“Alright. What's taking you two so long?”

Mark was running his fingers through his mane nervously as the security guard stared at him with his beady eyes. The lion kept looking around, hoping his friends would show up.

“They'll be here. I bet they're just-”

“Wait up! We're here!”

Mark turned to see Jason and Greg, a fox and a german shepard running up to the guard gate. Very much out of breath. He smiled and hugged his friends.

“What took you two so long? I said be here fifteen minutes ago.”

“Sorry Mark” the fox rubbed the back of his head sheepishly “I overslept and we missed the bus. Greg and I had to walk here.”

“Glad y'all are here” the guard grunted. “Now can we get started?”

“Yes” said Mark “of course.”

The stout bear stepped from behind his podium and gestured to the dome behind him. It resembled a scaled-down football stadium.

“Alright. As you know, behind me is the Micro District. Thanks to shrinking technology becoming cheaper, we have now opened it to the public. With the shrink ray I have right here with me, I will shrink you all down to a size to which you can safely enter the city. Got all that?”

Everyone nodded their heads. They were eager to meet their micro friend Indy, whom they had only talked to online before.

“Wait, this won't hurt will it?”

“Don't worry your pretty little mane. I've been trained with this shrink ray. Now hold still.”

The security guard fired a beam from the ray that encompassed the three. They all watched in awe as the world swelled up and they diminished in size. Everything in sight swelling above them.

“Man. Shrinking always gives you an interesting view.” The german shepard said in awe.

They heard thundering steps and turned to see the bear looming over them, as big as a skyscraper. Reaching with paws the size of cars, he carefully picked up the three tourists. Working as security for the Micro District as long as he, has given him plenty of practice at picking up small individuals.

“I've heard rumors of people disappearing around here.” said Greg “Are any of them true?”

“Sort of. Some people have allergies to shrinking energy. They end up over-shrinking and getting lost. We reward any micro for the finding of any lost tourists. No one's gone missing around here for more then a few days.”

The three were placed on what looked like a conveyor belt. The security guard gave one last wave before pressing a button, and sending the three friends into the dome. After a moment, the conveyor led them to a large area almost as busy as an airport. They were greeted by a vixen with a large clipboard. She was also a bit taller than they were. Almost two heads taller. The place was filled with people of a multitude of sizes. Ranging from as tall as the high ceiling, to as short as their knees.

“Greetings gentlemen. Welcome to the Micro District security entrance. Here are your all day badges that let others know you are tourists. Please do not lose these. You may also take them home with you as souvenirs. Do you have any questions before I take you to your waiting party?”

“Yeah,” said Jason “Is there any reason some people here are different sizes than us?”

“Some people pay extra for a different size. You waiting party most likely paid for you three to be a bit smaller.”

Mark nudged Greg and Jason. “Totally something Indy would do. Probably wanted to get a good joke in.”

“Well if there are no more questions, please follow me to your waiting party.”

The guys were lead through a small myriad of people to another open area, where there stood a somewhat familiar skinny horse. A horse who was reveling at the sight of his friends who were only as tall as his chest. He jokingly tousled Mark's mane.

“Well hi there! You kids ready for some fun?”

“It's nice to meet you too Indy.” said Jason as the four of them group hugged.

“So I guess you wanted to be the big guy for a change?” asked Greg.

“You guessed it!”

The group walked outside to a parked car where they all piled in. Indy began driving away from the security center.

“So how's work at the sandwich shop?” asked Mark.

“Decent.” answered Indy “Just dropped off my paycheck before picking you guys up. Made a few sandwiches for our lunch that are sitting in the fridge at my place. I figure we can go and buy some drinks at the convenience store. Sound good?”

The other nodded in agreement. Indy drove for a few more minutes until they reached his small house. It was sat in a nice suburban area.

“I thought we were going to the convenience store.” said Jason.

“We are. It's just a block down, so I thought we could walk.”

They followed Indy as they walked. They noticed a tigress being arrested across the street and a number of pocket-sized men being escorted out of what seemed to be her house. Indy shook his head in disappointment.

“What is it Indy?” asked Mark.

“That girl has an issue getting guys shrunk to the smallest size you can buy, hiding them in her house, then collecting the reward money. I kept telling her it would get her in trouble.”

“Have you ever found a missing tourist?” asked Greg?

“A few times. Most tourists fall asleep on the bus and get lost. Almost anyone in the district will give a tourist a place to sleep. That reward money is how some people make a living. It's helped me make rent a few times.”

“Really?” said Jason “'Cause if you really need the help, we could go missing for you.”

“No. I could get in trouble if someone faked going missing and I turned them in for the reward. Even though I am a little short on rent. Appreciate the offer though.”

Finally they reached their destination. A quaint convenience store. They all walked in, and made a beeline for the soda section. None of them were in a beer drinking mood. They all grabbed different flavors of soda along with some chips. Mark paid for everything in cash, despite Indy's wanting to pay for his guests.

“Come on. You guys are my guests.”

“Hey. It's the least I can do. Besides, you said you're short on rent.”

The four began their walk back to the house to eat their lunch. The tigress that was arrested was gone and the police where finishing up. They finally came up to the house. Indy fished his keys out of his pocket and opened the door. They all walked inside.

“Okay guys. Welcome to Casa del Indy. Have a seat and I'll be back with lunch.”

The three sat down and turned on the television. There wasn't much on. Some interviews with people who claimed they were eaten alive. There was also a guy who said he spent a year at the size of a gnat and lived on his best friend's body. The news went on for another 10 minutes. Mark stood up and walked towards the kitchen.

“Alright, I'm gonna go check on Indy. He's been gone awhile.”

Mark poked his head inside the kitchen. He saw Indy standing by the counter, head hung.

“What's wrong Indy? You've been in here awhile.”

“Nothing Mark. Just finishing up these sandwiches. I have to carry all four of these to you guys now.”

“Here. I'll carry yours.”

“Funny Mark. You can't even reach the counter.”

The child-sized lion pulled up a chair from the kitchen table and stood on it. The only moment he was as tall as his friend.

“There. Now you go carry those in and I'll carry this one in.”

“Fine. Be careful shorty. That's my sandwich you're holding.”

Mark watched his friend walk out of the kitchen. He then hopped off of the chair and scampered over to the fridge. With a strong pull, he opened it. With a quick look through, he found what he was looking for. A small bottle of hot-sauce. He went back to the sandwich, bottle in hand.

“Bet you won't see this coming.”

Lifting the top of the sandwich, he began to pour. After a decent amount was poured, the lion put a bit on his finger.

“Might as well know what it tastes like.”

The small amount of hot-sauce was swallowed, then gagged on. Mark was not expecting it to be this strong. He leaned on the counter to steady himself. The sensation went from burning, to tingling. Like when one tries to walk when their legs fall asleep, except his whole body was being covered in this feeling. He could barely move. The lion managed to get himself on the counter while he waded through this full body experience. He could feel his own body heat falling off. His clothes felt like ice, and he instinctively threw them off. He curled up into a ball as the feelings finally subsided. The blood in his body suddenly rushed to his head as he gained his bearings. What he saw, he struggled to comprehend.

“What happened to me?What was in that hot-sauce?”

Everything was massive! While things were somewhat large before due to his childlike size, things were monumentally large now. The whole kitchen was too big to encompass in his sight. He ran over to the bottle of hot-sauce, which was now twice his size.

“Warning: this hot-sauce can not be given to shrunken individuals under any circumstances. Tests have shown that it induces shrinking on already shrunken individuals.”

He looked to the sandwich, his only hope to be seen at this size. He hopped onto the plate, and crawled on tom of the car sized sandwich.

“Mark? What's taking so long?”

It was Indy. Surely he would see tiny Mark on top of the large lunch. He tried to shout as the not-so-micro horse approached the counter, but he was overwhelmed by the new perspective. The horse he once knew as a micro, was now bigger than any macro he had ever seen in his life. His very appearance was more than the little lion could comprehend. When Indy lifted the plate, the force caused Mark to fall flat on his stomach. His diminished form, as well as the dark orange of the bread, made him near invisible to anyone at first glance.

“Hey guys, have you seen Mark?” Indy's voice boomed.

“No. He didn't come out after you?” another voice thundered.

“I'm sure he's fine. Let's eat, I'm starving.”

Mark was about to shout for attention when his whole world moved again. This time, it was towards Indy's head. His muzzle was the size of a jetliner, and it was opening up. Mark was frozen in horror as it dawned on him. He was approaching an open mouth. He tried to move, but his foot was stuck in the bread. He tugged and pulled with all his might, but the gargantuan mouth came ever closer. He tried and tried and tried.

Everything went dark. All the thunderous sounds of the outside world suddenly muffled. The helpless lion could not ignore what just happened. He was inside the mouth of his micro friend. As Indy's massive teeth started to chew on the sandwich, his saliva started to drip onto Mark. With a strong pull, his leg was freed from the bread. The hulking teeth mashed the meal in front of his very eyes. On instinct, he crawled backwards. His arms and legs gave way under him. His whole world squeezed around him. His senses were on overload. He landed on a very soft surface. It gave a slight tingling feeling to it. When giant balls of mush landed around him, he was mortified and began to scream.

“Indy please! I'm in your stomach! You need to get me out. I beg you!”

He kicked and screamed until the growing pile of eaten food finally overtook him. He took one last desperate reach for something, anything that could save him. All he got, was darkness.

“Man that was good.”

Indy polished off his chips and sandwich with a swig of his soda. Normally customers complain about his sandwiches not being filling enough, but for once he disagreed. His meal was very filling, and had something extra, but he couldn't pinpoint what though.

“Well,” Greg said “I can't wait to see what you have planned next Indy.”

“Yeah.” said Jason “What fun do you have planned?”

“I was thinking we could look for Mark first. I have some shrinking stuff in the kitchen and I'm worried he got into it.”

“Even if he did,” Greg said “you'll find him later. Mark is a smart lion. Besides. It means you got rent covered when you find him.”

“I guess. Off too the movies then. You two will get me the kids discount.”