TF2 The Borrower

Part 3

Jennifer was crying in her room. Jeremy had put all the food they had collected away and had left Jennifer in her room for privacy. Now that he had literally made sure the rest of the small house was clean, he was unsure what to do. He didn't have any special skills that he could use to pass the time. He didn't have painting skills like Jennifer or his father. His art skill came in the form of cartoons, but he wasn't sure Jennifer would appreciate the kind of cartoons he made. He also knew Jennifer didn't have any books. After all she could barely read or write. Her life was bare bones compared to Jeremy's. He needed something to do and soon, or he would lose his mind.
Jeremy then realized he hadn't tried the outfit Jennifer had made him yet. They were so caught up in borrowing he had completely forgotten about the red hooded jumpsuit. Jeremy ran into the guest bedroom where he had left the outfit and tried it on. He had to admit it was a nice change from constantly wearing his normal outfit. Besides, those clothes could use a wash. 
Jeremy then looked at the fake window in the guest room. It was of a beautiful open field with a single tree at the top of a hill. Small clouds dotted the blue sky and if Jeremy stared at it long enough it was like he could smell the freshly cut grass and feel the light breeze that flowed through the field. Jeremy then made up his mind, he was going outside of the little home and out to the sun soaked battle field. After all the battles were over for the day, what's the worst that could happen?
He went and knocked on Jennifer's door. It sounded like she had stopped crying. "Hey, Jen? I'm going out for a little bit. I'll be back soon." He told her before turning and leaving the small house. Instead of heading for the tunnels, Jeremy went for the grate that let the sun into the small space that the tiny house resided. He climbed up the bricks that served as a staircase in front of the grate and stepped into the sun.
It was warm, a temperature Jeremy was used to. The size difference of all the buildings, rocks, and other things was a little daunting though. Jeremy turned around and tried to figure out where on the Red base the grate was located. He was able to see the Blu base if he looked beyond the hills of sand, and now looking back at the Red base, Jeremy could clearly see why Jennifer would much rather go to the kitchen during battle. The grate looked like it was only ten meters from the Respawn room. All that traffic and the chance for a stray shot to hit close to Jennifer's home were high.
Jeremy could hear muffled voices coming from the Respawn room. Curiosity got the better of him and he ran closer so he could hear. The deep voice of Heavy and the cool collected voice of Sniper met Jeremy's tiny ears when he was up against the door that led into Respawn. Jeremy gathered they were tending to their weapons. They always took the longest amount of time to clean and make sure their weapons were in tip top shape. It was Heavy who was currently speaking,
"Da, I have no chance to keep up with baby Blu Scout. If Blu Spy kept Sniper down for round no wonder lost."
"I feel ya mate. We really need Scout back. We aren't a full team without him. Do you think Spy really saw him?" Jeremy froze at that.
"Da, Spy show tiny hole. But little Scout couldn't make hole fast. There more to this."
"Ya right, that hole was way too hidden to belong to a mouse. Come to think of it, we haven't had pest problems for almost seven years now. At least around the inside of the base. Wonder if there's a connection."
"Maybe… Heavy heard story once. About tiny people. Live under floor, eat scraps to survive." Sniper started laughing, 
"Ya think we got ourselves a tiny person!? That ain't possible, mate. Not unless someone made a shrink ray before Engie!"
"Actually I'd like to hear more about these tiny people, Heavy." The sound of Spy decloaking told Jeremy he must have snuck into the room. Sniper laughed harder,
"Oi spook! Ya actually think what Heavy says could be real!?" Sniper laughed for a bit more before quieting. "Ya serious mate?"
"I've been noticing little things around the base. The most recent would have to be a nail ladder hidden in the shadows of my dresser." Jeremy's eyes went wide. Spy had seen the ladder, what else did he know? "Before that I had some tiny dishes returned to me. And there is that hole in the kitchen I saw Scout running towards before Soldier slapped me. That must have been how Scout escaped the kitchen his first night being small, and I doubt he is competent enough to find something like that on his own." Scout felt anger rise up inside of him and he completely forgot he wasn't in the same room as them or was ten times smaller.
"Oh yeah!? Well I bet you couldn't have found it either you snail sucking scumbag! Jennifer is just too good at hiding stuff for us to notice." He kicked the door harshly, hurting his foot in the process. He began to caress his foot.
"What was that?" Sniper asked. Jeremy froze again. How did Sniper hear that?
"What was what?" Heavy asked.
"I heard a faint sound against the Respawn door. Like a rodent ran into it. But it was too quiet for something like that. Loud enough to not be a bug."
"You could just be hearing things." Spy said. "Or it could be a Spy… or Scout." Jeremy ran as fast as he ran when he got out of the jar or if he was on Bonk. He could hear Spy running toward the Respawn door and heard it lift. Jeremy had almost made it back to the grate when a snake appeared. It was on the hunt and Jeremy was probably like a mouse for the predator. He couldn't hold back a scream as the snake snapped at him. He dodged to the side and started running away from the Red base. Spy no doubt had seen him now, but that didn't matter. All that mattered to Jeremy was not getting eaten.
The snake was a fast one. It was licking at the speedsters heels with little effort. How can a snake move that fast!? Jeremy wondered. He kept running like his life depended on it. He pushed himself as hard as he could but the snake whipped its tail in front of the tiny teen, causing him to trip and fall. In a second, the snake was on him, standing tall like it had just won an award. It bared its fangs and…