Next door, a typical family of five was in the middle of a pleasant dinner when Jeff activated the Chronivac. Their cheerful conversation abruptly ceased as they began to shrink, their bodies swallowed up by their now-oversized clothes. Soon, the garments vanished, revealing five small, pale beings. Their front teeth grew comically large, and sharp claws emerged from their tiny fingers. Initially, they were terrified, but as their minds deteriorated and their intelligence ebbed away, they dropped to all fours, standing idly on the kitchen floor, lost in a vacant stupor.
An unexpected earthquake jolted them, sparking a frenzy as they scattered in all directions. The bizarre tremor turned out to be the footsteps of a colossal gray mouse, now towering on two legs and dressed in black shorts and a blue t-shirt. She seemed bewildered, unsure of her surroundings or purpose. Her confusion quickly faded when she spotted five tiny humans darting across the floor, prompting her to let out a loud shriek.
In another part of the house, a similar scene unfolded in a bedroom where another mouse found herself bewildered. A sharp shriek caught her attention, prompting her to follow the sound to the kitchen. There, she saw a brown mouse standing anxiously on a chair, scanning the floor with a paranoid look. Suddenly, memories surged back, and she recognized her as her roommate, Sarah, and remembered that she herself was named Danielle.
"What are you screaming for?"
"There's humans!" Sarah responded, shaking slightly as she pointed at the floor near the fridge.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah! There were like five of them. And-" Her words halted abruptly as a sudden movement grabbed her attention: the young son of the human family dashed across the floor, disappearing under the fridge to join the others. "There!"
Both mice squealed in terror, prompting Danielle to swiftly join her roommate on a chair. "Ew, gross!"
While the two mice debated their next move, uncertain of the number of humans in their house, they opted to contact pest control. After enduring a lengthy wait on hold, Danielle finally connected with something.
"...uh-huh....really?! That long..... okay... thanks anyway."
"What'd they say?"
"Ugh, they're booked for the next two weeks."
"Call someone else then!" Sarah snapped, her eyes still scanning the floor for any humans.
"I'm looking, I'm looking!"
Although Danielle contacted several other pest control agencies, all of them were overwhelmed and unable to schedule a same-day appointment. This left them in a bind, scrambling to find someone else who could help them.