Pacing back and forth backstage in the studio, Kelsey’s heart was racing in her chest.  She had never been a contestant on a television show, let alone as scandalous and controversial as this one.  

“This is stupid, this is stupid,” she muttered out loud.  “We shouldn’t do this, why am I ever here?” Kelsey stammered.  

—

Kelsey Hendricks was a woman who just turned thirty nine years old.  She and her ex-husband had been married almost immediately after they turned eighteen.  They had one daughter together but had divorced three years ago.  It turns out her ex-husband Jeremy was a serial cheater and had been fooling around with women behind her back for years.  

Once the divorce settled, Kelsey tried and failed to get back into the dating scene.  The world had changed since she had been single, and Kelsey had lost all comfort in dating.  She had tried meeting people on apps, but found it very awkward.  

As if dating wasn’t hard enough, technology in her world had advanced to the point that shrinking was now a thing.  While private citizens were not allowed access to this technology for safety reasons, companies were permitted access, as long as they used their technology responsibly.  Most businesses were able to abide by these rules, except for one:  the entertainment industry.  

Television and movies had jumped all over the new technology.  It was a business full of high-powered, rich executives and savvy lawyers, both of which were well adept at finding loopholes.  Because of this, it was determined that people who shrunken themselves voluntarily on TV would have to sign extensive agreements where the staff were not liable if anything happened.  

This originally had very little impact on Kelsey.  She and her eighteen year old daughter, Erica, began watching trashy reality TV shows, most of which now incorporated shrunken people in one way or another.  The favorite trash TV show the pair found was called Tiny Lovers.  It was a show where a normal sized man or woman would have ten tiny contestants trying to survive various challengers.  Whoever the final winner was at the end got to be grown back, won a large sum of money, and got a date with that week’s star.  

At first, Kelsey was appalled by the idea of the show, and chastised Erica for watching it.  However, Erica managed to convince her mom just to watch part of an episode.  Then a whole episode.  Then several episodes.  Soon enough, Kelsey and Erica were now spending their Friday nights together at Kelsey’s home, watching their twisted show.  Occasionally, when Erica decided to have a social life and make plans, Kelsey found herself glued to the TV screen alone, watching her guilty pleasure.  

When Erica had realized that the show was going on tour and it would be coming to their city, she pitched her mom the idea of going onto the show.  

“Absolutely not!  I have no intention of being shrunken and smashed under some guys junk,” she scolded, something she had seen happen on the show on numerous occasions.  

“Mom!” Erica laughed, finding her mom’s reaction hilarious.  “I meant as a big!  You don’t think a bunch of tiny guys would be worshiping you?!”

Kelsey instantly blushed.  “I uhh, I don’t know,” she said, though clearly considering the idea of it.  “You wouldn’t want to see your mom on TV!  Especially like that!”

“Oh please, you’d have a great time!” Erica insisted.  “Besides, you need to start dating again!  You spend too much time inside watching TV!

She hated to admit it, but Kelsey knew that her daughter was right.  Erica would be going away to college in a couple of months, and Kelsey’s social life had really fallen by the wayside.  She mainly hung out with Erica or her older sister, but that was about it.  

“Ya know, I hate to say that you're right,” Kelsey said, taking a sip of her hot tea.  “Think they’d want me there?”

“Of course, you’d make an awesome big!” Erica said, trying to pump her mom up.  “You’re tall already and you’re pretty.  Not to mention your big feet and butt….”

Kelsey’s eyes widened as she choked on her tea.  She saw Erica laughing.  “Alright that’s enough,” Kelsey said with a smile.  She knew Erica was joking around but Kelsey was a bit self-conscious about her height.  At six feet in height a nice pair of heels meant that Kelsey towered over most guys when she went on dates.  

“Oh come on, it’s just what the producers will want,” Erica said, trying to move past her mom’s hesitations.  “And I’ll be there hyping you up too!”

Shooting Erica a surprised look, Kelsey shook her head.  “Uhhh, you will NOT be there young lady!” she said, seeing confusion and disappointment on her daughter’s face.  “If I’m going on the show and I end up doing…..something inappropriate, you will NOT be in attendance for that!”

“What?!  Not fair,” Erica whined.  “You’re just gonna go alone?”

“No, I’ll ask your aunt to go with me.”

“Not cool, mom,” Erica sighed, mostly teasing.  

With an innocent shrug and smile, Kelsey stuck her tongue out at her daughter in a playful manner.  Still, she was very intrigued by the idea of being able to go on this show.  She made a mental note to call her sister Denise later. 

—

“Are you serious, man?  Why would you sign up for that shit?” Andrew asked his friend, Jeff, glaring at him intently.  

“What?  It’s a great show!  It’ll be fun to be on it,” Jeff mumbled, avoiding making eye contact with his buddy.  

“Oh yeah, until you're crushed under some chick’s foot!  Or eaten!” the frustrated friend shouted.  “Do you know what the odds are that you’ll get killed?!”

Biting his lip, Jeff looked down, extremely embarrassed.  “Ugh, ninety percent.”

“Ninety fucking percent,” Andrew said, trying his hardest to drive home the point.  

Jeff just shrugged.  He knew this was an incredibly stupid idea but couldn’t think of anything to say other than “oh well.”  

Jeff and Andrew were roommates in their junior year of college.  Both were single, and while Jeff was a fairly introverted person, he wasn’t particularly bad with women.  Sure, he didn’t score as much as his roommate did, but he still got a bit of action.  

However, Jeff had his reasons for wanting to go on the show.  He had never told anyone, but for as long as he could remember he had a major size related fantasy.  It didn’t matter whether he was the giant or the tiny, he had a hard time getting off unless he was thinking about it.  

Believing this was a calculated risk, Jeff felt this was an opportunity he couldn’t afford to pass up.  He felt like he had been waiting for this his entire life, and really didn’t care what ended up happening.  When he saw that there was an opening to be a shrunken contestant, Jeff didn’t even think twice.  

“Well, is she hot at least?” Andrew asked, trying to lighten the mood.  

“I’ve been told yes, but we don’t get to see the person till we’re actually tiny on set,” Jeff responded.  

There was another moment of awkward silence.  “Well my dude, I’m wishing you good luck,” Andrew said, bringing his buddy in for a bro hug. 

“Thanks my man, I’ll be fine,” Jeff exclaimed, not at all with confidence.  

—

Standing nervously in front of a pair of producers, Kelsey blushed and started to sweat, waiting for them to break some bad news to her.  

Truth be told, Kelsey had absolutely nothing to worry about.  The two executives had determined the second they laid eyes on her that she was perfect for their program.  She was attractive but didn’t look like an unbelievable model.  She would be perfect for towering over their shrunken contestants.  She also seemed very sweet, but one of the producers had a gut instinct that she might be repressing something.  And that she’d be great on camera.

Kelsey was given a set of specific instructions.  She was told to show up ahead of time on the day of the shoot and use a particular entrance so she would not see any of the ten “lucky” contestants beforehand.  The show needed to keep its integrity after all.  

The producers also recommended that she wear something nice and casual, but be able to have something more erotic on underneath it.  

After taking the time to review the contract, Kelsey’s hands were shaking as she grasped the pen between her fingers.  She couldn’t believe the was actually doing this.  

—

On the day of the live show, Jeff treated it like any other morning.  He didn’t want to make a big deal out of him agreeing to be a contestant.  He didn’t bother to tell any of his family or friends, they would make a big deal about it and try their hardest to talk him out of it.  The last thing Jeff wanted was a bunch of relatives crying and begging him not to go on the show, ruining his mood and fantasy.  If this is how Jeff was meant to die, then so be it.  There wasn’t a chance in hell he was missing this opportunity.  

Jeff had texted his parents that morning as he always did, along with his older sister.  He made casual small talk, but made sure to leave out that he would be driving an hour to be a guest on Tiny Lovers.  

Upon arrival, Jeff sat in a waiting area for about twenty minutes.  There were already three men in the room, and they just waited patiently as the remaining six filtered their way in.  There was a lot of awkward silence, as no one really wanted to initiate any small talk.  It was tough to try and make friends with the other people, considering most of them would not survive today's show.  

An attractive blonde who looked about college age entered the room, and started to show everyone around the studio. She introduced herself as Emily and told the “lucky” crew that she was a stage hand on the show.  “Now if you’ll come with me, I’ll show you our shrinking tech,” she said.  

The young woman soon pointed to a tunnel which appeared to lead from a room backstage out to the stage area.  The back of the tunnel had a normal sized entrance, while the end leading to the stage was only a few inches tall.  Emily went on to explain that the inside of the tunnel was lined with panels which acted as their shrinking technology.  The panels both shrunk and grew individuals, depending on which way you were walking.  

“Basically you walk into the tunnel from backstage at normal size, you come out here tiny,” Emily said, trying to simplify everything.  

“How small will we be coming out?” a guy standing near the back of the group asked.  

Emily smiled.  “Right now it’s set to an eighth of an inch.  We can adjust the tunnel and make it longer or shorter as we need, which in turn determines how much you guys will shrink.”

There was murmuring among the group.  Then someone in the back shouted “let the best man win!” Several members of the group laughed.  Jeff just stood there, now sweating bullets.  He was finally starting to question if this was a wise decision or not.  

Another stage hand, this one a man, led the guys to the backstage area.  Everyone had already signed their hold harmless agreements and additional documents.  All they needed to do now was wait.  

—

“We shouldn’t do this, why am I even here,” Kelsey stammered, her heart racing as she paced back and forth.  She was talking to her older sister, Denise, who was just looking at her and smiling, clearly finding this whole situation amusing.  

“We?  Uh I’m not getting involved with this.  This is all you sis,” Denise taunted, trying to lighten the mood.  “If it makes you feel any better you look great though!”

Brushing her hair out of her eyes, Kelsey blushed and made a pouty face.  “Awwww thank you, darling,” she said with a wink.  She did have to admit that she looked pretty damn good today.  Her dark blonde hair flowed freely just past her shoulders.  She had taken the producers' advice and dressed comfortably, wearing a black t-shirt with an obscure band logo on it, a tight fitting pair of mom jeans, and a pair of Birkenstocks for her size twelve feet.  She had made sure to get a pedicure prior to today's events, and was excited to show off her new dark blue toenails.  

While she was dressed casually, she had also taken to producers advice for what to wear underneath her clothes.  Not even Denise knew, but Kelsey was sporting a very slutty pair of lingerie that she knew would be revealed at some point.  

“Hello,” a feminine voice called out from behind the two sisters.  They turned and saw both a red-headed Caucasian woman and a brunette Latina approaching them.  “I’m Lauren, this is Alana,” the red head said, reaching out to shake Kelsey’s hand.  “You’re kinda tall,” she laughed.  

“Thank you,” Kelsey smiled.  She knew exactly who these two were, having seen plenty of episodes of the show.  She loved the dynamic between the two hosts and was more than thrilled to be a part of it.  

“So real quick before we go out, has anyone explained to you how the tunnels work?” Alana asked.  

“Oh I’m familiar!  Never miss an episode!” Kelsey said, trying and failing to hide her excitement.  

“Fantastic,” Lauren responded.  “I’ll be normal sized with you, Alana will be shrunken so she can interview our contestants.  Come on out after the introduction!”

Kelsey watched as the gorgeous red-head walked out onto the stage to cheers and applause from the fans.  Meanwhile, Alana disappeared into a separate room with a size changing tunnel.

—

Ten men stood in the tunnel, most of them sweating bullets and finally starting to question if this was worth it.  They all had size fetishes in some way or another, and even though the odds were stacked against all of them, each had a thought in the back of their mind that their size fantasy could become a reality.  

“Scuse me, coming through,” Alana said, weaving her way through the nervous bodies standing in her way.  The guys watched as she walked down the tunnel, getting smaller and smaller with every step. At the end of the tunnel, Alana turned at waves at the now giant guys standing at the other end.  She then opened the door, her quarter inch body making its way through.   

—

“Alright everyone, we’ve got a very special guest for today's episode of Tiny Lovers,” Lauren said, smiling into the camera.  The stunning red-head winked at the camera, then turned off stage.  “Please welcome, Kelsey!”

The crowd applauded and cheered as the nervous woman came out on stage.  She gave the crowd a shy wave and hit her lip.  “Thank you, thank you,” she said, visibly blushing.  

“So Kelsey, I just gotta ask, how tall are you?” Lauren said.  She was just under eye level with Kelsey and she was wearing heels.  

“I’m uh, six feet on the dot,” she said with a big smile.  

“You hear that everyone, we’ve got one tall goddess here!” Lauren said enthusiastically.  “And why did you come on the show today?”

“Well, I’m single,” she paused, knowing it was time to say the show’s slogan.  “And I’m here to find a TINY LOVER!” she shouted along with the audience.  

“Alright everyone, you heard her!” Lauren laughed, placing her hand on Kelsey’s shoulder.  “We’re about to cut to our tiny correspondent Alana.  See her there on the floor everyone?” 

Kelsey leaned forward as Lauren pointed, and she saw what appeared to be an ant on the ground.  “Oh my god, she’s tiny,” she whispered.  She had seen the show countless times but this was the first time she had seen someone actually miniaturized in person.  

“Yep, an eighth of an inch,” Lauren said with a smile.  Off mic she leaned towards Kelsey.  “The same size your tiny guys will be,” she whispered and winked.  

Though Lauren couldn’t hear a word Alana was saying, and she could barely see her, she got the signal from a producer that they were cutting back to her.  “Thanks Alana,” she said, only able to guess what her co-star said.  “Say Kelsey,” she said, turning her attention to their guest of honor.  “Before we bring out our lucky contestants, I just have to ask, what size shoe are you?”

Blushing once more, Kelsey smiled.  “Uh, size twelve,” she said, as the camera panned down to her well pedicured toes.  

“Holy crap, I think we should give Alana a closer look.  What do you say, audience?” Lauren said, pandering with a laugh.  She leaned in and whispered into Kelsey’s ear.  “Next to her, try not to crush her.”

Biting her lip in excitement, Kelsey slid her foot out of her Birkenstock.  She played it up to the camera, showing off her nail polish, before slamming it down on the floor directly next to Alana with a hard *THWACK*.  The audience watched the camera feed from the tiny photographer filming Alana and went wild.  The tiny woman was screaming hysterically, in very real panic.  The hosts were NOT supposed to be involved in any of the danger.   The impact from Kelsey’s giant foot knocked her off her feet onto her ass.  

Trying to be a professional, Alana took a deep breath and walked up to the enormous foot.  She forced a smile as the massive toes twitching behind her still made her extremely uncomfortable.  

With the cameras back on Lauren, the red-head flashed a smile to the camera.  “Already, what do you say we bring out are ten LUCKY contestants?!” to cheers from the crowd.  

—

Standing at the back of the tunnel with nine other desperate guys, Jeff wondered if it was too late to back out of all of this.  He then heard some stage hands shouting behind them that it was time.  Three guys started walking down the dark hallway, only illuminated by the dim lights occasionally radiating from the panels.  They were clearly getting smaller with every step they took.  

Jeff soon found himself following those three, almost having an out of body experience.  His brain was telling him to back out of this but he just kept walking forward.  Feel a slight bulge in his pants, it was clear which organ was controlling Jeff at this moment.  

Following the three guys in front of him out of the dark hallway, the bright lights of the stage were blinding to the men.  Jeff could hear the tiny guys talking behind him so it was clear the rest had followed him down the tunnel.  He could hear the audience before he saw them, and he had seen enough episodes of the show to know he was probably being filmed by tiny cameramen right now.

When his vision started to return several seconds later, he realized just how small he was.  “Holy shit, we’re fucking tiny,” he said out loud to no one in particular.  

Looking to his left, Jeff saw a Hispanic woman wearing a red top and holding a microphone talking to the camera.  “Round one begins now,” she said.  

“Wait, what's round one?” a guy in the back asked.  With the group now starting to spread out, they felt the ground shake beneath them.  There was a giant shadow, then an earth-shaking thud.  

The entire roster of shrunken men turned in horror, to see an absolutely enormous food directly where one of their tiny companions.  

“RUN!” a booming tet feminine voice called out from above them.  

Jeff’s eyes widened and he started to break into a sprint.