. Well over six feet tall, just on first glance. Jacob, only fourteen, still had a lot of growing to do despite being tall for his age.

Some gigantic guy with a hook had "found" Jacob after his attack and brought him to this weird basement place. His life was turning into the kind of story that got people's faces on milk cartons. Fear crept into every break in his armor and flooded into his senses. Jacob hardly dared blink.

If this "Sam" was some kind of kidnapper, Jacob was in serious trouble. The man was clearly well built, and had enough confidence that Jacob wasn't going anywhere that he hadn't even bothered securing the room. There were a million things they told kids Jacob's age about how to avoid some creep taking them. Jacob was completely blank on what to do when he was already taken, and to what could be anywhere.

His imagination running wild and his pulse quickening, Jacob didn't want to spend another second stuck in the same room. He glanced around once more, finding the curtain in the doorway. Jacob dashed for it, adrenaline encouraging him forward and into the other room, away from Sam.

He only made it a few steps before freezing in his tracks. The unsettling sense of wrongness permeated this new room even more than the previous, if that was possible. Unlike the other room, which housed a normal-looking bed and desk and chair, this one had almost nothing so familiar. There was a bucket that looked like a thimble - a thimble the size of a bucket, and the walls were decorated with scraps of colorful fabric. Another scrap of fabric was laid over a block of wood to act as a counter.

A cheap table and plates with clumsily-printed patterns on them sat in the middle of the floor with more of those weird silvery cups. One wall appeared to be made of an enormous block of wood the thickness of an entire tree. A container in one corner, circular with a mostly-evenly cut rim, was full of a heap of clothes. Jacob saw all of this in more of those bars of hazy golden light because there wasn't a lamp of any kind in here either.

Jacob stiffened when he belatedly registered that he wasn't alone in the room.

Mallory glanced up from her place on their 'couch,' lowering her hands. Bright blue eyes stared out at the young teen as he burst from Sam's room. The fabric she held had just been cleaned, and she was working on breaking it down. Later, she'd be able to make new clothing for the teen they'd found. The poor boy didn't have anything more than the clothes on his back.

"Sam?" Mallory called out hesitantly as she saw her adopted son sidle out of the bedroom with a wary look, his satchel on his back. Sam never went anywhere without that bag, years of caution teaching him to be prepared for anything.

The look on the young teen's face was pure panic at the sight of the room around them. Mallory's heart went out to him, remembering that same reaction from Sam so many years ago.

Sam's face was unreadable. The memories of his own past were rushing back to him. Waking up in this same home ten years back… There hadn't even been any dollhouse furniture back then to soften the blow.

He put himself between Jacob and Mallory. It wasn't likely Jacob would try anything, but she was small. Barely three inches tall and willowy, there were times where she seemed as delicate as the golden wisps of hair that framed her face like a halo. She always claimed to like her boys tall, and Sam and Walt certainly fit the bill. Jacob might only stand a half inch shorter than Sam, but that put him much larger than her.

"Everything's alright, Mom," Sam said to Mallory. His eyes didn't leave Jacob's face. The rest of his words were directed towards the frightened teen. "It's a lot to take in, I know. Believe me, I know. Sometimes I wish I was crazy. Everything would be easier if I was." Sam's eyes were wide and expressive, an understanding expression on his face. "But I'm not joking, and I'm not crazy. Please. We just want to help."

Jacob couldn't help but notice that Sam had carried his bag out of the room with him. That hook hung at his side, the dangerous points as menacing as ever for their size. Jacob had no idea who the petite woman was or how she played into this whole thing, but she wasn't denying anything Sam said. Whatever all this was, she was in on it too.

Jacob could see things here and there in the room that would support Sam's claim. The thimble, the thick pieces of wood, and the thick cloth on the woman's lap all had a surreal level of detail. More than just ridiculous props in an elaborate ruse. Jacob could feel a small part of him fretting that it was all true.

And yet his brain wouldn't let him. It was impossible. Indeed, it was laughable that someone as big as Sam was trying to pass it off as true. Jacob shook his head and looked around for another way out. "No," he said, spotting a wooden block that was stacked up to block off someplace beyond. "You can't be telling the truth."

Without further words, Jacob bolted for the block. Adrenaline helped him shove the heavy thing away with greater ease than he expected, and he dashed out into the hall beyond.

His shoes, his completely normal shoes that definitely weren't made for someone less than four inches tall, immediately scraped in a layer of dust as he bolted away. His eyes were wide because out here, the world was even darker than in that strange place. Jacob had no idea how high up or how far around this bizarre hall reached, but he could only see a few feet in any direction before his eyes simply couldn't pick up anything beyond. Even that was a generous guess.

Something told him that the space stretched out farther than any warehouse he'd ever seen.

No, no, no, I am not tiny, it isn't true. I'm just freaking out and need to get out of here. Probably underground. That's it. I'm just underground and I've gotta find my way out.

Jacob's frantic reasoning drew him further into the dark, though he couldn't really see where he was going. He passed a huge wooden pillar and shortly afterwards tripped, disoriented by the height of it. His hands scraped on the ground, the stinging pain letting him know he was awake.

Jacob was back on his feet only half a second later. He didn't hear if anyone was following him, but then again he couldn't hear much of anything past his own panicked breathing. He had to find someplace brighter. He had to find a phone or something and call for help before something worse happened.


"Shit," Sam hissed as Jacob darted out their front 'door.' He twisted around to Mallory. "I'll get him back, don't worry."

Before she could answer, he was darting out the door. He stopped only to push the thick block against the opening to their house. It wasn't perfect, but it served their needs.

Nothing was perfect in his life anymore.

With the opening sealed behind him, he knew that Mallory would be safe while she waited. Walt would be back home soon, and if Sam and Jacob were missing by then, he'd track them down himself.

Sam darted off. Jacob wasn't difficult to track. The dust floating in the passage was disturbed by his flight. Fresh footsteps on the floor were visible in the gloomy light. Sam glanced around to make sure they were the only ones, then gave chase.

Up ahead, he could vaguely tell that Jacob had found the incline leading from their space under the floorboards and into the passages within the walls. Remembering Jacob's guess that they were in a basement, Sam added more speed and dashed after him. He couldn't let the kid get himself into trouble before he fully understood how much Sam wasn't lying.

Relatively long legs cleared the ground swiftly. Sam might only be four inches tall, but he was larger than Jacob. He'd spent years in this motel. He knew it as though it was his own backyard. A terrifyingly immense, dangerous backyard that had creatures his size or bigger lurking in the shadows. If he ventured beyond those shadows, there was the possibility of being captured by massive giants. People that could trap him with a single hand. Treat him like a toy, a pet.

People like Jacob, a few days ago. Sam had seen Jacob's huge shoes scrape over the ground, watching from under the dresser and almost holding his breath with the hope that Jacob wouldn't come searching for him. The tell-tale feeling of eyes on the back of Sam's neck let him know he'd been spotted in those panicked seconds.

But now Jacob was afraid, and in trouble, and Sam needed to help him, no matter what.

The fleeing figure of the teen came into sight. Sam's legs might only be two inches long, but they were more than long enough to catch up to the terrified kid.

Sam had to get him before he found an exit into the motel rooms beyond. Even running like this was dangerous. If humans heard their shuffling footsteps in the walls, it was more than possible they'd think there were rats or spiders crawling around and call the front desk to 'take care' of them.

"Jacob! Stop! I just want to help!" Sam managed to say when he was close enough. Even running and worried, he had to keep his voice down.

"No ..." Jacob managed to force out while he ran, putting most of his focus on simply getting away. It wasn't working. Sam was nearly apace with him. He knew the taller guy could grab him at any second, but fear and denial drove Jacob forward. He needed some answers, and not from some guy who carried around a giant hook.

There was a glimpse of light ahead.

An opening in the strange walls around them let in shining light that was almost blinding after so much time in the dim halls. Jacob raced for it. He despaired when it became clear that it was much too small of an opening for him to actually climb through, but maybe he could get some answers. Maybe he'd find something he could use to debunk Sam's crazy words and get him to let Jacob go home.

Jacob came to an ungraceful halt, his hands on either side of the opening. He leaned towards it and peered out, expecting to see some random countryside out of town or something. Maybe some hick farm or a glimpse of a highway far away or something to tell him that things were still normal.

His breathing all but stopped when he beheld what was really there. The opening was too small as it was, but a portion of the edge could be pushed aside to admit someone. Then the material thicker than his hand, the wallpaper, could be pushed back into place to hide the opening into the room.

The room where enormous beds loomed on either side of a massive nightstand. Where Jacob couldn't even see the ceiling from this angle because it was so high up. Where the shadow of what had to be the dresser kept the opening from easy view of any occupants. A window larger than several fields was letting in sunlight, and that was what leaked past the opening and into ...

"The walls," Jacob breathed. They were in the walls. Of a building. His hands shook as reality really sank in. The curtains on that massive window that he could barely see from there billowed in a breeze from an AC unit the size of a warehouse. That enormous tower of fabric would be heavy enough to crush a house if it fell.

Jacob turned his head to look at Sam, mortified by what he was seeing. Because it meant it was all true. He was so small now that he'd fit in someone's hand. A memory returned to him belatedly, dismissed at first as something too insignificant to dwell on. A tiny shape, diving under a dresser like the one out there, when he returned to his room.

He'd thought it was a mouse. Now, he wondered if he was looking at the real source of that fleeting shadow.

Sam.

Jacob's face was lit from the side, giving a half view of the shock on his face. There was a quiet kind of pleading in his expression, asking Sam to tell him it really was a joke. To tell him anything that meant the giant furniture outside that opening was just an elaborate ruse or an optical illusion.

Sam caught up at last, sadness permeating the air around him. Nothing he could say would make this better for Jacob. There were no words that would reassure him.

"I'm sorry," Sam said. "I would never wish this on anyone else."

The light fell across his own face. He came to a halt a few inches away from Jacob, ready to dart forward and grab the kid if he went to run into the room. The last thing either of them needed was a human added into the mix, and Sam didn't know if there was anyone staying in the room that day. It was better safe than sorry.

Sam sighed, blinking. "You're not the only one that this happened to," he said quietly. "I know how you feel."

Sam used to be bigger too?

Suddenly Sam's demeanor made more sense. Jacob was looking at a kindred spirit, someone who went through exactly what he was going through right now. His entire world had just shifted in a terrifying way, leaving him woefully unprepared for anything it might dish out. A bug could bruise him if it flew at him too fast.

And he's still here...

Sam had to have had a family before. Like Jacob had his mom. But Sam was still in the motel. A lot taller than Jacob, but still incredibly small compared to everything else. "H-how long?" Jacob asked, almost afraid to hear the answer. Something told him that Sam's demeanor was not promising. He was in this for the long haul.

Sam's hand tightened on his satchel. "I was ten," he said. "A lot younger than you. I barely knew what was happening. It was bright, there was a light… The last thing I saw was my brother, shouting for me. Our attacker held him back while she finished me off. And then nothing."

He stared up into the dark recesses of the walls. Closed, confining… He used to like the open air and exploring the outside world. Now, the mere thought of it terrified him. There were so many dangers that he'd never even dreamed of before lurking outside the walls. Even the dangers inside didn't bother him as much as the thought of being swept off the ground by a bird of prey. No humans would even bat an eye if they saw a hawk swoop down on him. He was so small. What else could he be aside from a rodent?

Sam let out a laugh as he looked back down. It was jaded and harsh compared to how he'd been once upon a time. His entire world had been ripped away, just like Jacob's had. "The woman you saw, Mallory… She and her husband saved me. My dad came back to the room. He got there in time to save Dean. Not me. Walt and Mallory got me away from the fight, before anyone stepped on me… I didn't wake up for over six days. And when I did…" Sam held out his arms.

"I guess what you see is what you get. My own family wouldn't recognize me anymore. My own brother would be dangerous." And that thought was the most painful of all.

Jacob clenched his own fists while the truth slapped him in the face with each word Sam spoke. The bitter, jaded feeling just oozed off the man now that the explanation was out there. Sam was ten ... That had to be at least a decade ago, judging by his apparent age now. Jacob, being fourteen, had had longer to be ... Human. Because I guess I'm not anymore, am I?

He glanced back at the opening to the room. He could see the bottom of one of the bedcovers, hanging over the side of the massive, hangar-sized furniture. It was right there, so familiar, and yet Jacob was a world apart now. Just like Sam.

Sam, whose family wouldn't recognize him. Jacob's heart hammered again. Would his mom recognize him? She wouldn't turn him away just because he was different now, would she?

"Uhm," he began quietly, unsure if he should speak again so soon after Sam laid bare his own thoughts on the matter. "Does that mean ... my mom ..."

Sam drummed his fingers on his strap. "I don't know," he admitted, answering the unspoken questions. There were so many. Would she recognize Jacob? Had she left the motel? What did she think happened to Jacob?

Sam shook his head, clearing out those thoughts along with the cobwebs. "I haven't left the house since we found you. I… wanted to make sure you'd be okay. Walt's been running out for supplies, but he wouldn't go near a room when he knew a human was in it. He's more cautious than me. For good reason."

He hesitated for a long moment. Walt and Mallory would want them to go back to their home as soon as possible. It wasn't safe for Jacob to be out in the open.

But there was a chance Jacob's mom was around.

There was no other choice.

"We can try and go back to your old room…" Sam offered. His hesitation was obvious. "I… wouldn't be able to go out in the open," near a human, "but if there's a chance you can find her before she leaves… I would have done the same to find Dean."

Jacob felt two conflicting emotions in his chest, practically tearing his heart apart. Part of him wanted to go back there immediately. Find out if his mom was still around and go see her. He could figure something out if he just went with his family.

The other half of him was terrified of what he'd find. Either she'd be there and she'd be colossal to him now, or she'd be gone, with no way to get in touch.

Morbid curiosity won out fairly quickly. "I gotta know," he said earnestly. He could tell Sam didn't want to go close to someone who still stood so tall. Years of ingrained instincts showed in the wary cast of Sam's face. Jacob could relate to it one hundred percent. He didn't even want to be near the giant furniture out there. His heart was pounding just thinking about it.

But he had to be sure.

"I just wanna see if she's still here," he added in a quieter voice. "I don't even know what I'd do if she was, but ... " Jacob clenched his jaw and tried to swallow the lump that appeared in his throat. His eyes stung. "She's all I have left."

Sam let himself offer Jacob a smile. "If she's there, we'll find her," he said confidently. "I know where the room is." He ducked his head down. "I was the one to get you out of sight once I saw what happened. I didn't want you to get hurt out there. All it takes is one simple wrong move to get injured, especially the size we are now."

He put a hand on Jacob's shoulder, gently guiding him away from the motel room. The wallpaper slipped closed, sealing their world off from view of the outside. The darkness closed in. Sam's eyes adjusted so he could see the towering depths of the 'corridor' they stood in. "But you have to stick close to me."

Sam swallowed dryly. "Believe it or not, this life isn't an easy one. It's dangerous to go out in the walls alone. Especially without a weapon or a way to get around. So if you want me to take you to her old room, you need to do what I say. I've had a few too many years to get used to this."

Jacob tried to keep his eyes on Sam's face, but the darkness inside the walls was so pervasive and complete it felt like it was pressing in on his eyes. He saw a tall silhouette and little more. He had to remind himself that in the grand scheme of things, Sam wasn't really that tall. He was small and vulnerable, and without the skills he had picked up, Jacob was even more so.

"I'll listen," he promised. The warnings about needing a weapon made Jacob suddenly realize how stupid it was of him to run off. With no idea of the environment he'd found himself in, he could have run into a rat or even dashed right over a mousetrap or something. Jacob found himself suppressing a shudder, from that gruesome thought and from how cold the air felt.

He had no idea how much he'd have to get used to, but Jacob could only guess the list was as long as the ceilings of the motel were tall.

With Jacob's assurance, they were on their way. Jacob could barely tell Sam was there. He kept his eyes fixed on the sneaking silhouette ahead of him, and tried his best to avoid making any sound in the thick layer of dust on the floor. He felt like he had a beacon on him, making it more obvious how much he didn't fit in here, but he tried anyway. His survival suddenly became something he had to fight for.

Regardless of what they found in that room, everything Jacob knew was changing for good. The world had been big before, but it was colossal now. The inside of a wall became a corridor itself. He wasn't ready for this.

After walking for what seemed like hours, they reached a crack in the wallpaper similar to the one Jacob had found earlier. Sam stood back to let him view it, but kept close by. Jacob had to squint when he tentatively leaned forward and pushed the wallpaper just a little bit. He glimpsed that this entrance was between one of the beds and the nightstand before a ray of light hit him right in the face. After that much time in the dark, it stung.

The sight that greeted him stung a thousand times worse. The room was empty of any sign of his mother. Her luggage, which he remembered was leaning against the dresser, was gone. The beds were made. The coffee machine, which Jacob could barely see from this low angle across the room, was stocked. The room was ready for a new tenant.

Jacob's mother, his only family, was gone, and he didn't know how he'd ever get her back. He leaned forward just a little more to try to get a better angle, but his shoulders had already slumped in melancholy defeat.


A/N:

These two boys, they've gone through so much and now they have to look out for each other.

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Next: November 8th, 2016

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