Both girls stared at the sign in dismay. GONE FISHIN', BE BACK MONDAY.
Laura couldn't help it, she made her way to a nearby bench, and started to cry, pulling her legs up and hugging her knees. Kaitlin sat next to her friend, and put her arms around the preteen.
"Laura, come on, it's not the end."
"Yes it is, the dice will keep rolling, and by Monday...we might not even exist!" She looked to her friend, tears running down her cheeks.
"What if...what if we destroy the dice?" Kaitlin couldn't believe she hadn't thought of this before.
Laura frowned. "What could we do that wouldn't make them roll again?"
Kaitlin seemed thoughtful. "Melt them? They're only plastic."
"Like in an oven?" Laura looked around. "The only ones here would be at the food court, and it'd be hard to get...wait. When we came in, the restaurants were still closed!"
Kaitlin grinned. "Now you're thinking! Let's go!"
At this time of the day, the only other people in the mall seemed to be elderly people, walking to get exercise. Ironically, Laura realized any of them would be glad to have the dice- being 12 has to beat being 70! Of course, you have to stay 12...
They reached a sandwich shop, The Great Steak and Potato Co. Laura helped Kaitlin over the counter, then managed to hop up and over herself.
Kaitlin looked over the oven controls. "No good, there must be a gas override in the back." She then tried the door. "Fuck, it's locked!"
Laura noticed there was a cooler full of vegetables...and there was no back wall. "Hey, you could go through here."
"Ooh, good call. One advantage to being so short, I guess." Opening the glass door, Kaitlin kicked off her flip-flops and crawled into the cooler. Unfortunately for her, the quarters were tighter than they looked, and...
"Damn it, I'm stuck!" Kaitlin grouched.
Laura couldn't help but giggle. "That's what you get for having a better figure than me."
"Har, har. So what are we going to do now?"
Laura licked her lips nervously. "Welll...I mean, there's one way..."
"Oh. Fuck." Kaitlin shuddered, and not entirely from the cold. "If this works, it might be worth it. And if not...it won't matter. Roll the die."
Laura carefully set the box on the floor and opened it, selecting Kaitlin's die. "I'm going to try and just roll the one. I hope that's enough." She then tossed the die gently on the floor.
Six. The ethereal woman appeared.
“Greetings,” the woman said. “I am the spirit of die. A spirit of youth. You have rolled the die and taken
possession of them. For releasing me I shall return from you that which has been lost. You were 13, now six years shall be returned to you. Your age is now 7."
Kaitlin was reduced to tears as the golden motes of light surrounded her, and she shrank visibly in size. All of her adult features faded away, leaving her a tiny child, under 4' in height. Still crying, she reached the other side of the cooler, and managed to push the door open. She lost all but her shirt in the process, which now reached her knees. Her arms were hopelessly lost in the sleeves, and one slender elbow protruded from the neck. Looking around, she found the switch for the gas. Her sleeves were just in the way, so she wrestled with the shirt, throwing it to the floor. She was naked now, a skinny little girl. Wiping her tears, she turned on the gas, and opened the door.
"Oh my God, Kaitlin...you're..."
"A child, I know. Let's just get this over with, fast."
"We need to get something for you to wear..."
"NO! Dice first, I don't care about the rest!" Kaitlin yelled out, then regretted it. This would definitely attract attention, and she had no idea what would happen when someone found them, a 12 year old girl and a naked 7 year old.
"Okay, I'll do it." Once the oven reached temperature, Laura carefully placed the dice onto the grill. They sizzled slowly as they began to melt. There was a popping noise, and one of the dice flipped onto it's side.
"Oh no!" Both girls wailed.