THE SW CASINO
By Minimizer

Chapter 48

Irwin spent the rest of the evening showing me just what kind of a toy I really was.

First, he made me ride around on the model railroad he'd set up in the back corner of the basement. He seemed to really enjoy watching me hang onto the cars while he sent the engine whipping along the track at its maximum speed. I held on for dear life, afraid that I might shock myself if I landed on the electrified track, even though he assured me there wasn't any danger of that.

After that we played pool, and I discovered he'd made a special, short cue stick just for me. We played a few games of nine-ball, with him breaking each time and letting me take the first turn no matter which balls dropped. Because I was only ten inches high, I had to walk out onto the table to address the cue ball, which was so big it came up to my thighs.

To play, he placed a guide stand next to the ball, since there was no way I could have wielded one as well as my own stick. I then lined up behind the cue and forced it forward sharply. At first I had trouble getting enough velocity to make anything more than the most simple shots, but after a couple of games, I could send the thing flying hard enough to bounce off several rails on its way to the target.

If you've ever played pool before (which I had, by the way), I must tell you, it's completely different when you're actually standing on the table. The point of view is totally off, so I had to all but relearn the game. You're used to being able to walk around from above and view the angles and whatnot from any direction, but I didn't have that luxury. I only stood about three times as high as the balls, and getting up on the rails was the only way to get any more height, since Irwin wouldn't help me out. So, needless to say, I didn't do very well.

The main trouble was getting out of the way of any ricocheting balls during a complex shot. After all, if any of them touched me, it was a "scratch," just as it would be if they touched his hand or arm after a shot. I had to take off the dress in order to move around without tripping over myself, but Irwin didn't seem to mind. He did, though, refuse to give me any special treatment just because I was a doll, and he made no attempt to let me win. I lost badly, but by the last game, I'd at least seen some improvement, and he congratulated me on giving it "the old college try."

After this he fixed us both some dinner, a frozen pizza. While he was upstairs fixing it, I practiced some pool shots. However, getting the balls back out of the pockets was extremely difficult at my size, as they were pretty bulky, though not as heavy as I would have thought. When Irwin returned, he seemed happy that I'd at least done some practice, though, which was the idea. I wanted him to start thinking I was accepting this as my new life.

After we ate, he pulled out that old classic Monopoly. Irwin seemed to enjoy watching me rolling the oversized dice, lugging around the dog token, turning over the Chance and Community Chest cards, and carrying houses and hotels to my properties as I developed them. He didn't lift a finger to help me, though, not even when I had to sort through my unwieldy stack of bills. Oh well, I thought, at least he played banker.

In the end, it was a close game, but I lost when I landed on his fully developed North Carolina Avenue, forcing me to sell off most of the rest of my houses. At that point I knew it was over and resigned. He thanked me for a good, well-played game, looked at his watch, and announced that it was time for bed. "Thanks for a lovely evening, Ashley," he said to me as he finished putting the game away. "I had a great time. This is just what I've been dreaming of, you know. I'm not alone any more."

"It was nice," I agreed, and that much at least had been true. I still resented being a captive, but at least for a little bit, I'd managed to forget where I was. Besides, Irwin was perfectly pleasant to be around, and seemed to be going out of his way to be a complete gentleman. He was somewhat timid and completely unattractive, yet charming in an innocent sort of way. I figured I could probably grow to like him, if I'd been normal sized and he'd treated me with some measure of respect.

"Well, I'm off to bed, then," he added. "Good night, Ashley." Then he bent over and kissed me on the top of my head.

I watched him head up the stairs, and just stared at him as he waved just before turning off the lights. I was disgusted, of course, but also felt a strange measure of pity for Irwin. He was someone who seemed like he really could have a relationship with a normal woman, if only he tried, but instead, he resorted to capturing me and using me as a pet. The kiss only proved it. It hadn't been from a man to a woman, but was more like the peck you give your dog or cat.

Damn, I hated this! More than anything, I wanted OUT of this place, and back to normal size! I wasn't sure I was going to make it through any long-term plan. I was sure I'd go crazy first.

Anyway, I watched a little more TV, then went to bed. I fell asleep fairly quickly, and dreamed of Irwin growing even larger, then being as cruel to me as the victims in InkVenom's story. I awoke in a cold sweat a couple of times, then finally drifted off for good, finishing off the night with a pleasant dream of Mark rescuing me from my basement prison.

Irwin woke me up early the next morning and we went through the same ritual as yesterday. First we showered, then we had breakfast. The only differences were this time I had liquid soap (which was much easier to use) and for food I nibbled on a glazed donut. I also had to wear a different Barbie gown this time, and I forced myself to pretend to enjoy wearing it. Unfortunately, there wasn't anything on the tabletop I could steal for use as a lockpick, and my captor never gave me a chance to move around anywhere else in the house.

Finally, Irwin left to go to work, leaving me alone in the basement. I took off the dress and went back to exploring the floor, looking for something I could use to start scraping the case off the computer. I managed to undo a screw from the fender of the exercise bike under the stairs, but this could only barely scratch the plastic, so I gave up on that after a few minutes.

What I really needed was something my size, I thought. It would be more easy to manage, and would probably cut through the thick plastic easily. Had I brought anything with me that could fit the bill?

I went back up to the tabletop and checked out the bustier, which I hadn't worn since my arrival. What was all that internal ribbing made of, anyway? Hoping it was metal, I pried off some of the cloth exterior, only to discover the framework was made of plastic. I did rescue some elastic bands, though, which might come in handy later on.

Kicking at the corset in frustration, I noticed something else up here with me: the discarded heel of my left boot. I checked it out. Where it had separated from my heel, it had been glued, but what about the rest of it? There was still a piece of the broken stiletto attached to the boot sole. What was holding it on, I wondered?

I banged it against the side of the desk for a while until the stubborn section finally came off. As I'd hoped, the layers were held together by several short but reasonably thick nails.

I pulled off the remaining section of heel, pried the nails out of the boot, and drove them back through the wooden piece again so they protruded out the other side. I had made something like a crude mace, which could serve equally well as a weapon or a tool. I wasted no time in congratulating myself. This was my ticket out of here!

I hurried over to the computer and started working on the casing. My initial excitement faded as I saw this was not going to be a short-term project after all. I carved and carved, but it still took what seemed like hours to get even one of the screws free. Well, of course, I wasn't actually touching the screws, just the case around them, but you get the idea.

There was no clock down here, so I turned on the TV and used it to keep track of time, pausing my work only long enough to have a snack for lunch. Gradually I worked the second screw loose, then the third. Now I was starting to get excited again. Would I finish before Irwin got home, though? If possible, I wanted to get out of here today!

Before starting on the fourth screw, I pried at the casing and found I could twist it sideways, exposing the computer's insides, without having to do any more carving. I put the boot heel aside and started looking at the configuration switches along the edge of the exposed circuit board.

Naturally, I had no idea what each switch did, so I started trying them at random. I didn't have much luck, though. None of the settings seemed to alter the Internet's status.

After a couple of trials, I started searching the help files, which I doubted would be of any use. I was wrong, however. In short order, I located the internal switch map for this model of computer, and it told me which selection to make to ensure the Internet functioned. The only reason to turn it off, said the manual, was if the user didn't want someone else in the house, a child perhaps, from being able to access the 'net from this machine. The Internet usage tax was still billed as long as the hub was active.

Now almost breathless with anticipation, I placed the switches in the proper configuration and closed the case back up. If this worked, I could be out of here in no time!

I turned the computer back on and waited for it to boot, almost jumping up and down in anticipation. When the desktop finally showed itself, I hastily clicked on the 'net activation icon and waited breathlessly for the login screen.

My fingers were crossed, and I uttered a silent prayer for it to work. Just please, God, let it work!

It didn't.

Previous

Next

Back to Main Story Page