Shocked and humiliated from a sudden return to kindergarten age, confused by the sheer impossibility of the situation and terrified of what Marcus might do to him now, Tom just sunk into his clothes with growing tears in his eyes and cried, "Help me!"
At first it looked like Marcus would just shake his head, steal the clothes and walk off... or worse, that he might humiliate him further. But as young Tom sat lying in a massive pile of his own clothes, helpless as his immaculate five-year-old body suggested and waiting for his fate to be decided, Marcus said, "All right."
* * *
Standing at a safe range, Dr. Augustus watched as Mark extended a hand in Tom's support. Neither of them were aware of why this had happened or whether or not it would stop, yet Mark's courage was admirable. The last thing the scientist would have done in his place would be to HELP the seemingly infectious victim of an age regression, not knowing whether or not he'd end up in the same state again. Maybe it was time for a little leniency.
But as he primed the device, both males rounded the next corner... out of range.
* * *
Tom had a hand clutched to Mark's as though his life depended on it, while the other held up the massive T-shirt. Mark himself had slipped into Tom's underwear... not a pleasant option, but the only one available nonetheless. As he strode through the streets and entered the beach area with Tom in an all-out run just behind, people started to take notice, turn and stare.
The fact that Tom was opening up the waterworks didn't help. Mark imagined what it would look like to see a grown man dressed only in underwear half-dragging a cute, crying little boy with a comically oversized shirt through the streets. They needed to get somewhere safe before he was arrested.
"I don' understand," Tom said through a sniff. "How'd it happen? What'd you do?"
"Look, I don't know, but I want to get to a restroom or something," Mark said. "You need some clothes."
Looking across the two-metre-high stone wall blocking the streets from the beach, he spotted a public toilet. "There."
Tom still had no idea what was going on. He managed to gather from his new perspective, the pitch of his voice and Mark's previous predicament, that he was young. Very young. A helpless child with a smooth, hairless face and the big frightened eyes to match. Lost in a world of adults. Without Mark he wouldn't last a second, so his little body clung to an instinct of survival and held on as they hurried towards the restrooms.
If the crowd thought Mark and young Tom had been a strange sight to be, they weren't ready for the stereotypically dressed scientist who came bolting after them, wheeling his mechanism along as best he could.
* * *
Mark got his first dash of luck outside the changing rooms. The pair of boy's pants lying draped against a pole were a little big, but they'd at least fit Tom better. He checked to ensure no one was watching (most eyes were trained on the latest spectacle to hit the street) and swiped them, ushering the child with him into the restrooms.
As humiliating as it was for Tom's previously attractive form to be able to fit into these kid's pants, he was glad that at least he wasn't wearing the giant shirt now lying discarded beside him. Finally pausing for a rest, he even got to examine the situation. It was bizarre - almost amusing - to note just how small he'd become. His bare chest led down to a cute pair of jeans and feet fresh from running in the sand. To anyone else he looked like a typical five-year-old kid enjoying a day at the beach.
What if, unlike Mark, he was stuck like this?
Tom couldn't bare the thought. The idea of losing his maturity, charm and history all in one fell swoop, trading it for this adorable little five-year-old's body with nothing to attract but the smiles of much older women, was too much.
Beside him, Mark had finished putting on Tom's clothes. "You okay?" There didn't seem to be anyone else to hear them.
Tom felt the intolerable tears produced from a body longing for any form of conflict coming on again. "I'm scared, Mark."
"Listen," he replied, "it's okay. Same thing happened to me and it just wore off after five minutes. You'll be fine."
"But it's been five minutes!" Tom surprised himself with the desperate whining sound of his new voice. "What if I don't change back?"
Mark didn't have a whole lot to say to that and in the end, didn't have to say anything. Outside they heard someone panting, and a huge computer device rolled on out, followed by a balding, fat man in a dirty lab coat.
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