Hiking to a New Life (Chapter 39 posted 4-27-24)

[Kat5]

20 minutes ago, Guilend said:

😂

Well done on the year. Sadly I had to go look it up to find it's significance lol. History wasn't my strong point when I was in school and that was 20 years ago lol

Okay so 1782 is honestly a total cheapskate year on my part because SO much happened. The Peace of Paris, the Bald Eagle being selected as the emblem, Constantinople burned for two and a half days (cue the They Might Giants song) The first hot air balloon flight took place in France, the East India Company did umm... *ahem* East India Company  ... err... 'things' (brushing past that) The Parlaiment of Britain did umm... (brushing past THAT) One of Mozart's new Opera's with a name I can't spell debuted. ummm... thinking as a type, typing as I think the uhhh... Chief Kamehameha gained control of much of Hawaii. (whihc I only know because I wanted to know where Dragon Ball got the name for the kamehameha, and I'm a derp) And I waaaaant to say that the first commercial bank in North America was founded? (Bank of North America? BNA? Anyone? I may be wrong. Bueller? Bueller?)

 

Anyway no, I'm sorry. I picked that year at random because no matter who searched what for where you'll find SOMETHING that happened that year that makes you go "Huh. go figure."

I apologize if I seemed knowledgeable on accident, I promise to do better in the future.

[Guilend]

56 minutes ago, Kat5 said:

Okay so 1782 is honestly a total cheapskate year on my part because SO much happened. The Peace of Paris, the Bald Eagle being selected as the emblem, Constantinople burned for two and a half days (cue the They Might Giants song) The first hot air balloon flight took place in France, the East India Company did umm... *ahem* East India Company  ... err... 'things' (brushing past that) The Parlaiment of Britain did umm... (brushing past THAT) One of Mozart's new Opera's with a name I can't spell debuted. ummm... thinking as a type, typing as I think the uhhh... Chief Kamehameha gained control of much of Hawaii. (whihc I only know because I wanted to know where Dragon Ball got the name for the kamehameha, and I'm a derp) And I waaaaant to say that the first commercial bank in North America was founded? (Bank of North America? BNA? Anyone? I may be wrong. Bueller? Bueller?)

 

Anyway no, I'm sorry. I picked that year at random because no matter who searched what for where you'll find SOMETHING that happened that year that makes you go "Huh. go figure."

I apologize if I seemed knowledgeable on accident, I promise to do better in the future.

Oh I understand. When I Googled what happened in that year I got a page full of stuff and I was like, oh, that's why she picked it lol

[CDfm]

Loved the chapter.  At one point I was concerned about what this agent had in mind.  Turned out to be nothing more than another sweet encounter with a giant for John.  
I had to chuckle at the discussion about John’s body hair.  Not something that comes to mind when you are discussing a diaper change.  But then you again realize John is actually an adult who got smaller in a larger world and he lost some control. 
Now I am curious to find out if John is going to get a sister or brother to play with.  No matter what the outcome is I just hope they find the little safe. 
I am still impressed with the quality of your work. It’s an awesome story and I hope to read more soon. 

[Kat5]

11 minutes ago, CDfm said:

It’s an awesome story and I hope to read more soon. 

I really and truly cannot say thank you enough! I'm just trying to write the story to the best of my ability. I think that maybe I'm getting better as I go, and reading back I find some things that I want to do better going forward here and there.

But mostly I'm just excited to share the story!

... writing the next chapter made me cry.

[CCApril]

1 hour ago, Kat5 said:

.. writing the next chapter made me cry.

This does not fill me hope. Please don't let it be a squirrel that did it! 

[babygamerboy]

1 hour ago, Kat5 said:

I really and truly cannot say thank you enough! I'm just trying to write the story to the best of my ability. I think that maybe I'm getting better as I go, and reading back I find some things that I want to do better going forward here and there.

But mostly I'm just excited to share the story!

... writing the next chapter made me cry.

I hope you go thorough with what you want to do. Even if it might be make others cry or feel sad, we can handle it. Plus can't always have everything sweet and happy. Sometimes bad things happen to littles or even bigs.

[Guilend]

2 hours ago, Kat5 said:

I really and truly cannot say thank you enough! I'm just trying to write the story to the best of my ability. I think that maybe I'm getting better as I go, and reading back I find some things that I want to do better going forward here and there.

But mostly I'm just excited to share the story!

... writing the next chapter made me cry.

Sometimes a story needs a little drama. Also, bad things happen, it's a way to help readers better relate to your story. Yes, we might cry, but be proud because if it didn't make us cry when you write a sad part then we never connected with the characters in your story. Make us cry, make us sad, happy and even angry. Angry at a particular character or at a system or government. 

[Kat5]

2 hours ago, CCApril said:

Please don't let it be a squirrel that did it! 

I'm very sorry. The squirrels built a portal and came through and overthrew the earth. The only of our kind left are all on the Amazon planet. That's it. We had a good run.

[Guilend]

11 minutes ago, Kat5 said:

I'm very sorry. The squirrels built a portal and came through and overthrew the earth. The only of our kind left are all on the Amazon planet. That's it. We had a good run.

Omg a war against giant squirrels 😂 you have the movie rights lol

[Kat5]

15 hours ago, Guilend said:

Omg a war against giant squirrels 😂 you have the movie rights lol

"Invasion Of The Giant Squirrels From Another Dimension" the latest movie from the B roll!

Scene opens with a couple of young adults walking towards the treeline. Following a trail. The camera pans across a sign that reads "Woodlia National Forest." Ans below is the usual sign that says "Risk of Fire: Low"

As the couple enters the forest, talking softly about having a lovely weekend. Then the girlfriend asks "Hey, is that a dog?" And you can hear her boyfriend respond "No, that's too big and it's moving ... why are there dozens of them?"

There is a flash of light and the two are simply gone. Possibly paffed away to another dimension.

 

-scene change moves over to a military base with generic metal desks around a makeshift command center assembled from parts at a Military Surplus store-

"Sir. The reports you asked for are in. The entire Woodlia National Forest seems to be compromised. Anyone that we send in disappears without a trace.

-scene changes again to show another office. This time to a wood paneled office with a large dark colored desk covered with papers. Behind the desk is a shocked looking man with a short but unkempt beard-

A man in a white lab coat walks in. "Sir, do you remember when Walter Gray said that he had an idea based on that viral video of the little that the squirrels liked?"

The man behind the desk just nods and demands "Yes. And there had better be a very good explanation f"

They are interrupted by a -PAMFF- one room over followed by some confused screaming.

"Well Sir, his Squirrel Recruitment Team is a huge success. They are bringing Littles to our dimension at an unprecedented rate. But they just keep showing up in random places all over the lab. We may have to move to a new building and convert this entire building to a daycare."

The man behind the desk rubs his temples "If we spin this right the ABI won't come and just start clubbing us senseless. We may even be wealthy beyond our wildest dreams. Or we'll all be committed to an Asylum. I think I need a drink."

 

_The screen fades back out and the words "Inter Dimensional Squirrel Invasion" fade in_

(I'm very sorry if people are getting pinged for things unrelated to the story, I just had the idea and it had to be done. Please forgive me)

[kerry]

On 1/29/2024 at 4:29 PM, Kat5 said:

Every morning he woke up as mentally functional as a frozen meal

Great line! lol

[kerry]

Just curious: how do measurements work here? For instance, how would the agent know what John meant by "miles"? Surely, even if they use the same units in that world, they mean vastly different things.

[christi]

I may very well be wrong but I kind of have the feeling it's standard-our size, US measurement.  The Amazons seem to fit that scale since we've heard heights given and so does John's shrinkage.  Kat...  What say ye' ?!

[Kat5]

7 minutes ago, kerry said:

Just curious: how do measurements work here? For instance, how would the agent know what John meant by "miles"? Surely, even if they use the same units in that world, they mean vastly different things.

In this case it's my hand wave technique that they've been 'trading' (and totally not at all duplicitous adopting) with our dimension long enough that the (the bigs) have a rough facsimile of what we mean by our measurements. They don't have to be accurate, just close enough.

1 minute ago, christi said:

Kat...  What say ye'

I say it's all voodoo. Also that LostBBoyBear has the actual reference guide for consultation.

https://www.wattpad.com/story/339576633-diaper-dimension-reference-guide-updated-18

My personal measurement for success is that if anything from my story like the rough pups diapers that expand out and make you waddle almost to the point of having to crawl so that you start off feeling like you're going to be able to walk like an adult and end up waddling, or the 3D coloring pencils, or the training pacy, ever make it onto that list, then I will consider myself a successful contributor to this realm.

So to that end, I say check his reference guide and if anything there doesn't jive with something I've written, let me know and I'll see if I can go back and adjust it. I've actually consulted more than a couple of times to make sure I do my best to stay faithful to the setting.

[Guilend]

1 hour ago, Kat5 said:

My personal measurement for success is that if anything from my story like the rough pups diapers that expand out and make you waddle almost to the point of having to crawl so that you start off feeling like you're going to be able to walk like an adult and end up waddling, or the 3D coloring pencils, or the training pacy, ever make it onto that list, then I will consider myself a successful contributor to this realm.

@LostBBoyBear ☝️

[Kat5]

29 minutes ago, Guilend said:

@LostBBoyBear ☝️

EEK! GUILEND DONT PING HIM! 

I'm just a little derpus sharing their ideas and rambling when an idea comes my way!

[Kat5]

Chapter Twenty Eight

 

 

The statement ‘Amazons can be intense’ is considered a polite understatement among littles.

 

The saying that ‘Amazon women are overprotective’ is said almost as an obvious joke.

 

But instincts come from somewhere.

 

There are stories of Amazon women from the pre-industrial age protecting their children by breaking small trees in half and beating predators senseless. One old folk tale claims that one mother scared away a pack of wolves by screaming at them and threatening to rip them apart with her bare hands.

 

The lists of stories and examples are nearly endless.

 

If one were a little and watching one Amanda Taylor sloshing through gravel and mud, carrying her dog on her shoulder, being followed by a man dressed in black struggling to keep up…

 

Well, that little would certainly believe every one of those stories. And judging by the look on her face, they’d feel bad for the predators.

 

 

~~~~~~~~

 

 

The moment she saw that shoe in the Agents hand, something hardwired into her took over.

 

Just over a minute later she was running in the soaking wet grass a ways from the river, heading north against the current. Seven miles, the agent had said. On a dry day she could have probably run it in less than twenty minutes. Less if she were willing to push herself to the brink.

 

Given the circumstances, it was too long. Far too long. Her collie, Xerxes, was leading the way in front of her, but every so often he hit a soft spot in the mud and slowed down. So she hunkered down, got him onto her shoulder, and went back to running along the firmer ground.

 

With no way of knowing how long had passed, she would never think back and be happy with how quickly she made it to the spot where the motion sensors started. Lowering Xerxes to the ground, she pulled the shoe back out from under her poncho and had him smell it again while the agent caught up.

 

Looking over at him as he caught up, he seemed to be having a harder time simply because he was much larger than her and was sinking further into the soft ground.

 

She did not give him a chance to catch his breath “Where did you find this shoe?”

 

He pointed upstream a ways as he answered “A couple hundred feet that way, sunk into the mud.”

 

She pointed and again ordered “Xerxes: Fetch!”

 

Immediately the usually playful collie went to work, nose first, trying to pick up a scent. Amanda got her own flashlight out from under her poncho and started looking for any footprints along the shore.

 

It took them several more minutes to find where the shoe had come from. Agent Praefectus had the sense to put a motion sensor in the ground next to where he found it. From there Xerxes started pacing back and forth struggling to find any scent in the wet ground.

 

Eventually Xerxes homed in on an indentation in the ground and gave out a single bark. Both bigs ran as fast as they could in the mud to get there. Agent Praefectus was first and he reached into the indentation and pulled out an identical shoe.

 

The two bigs looked at each other, then to where the first shoe had been found, and now to where they found this shoe much closer to the water.

 

Agent Praefectus asked “You don’t think…”

 

Amanda nodded “John said that he crossed a stream that was barely ankle deep on his side, and that he looked back and saw a river and started hiking along it. If this little couldn’t see that it wasn’t a stream because of the dark and rain …”

 

They nodded at each other and then looked at the fast moving river filled with rain water.

 

Without a word between them, Amanda had the dog back up on her shoulder and they joined hands as they waded into the river. It was only twenty feet wide here, but with the rain water it was knee deep on the two bigs.

 

As they made it to the other bank Amanda was on the verge of panic “There’s no way a little could cross that without being washed downstream.”

 

Praefectus just nodded as he held out the second shoe “We’ll have to hurry, there’s no telling how long ago this happened.”

 

Amanda looked at the water and observed “It has to have happened today, the ground was muddy enough for such a small person to sink that far. Xerxes: go fetch us a little!”

 

With that, they were back on the move. The only sounds were the squelching of large feet through wet mud, the loud sniffing of a dog, and the ever present blanket sound of drizzling rain against the landscape.

 

It had to be a mile before Xerxes suddenly picked up the pace. His tail was wagging madly and he gave out a couple of barks as he went along. Thankfully it was only another minute or so of running before they came to a a small form laying along the bank in the dark.

 

Amanda was the first one there and she immediately knelt down in the mud next to them. She very gently held a hand against their back and she was rewarded by feeling the small person breathing, and shivering.

 

But there was no response to her touch. At all.

 

Carefully she cradled the little and rolled them over. She found herself looking down at a tiny young woman. There was no way she was an inch over four feet long. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was shallow. Amanda pulled up the girls shirt and pressed a hand to her belly to find that she was distressingly cold to the touch.

 

Looking at Agent Praefectus she asked “Do you have an ambulance coming?”

 

He was already pulling out his phone and typing as he said “There will be one by the time we get there!”

 

Amanda looked down at the little woman. This was bad, she was soaking wet and cold. It took her a few moments, but when she had an idea she started into action. She immediately pulled her arms into her own poncho and started to pull it up enough to worm her way out of her own shirt. Once she had that off, she tucked it into the top of her pants to keep it dry and started to undress the little on the ground, peeling her out of her socks, wet pants, and her shirt.

 

She heard the agent asking over her shoulder “What are you doing?”

 

All she bothered to say as she leaned over and started using her shirt as a makeshift towel to dry the little off was “Our body temperature is higher than hers, and she’s freezing to death!”

 

Whether that explained anything or not didn’t matter to her as she got the little as dry as she could manage, and then picked her up and got her under the poncho pressed against her chest and belly. The poor thing felt so cold, it was going to take her a while to absorb some of her body heat.

 

Watching the little through the clear poncho, the Agent eventually nodded and said “Ambulance is on the way. Can we cross this river here to save time?”

 

Amanda immediately shook her head “Never gonna happen, it’s too deep here. We have to go back up. I’ve got her, you get the dog.”

 

And so began their trudge back upstream to a place that they could cross. Xerxes was by her side, Agent Praefectus was carefully walking next to her, obviously planning to make sure she couldn’t slip and fall in the mud while carrying such precious cargo.

 

By the time they made it to the place they had crossed, she stopped to look down and adjust the little she was holding so she was wrapped a bit better in the big shirt.

 

The two bigs looked at each other for a moment before nodding in silent agreement. Agent Praefectus got Xerxes up onto his shoulder. At first he didn’t cooperate with someone that he didn’t know picking him up, but he did eventually accept it. The large man also had an easier time of holding the big dog than Amanda had, and he stepped into the water and held out a hand to Amanda.

 

They crossed the water as carefully as they could manage. The going was slow and this time they made sure that every foot was firmly planted and wouldn’t shift in the fast moving water before taking the next step. What was only a few minutes felt like eternity while they were trying to hurry.

 

As they made it to the other bank she stopped to put a hand on the girls back. She was no longer shivering, but she was still not awake. At least she was getting warmer, and she was breathing. Amanda spent a moment getting the little up a bit higher on her chest now that she was getting a bit warmer, careful to make sure she got plenty of air, but wasn’t getting rained on.

 

The run up the bank had been silent and stressful. The walk back was nerve racking. Before they didn’t know what they wouldn’t find and now all that Amanda could think about was the small unresponsive little held against her chest. It had been over half an hour and they still had seven miles.

 

She didn’t feel that it was safe to run with her, so she kept the little up high on her chest and tried not to bounce her too much as she walked quickly.

 

She whispered to the poor girl as she went “It’s gonna be okay. You’re going to be safe. We’ll get you warm.” and kept up a stream of gentle assurances the entire way back.

 

As the house came into view, Xerxes started to break into a full run, but then stopped and came right back to her side on his own.

 

Good dog.

 

Looking down at the little cradled to her chest with her right arm as she cut through the yard, she realized she was crying as she whispered to the girl “Please wake up. Please be okay. You have to wake up. You’ll never go through this again, I promise.”

 

There was an ambulance and two black SUVs in the driveway, and there were two EMTs and another agent standing next to them. As she and Agent Praefectus got closer, the two EMTs ran over to her and started pulling up her poncho to check out the little in her arms.

 

After a few moments they waved her to the back of the ambulance, and very gently took the unconscious little from her arms. They laid her out on the stretcher in the back, still wrapped in her shirt. Then started a flurry of activity as they worked together to put sensors on her, check her pulse, and a forehead thermometer was swiped across her.

 

After giving her a once over and strapping her down pretty firmly, one EMT stepped out of the back of the ambulance and began closing the doors.

 

Amanda must have very obviously wanted to at least know -something- because before the EMT went to the front of the ambulance, she stopped and put a hand on Amanda’s shoulder and said “You did very well. If you hadn’t done what you did, that little would be dead by now. We’re going to do our best from here.”

 

And with that, the EMT was gone, the Ambulance was in gear and pulling away. Amanda was left standing there watching them drive away.

 

Officer Praefectus stood next to her and cleared his throat to get her attention.

 

She didn’t acknowledge him.

 

“Ma’am.”

 

She took a deep breath. She exhaled. Finally she looked at him.

 

“Ma’am, you did amazingly. If that little lives its because of you and your dog.”

 

She just shook her head.

 

He tried again “Miss Taylor, you got us there and back. You were amazing and honestly hard to keep up with. You and your dog were in the right place, and you FOUND her. That’s no small thing.”

 

She just shook her head again and motioned toward where the ambulance drove away. She tried to speak, but it took a couple of tries because she got choked up.

 

“But she still wasn’t moving … she stopped shivering almost an hour ago. What if she …” Amanda trailed off.

 

The other agent stepped up and whispered something to Agent Praefectus, and then he nodded to Amanda “Ma’am. You may not believe it, but you acted immediately to save a little. That’s what all of us should strive for.”

 

Amanda nodded as if on autopilot and said some sort of a half hearted thank you. After that the other agent left, leaving only Agent Praefectus.

 

He tried again “Miss Taylor, let’s get you inside. Even we can catch a cold being shirtless in the rain.”

 

Looking down at herself, she realized that she was standing in the rain with no poncho, no shirt. Just wet hair, wet bra, wet jeans, and wet socks in puddles in her rubber boots.

 

With a ragged sigh she admitted simply “Yeah.” and she turned and walked slowly toward the house. Agent Praefectus opened the gate for her and as she made it to the porch there was Cat waiting for her, and two littles up past their bedtime holding into the windowsill determined to see what was going on.

 

Cat held out a towel as she walked up the stairs, and when Amanda made move move to take it, she asked softly “Is she … “

 

The best Amanda could guess was that the look on her face stopped even Cat from finishing the question. Instead she knelt down and tapped her leg and made Amanda cooperate with letting her help take off her boots and socks. Cat then lead her inside and then started scrubbing her with the towel.

 

Cat snapped her out of her thoughts “You and Xerxes both need a bath. If you can’t do it, I’m coming in. Either hug your son now, or I’m dragging you.”

 

So with a towel still wrapped haphazardly around her chest, she knelt down and held out her arms. She was immediately climbed by John and she wrapped him up in a hug. She just held him with his cheek against hers and stayed there for a couple of minutes.

 

John never made a single move to let go. But eventually she took a deep breath and stood up, leaving him standing there on his own. He pulled on her hand to get her attention.

 

As she leaned down a bit, he whispered “Hey. I love you.”

 

THAT got a genuine smile out of her and she reached down and scooped him back up into another hug. This time she felt the hug. She gave him a kiss on the forehead and slid him down.

 

“Momma needs a shower.” was all that she said as she shuffled toward the bathroom.

 

By the time she made it to the bathroom, the child gate was open. The door was open. The shower was on and warming up. Xerxes was standing in the tub trying to excitedly lick the water as it came down at him.

 

Cat came in behind her with a full change of clothes and put them out beside the bathroom sink. She didn’t leave the room until she helped to rub Xerxes down with baby shampoo and rinsed him off as quickly as possible.

 

As Cat pushed the dog out of the room, Amanda had an idea.

 

“Take the hair dryer and a spare towel and let the littles dry him. He’ll love the attention and they’ll love the interaction.”

 

Cat nodded and grabbed the hair dryer and a towel and stepped over to give her a hug, before saying “I’ll come back in and check on you.”

 

And with that the door to the bathroom was shut behind her. Unhooking her bra, she let it drop to the floor with wet flop. Her cold wet jeans and undies followed. Stepping into the warm water felt really nice.

 

Almost robotically she scrubbed herself. Lather. Scrub. Lather. Scrub. For some reason when she was done with her body and moved onto her hair, she started slowing down. The warmth on her scalp relaxed her body more than the rest of the shower. When she was done with her hair she just stayed there under the water.

 

The shower washed away her tears.

 

[christi]

Good chapter. 

[Guilend]

I know the Little will be okay, but now I'm worried about who her new mommy will be and how she'll fair in the adoption center. 

(Am I the only one hoping Cat goes in and bathes her like a child, maybe even a few bottom smacks with a scolding telling her to behave and be a good girl? Lol)

[Kat5]

I told y'all that writing this chapter made me cry. I was even worried because the rest of this has been super happy go lucky. But this is just reality levels of dirty and difficulty. But it's important for the story and world building, so ... y'know...

I hope that I did okay, I did my very best!

[Guilend]

30 minutes ago, Kat5 said:

I told y'all that writing this chapter made me cry. I was even worried because the rest of this has been super happy go lucky. But this is just reality levels of dirty and difficulty. But it's important for the story and world building, so ... y'know...

I hope that I did okay, I did my very best!

I think you did great, tbh I was thinking it would be way worse, like hospitalized for moths, in a coma sort of thing and that's if the Little had survived at all. 

[CDfm]

Loved the chapter.  It was completely unexpected so soon but definitely made my day.  
I actually had tears in my eyes reading this.  Almost a mixture of sadness and joy.  So happy they found the little girl but concerned that she wasn’t in the best condition when they found her.  I kind of hope Amanda goes in and takes the little girl.  I am sure John would like a sister and I am sure Amanda will have enough love for both. 
I want to make a quick comment on the writing itself.  I thought you did a remarkable job expressing the gravity of the situation and how Amanda reacted to it. I felt the urgency and then the relief when they found her. The emotions continued right through to the end of the chapter and still left us hanging, not knowing how this new character will end up. 
I am looking forward to seeing what comes next. 

[Guilend]

oh yeah, the emotions was fantastic and real. I felt like I was right there with Amanda as she ran through the woods in the rain. And the dread she felt knowing how much longer it was going to be to walk out with the Little because of the risks. Speaking of risks, you did a wonderful job portraying the different risks and how she tried to avoid them.

[SGTbaby]

Ok awesome chapter and it followed so closely to the last!! I am glad they found the little but now I am curious what happens to her and if John gets a sister or if Aunt Cat adopts again? Love love love this!

[Kat5]

I may have skipped some sleep. I'm not even sure if I wrote this or it it wrote itself through my fingers. I don't even know if that makes sense.