Turned Upside Down

Chapter 1

Evan Cole had always been the guy you'd call ordinary. He was tall and handsome, with messy, dirty blonde hair, sharp blue eyes, and a thin, but fit physique. He had a steady job at a marketing firm, a handful of close friends he saw regularly, and a tiny studio apartment he came home to every night. His days had a rhythm, a structure to them that he found both comforting and predictable. Life was fine—maybe even a little boring. But he was content with boring; Evan had no problem with boring.

It was a Thursday evening when his world turned upside down.

He'd had a long week, dealing with a demanding project and endless client calls, so tonight he opted out of drinks with friends, deciding instead to stay in. He cracked open a cold beer, sank into his worn-out couch, and turned on his favorite show. The world outside his window was buzzing with activity, but Evan was happily isolated in his quiet apartment, finally relaxing.

But then, just as he took a sip of his beer, a strange warmth began to spread in his chest. It was subtle at first, like a small, comfortable fire glowing within him. But then it grew stronger, hotter, until it felt like it was pressing against his ribs, almost making it hard to breathe. He tried to ignore it, assuming he'd had one too many coffees during the day, or maybe it was just some unusual kind of anxiety.

Then the warmth traveled down his arms, past his elbows, into his fingertips, and everything changed. Evan stood up in a slight panic, wondering if he was having an anxiety attack. His fingers started to feel numb and tingly, as if they'd fallen asleep, but with a strange buzzing sensation he couldn't shake off. He looked at his hands, flexing them, willing them to feel normal again, but the tingling only grew stronger, radiating to his legs and feet, making him feel light and unsteady.

And then, without any warning, the room seemed to tilt and warp around him, and his body began to compress, as if an invisible force were wrapping around him and squeezing. The world stretched upward, expanding like a scene from a surreal dream.

In a matter of seconds, Evan found himself standing on the floor of his apartment, but everything was monumental. His coffee table towered above him like a building, his shoes by the door were as big as cars, and the edge of his couch was a cliff he'd never be able to climb. He glanced down at himself in utter disbelief, only to see his clothes still clinging to his now tiny frame—somehow they had shrunk along with him.

Evan guessed he was barely five inches tall, based off the sheer size of his surroundings.

Panic set in fully now, deep and overwhelming. He stumbled back, feeling a wave of vertigo hit as he took in his new surroundings from this bizarre, diminished perspective. His mind raced. How did this happen? He squeezed his eyes shut, hoping to wake up and find himself still slouched on the couch with his beer in hand. But when he opened them, the enormous landscape of his living room was still there, unmoving, unmoved. His pulse pounded in his temples, loud enough to drown out everything else.

He tried to take a deep breath to calm himself, but even his lungs felt tiny, his breaths shallow and rapid. What do I do? What am I supposed to do? He looked around, half expecting someone to burst in and help him, but he was alone, stranded on the floor of his own apartment. The loneliness of the situation gnawed at him, and fear clawed up his spine.

He tried to think logically, but his mind was a jumble of horror and confusion. Could he climb up to his phone? Even if he did, would his fingers even be able to unlock it? Call someone? Who would believe him? And if he told them... then what? They'd think he was insane. Maybe he was insane. The thought chilled him.

For what felt like an eternity, he just stood there, frozen, his mind unable to process the impossibility of his situation. Eventually, the fear began to ebb, leaving behind a sense of exhaustion. He didn't know how long he could keep up this panic without collapsing.

Finally, just as he was reaching his breaking point, the warmth in his chest returned, only this time it felt soothing, like a gentle heat, comforting and calming. It began to spread once again, and the tingling returned to his fingertips, his toes, his legs. His vision blurred as the room seemed to close in around him, shrinking back to its normal size.

And then, as abruptly as it had begun, it was over. Evan was standing in his apartment, once again his usual height, his living room back to its familiar proportions.

For a moment, he was frozen, looking around as if to confirm that everything was indeed normal. He touched his face, his chest, his legs, making sure he was all there, that he was really back to his regular self. His heart was still pounding, but he felt no pain or numbness—just a deep exhaustion and a bone-deep dread.

Evan sank down onto the couch, feeling dazed. He half-expected to wake up from this bizarre dream, but there was nothing to wake from. The silence of his apartment pressed down on him, heavy and unyielding. The events replayed in his mind in fragmented flashes—an impossible, terrifying movie he'd just lived.

He sat there for a long time, his mind whirling with thoughts. He considered calling his best friend, Mason, telling him everything, but the words stuck in his throat. What would he even say? Hey, I think I just shrank to five inches tall. Do you believe me? The idea was laughable. There was no way anyone would believe him. They'd think he was either pulling an elaborate prank or losing his mind.

Finally, he decided that he wouldn't tell a soul. Maybe it was a one-time thing, a strange hallucination brought on by stress or a lack of sleep. If he kept it to himself, it could just become a bizarre, unsettling memory, a fluke he'd never have to think about again.

But as he lay in bed that night, the thought that it could happen again sent chills down his spine.