Sarah and Carien are on their way to get the vase back from Maxwell, and if need be they will use Fredricks Fancy drinks to grow into giantess to make sure he gives  it up.  This is story number 24 in the series.

A Massive Family Issue.

              I tapped my fingers on the side of the vehicle as she watched the trees fly by. We were on their way to try and steal back the vase that Maxwell, Carien’s brother, had stolen when I had wanted to help him escape from the clutches of a loan shark. Carien hadn’t said a word since leaving her house. I could tell that this whole ordeal was eating her up.

              Carien sighed. “We are here.”

              She pulled into a dirt road that led into the woods. I looked around the desolate landscape. “We are in the middle of nowhere.”

              “There is a cabin out here that my parents used to take my family to when we were kids.” She looked down the road for a moment. “Those days were not pleasant, and I didn’t expect to be coming back here.”

              “I thought summer getaways were supposed to be happy places.”

              “They were if you have a family that is normal.” She looked out the window. “Look, I don’t want to talk about this anymore. Let’s just focus on catching up with Max and be done with this horrid business.”

              “Alright.”

              We came to a beaten-up and worn cabin. Carien parked the car and jumped out. “Hold up, Carien.” She rushed on ahead, pushing the doors of the cabin open.

              “Maxell?”

              I sighed as I walked into the cabin. There was a layer of dust covering the floor. Carien was already on the second floor, looking for her brother. So I instead walked around, checking the place out. Portraits of what appeared to be Carien’s parents sat on the floor with shattered glass lying around them. There was a fireplace next to the stairwell and multiple broken tables and chairs. The place looked as if no one had lived here for years.

              “Sarah.”

              I ran upstairs and headed to the left through the door that Carien had gone through. There I found her bent over a mattress that didn’t seem to match the decrepit state of the cabin. Even though it was moldy and beaten up, it appeared to be a new addition. Not only that, but on the bed sat a coil of rope and a bag. Carien opened it to find multiple twenty-dollar bills. “My brother is here alright.” She looked around. “But where is my vase?”

              “I don’t know, but I am sure he will come back for this.”

              “You are right.” Carien turned towards the door. “I am going to get the Fredricks Fancy drinks. We can find him easier after we grow.”

              “I have told you multiple times that we take a chance with the Fredricks Fancy products.”

              Carien paused at the door. “I am willing to take the chance to get my grandmother's vase back. She was one of the only people in my family who was kind to me.”

              Once she was gone, I went to the window. From there, I could see the edge of a lake, its shimming waters reflecting the evening sun. “This place is beautiful. I can’t believe such a place has such horrid memories for her. I would kill to have grown up here.” I sighed. “I was lucky to come this close to the water when I was a kid.”

              Carien returned a few minutes later with the Fredricks Fancy Sparkling Water bottles in hand. She handed a bottle to me and unscrewed the cap of the other bottle as she spoke.

“Ok. Bottoms up, and let’s find my brother. He couldn’t have gotten far.”

              I didn’t like the look in Carien’s eyes as she spoke. I had to do something to keep her from taking this too far. As it was, we were going to try and grow into giants to chase down her deadbeat brother. But I didn’t know if Carien would be able to stop at getting the vase back or not. When she had saved me that night from Renolds, Carien hadn’t exactly been kind.

 I need to keep her from drinking the Fredricks Fancy. I can’t trust that she won’t try and hurt Maxwell if she grows into a giantess. Not that he might deserve it, but still, that isn’t right.

 As she walked over, Carien raised the bottle to her lips and intentionally tripped over Maxwell’s bed. “Crap.”

              “Sarah?”

              I fell onto Carien, knocking her Fredricks Fancy bottle out of the window as I pulled her to the floor. “Ouff.”

              Carien shook her head and then glared at me.

“What where you are going.” She looked around. “Great, you made me lose my Fredricks Fancy potion.” Carien pushed me off of her. “Give me yours.”

              I ran over to where I had left my Fredricks Fancy bottle and quickly drank the bottle. I could see Carien narrowing her eyes at me as I chugged the bottle.

              “Sarah?”

              I wiped the excess liquid from my lips. “What?”

              She walked until she stood in front of my face.

“What are you doing?”

              I shrugged my shoulders. “Nothing.”

              Carien sighed. “Just be more careful. Thanks to you, it will be harder to find and deal with my brother now.” She shook her head. “Now I have to rely on someone else. Great.”

              I walked to the doorway as I felt the warmth of the Fredricks Fancy drink spread through my body. “It will work out. I am going to hurry outside. I don’t want to be stuck inside as the growth starts.”

              “Who cares? This place should be trashed anyways.”

              “Still, I don’t like growing in such cramped spaces.”

I rolled my shoulders. “I have outgrown enough houses for a lifetime.”

              I walked down the stairs and out the front door just as the growth started. My body throbbed as my surroundings began to shrink. “Ahh.” I took in a deep breath, the pleasurable feeling returning to my body. I loved the loose sense of my skin when I grew; it was so liberating. I stretched out as my head became level with the second floor of the cabin. “Wow, I am growing fast.”

              Up and up I went, quickly becoming taller than the cabin. The lake came into view as the trees around me shrank, coming to my chest, then my waist, and then my knees. “Wow.

I hope I didn’t drink too much. I am becoming huge.”

              I took a few steps back, not wanting to crush the cabin with Carien still inside. Unfortunately, in the process, my giant foot stepped on the minivan we had driven in and destroyed it. I looked down as I continued to grow. “Oh, she is going to kill me.”

              My body wobbled as the growth came to an end. I looked out around me, able to see for miles. The cabin below only came up to my heels and the trees to the midsection of my lower legs. “I am massive.” I shivered.

“It is cold up here. I should have put on warmer clothing if I knew I was going to grow this big.”

              I could hear faint shouting from below. I looked down to see a tiny dot next to the cabin. “Wow, Carien is so small.” I bent down so I could hear her better.

              “You are lucky that vehicle was a rental, Sarah.”

              I scratched at my hair. “Sorry.”

              “It’s alright. As long as you stay that big to bring us home after. Pick me up.”

              I held out my hand. Once Carien had climbed onto my thumb, I stood up. “Ok, now what?”

              Carien shook her head. “Dear god, it is freezing up here.”

              “Tell me about it. I prefer only being about fifty feet tall. Not this massive height. I must be hundreds of feet tall.” I sighed. “I wish I had something to measure myself against.”

              “Sarah. Focus.

We need to find my brother.” She paced around on the palm of my hand. “My guess is he is either at the lake or somewhere in the forest. At this size, you should be easily able to find him. But my worry is he will be able to see you as well.”

              “We will get your vase back, don’t worry.”

              “Just focus on finding him. Slide me into your pants pocket in the meantime. I can’t take this cold.”

              I did as she asked, dropping Carien into my right pocket. I then took a step over to the lake, which now looked more like a pond. I knelt down, looking for Maxwell.  I wish I hadn’t grown so big. Spotting him is going to be tricky when he is going to look like an ant. Scratch that an ant would look larger.

 I saw movement on the edge of the lake, in between the trees. I narrowed my eyes to see a small figure trying to hide behind a tree. I reached down and carefully plucked the person up, doing my best not to squeeze the little devil. Once the little fellow was in front of my face, I could see who it was, Maxell.

              “Put me down, you big doofus.”

              I narrowed my eyes. “Not until you tell me what you did with that vase you stole.”

              “I don’t know what you are talking about.”

              I tightened my finger grip. “Wrong answer.”

              “Ok, ok. It is bad enough that I have to deal with the cold. I don’t need the person who had a weirdly long neck to cause me a headache as well. What is with you and size issues?”

              “That is none of your business. Where is the vase?”

              “I already sold it to someone.”

              “Who?”

              “Someone from some origination.” He shrugged.

              “Who?” I shook him.

              “Some guy named Callen. He said he was with some weird thing called Fredricks Fancy. They contacted me saying they wanted to take it off my hands. Said they would make it worth my while.”

              I blinked.  Oh no.

 Without thinking, I dropped Maxwell. “Hey.”

              “Oh shit.” I quickly twisted my body and caught Maxwell. “You are lucky. If this was your sister, you would have hit the ground.” I closed my hand and reached into my pocket. I then pulled out Carien.

              “Your brother already sold the vase.”

              “You have to be kidding me. To who?”

              “Fredricks Fancy.”