Sr. Airman Melanie Peterson brushed a few strands of blond hair out of her face. Blue eyes watched for anything amiss as she walked down the darkened hallway on her rounds.
Guarding a bunch of stuff that nobody knew about was about as boring as military jobs could get. Melanie just wished something exciting would happen. She knew nothing would though. Nobody would find out where this top-secret base was. Hell, she didn't even know where this base was and she was stationed on it!
She walked for several more minutes checking doors as she went. Her heart skipped a beat as she saw a door slightly ajar. Had it been that way on her last round? She couldn't remember. The scientists did tend to be absentminded about such things. She was just trying to decide what to do when a noise from inside broke the stillness of the night.
After reporting a possible intruder to the duty sergeant on her radio and drawing her weapon from its holster, the twenty-year-old airman slowly pushed the door open to investigate. Now she could hear a humming sound. It was like a deep throbbing. Carefully she went in, sweeping with weapon and light, ready to shoot.
"Come out!" she yelled, "Come out with your hands up!"
A skittering off to her left made her turn. Yes, something WAS in here with her. She bumped into a control panel. A quick look showed that it had a light switch. Returning her sweeping light to the room, she reached for the button.
What Melanie didn't realize was that her finger had flipped the wrong switch. The humming suddenly intensified. A flashing amber light to her right made the airman look. Her blood chilled as the light pulsed. Feet sounded in the corridor outside. Melanie stabbed for the light switch again and within a brief second was engulfed in light.
Her weapon and flashlight clattered to the floor as arms pulled inward and became weaker. Toned muscles became smaller and less compact. Legs followed suit as she retreated toward puberty, lowering her torso, which was shrinking as well. Her breasts vanished completely and her fatigues became loose and bulky.
Melanie felt herself become lighter as the world grew around her. Shadows became larger. Then the light was gone. This is a funny place, she thought as she stumbled out of her pants and combat boots.
"Peterson!"
That voice sounded familiar. Turning toward it, she was caught in the glare of a flashlight. She reached up and slowly pushed her now huge hat back out of her eyes.
"Holy shit!" the man exclaimed.
The little girl just giggled.