They had to be getting close. There wasn't much of the book left.

The group of women trapped as plastic figures continued their hunt for the spell that would reverse their transformations. It was hard not to be impatient. It had been three weeks of reading that gigantic book at that point, three weeks of having the hope of getting their lives back dangled in front of them. Their efforts had been somewhat hampered by newly awakened additions to the group who haven't been able to contribute much. Three more transformed victims had awoken from their inactivity induced slumber. From what they could all tell, that meant all of the figures in the display case had once been human, and now they were all awake.

However, these last three transformed women had clearly been there longer than the rest of them. They couldn't talk coherently for more than a few words. Any attempts to work them into the rotation of jobs for their reading efforts proved futile. They simply could not focus. About all that could be learned about them were their names: Sara, Amanda, and Chelsea.

So, they pressed on with the team they had of Zoe, Jasmine, Alex, Amy, Gina, Liz, and Kate. They continued taking turns reading, making the book levitate in place, and listening for their captor's return. Kate had recently remembered the only bit of information they had been able to learn about the guy that had transformed them all into plastic figures. From their brief time working together, Kate remembered that his name was Mitch. Unfortunately, she never learned his last name.

None of them were really sure what good knowing his name would do them. Maybe they could get some kind of justice once they escaped. They were all pretty sure there were no laws in the ordinary world regarding magic, and none of them had any idea how to contact the authorities governing mages that the book mentioned. However, it was arguable that he had held them all against their will. They all agreed that they would take the book with them once they got out of there. Even if they never used any magic from it, they could not leave it in Mitch's hands, lest other unsuspecting women suffer the same ordeal they all were trying to escape. If nothing else, the book would be the most compelling evidence of what they had gone through. Alas, they would have to find out how to become human again before worrying about what would come after.

So, they keep going with their reading of the book. Unfortunately, there was a new obstacle. None of the three most recently awakened prisoners were in any condition to help, and two of them were actually hindrances. Sara and Amanda were still too trapped in their own heads to talk to most of the time. However, they would randomly talk to themselves and even shout at times. It rarely was anything the rest of them could make sense of. It was very distracting though, particularly for the ones trying to focus on keeping the book levitating in front of them. There was also the fear that they may miss the sound of Mitch coming back if noise from one of those two drowned it out.

Still, none of them could really blame Sara or Amanda. They had been trapped in this immobile nightmare longer than the seven who were working with the book. Frankly, it was a miracle that they were able to talk at all. That was made evident by the last one to wake up. Chelsea rarely said anything. She had only even acknowledged the others' presence a few times. Her name was really the only information they were able to get out of her. It was a stark reminder of what was at stake. That was how they all would end up if they did not find the reversal spell.

They had been at it for four hours at that point in the day. Kate, Zoe, and Gina were keeping the book in place. Alex and Amy were listening for any sounds indicating that Mitch had returned. Jasmine and Liz were taking turns reading pages. Liz was just finishing up the page she was reading when she read something that made her gasp.

"What is it?" Jasmine asked.

"The end of this page. It's starting to mention transformation magic!" Liz replied excitedly.

There was a real anticipation in the air. Had they finally found what they were looking for? Liz and Jasmine continued reading. Both of them read each page to ensure that nothing was missed. The book described a spell that would transform living bodies into an inanimate material of the caster's choice. That would explain how they all had become plastic. It went on to say that the transformed body can then be reshaped and resized as the caster wishes. That would explain why they were smaller and standing on a base that wasn't there before their transformations. The book described how the consciousness or soul would remain inside the transformed body and senses would be retained. Reading it over, the description seemed to match what had happened to them perfectly. This, combined with what the book said earlier about being able to enchant an object to perform a spell, finally provided a full explanation of how they had ended up as plastic figures with the flash of a camera.

"Jasmine, are you seeing this?" Liz asked, trying to keep her excitement controlled in case of a let down.

"Yeah. It doesn't mention any way to reverse it on this page." Jasmine replied.

They turned the page and quickly began reading. Liz was making sure to take in every word. All she had to do was find the reversal incantation. With the way this book was designed, she wouldn't even need to focus or picture anything in her mind. She just needed that incantation and the book would do the rest. Liz barely avoided gasping when she read, "To revert the transformation...."

Liz kept reading with absolute focus. Her thoughts were completely replaced by the words on the page. Suddenly, she began to grow. The base she was standing on began to rapidly shrink until it disappeared. Liz quickly expanded until she pushed all the other figures aside. With a loud crash, she burst out of the display case. She clumsily rolled away from the glass shards. The figures that had been inside the display case were scattered across the floor.

Liz was completely stunned. She was breathing heavily from the surprise of what had just happened. Wait, she was breathing! She had read the incantation on the page with such focus that the reversal spell had been cast. She tried to get up but ended up stumbling back down. After two years of being absolutely motionless, any movement felt strange. Liz seemed to have forgotten how to use her muscles. The movements she was making were confused and random. She attempted to call out to the figures she knew were really people, but found that she was just as out of practice at using her voice. It seemed being human again would take some getting used to.

The book began to glow again and Jasmine's voice spoke.

"Liz, are you still there? What happened?" Jasmine asked.

"Well, I think I found the way to reverse it." Liz replied. Despite her difficulty speaking, it seemed she could still speak telepathically with the others while the book was open, just as she did when she was still stuck as a figurine.

"As soon as I read it, I changed back." Liz continued. "I'm just having a hard time doing anything right now. It's been so long since I've moved or talked. I'm sorry, I can't do much to help you right now."

"At least you finally found it. Let me try it. I haven't been stuck like this as long as you were, so I might be able to do more for the rest of you." Jasmine said.

"Yeah, don't forget about us!" Amy shouted.

"No one is forgetting anyone." Alex said.

"I'm glad Jasmine can see the book at least. I'm stuck facing the wall." Gina said.

"Same here," added Kate.

"I think I might have ended up under the bed. I hope you all can still hear me!" Zoe shouted. Sara just mumbled incoherently while Amanda and Chelsea were silent.

"Yeah, I can hear you. I'll get myself changed back, then I'll track all of you down." Jasmine said.

"The reversal spell is on page 3682 in the middle." Liz instructed.

Jasmine turned her focus to the book and made it turn pages until it was back on the page Liz mentioned. She read the incantation in her mind and began to grow. In a few seconds, she was back to being a living human. As she drew her first breath in weeks, it dawned on her that this was real. They had found the way back!

Jasmine slowly got to her feet. She was a little disoriented, but she still at least remembered how to move her body. Having only been trapped as a figurine for a few weeks, as opposed to years for most of the others, she quickly got her bearings. After a few stretches she felt mostly back to her old self.

With that, Jasmine got to work tracking down all the figures so they could be restored to the women they once were. Liz wanted to help, but was still too uncoordinated with her long-dormant  body to stand for more than a few seconds. Instead, she sat down and tried to reacquaint herself with moving and talking.

It didn't take Jasmine long to track down the other seven figures. Seeing the condition Liz was in, Jasmine was starting to think it would be easier to get them all out of that house, and then restore them. It was possible that Zoe was the only other one of them that hadn't been stuck as a figure long enough to have difficulty moving and talking. She was just about to gather them all up when she heard a yell.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!"

Jasmine and Liz both had their attention instantly pulled to the doorway. In their excitement at finding the reversal spell, they had stopped listening for their captor's return. Mitch was standing in the doorway with an unhinged look on his face.