Chapter 4

Skippy woke up with a groan and pressed her hand up to her head, where it had smacked on the pavement. She looked at her hand and saw a small amount of blood on her palm.

"Terrific." She rolled her eyes and started to get up. That's when she noticed something was wrong. "Where's my car?"
Panicked, she quickly turned around, but didn't see it anywhere. "Oh no." She said, thinking that somebody stole her car. "Spaz! We have a..." She trailed off, noticing that her house was also missing.

"What the heck is going on?"

Skippy started to get worried, because she didn't know where she was or where her sister was. It was when she looked up that she started to notice something. The ceiling extended for miles and at each corner there were giant round tires.

"You have GOT to be kidding me!"

She grabbed her backpack from the ground and walked over to the closest one and realized that it was in fact a tire. And not just any tire, but the tires that belong on her car.

"This is so not good."

Just then she heard a loud noise that sounded like the house door opening.

"SPAZ!" Skippy yelled.

Spaz was just coming out of the door, her bag slung over her arm.

"What, Skippy?" She paused. "... Skippy?"

"Spaz! Down here!" Skippy called, suddenly afraid of being stepped on.

Spaz looked down, and spotted the tiny figure in the grass, waving her arms frantically. Her eyes popped.

"Skippy?" She squeaked. She dropped her bag with a thud that shook Skippy a bit. Spaz was about to get on her knees, but then seemed to think better of it, and took a step back, eyeing Skippy warily.

"Skippy?" She called, as if the real Skippy might appear at any moment.

"Spaz, it's me! Your sister!"

The flutter of little wings caught Spaz's eye, and she spotted the fairy hiding behind a tire.

"Oh no." She lunged forward, grabbed Skippy, picked up her duffle bag, and ran back into the house.

After Spaz placed her sister on the kitchen table, Skippy started looking around the room. She was a little shaken up from the sudden movement and sudden elevation, because she was afraid of heights. The thought of being tiny was so scary that her brain was trying to think of a solution. She avoided the giant shadow that loomed over her with ease. She wasn't ready to face her sister like this yet.

"Skippy?" Spaz noticed right away that something was wrong, besides the obvious. After growing up with her sister for years, she could read her like a book. "What's wrong?"

"We need to leave." Skippy finally spoke, still not looking at her sister. "We need to get out of here before the same thing happens to you. We can't risk it."

"I can't drive!" Spaz said, suddenly nervous. "Not legally, at least."

"That doesn't matter now." Skippy said. "We need to get out. It's critically important."

"But... where will we go? We have nowhere else." Spaz said, sounding as small as Skippy felt.

"Anywhere." Skippy answered, trying to sound brave and big.

"Shouldn't we wait for Uncle Bobby to get back, at least?"

"No. We need to go now."

Spaz took a deep breath before nodding. "Alright."

"And ever since we've been on our own." Skippy finished off her story.

"So, you haven't seen your uncle since then?" Sam asked.

"Nope. Because somebody wants to keep hunting." Spaz glared at Skippy.

"Hey! We have a job to do and I'm not gonna sit around and act like nothing is wrong!"

"What about what's wrong with you?" Spaz asked, irritated by the same fight that they have been having for months.

"I'm not dying!" Skippy argued.

"Alright!" Dean yelled interrupting them. "So, let me get this straight... Pixies are real?"
Everyone gave Dean an odd look.

"I'll take that as a yes."

"So, how long ago did this happen?" Sam asked while Dean was still getting over the fact that pixies were real.

"About... six months ago, maybe?" Skippy thought. "I don't know. Guess I figured that there was no point to keep track of time anymore."

"What she means is," Spaz translated disdainfully, "Is that she doesn't want to know how long she's been tiny. And it's been about eight months, actually."

"Eight months." Sam breathed, staring at Skippy's tiny face. "And you've never found a cure?"

"No." Spaz said somberly. "And you don't really meet people who know how to fix it, either."

"Well, maybe we could help." Sam offered hopefully.

"Uh, Sammy? What about our hunt?" Dean reminded him.

"We could do both." Sam said eagerly. "Besides, they could really use our help."

"What were you hunting?" Skippy asked, hoping for a change in subject.

"There's been some people going missing from this town." Dean explained. "And we need to stop it before more disappear."

"Let me guess," Spaz said, "There's been five so far?"

Sam and Dean both stared at Spaz.

"Yeah, exactly." Dean replied.

"We were hunting the same thing." Spaz explained.

"Well at least you'll have somebody to watch your back this time." Skippy shrugged.

Spaz glared at her sister. "And whose fault is that?"

"I'd rather not get into this when we have company." Skippy sighed and turned her attention back to the guys.

"So, do you guys have any leads?" Sam asked.

“Well there doesn’t seem to be a connection between the victims. It seems random.” Skippy said.

“Or maybe we’re just not seeing it.” Spaz said, sounding a little annoyed. “We’ve looked for one forever though. Have you guys picked up on anything?”

“Not a lot," Dean replied, "Not all of the victims are from around here, but—“

“They all disappear from this town.” Skippy finished.

“And it’s all started since they re-did the museum.” Spaz added.

“Maybe it is a spirit then?” Sam asked, looking to Dean.“I don’t know if spirits can kidnap people.”

“Aliens?” Spaz offered.

“Spaz, why would aliens care to kidnap people after a museum opening?” Skippy rolled her eyes.

“Maybe the museum is a landmark. We should check the roof—“

“No. What do you guys think?”

Dean looked momentarily confused, and then asked Skippy, "Is she serious?"

"Very," she replied flatly. "And that's not even her craziest theory."

Dean slowly nodded his head and turned to Sam, wondering what they had gotten themselves into.

"So, maybe we should check out the museums?" Sam suggested.

"Sounds good to me," Skippy replied.

Dean and Sam both looked at Skippy and then at Spaz.

"She's helps you out on hunts, right?" Dean asked Spaz as he looked at Skippy.

"That's right. She's got an eye for detail that tiny girl. You'd be surprised with the things she catches."

"How do you carry her around without people seeing her?" Dean asked curiously.

“Oh, there’s lots of ways. Pockets, in a pickle jar, in the brim of a sombrero. I’d like to get her a hamster ball, but she won’t let me. She can even sit on my shoulder and be hidden by my hair. If I don’t run, anyway. You know, like a rat, only smaller.”

“She’s your only caregiver?” Sam asked, seeming to wince a little.

“Well, we live with our uncle sometimes, but we haven’t seen him since…this.” Skippy said flatly.

“But don’t worry, I’m doing an excellent job.” Spaz said firmly.

“Definitely. She’s only thrown me away once.” Skippy offered tonelessly. Spaz squirmed.

“Yeah….only once though…”
Dean stared at the tiny girl. “You….are pretty lucky to be alive.”

Skippy laughed.

“Mean,” Spaz murmured.

"Hey, it's true and you know it," Skippy responded as she folded her arms. "Now are we going to check this museum out or just sit here and give these two lessons on how to take care of a tiny person?"

"Alright, sheesh. No need to get bossy." Spaz picked up her sister and placed her on her shoulder, carefully buried in her hair.

"Huh." Dean looked at Spaz's hair, impressed. "That works better than I thought it would."

"Come on," Sam said as he stood up. "The museum closes in an hour and half. We don't have much time to look around."

"Mind if we ride with you? It's kinda distracting to drive with her on my shoulder."

"Why don't you just put her in the jar?" Dean asked, earning himself a jab in his side by his brother.

"That's fine. You can ride with us. There's plenty of room in the back seat." Sam glared at his brother, who just shrugged and they all went out to the car.

"No complaining about the music, either. And don't even think about asking me to play that girly pop music."