Staying inside the bumper was much more difficult this time. When the car had first accelerated, they had been thrown back inside, but each time it came to a stop, they were very nearly tossed out onto the ground.
The car halted twice before finally accelerating up to something of a cruising speed. This gave Caitlin time to use their remaining thread to tie herself and Randi to one of the support bracings. As long as the car wasn't rear-ended, Caitlin thought, they would probably be okay.
"All right," said Tania derisively, "you've managed to get us another ride, but how do we get Randi away from that kid?"
"We have to hope she gets away on her own," Caitlin answered. "I don't see how she can, but I know what'll happen if anyone other than Becky finds out she's not a doll."
"But what if they do?" asked Tania, shuddering at the thought.
Any number of possible scenarios spun madly in Caitlin's head, but she didn't stop to explain any of them. "If that happens, we have to stay close, so we can get her out," she said after a moment, "and hope we aren't captured ourselves."
And what if they were? Her imagination started to run away with her. In her mind, she saw herself and the others trying to explain to the authorities that they had been shrunk by mad scientists. The reaction that would get almost made her laugh. Well, they might at least check out her story, but what if they went to the building and it had been cleared out? She would have no proof, then. How they got small would become a big mystery. Even if they somehow found a way to eat and drink, they would never get back to normal size.
They would become curiosities, she realized. She pictured herself standing next to a giant microphone on David Letterman's desk, telling her tale to the world, and shuddered.
She had enjoyed some of this experience so far, she admitted, but she did not want to spend the rest of her life like this!
After a minute or so the car came to a stop and the engine shut off. The front door opened and the mother's voice said, "Now stay here and be good, Becky. Mommy's got to go pick up Daddy's dry cleaning. I'll be right back."
"Okay, I'll play with my new dolly," the little girl replied as her mother hurried off.
Caitlin untied the rope and dropped down to the ground. The car, one of those compact foreign jobs, sat much lower than the pickup truck had the previous night, so she felt she could get back into the bumper easily enough in a pinch. The curb was close by, and she climbed it, peering out from the shadow to see where they were.
They were in a small parking lot, directly in front of a large building with a "Martinizing" sign in the window. Dry cleaning, thought Caitlin. Did she have time to help Randi before the mother returned?
No one else was around. Desperately, she yelled out "Randi!" at the open passenger window above her. For an instant she thought she saw the redhead flash into view as the child waved her around. "Can you hear me, Randi? We're with you!"
There was no reply, but the little girl had started talking. "Why don't you talk any more, dollie?" she asked. "Are you a toy again?"
Caitlin did not hear Randi's reply, if there had been any at all. Then, the kid's mother suddenly emerged from the store, two bagged suits in one hand. That was quick, Caitlin thought as she desperately ran back to the bumper and returned to her safe perch. As she climbed in, the mother hung the suits in the back seat opposite Becky, then got back inside. The car started a moment later and sped off.
"Any answer?" asked Tania worriedly.
"No, she probably didn't hear me," Caitlin replied. "There wasn't time to get closer, and the mother almost saw me as it was."
"If she leaves the kid in the car long enough, we might be able to distract her into dropping Randi," suggested Tania. "She's strapped in that chair and can't get to us right now. If Randi could get loose, we might be able to get her out."
"Good idea," Caitlin replied. "But we either have to get the door open or climb up to the window before the mother comes back."
The car slowed again, paused, then pulled forward a short distance and stopped. The next errand, thought Caitlin. What was it this time? Hopefully shopping. Something that took a while would be nice.
The door opened and the mother got out, but this time she opened up the rear car door instead of leaving Becky behind. "Come on," she told her daughter. "I don't know how long this'll take. You have to come along."
"But, Mommy, I want to stay and play with my dollie!" the child insisted.
Caitlin untied the rope, dropped out of the bumper and moved to a position just behind the car's rear tire, looking up at the mother's giant legs just a few inches away. She had reached into the back seat and was working on opening Becky's seat belt, and did not notice the tiny woman by her feet.
"Where'd you get that, anyway? It's not one I gave you," said the mother, struggling to get the seat restraints open.
"I found it," the girl replied proudly. "It walks and talks. It's a real live toy!"
"Sure," the mother said sarcastically. "It looks real enough, doesn't it? That's some imagination you have there, kiddo. No more 'Toy Story' for you! Now, bring it in if you want. We'll find out who it belongs to later."
At last the straps came free and Becky jumped out of the car, still holding onto Randi. The tiny redhead was still frozen, her arms sticking outward stiffly, her face locked in an expressionless stare. Was she dead, or what?
Then Caitlin realized what she was up to and almost laughed aloud.
Tania came up behind Caitlin just to watch the mother and child walk away towards the front door of a huge brick building. "Did she take her?" Tania asked.
"Yeah, she's still holding on," Caitlin replied. "But I've got to hand it to Randi. She's a genius!"
"What the hell do you mean?" Tania looked confused.
"The mother looked right at her," Caitlin explained, "and Randi just played dumb. You know how she tends to freeze up all the time? For once she's making that work in her favor!"
Tania raised an eyebrow. "You mean the mom just thinks Randi's another one of her kid's toys?"
"Yep. I saw her when they walked by. She had her arms locked in place and didn't move her head or say anything."
"You're right," Tania agreed after a moment. "That was brilliant! I didn't think Randi had it in her."
"Neither did I," Caitlin agreed. "Now, do we go in after her or not?"
At that moment another car pulled up immediately next to theirs. Tania and Caitlin ducked underneath their own vehicle, into the shadow of the wheel well. Someone got out of the other car and made their way into the building, not noticing them at all.
"I'm not moving from this spot," said Caitlin then, and Tania readily agreed.
But, after another couple of minutes, they realized they would have to. The mother came out of the front door, almost dragging Becky behind her. The child was crying pitifully, and her hands were both empty.