Hey everyone! I have been writing shrinking fiction for a long time, but I've never been able to gather the courage to post anything until now! I am inspired by nightmare06 and the Brother's Apart universe, but this is completely separate from her work. Let me know what you think, and I will be updating this fic twice a week for now. Please leave a comment, knowing people read my work means a lot to me. Thank you and enjoy!
Garrett Young hauled his bag through the door of his suburban home, looking forward to a nice, hot shower after a grueling day at work. Further inside, he could hear his wife finishing up dinner as the savory smells of roasted meat drifted over to him. He smiled, already feeling peaceful.
"Daddy!" His daughter Lily cried, launching herself into her arms. "Daddy, I missed you!"
"I missed you too, pumpkin," He said, wrapping her up in a hug. She was only eight years old, and one of the sweetest kids on earth.
"I got two new dolls today! I played with them all day." She said, squirming in his arms. He set her down as she bounced around the living room. Garrett smiled. His wife, Ella, really couldn't resist spoiling their little girl. Recently, his daughter had been fascinated with her dolls. She always had a story to tell at dinnertime about the things they had said and done, almost like her own little soap opera.
"I can't wait to hear all about them at dinner, pumpkin. Let me go say hi to mommy, ok?" He stepped into the kitchen and gave his wife a kiss.
"Hey, honey, dinner's going to be ready soon. Go upstairs and get cleaned up, then we'll eat!" Ella said, her beautiful, warm brown eyes shining. He couldn't resist another kiss as she muffled laughing protests.
"I'm sorry, sweetie! I'm happy to see you." He said, wrapping her into a hug. She hugged him back, then pushed him away with a laughing smile.
"Hey, not until later, mister. Let me finish dinner!" she said, a teasing smile in her eyes. Garrett laughed, turning around to head up the stairs. His life really was perfect, a beautiful wife, a lovely daughter… Sometimes he wondered what he did to deserve it all. The last few weeks had been especially wonderful, with his daughter's excitement and his wife's affection.
After a quick shower, he padded his way down the hallway, heading back down to the dining room. As he passed his daughter's room, he paused. She was holding something in her hands, talking to it in a hushed whisper. He stepped into the doorway.
"Lily, honey, what are you playing with?" he asked. She froze up, then set the toy on the table.
"One of my dolls. He's not playing as nice as the others." She said, frowning.
"Aw, pumpkin, one of your new dolls? Maybe he's just shy around so many new friends." He said, comfortingly. "Maybe give him a chance to… warm up." Lily sighed, exaggerated.
"He's not new, I've had him for a little while. But now he says he doesn't want to play anymore."
"Well, you can't force someone to play with you if they don't want to."
"That's not what mommy said." Lily mumbled, her little face growing angry.
"Honey, you know the rules. You can't force anyone to play with you if they don't want to." He said, taking on a stern, fatherly demeanor. She'd been a little withdrawn from her friends, recently, mostly wanting to play in her room with her dolls.
"But da-deeee, then I don't have enough for my tea party!" she whined, folding her arms. Garrett smiled, his deep blue eyes holding nothing but love for his daughter. She really was so sweet, even when she was pouting.
"I'm sorry, baby. He'll warm up soon. Then you guys can just keep on playing!" He said.
"Do you wanna have a tea party with me?" She asked, now turning her sweet little baby blues right up to his. Garrett felt his heart squeeze. He really could never say no to his baby girl.
"Of course, sweetie, I'll have a tea party with you. But then we have to run down to dinner." He said, sitting down at the table. The new toy still lay on the table, facedown. He gave it a quick once-over. He hadn't seen one like this before. It looked really high quality, like one of those specialty collector toys. The clothes weren't your standard issue doll clothes, either. It looked like a Carhartt jacket and denim pants, complete with a set of dirty work boots. Maybe his wife wanted to expand their little girl's toy collection beyond just the girly Barbies and Polly Pockets. He nodded approvingly.
"Here you go, daddy!" His daughter said, holding out a cup. He tore his eyes away from the toy and looked at the cup. It didn't match the others in her little pink set. It was a copper color, the lip of the cup ringed with polished bone.
"This one really is special." He said, reaching forward to take the cup.
"Yes, daddy, it is." His daughter said. Her voice was suddenly quiet, and the moment seemed to freeze as his hands reached for the cup.
It felt like a flashbang exploded inside his head the second he made contact, blinding light and an incredibly loud sound completely eclipsing his senses. He tried to scream, but it was cut off at his throat, not allowing the sound to escape his lips. The sensation seemed to stretch forever, pressing hard on his senses.
"Lily… Ella…" He squeaked out, trying to force his eyes open. He hoped that his wife and daughter were safe from whatever had happened.
He forced his eyes open, casting his gaze on Lily, who stood still, watching him. The room was warping around him, the familiar shapes moving and stretching and blending together. Lily was still sitting there, unmoving. He reached his hand out to her, tears of pain filling his eyes. Was he having a heart attack? "Help me… Go get mommy." He croaked. Lily shook her head.
"I can't, daddy… It's not done yet." She said. Her voice was distorted, so much louder than usual. He gritted his teeth, praying for relief, but it never came until he mercifully blacked out from the pain.
Dean opened his eyes, his four hours of hunter's rest not feeling like nearly enough. The light was already streaming in through the dingy motel room window, only serving to illuminate the motes of dust flying through the air. This place was a dump, even for them. At least he hadn't seen any roaches yet. They weren't exactly uncommon, especially not in the motel rooms that the Winchester brothers frequented.
"Sam?" he groaned, flipping over in his bed to see his younger brother already sitting at the desk, his laptop open. Dean rubbed his eyes, willing the headache pressing in behind his eyes to stop pounding. One too many at the bar last night, and now he felt like he'd been hit by a truck.
"Well, good morning, Sleeping Beauty." Sam said, spinning his chair around to take in his older brother. He rolled his hazel eyes, brushing his floppy brown hair out of his eyes. "Welcome back to the land of the living."
"Listen, you drink five…alright, eight beers in a night and see how you feel in the morning." Dean snapped at him. Sam rolled his eyes, swiveling back around in the creaky motel chair.
"Well, while you slept off your beer, I found us a case." He said, a little smugness creeping into his voice. Dean sat up, his head spinning, but interested. He was always interested in a case. "Five disappearances in the span of a month, all of them in this little suburban neighborhood in Pinconning, Michigan."
"Five disappearances, that could just be coincidence, right?"
"I don't think so. All of them were reported to be happy people who loved their lives. Good jobs, good families… no existing history of depression or change in behavior. Just… all of a sudden, one day they disappeared. And Pinconning isn't really the type of city where five men just… go missing."
"All right, I'll admit, that does sound like one of ours. But first… coffee." He said, falling back on the bed. His stomach threatened to rebel from the sudden movement, and he groaned again. "Ugh. Maybe."
"Quit your drama, Meryl Streep." Sam said, waving a hand at the bedside table. "I already ran out and got us breakfast." Dean's face lit up like a kid's, his green eyes lasering in on the bag of greasy food and the coffee cup.
"You glorious bastard, you." He said, unwrapping the bacon, egg and cheese sandwich and taking a massive bite.
"I am glorious, that is true." Sam said, his face wrinkling in disgust as he watched his older brother devour the sandwich like a wild animal. "Are you even chewing?" Dean opened his mouth, which was full of partially chewed sandwich, and Sam scoffed as he looked away. Dean smiled, swallowing the last of the food, and took a big gulp of hot, black coffee.
"Nectar of the gods, right there." He said, wincing as the hot liquid stung the inside of his throat. Sam shot him a disgusted look, taking a measured bite of his own food, a blueberry bagel. His own coffee was meant to be savored, sweetened with sugar and cream.
"Anyway… Five disappearances, all in the same neighborhood. Interviews of the families say they were all happy, no reason to leave. No bodies left behind either. All of these men just… vanished."
"All men?" Dean asked, swallowing another gulp of coffee. "Great, we're looking for a missing sausage fest."
"Huh, yeah, they're all men. There's not a ton linking them together. Two of them were contractors, working a job at the time of their disappearance, and two of them were brothers. They all had families in the neighborhood."
"Great, so what, are we looking at something that just… makes people vanish off the face of the earth?" He asked, finally finishing his coffee. "Doesn't sound like vampires, no bodies. Could be witches, I guess. I freakin' hate witches." He said, shaking his head. Sam shrugged.
"Don't think we'll know until we check it out. What say we get on the road?"
"I think I've had enough of Minnesota. It's weird, here. Can't walk two steps without someone offering me a fruitcake or something. Everyone's too nice."
"I feel like everyone's too nice, compared to you."
"Yeah? Well you… shut up. Get going." He snipped, packing up his bag. He was ready to be back on a case. It had been a few days, and he'd begun to run out of things to do.
"Sure, crabby." Sam said, rolling his eyes. The two brothers finished packing and loaded their belongings into the back of the sleek, black Impala. They didn't have much, even between the two of them. Their life on the road had taught them that possessions were a liability and to travel light. Dean climbed in the driver's seat.
"Looks like we've got a long drive ahead of us, buddy." He said, and cranked up the radio, heading towards Michigan.