The elite crew consisted of seven people, each a specialist in their particular field, although none of them outside of Terry Stuart and weapons officer Saunders really resembled soldiers.
Shirley Dawson, the communications officer had many flaws. The worst of which was her tendency to flirt. Buxom and slightly overweight, she delighted in strutting around the office and exposing her thick, linebacker like, gams wherever possible. More recently, Shirley had taken a shine to Terry, who always rebuffed her advances. She was becomming quite a nuisense. Staff Sgt. Will Hunt was maintenance officer. A hulk of a man at 6'3" and at least 250 pounds, Hunt seemed to rely on brute force in most situations. Specialist Crane was just the oppisite. A smallish woman in her fifties, Janice had a masters in Physics and was, on this occasion, in charge of the operation.
Her assistant was Ken Tohlman. A little younger than Crane, Tohlman seemed to carry that same frail body around as his boss.
Lt. Jerry Smith was Terry's second in command. A strapping young man of 28, Terry could always count on Jer in a fight.
Which brings us back to Sgt. Saunders. Terry was in love with her and didn't even know her first name. Their relationship was none too cordial. Saunders was a good looking woman in her early thirties , though she always went out of her way to hide her feminine qualitites beneath loose fitting fatigues and a foul mouth.
She was quick tempered, but extremely loyal, which made her a perfect weapons officer. THery were at each others throats from the start. It was only after a month in the field during a training excercise, that Saunders let down her hair long enough to let Terry see the real woman underneath.
They had all been drinking one night. Saunders had gotten seriously drunk., and since nobody particularly licked her much, the job of getting her to bed fell on Terry.
He pratically had to carry her. Plopping her onto her bunk, Stuart turned to leave. But Saunders had other ideas. She grabbed on to him and wouldn't let him leave the tent. Letting all pretense go, Saunders confessed that she had secretly been in love with Terry for a long time.
Unsteadly, she started undoing the buttons of Terry's shirt, then her own. They made love long into the night.
The next day, it was business as usual. Terry was sure that Saunders remembered everything and had been embarassed by it. She treated him even worse than usual.
Their mission was not going to be easy. Crane looked out form behind the wooden crates. Terry was impatient..."Well?" he asked.
Crane's grey brows furrowed. "It seems to me, Captain, that if we string the cable around the entire pile and send a negative charge through it, that might be enough to contain the energy field. However, this is just speculation. We just don't know enough about this meteor to know what might happen."
"But you are sure that this entire area will go critical in an hour if we don't do something about it, right?" he asked.
"Yes, I'm pretty sure about that." Crane replied. Terry thought for a moment. "Well, then let's go".
The glowing bolder loomed menacingly at the group as the they moved forward, dregging the heavy cable with them. The team approched it causiously and formed a loose circle around it. "Closer" shouted Crane above the hissing. "We have to tighten it up. As they did so, Terry felt his skin tingle, as if a thousand ants were crawling all over his body.
Crane, sensing this, said "Don't worry about that. Your bodies are getting younger, but only by a few days". Somehow this didn't calm Terry's nerves.
The hissing begun to get louder. Soon it turned into a rumble as rock and dust erupted out of the bolder's middle. Then the earth shuddered. "Look out!" someone shouted. That was the last thing Terry remembered. The bolder exploded in one huge burst of energy. The shock wave threw the seven people about as if they were leaves in a tornado. The deafening noise stopped all at once, and it was quiet.
Terry awoke amidst a pile of broken tree limbs and dirt. He gathered himself up, and checked to see if he was okay. His shin hurt, but that was it. The only other thing he noticed was that his clothes felt too loose on him. Attributing it to his dazed state, he put it out of his mind and began to make his way back toward the center of the blast. Somewhere, someone coughed. "Thank God somebody else has survived."...he thought. He stumbled out of the woods at last and yelled..."Is everyone alright?". But already, something wasn't right. He didn't recognize his own voice. "Who the hell said that?" was his first thought. It sounded like a young boy.
"We've done it!" came Crane's reply. "We've stopped the chain reaction. The explosion snuffed it out." Terry limped over to where Crane was. Crane had her back to him and was hunkered down inspecting the rubble. Then she stood up and turned around. Terry gasped....for fiftyish Crane now suddenly had the look of a woman half her age, mid-twenties at best. Crane looked at Terry's reaction with amusement.
"Yes, Captain, out success didn't come without a price. The explosion cost us some years of maturity, approximately 23 years as near as I can calculate. But, it was well worth the lives of some 100,000 civilains, don't you think?"
Terry did some fast calculating of his own...."Hmmm...we've all lost 23 years. Let's see, that would make me.....Oh my God!.....I'm fourteen". He looked at his hands. They were definately smaller..... I'm only fourteen years old!"
"That's right", he heard Crane say, "And boy do you ever look it." Crane was right. Terry's mature, muscular body had shrunk, and been transformed into that of a skinny teenager. But, at least he had fared better than Saunders.
Out she came from behind broken, wooden crates, mad as hell and , apparrently unaware of what had happened. "What the hell was that, Crane?"she shouted, "you said there wouldn't be an explosion." She looked over in Terry's direction, then said, "And who the hell let this kid into a restricted area?"
"That's no kid"...the voice came from the now youngish Tolhman. "THAT is our illustrious leader, Captain Stuart. You see, Sgt. Saunders, the explosion caused us to de-age...like chipped paint being scrapped from an old building. You are now, permanently, 23 years younger than before."
Saunders stared at him blankly...and then suddenly realized how much shorter she had become. Her eyes widened. She reached up and grabbed the front of her now enormous blouse and, holding it out...looked down at her bare, totally flat chest. "Holy Shit!" she exclaimed. Quickly, she turned her back to the others and tugged at the string tie of her pants. A quick inspection below the waist confirmed the worst. In the dimming light, she gazed in awe at her vagina. It was bald...beautiful..childlike. "Oh shit"...she said softly, a quaver in her voice, "I've gotten so young, I'm not even in puberty anymore."
Slowly, she turned back to the waiting group and, for the first time, her smooth, cherub-like face revealed the little girl she had become. "But..but..I...what will happen to me?"...Her child voice sounded whiney..."I..I mean my commission in the army."
Terry looked at her sadly and said.."That won't make any difference. "You're still a Sgt in the army," he still couldn't stand his new voice, "And you will treated with the respect of your rank."
"Not Hardly"...came a voice from behind a stand of trees. It was Shirley Dawson. She emerged from the woods, walked up and stood beside Saunders. Shirley had had a few more years on her than she had let on. Now in her early twenties, and minus the middle-aged spread, she looked gorgeous. And to emphisize this, she had removed her bulky fatigue jacket and donned a tight fitting O.D. green t-shirt. Shirley had always been jealous of Saunders for gaining Terry's affection instead of her. And now it was evident she was enjoying this turn of events. She turned and nearly stuck her large breasts in the poor girl's face.
"Don't kid this kid, Captain. The army is made up of men and women." She looked down at Saunders with contempt. "There's nothing in the manual about recruiting children, and right now, I'd say the Sgt. here is more child than woman."
Saunders felt humilliated. Dawson's remarks stung her like a slap in the face. "But..but.."I'm not a child!"...she stammered..."I'm a woman..."at least I am inside this damned adolescent body!".
"That's enough, Dawson!" shouted Terry.
Shirley left Saunders side and sauntered over to where Terry was standing. She was now taller than him, which was disconcerting enough, and then she said, "Now..now..Terry, I know that you and the Sgt. here had a...what shall I call it...a FLING! Tell me now, would you really rather date a little girl when you could have a real woman like me instead? I mean, sure, you're kinda whimpy now and all, but I still think your cute."
Terry's face flushed from embarrassment. He pushed her away...."Not now Shirley. We've still got two missing crewmen, and they could be lying somewhere hurt. Everybody fan out and search."
They did so, and, almost right away, found the Lieutenant. Now a dazed 17 year old, he seemed okay. It took a lot longer to find Will Hunt. And when they did, no one recognized him. Will Hunt had talked alot about losing weight. But, over 205 pounds all at once was never the plan. Under a pile of boxes they found him....all of 45 pounds and some 6 years of age. Always the tallest of any group, Hunt stared up in amazement as his six friends stood towering over him. "Oh My"..was all he could say.
They returned to base amidst the stares and stiffled giggles of they're compatriots. What to do now? For some of them, they're lives would never be the same. Crane and Tohlman went straight back to work, as did Lieutenent Smith. Shirley Dawson took a two week leave and headed for Puerto Rico.
Will, Terry and Saunders (who finally revealed her first name to be Cathy) were offered positions in intelligence. The army thought this was a grand idea. Will Hunt declined, stating he wanted to go home to live with his mother, and, that's what he did. Terry and Cathy, seeing the writing on the wall, reluctantly agreed, and moved in together into a small house located on the base.
Terry and Cathy moved into a small apartment together off base. There was quite some adjusting to get used to. Terry as the oldest (now 14) wasn't even legally old enough to drive a car. He opted to work in infiltration, using his new youthful look to it's full advantage.
Cathy,(once thirtyish and handsome, now about 10 years old) went into research on the "youth stone", experimenting on ways of turning it into a military weapon.
As the months dragged by, the couple settled into a routine of sorts. "Will you miss me?" cooed Cathy as she prepared to leave for work.
"Well, that all depends on how long you plan on being gone." said Terry in his usual low key way. Cathy sat her bag down and walked over to where he was sitting. "Don't look for me before 9:00 o'clock tonight. We're getting close to a breakthrough."
She bent over and kissed him and felt his body tighten. She knew Terry's 14 year old hormones had kicked into overdrive. He was moody, sullen and Cathy tried not to notice when he spent a little too long in the bathroom. 'It is normal', she thought. As a woman, she understood his problem. But as a under-developed female, she was just not ready, physically or mentally, to help him out. On a few occasions, she had used her hand to give him pleasure, but that had seemed to only make him angrier. So, she had stopped. She kissed him again and said: "Hang in there, Terry. "I know this hasn't been easy for you." Cathy turned and headed out the door.
Terry got his coffee and had just settled back down on the couch when he heard a knock at the door. "Cathy's left her keys again" he sighed and got up. He trudged over and opened the door. Much to his surprise, there stood Shirley Dawson. She was dressed in black, skin tight pants. This was topped off by a halter top that showed plenty of cleavage. She looked positively scrumptous. "Hey lover boy"...she started...."I was just in the neighborhood and thought I would drop in and say hi."
Terry was speechless for a long moment, but recovered quickly enough to return the hello and invite her in. Once settled on the sofa, Shirley launched into a long story about where she had been on her lastest adventure, but Terry was not listening. She was so beautiful, he couldn't take his eyes off of her.
Whenever possible, he sneaked peaks at her cleavage. The halter strained against the push of her enormous breasts. The material was stretched to it's limit, revealing an unobstructed outline of her nipples beneath. She caught him looking and stopped talking. Caught in the act, Terry's face turned beet red.
"I-I'm sorry"..he stammered.
Shirley, of course, was not the least bit offended. A knowing smile crossed her face. She had wanted this for a long time. For her, it was a game of conquest, and Terry had always had the will power to resist her advances. But, that was the "Old" Terry. She had him now, and there was nothing this younger version could do to stop her.
Shirley shifted her position on the couch until she was right next to him and took his hand. It was so small. "It's alright Terry. I can imagine what you must be going through, trapped in that body with all those hormones raging. Remmember, we're friends first. She leaned over and kissed him gently on the lips. Her perfume made him light-headed. His will was weakening, melting into waves of passion.
With all his might, Terry summoned what maturity he had left, and slowly pushed Shirley away and stood up. "I-I can't, Shirley. "I love Cathy. You know that. And I would never do anything to hurt her. "I hope you understand".
She looked at him and sighed..."Well, okay"..'he sure was a tough little son of a bitch', she thought....'But this bitch is tougher'...."Do you mind if I get a glass of water?"
"No" he replied, "Help yourself".
Once she had exited to the kitchen, Terry breathed deeply and recovered somewhat. 'Whew, that was close'....he thought. He knew exactly what Shirley wanted. 'Just another trophy for the old collection'. Funny, it had always been the age difference between them that enabled him to fend her off. And now that same age difference was betraying him. When she had kissed him, it had turned him on in a big way. He would not be able to control himself for much longer. He would have to get rid of her...think up some excuse to get her out of the apartment.
Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Shirley was not getting that drink of water. She walked over to the utensil drawer, opened it, and pulled out a sharp knife. She turned it in hand, and saw the light reflect off of it. Her face suddenly darkened, her brow in deep thought. "It's time to get serious", she said, and pointed the knife towards her stomach.
Carefully, Shirley place the blade under the material of her halter top and started cutting. She worked at the tied knot until there was just a strand of material remaining on one side. A light tug would finish the job.
Terry still stood in front of the couch as Shirley came back into the living room. 'Think of an excuse'...he thought...'anything'. But it was Shirley that said.."Well, listen Hun, I've got to get going. "I'm sorry about what happened. "Will you at least give me a hug goodbye?"
"Sure"..he replied and thought...'what harm could there be in that?'
He stepped forward and embraced her. He did not notice the slight pulling motion of her hand. When she stepped back, Shirley's halter top suddenly burst open. Out popped her huge breasts in all of their glory. Terry mouth dropped open and he stared speachless as Shirley went into her act.
"Oh my God"...she yelled.."This can't be happening"..."I've got an important meeting in twenty minutes, and there's no time to change." She ran over to her purse, and pretended to rifle though it. Bending over, her boobs hung down, looking even larger than before (if that was possible). They jiggled this was and that as she moved. Terry was transfixed. What was it about women's breasts that could move a man so? A warm tingle started in his spine and raced up his back. He felt him self getting hard. The pajamma bottoms he was wearing was not hiding it very well.
Terry had not seen a woman's breasts in over 8 months, and Cathy was at least a year from getting hers, and it would be years before she would fully develop. His head swooned. Shirley finally put down her purse and turned back to the boy. "Do you have a needle and thread around here?".
"Yeah" he finally spoke.."There may be one in Cathy's vanity, I'll go look." He was glad to get out of that room. Quickly, he went into the bedroom, and began searching through the dresser. When he straightened up, he caught his reflection in the mirror. He was weakening, his will to resist slowly draining away like water through a cracked pitcher. He didn't dare go back into the other room.
So lost in thought was he, that he didn't notice Shirley come up from behind him. She was naked. There eyes caught each other in the mirror. Terry didn't move. She put her arms around him and pulled off his t-shirt. Terry stared at his skinny, hairless frame. What does she see in me, a boy of fourteen. She could have any man she desired. He felt the warmth of her breasts against his back, and her hot breath on his neck.
She place her hands on his chest and began rubbing in large circular motions. Lower and lower, she worked her hands down until they went under his belt line. A weak.."no"..was all he could muster. Her fingers explored the tufts of his pubic hair, and then finally touched his flesh. It was rock hard. Terry drew in his breath and let out a soft moan. He felt dizzy. She grabbed the sides of his pajamas and pulled them and his underwear slowly down to his ankles. There was no fight left in him. He wanted her! Now! He turned and faced her. She drew his head into her warm, soft, pillowy chest. He didn't resist, and nuzzled against her. His lips found there way to her nipple. He kissed it gently and opened his mouth wide to explore further. He could feel her nipple harden with each lick of his tounge. She closed her eyes and moaned softly. This was heaven. Terry didn't care about anything anymore.
Shirley knelt down in front of him. She grabbed his penis and rubbed it against her cheek. Closer and closer, she worked it to her mouth. Terry's newly formed penis was the smallest she had ever held...but.... of course...she had never seduced an adolessant before. She brushed her lips against it and then began licking the shaft slowly, like a cat cleaning itself. Terry couldn't stand it anymore. He bent down and pushed her to the floor. He lay down on top of her, her body bigger and a mismatch to his, but he no longer cared. The passion of a thousand generations welled up inside of him.
He took her, as slowly as his impatient boys body could stand it. Then exploded in one giant rush of emotion.
Terry awoke and looked at the clock. He had only been asleep for about 20 minutes. Shirley had gotten up and was beginning to dress. She really did have a fabulous body. As he watched her, he wondered what she must have looked like when she was a quarter century older...thick hammy thighs, cellulite, drooping breasts. It was hard to imagine.
He got up off of the bed, walked over and embraced her from behind. Her breasts were firm under his arms. Shirley turned and looked down at him. His mind was still getting used to his diminished size. "What now?" he asked. "Now that you have accomplished you goal to seduce me,I suppose you're just going to move on." "Do you want me to move on, Terry?" Terry lowered his eyes and said softly "No". "Then, we'll keep seeing each other then".
And that's exactly what they did. The months passed. And they got away with it....for a while.
Cathy came home, mad as usual. It had been a terrible day. The plans to turn the youth stone into a weapon was moving along rapidly, but after all these months of work, it still wasn't perfected. And working with that jerk, Emmons was enough to drive any woman (or girl) insane. Jack Emmons was the typical male chauvenist pig. He was good looking, pretty well built, and thought he was God's gift to women. When Cathy had just started at research bulding #7, Jack had thought that Saunders was just another 11 year old genius with a government grant, and he pretty much ignored her.
But, one day about a month ago, someone had told him the truth about Cathy, that she was actually been a 34 year old, full grown woman who had been accidentally been reduced in age to a pre-teen. Once that was clear to him, Jack had become an ever increasing thorn in her side. He started off by making snide remarks about her lack of breast size. Although she was just starting to develope, he would holler.. "Hey Sargent Sanders, they tell me that you are a woman, but I don't see no tits. "Where's your tits, young lady"?
She could handle his verbal insults, but lately he had started to get more agressive. Jack would sneak up behind Cathy and rub up against her. "I'll bet you miss a real man, don't you, woman"?
One Sunday while Terry was out, Cathy was making the bed. She spotted something white just under the bed. With her free hand, she reached under and pulled it out. Tears welled up in her eyes. In her hand was a bra. But it much too large for her. She fell onto the bed and cried hard. She knew who it belonged to. It was that asshole, Shirley Dawkins. She had finally gotten to Terry. It was clear that the bra was left behind on purpose, probably without Terrys knowledge. Cathy was sure it was ment for her to find. A rage welled up insider her. A deep resentment turned into bitter hatred. She became consumed with a need for revenge.
Cathy knew where Shirley would be this evening...at the Officer's Ball in the mess hall. In her mind, a plan was forming.
Jack stood alone in the lab section. Normally, he wouldn't be within a thousand miles of this place on his day off. The place was so quiet, it felt creepy. A voice startled him. "Well-well, I see you got my message, Jack". Cathy stood by the workbench in a dimmly lit portion of the lab. He could just make her out. "So, what am I doing here in the middle of the night, Saunders?" Cathy just smiled at him.."Well Jack, I just started thinking about what you said"...she stepped forward and started unbuttoning her blouse.."and now I think you were right. "I think I do need a real man after all". Jack was wary, but as he watched, Cathy finished unbuttoning her blouse, and, in one fluid motion, pulled it off of her shoulders and let it slip to the floor. There she stood, topless. Two tiny breasts, not big enough to need support, protruded from her chest.
Jack was taken aback..."A-Are you sure you want to do this?
"Just shut up and get undressed, Jack!"
Jack could not believe his luck. And he was not about to let this gift horse look him in the mouth. "Honey" he said "you won't regret this". she looked at him "I'm sure I won't, Jack".
He quickly took off his shirt, shoes, pants and underwear. He turned and put them neatly in a pile and onto a nearby table. When he turned back, a gasp escaped his lips. Cathy was still standing in the same spot, still topless, but now she was pointing a weapon at him. Although Jack didn't work directly in the lab, He had a pretty good idea what the strange looking weapon could do.
"Saunders, what the hell is this? "Just what do you think you're doing"? Cathy looked at the nude man. Actually, he was rather well endowed. "Well Honey" she said sarcastically.."The fact is that I think you're a little too old for me, so I am going to even the score just a little bit.."Let's say we go with the maximum setting of 20 years for starters".
She pulled the stock up to her bear shoulder. Jack's eyes widened in panic
"NO...NO..Cathy..Don't".......She fired.....a bolt of light left the gun and raced across the room. Jack instinctively put his arms up to protect himself. The charge struck him dead on and a green glow engulfed his body. He looked at his arms and they were glowing green as if he were being viewed through night goggles. He felt a tingling and a slight pain, like the growing pains he had felt when he was growing up. But now he was growing down...getting younger with each passing second. He could feel himself shrinking all over.
It was coming in waves. He saw his reflection in the stainless steel cabinet. He saw a young man not much older that twenty. He felt his body contract and looked again. Now he was only eighteen. His once muscular body was losing its definition. He spasamed again. Staring back at him was a high school boy. Finally, It stopped. Cathy looked at her work. Jack was a scrawny 16 year old. He had lost about 4 inches in height and at least 50 pounds of muscle mass. Cathy also noticed that Jack was not so well endowed anymore, in fact, he looked downright puny. His pubic hair was lighter and more sparse.
He started to speak.."Jesus Christ, Cathy what the hell have you done to..." and stopped when he heard his high piched, almost shrill voice.
The girl laughed at his supprise. "Ha, whats the matter, big man? "Kitten got your tongue?
Even in his panic, Jack noticed that when Cathy fired at him, he had notice the green glow from the weapon climbing back up Cathy's arms. He looked at her now, and compared it to what he had saw a few minutes ago. She was deffinately different. She had gotten younger, although not at fast or as much as he had. Her breasts had shrunk and she was a little shorter. Jack saw that Cathy was ready to fire again. He had to use this to his advantage.
"Cathy, he yelled in his high tenor. "Before you fire that thing again, you better realize that it's making you younger as well."
Cathy lowered the weapon and looked down at herself. A shocked look came across her face. "Oh my god!"....."I'm getting younger...younger...."
Then a devious smile crossed her face. She looked at him with as much contempt as an 11 year old could muster. "Jack, you idiot, don't you think I know that?"...."I don't give a damn if I shrink into oblivion, once I'm through with you, Shirley Dawkins is going to relive her second childhood."
She raised the weapon again and moved her finger over the dail. "You know, hon, this thing can be set on a random basis. It will shave anywhere from one to twenty years off with just one hit. "What da ya think?"..."Should we give it a go?"...she hesitated.."Nah, Jack, I'll tell you what,...."I think I will pick a setting. "How about we strip exactly ten more years off of that bony carcass of yours?"...."That will take you right out of your manhood for good."..."What do you say....."do you want to be a little boy again, Jackie?"......
When Jack realized that she was going to fire again, he tried to make a run for it. Still naked, he broke into a fast run. If he could just make it to that pile of boxes, he might be able to get away.
The blast hit him just as he reached his sanctuary. "NOoooooo!"..he shouted, but continued to run as fast as he could. He could feel his legs getting shorter, and he was losing his endurance. Jack finally found a door near the end of the building and ran inside. It was a small room with a card table, two chairs and not much else. A forty watt bulb in an overhead light gave the room a yellowish glow.
Jack looked himself over. His body was continuing to shrink, he looked like a 12 year old. His muscles were softening and all of his facial hair was now gone. Down...down in age he went...eleven...his pubic hair was dissappearing. He was becoming a child.....ten....his pubes thinned out, revealing small patches of smooth, pink skin.
A sharp pain hit him all at once. All over, he could feel his body remaking itself into the smaller, younger version that he once was.....
It was speeding up.....nine....eight.....it was a seven year who heard a noise outside the door. It was Cathy. He was so scared that he peed himself down his tiny leg. The room seemed so large now. Indeed the whole world now seemed to loom over him......six......the door knob turned.....silently, little Jack sneaked over behind the desk. His tiny head peeked over the table top and he could just barely see the door. In came Cathy.....carrying the cursed gun.....still shirtless, it was plain to see that she was regressing into pre-puberty. She still had breasts, if you could call those tiny little bumps breasts. Her face was more round, less adult and more child looking.
"Jackie"..she said softley in her new "Child's" voice......"Come on now Jackie, I heard you slam the door when you went in here..."You gotta be shrunk up pretty good by now. "The good news is that I'm going to put you out of your misery"......his heart lept up in his tiny throat....he wanted to cry , but fought hard not to...realizing that it would give him away.
Cathy moved over to the other side of the room and then spotted the small figgure of a child behind the table....."there you are"......Jack yelped and raced for the door as fast as his tiny legs could carry him. He was just reaching up for the door knob when he was hit again. This time he knew he was going to die, but he didn't give up. He stumbled out of the shack and tried to close the door behind him.....five......four....the door grew enormous on him...and he couldn't hold it shut.....Cathy easily pushed the door open, knocking little Jack to the ground.....three....."Cathwee"...some of his teeth went missing..."Pweese don't kill me...."I pwomise i will be a good little boy"........two....he lay on the ground sobbing....Cathy was towering over him....now a flat chested ten year old, she seemed huge to him...........one.....his eyes stopped focussing.......Cathy looked down at the soon to be infant...."Go to HELL" was all she said and stepped over him on her way out the door.
The Officer's ball was a swanky affair, even though it was heldin the mess hall. Long white table cloths, candle light and soft music permeated the night air.
At a table for ten sat the company commander, with his wife, and the company chaplin, who was with his wife Karen. Karen was 30, of spanish descent, and dressed elegantly in her long white dress, she resembled everyone's idea of what a princess should look like.
Almost directly accross from them sat Shirley Dawson, looking beautiful in a tight, green dress. It was strapless and showed plenty of cleavage, which was exactly what she wanted. With her was her date; a handsome, young, special forces officer of about 23.
15 year old Terry Stewart stood over by the punch bowl taking in the scenery. He was more than a little jealous when Shirley had introduced him to the officer. Here was this 23 year old kid towering over him. It was humiliating.
The dance floor was filled to capacity. No one paid any attention to the little girl as she weaved her way through the laughing crowd.
In her small hand, she carried a ratherlarge paper bag. Purposely, she walked over to where the commander's table was.
Terry was just about to call it a night when he spotted her. At first it didn't register as he stared at the child. "Who in the world let that little girl into a party at this time of night?"
Then through the smoke, he began to recognize her. "Oh my God!" he thought..."It's Cathy". But not the same Cathy. Her use of the weapon earlier in the evening had removed her just blossoming womanhood. Now she was younger than she had become on that fateful night almost a year ago when they were both struck by that cursed explosion and de-aged out of their adult existence.
Terry was stunned, unable to move or speak. No one was aware as the 10 year old girl pulled the weapon out of the bag. She took her time, and drew a bead on Shirley, who was too busy talking to notice.
Cathy squeezed the trigger and fired. The bolt of light leaped from the gun and raced to where Shirley Dawson was sitting. In that instant, intending to use the bathroom, the chaplin's wife, Karen stood up, and blocked the path of the laser. The blast caught her square in the back.
The aura of blue light engulfed her as the rest of her table sat in shocked silence. Karen convulsed for a brief second, as her DNA began to re-write itself, then she began changing. Her face lost definition, as did her quickly teen-aging body.
She could feel herself growing younger, younger, standing there with her arms outstreched. Her husband finally recovered enough to stand up and take her by the arm. He immediately noticed her deminished height. His beautiful wife had been reduced to a 14 year old girl, her clothes drooping across her now petite body. She looked up at him with tears in her eyes and began to cry..."My God"..What's happened to me"?...she said between sobs.
Cathy, unmoved by her mistake, and now only about nine and a half, re-aimed her weapon and fired again. This time it found it's mark. The force knocked Shirley off of her chair. She stood up, flustered, and could feel herself begin to change. She finally found her voice...."Cathy, what in the hell do you think your doing"?
Cathy didn't answer right away. She could see the age falling from Shirley. She was only about 21 now and still regressing. Her once tight gown was starting to show a few wrinkles. Cathy's eyes darked as she faced her.
"How dare you act like you don't know"...she spit out...."You waltz in and take advantage of the only man that I've ever loved"...tears filled her eyes.. .."I ought to kill you.
Shirley lost some of her height, as her body did it's backward dance; 18...17....Her clevage was not so impressive now, and the top of her gown hung precariously onto her shrinking mammaries.
Cathy fired again. This time the young officer, in a fit of chivalry, leaped in font of her. The blast hit him instead of her. There he stood, using his body to protect her, and then felt his own body begin to shrink as well. His clothes grew on him, his muscles began to disappear as he went from a young man to a young boy. His starched pressed pants loosened and fell down to his ankles. The look on his youthening face was one of astonishment. Down, down he went, back through puberty, back to first grade, back to kindergarten. Finally all that was left of this once proud man was a wailing 3 year old.
Shirly, now that she had stopped getting younger, had regained some of her composure. She turned to the girl with the gun and said defiantly.."Do you think that I'm scared of you now, Cathy"?....."Well, guess what, I still think you're a little bitch and I don't know why anyone would have you, especially Terry".
Cathy's young face redened. In a soft child's voice she said "Dawkins, that may have been the stupidest thing you have ever done"..."As far as little, ..well honey...it's all relative". She pulled the trigger once again. This time there was no one to protect Shirley. The light found it's mark, even as Dawkins tried to move away.
Shirley stood in shock...sobbing....watching herself change....16.... 15.....her breasts were no longer big enough to hold up her gown. The top slowly peeled down the front of her teening body. "Oh my GOD"!...she screamed.. as she watched her boobs dwindle from "C".....14.... to "B"...13... .. to "A"...12...."Look at what you've done"...She whinned in her higher voice,..."I'm becoming a child"...."Please, Cathy,....11..."Make it Stop"... 10...."Please, make it stop"!!!!!!
Some of the men standing around finally decided to act, and rushed at Cathy. Now barely eight years old, Cathy's fear and grief overcame her and she began firing randomly at everything that moved. Terry looked on in shock as Cathy fired again and again, and all the time became younger herself.
Laser light seemed to be everywhere, and, yes, poor old Karen got hit again. Back in time she went as her pubes and breasts disappeared until she became a seven year old.
Shirley had managed to avoid getting hit again and had made it to saftey behind the bar.
Terry, although frightened of the prospect, realized that he had to do something in order to save Cathy. He started into a full run towards her, and almost immediately, was hit square on. He stood back up, his body tingling all over and resumed his dash towards her.
Then he began to shrink; his legs getting shorter with every crucial step. "Oh God, NO"....he thought..., please let me get to her. His pants dropped down and tangled his legs. Down he went, losing his pants and underwear. He glanced at his body. It was a child's body! His genitals were smooth and pink, and he guessed that he was now around 10. I've got to keep moving'...he thought, and kicked off what ever clothes he could.
He finally made it over to her. Now barely six, she was hysterical; still firing the gun at random. Terry shrank again as he reached her. He managed to grab the laser and began to wrestle her for it. "Cathy stop"...he yelled in his new tenor..."Pleeth Sthopp"...his front teeth had fallen out. The little girl struggled on, shouting to him...."I hate you"...I hate you"!
Down in age they went, until finally, the laser overheated, draping the entire room in a blinding light.
Colonel Tom Graves walked in and observed the scene. It was total mayhem. Young adults and children were everywhere. A soldier stood with his arm around a naked, nine year old girl. It was Shirley. She wept quietly into the soldier's chest. In better times, she would have tried charm him into bed, but not now; maybe not ever again.
The Colonel marveled that there had been only one fatality. Over on the dance floor, amidst pieces of the destroyed laser, lay the infant body of Sgt. Cathy Saunders, apparently having regressed beyond the life of a newborn.
Graves scanned the room until his gaze fell upon a small child, his wounds being tended to. He walked over to him and said.."Captain Stewart, are you alright"?
The boy looked up at him and said...."I-I Think tho, thir".
Graves looked at him with pity... "I'm sorry that Cathy didn't make it, Terry, I know you cared a great deal for her".
The 5 year old look up at him, as tears filled his eyes. "Yeth Thir... "I really did loth her".