Things for Life
a tale by Hugo Prosperio
commissioned by Lord-Oranos

“What an ugly building.” said Sophie. Sophie was a young girl, fresh out of college. She had spent four years working hard to graduate from one of the countries most prestigious fashion schools. She had applied for a job at a clothing company called Things for Life after reading their ad in the local newspaper.

“You saw the newspaper ad?” the man who set up the interview asked over the phone. “I didn’t realize people even read newspapers anymore. I told them it was foolish to put the ad there, but I guess I was wrong. I think your resume is outstanding and we would love to meet you!”

She sighed as she straightened her outfit out. She wore a business blazer with a blouse underneath and a flowy skirt. Her heels clicked on the pavement as she walked up to the entrance, grabbing the door handle with confidence, a confidence she hoped she would keep through her interview. She had no idea how short her interview would be.

“Welcome, Sophie, come on in.” said a portly man wearing a necktie too small for his thick neck. “Please have a seat.”

“I must say, your resume is quite remarkable. You are a promising young talent”

“Well, thank you. I’ve worked hard these past four years to ensure that I have a successful career in fashion.” she said with a satisfied smile. “I hope to continue that career in a fine company such as yours.” she added.

“Oh, well, thank you. We have striven to become a household name, which we are still working on, of course, but I digress. You have such a wonderful resume, and yet I feel like I know nothing about you.”

“I don’t lead a very interesting life.” she said simply. “School and working to pay off school are almost all I focus on.” she said.

He rubbed his chin. “Determined. I can respect that. Now, you know another one of our applicants, I am told.” he said.

“Really?” She said.

“Yes, when we noted that you had applied, she was very enthusiastic. Pamela is her name?”
“Pam applied here too?” she asked as she brushed some of her blonde hair out of her face.

“Yes. Not quite as experienced as you, but her energy seemed boundless.” he smiled.

“Yes, well, that’s good ol’ Pam.” Said Sophie. She smiled. Her friend always was quite the spark.

The interview continued for a while, and as it did, a grin started to grow on the man’s face.

“Say, would you like to see what the place looks like? I mean, if you are going to become a part of Things for Life, you should see what it looks like.”

“Uh, sure. Lead the way, sir.” She said with a smile. Looked as though she was getting the job, so she decided to play along with whatever they wanted to seal the deal.”

Once inside, it seemed as if it were a giant factory with odd metal machines that whirred and clicked and clanked as they went about their business.

“Ohh, I have just the idea. Come over here, dear.” he said as he walked over to a strange looking machine. It had a phone booth like section, that even had a door. Below that was a long complicated series of mechanics that he tried to explain, but she wasn’t too sure of what it all meant. She was a designer not an engineer.

“This is how we make socks. To get a closer look at the process, you should stand in here.” He said as he opened the door. She shrugged and walked in. The door clicked behind her.

“Oh you aren’t watching too?” she asked.

“I’ve seen it! You should enjoy” he said as he walked over to a panel. “She’s perfect.” He giggled as he clicked a few keys on the command keyboard, and the device started to rumble. In the center, a blue ball of energy began to glow and grow larger.

The booth she was in started to shake, and she wondered what she was going to see behind dingy dust stained glass, but before she could wonder anymore, the floor opened beneath her, leading to a tube of sorts that acted as a slide as she flew down it.

“AHHHH!” she said, the breath knocked out of her as she slid down the long tube, twisting and turning. “Hey! Dude! Get me out of here!” she shouted, pounding on the sides.

He simply ignored her pleas and began firing up various parts of the machine with switches. “Hope it works properly this time.” he said.

As she landed at the bottom of her slide trip, she let out a gasp of fustration. She looked around and saw she was inside the machine and was sitting on a dormant conveyor belt. She attempted to stand up when loud clanking noises and a flashing light caught her attention.
“What the heck. Turn it off! I’m inside!” she shouted.

The belt then began to move and knocked her back on her backside. She felt it bulling her deeper into the inner workings of the machines.

“This is dangerous! I could be hurt!” she yelled, pounding fists on the belt.

“I doubt that” mumbled the man as he watched on a monitor. He flicked a new switch, that glowed blue once activated.

Inside the machine, small sparks began to fly, zapping Sophie on her arms. It felt like static shocks, as if she had been rubbing her socks against the carpet to build up a charge. She yelped each time one of the shocks hit her. It happened over and over again as she moved down the belt.

“It’s hurting me!” she shouted, but she had a feeling no one was listening. Her skin was tingling fiercely after all the shocks, goosebumps forming on her arms and legs. Moments later, she felt light headed as the conveyor belt came up to what looked like two big rollers.

She shook her head, trying to shake the dizzy feeling because she knew she needed to stand up and get out of the machine before she reached the two rollers. “No.” she mumbled as she saw them coming. Standing up, however, was easier said than done. Her legs wobbled as she attempted, and caved in underneath her.

“whats wrong with me.” she said softly as the rollers approached, their metal clanking noises alerting her that it was too late for any help to come.

“Oh.” she said as she felt her feet get pulled into it. She expected pain, crushing of some sort, a graphic crunch of bone, but nothing. She like she was being squeezed through a tight space, but otherwise things felt okay.

Her would be captor smiled as he watched the monitor and flicked a button.

“Please stay calm, it will be over momentarily.” his voice said over an intercom.

“Calm.” she said softly. Her mind wanted to scream, how could she stay calm in a situation like this. However, her body, her voice, reacted simply with a sigh and a shrug, her body going limp as it went through the roller, being flattened along the way. It felt as if she had no bones, as if everything was being simply deflated as it passed through the pins. Her panicking mind began to calm as the sensation it was giving her felt great. As it rolled over her crotch she let out a soft moan and closed her eyes, pleasure building up inside of her.

It reached her belly and she felt air escape her lips, like reality leaving her behind. She knew that this wasn’t possible. That she should be crushed, bruised, bleeding or something, but instead, she was simply being flattened. Soon her head remained the only part of her that was still “3D” as it were.

“Goodbye.” she said simply as it began to squish her. She imagined her head popping open like the cap of a tube of toothpaste squeezed too tight, but that didn’t happen, her head simply followed the pattern of the rest of her, and in moments and entirely flat Sophie emerged on the other side. Mechanical arms picked her up and began to fold and caress her.

“Oh, this kind of feels nice.” she said.

“I should be angry, but I can’t build up the energy to be anything than what I am.” she thought. As the arms folded her, almost as if she were taffy or some sort of candy, her body tinged even stronger than when she was being shocked, and if she could look at herself, she would have seen her clothing simply becoming one with her body, the pink color of her skirt flowing up and down to the rest of her. Her skin had taken on a different texture, one that her fashion oriented mind would have recognized as cotton. Everything about her was being changed and reorganized, and she simply went along for the ride.

The arms set her down on the conveyor belt and she felt herself being carried forward again, but now she couldn’t sit up to see where she was going.  If she could have, she could also have looked down at herself and seen no discernible method of telling she were human. She looked to be a lump of pink cotton fabric.

She found herself inside a new section of the machine that clamped down around her, creating an odd shape, and steam began to fill the room and she felt her body spreading out as it expanded.  She was filling up whatever the shape was.

“I wish I knew what’s happening.” she said softly as she felt the metal shape lift from around her, and the conveyor belt moved again.

Soon she saw blinding light and she was heading towards it. Loud metal doors hissed open and she was out of the machine at the end of the machine, and the man who was interviewing her stood before her.

“Oh. Darn.” he said.

Another voice from behind him spoke “What is it, brother?”

“Well, it worked just as I’d hoped except one thing. She’s still human sized.” he said, sounding a touch grumpy.

“Well, you haven’t finished the reduction chamber in the machine, so that’s to be expected. My magic can only do so much.”

“Magic.” murmured Sophie.

“Oh, hello. Sorry about all that. I imagine if we had told you the truth, you’d have called us loons and ran out. Well, it’s easier with a demonstration, plus we get a lovely product.” He said.

“My name is Jeremy.” said the new man, “and the tubby man you’ve been speaking with is Jeremiah. We are brothers, and we both have our little talents. His is tinkering and building, mine is wizardry. It’s rare, but not unheard of, and it’s growing faster and faster. Soon, Things for Life will be the first magical clothing company in the world.” he said with a proud grin.

“And our ad was a tad deceitful. We weren’t looking for employees. We run the factory ourselves, we were looking for new products. You fit the bill perfectly. Just like…”

“OH MY GOD, Is that her?” came an excited shriek.

“Pamela.” he finished with a smirk. “You see, she came in first and she charmed the truth right out of us. She said she was game to do it, but wanted to pick her partner in new life.

Pamela came bounding over to the station. “Oh my goodness, she looks precious.”

“Pamela, what is this about?” Sophie’s small voice asked.

“They turned you into a sock. A big one though. I don’t think there is a foot big enough for it, not even a clown would fit!” she laughed.

“Well, we can fix that.” Jeremiah said.

“I didn’t believe them at first, so Jeremy did some magic and turned my head into a light bulb. It was so strange, but I knew it was real. I wanted to see the machine in action before I tried it though.

“Pamela told us you would be the perfect pair with her, and we enchanted a little ad to find its way to you. Hope you don’t mind.” Jeremy added.

Sophie couldn’t really find a response. She was a giant sock, and was going to be paired with her wacky friend who had somehow gotten both of them into this fine mess.

“Well, it works, and I am convinced. I want to be a lovely sock just like my bestie.” Pam said.

If Sophie could, she would have winced at the word Bestie, but she felt no control over any part of her. She was amazed she could speak.

She saw Pam and Jeremiah leave and the machine began to whiz and whir again. From inside, she could hear gleeful cries of fun and pleasure.
“It’s flattening me like a pancake!” she cried with giggles as she was run through the rollers. She had an equally pleased reaction to the arms spinning her like candy and creating her new fabric body.

Sophie felt herself pushed forward by the new sock behind her.

“I did it, Soph! I am a sock like you! We are clothing, isn’t that cool?!” she said.

“I mean, it’s okay...i think.” Sophie said.

“We’ll be perfect together, forever! Besties!” she giggled.

Sophie had to admit that the future looked pretty carefree. She let out a giggle too.

“Now then, about the size issue.” Jeremy said as he raised his hands. White energy flowed from them towards the two oversized pink socks and wrapped around them, weaving through their fabric bodies, tingling them as they hadn’t been tingled before.

Before his eyes, Jeremiah watched as his creations shrank in size, going from comically large to just oversized to average sock size in seconds. Both of the girls seemed to moan a bit. Then the sound stopped.

“Well, the shrinking cuts off their vocal ablities, it seems.” Jeremy said.

“That’s probably for the best. Until we go fully public, we wouldn’t want talking socks to scare away a customer.” Jeremiah added as he picked them up and put one on top of the other and placed them on another converor belt that sent them off to another area of the factory.

“Well, we’d better find some new...products” Jeremy said. Jeremiah nodded and rubbed his stomach.

“First, let’s grab lunch.”

---

“Well, thanks for thinking of me.” Sophie thought. To her surprise, she heard Pam “think” back.

“Anything for you, Bestie.”

“Okay, if we are going to be together forever, limit the Bestie stuff.” she thought back.

“You got it, friend.” Pam thought.

Eventually they were bought by a girl who went to their school and they were happily part of her wardrobe for a quite a while. It seems Sophie got her wish to be in fashion, even if it wasn’t quite how she imagined it.