“Great job, Dale!” Sherri said. “You won!”

“Wow, I did!” Dale, said, a wide smile coming to his face. He had not only completed the race, but he was the winner, the first across. That was even with his brush with Hailey that cost him two ribbons.

“You will be enlarged to half-sized,” Betty said. “But we must wait until the game is over so we don’t give it away to the others, so just hang back here.”

Dale complied. He didn’t mind being four inches a little while longer if he knew he was going to be three feet tall in a few minutes. It may not be full-sized but it was the next best thing, and the best a person could get out of this competition.

Carla knew she must be getting near the end but she couldn’t seem to find the right path. One moment she seemed to be heading towards the far wall where the end of the maze was, but the next moment the path turned back on itself and was heading back in the direction of the lamp post.

Finally it seemed that she was going somewhere new. She took a path that was curving up to her right gently. The curve became sharp, and suddenly turned downward. Carla was frusturated and was not paying enough attention. She stumbled and fell onto the downward-sloping segment. She slid for a few inches until the platform dropped off entirely, and Carla fell, landing in a lump at the bottom of a passageway.

Was she trapped? No, there was a door ahead of her, but it was closed. Did it have a knob or a button? It had neither. There was only a slot which read: “You must insert one ribbon here to continue”.

One ribbon? Carla only had three! She had gave her fourth ribbon to Dale! Angry over her moment of weakness, Carla roared and kicked the door, which did nothing but make a loud clanging sound. She looked around at the walls; they were too high to scale. She had to give up a ribbon, otherwise there would be no passing through.

Reluctantly, Carla pulled a ribbon out of her pants and stuck the end into the slot. The door swallowed it up like a hungry animal. The door slid open, and before Carla could allow it to want a second ribbon she slid through it. The doorway lead into an underground passage that seemed to go below some other segments of the maze. Carla walked it—she might be down a flag, but at least she was free. There would be other ribbons, but would there be enough time?

Hailey was having a much worse time. Now that she was free, she was trying to run as fast as she could to find the exit. But she somehow got stuck on a path that weaved it’s way towards the front of the game. Her relife at being freed was turning into frustration once again as the path made a right turn.

Just ahead Hailey saw something. It was a bra, hanging from a string! She went up to it, thinking there might be a fourth flag inside. But when she got there, the only thing she saw was the end of an opaque tube—one of the six tubes the contestants had crawled through at the beginning of the game! She had made her way clear to the beginning of the course!

Hailey through a fit, kicking the underside of the bra. Now how was she going to get to the end in time? She had two options; go straight or turn right. Hailey turned right because that lead directly into the center of the maze. She hoped that this would take her more or less speedily to the other side so she could finish.

Andy was very close; he could feel it. He had gotten lost for a little while and feared that he might be loosing time, but he was headed in the right direction now. He had passed through a rather large passageway with four tall pillars standing widthwise through the corridor. The leftmost pillar had two popsical sticks suspended from it. Andy wondered what it was all about and who had been there, but knew it wasn’t important. He ran through the area and made a left at the next junction point.

He was now running along the far wall of the maze. The end was getting closer. The maze took a left turn, then another left and he found himself running away from the end. Fortuanitely, Andy was able to find a right fork that branched it’s way back. He was running along the edge of the maze again when he found a side path that sloped upwards. He dashed up that path, knowing that this was it.

And it was: Andy had found the end of the maze. Beaming with his three ribbons in hand, Andy ran up to the board. Only one other person had beat him to it. He didn’t look to see who it was; he just pinned his ribbons up on the board. Gigantic clapping met his ears.

“Great job!” Marie beamed down at him. “I knew you could do it!”

Andy saw the three giantesses looking down at him. He also saw the person who had beat him: Dale. He was standing against the wall with his arms closed.

“Good going, Andy.” Dale said. “You’re going to be quarter-sized, now.”

“Cool,” Said Andy, sweating profusely as he walked to stand over by Dale. “How long have you been here?”

“Oh, just a few minutes,” Dale said. “I’m glad you didn’t wait for Carla. I kind of worried you would.”

“Have you seen her?” Andy asked.

“Yeah, she has three flags.” Dale said. “I’m surprised she didn’t beat me here, actually. She had four when I saw her—she gave one to me because Hailey took my others.”

“She gave you a flag?” Andy exclaimed.

“Yeah,” Dale said. “I really hope she makes it out alright.”

“That makes two of us.” Andy said.

The underground passageway that Carla had been traveling terminated into a regular walkway. Carla took the left fork which curved and ran parallel to the end of the game, though several feet back. This area looked untouched; it was a good sign. The passageway ran straight for several feet, and Carla noticed something. On the left side of the path there was a large fishbowl completely full to the brim. It was a large fishbowl, about three times her body height deep. And there at the bottom of the pool lied the third ribbon that Carla needed to finish.

Carla needed to find a way into the fishbowl, but fortunaitely one was close at hand. Just ahead of her was a path that curved upwards and intersected with the platform that was level with the fishbowl enterance. Carla ran up the curing path to the upper platform and was met with a surprise: Someone had been here already!

It was pretty obvious. There were little puddles of water on the ground and even a small towel lying there discarded. Looking up, Carla even saw the end of a very long string with a white ribbon draped over it. The string went up and back to the top of a very large structure near the end of the maze. Apparently someone had already been here, gotten wet, but had completely missed the flag.

“Idiot,” Carla muttered to herself. She kicked off her shoes, then quickly pulled off her shirt and pants, now wearing just her underware. Carla tucked her two flags into her panties and made sure they were secure. She walked over to the edge of the water and dove in.

Carla swam to the bottom of the pool. The ribbon was right there, weighed down by what looked like a metal washer. Carla moved the washer aside and grabbed the ribbon. She kicked off the bottom and floated quickly to the surface. She broke the top of the water and kicked to the side of the pool. She got out, dripping water onto the already-soaked platform. She considered putting her clothes back on, but figured it wasn’t worth it because she was so wet anyway. She tucked the third flag into her panties; finally, she had enough flags to finish.

Carla ran forward and picked the passageway on her right. The passageway she walked along sloped downwards and was about to split into a left and right course. She was about to take a left turn but then she saw—just breifly—a shadow of another person. Someone else was around.

Jerry knew he was running out of time. He was near the end of the maze and was close enough to hear the giantesses clap and congradulate two different people, which ment that only he and one other person could finish the maze. The tallest he could get was eighth-sized. He still didn’t have his third flag.

His sides were starting to ache. Not even in the water gun game did he exert himself this much. His arm pits were moiste with sweat, and there were droplets of sweat dripping off his forhead. But he knew he was in major trouble if he didn’t hurry up.

Jerry turned the corner and found himself in an area that he could only describe as the laid-out contents of a woman’s closet. There were three pairs of shoes on the ground, as well as a purse, shopping bags, and cosmetic supplies. If a ribbon was hid anywhere, it was amoung this junk.

As Jerry climbed into each shoe and felt around the toes for anything unusual, he thought to himself dryly how much fun Betty must have had buying all this stuff. She would like to make him believe that this stuff was all selected by studio employees, but Jerry had the strong feeling that Betty and Sherri went shopping together before the show to buy everything for the maze. He wasn’t sure why, it just had their personalities around it.

All six shoes turned up negative. Jerry came to the purse next. It was a large purse; he had to climb the strap to get on top of it. He found it was zipped shut, so he grabbed the zipper and pulled. The zipper was hard to move; his tiny strength had very little effect. He pulled as hard as he could, using his body mass as a counterweight. Finally, the zipper came open enough for him to slip inside.

The purse was full of all kinds of things, and by the feeble light Jerry could barely make out what they were. They were all things a woman might have normally in her purse including cosmetics and personal care items. It was so cluttered that Jerry thought it might not be worth it to try for a ribbon in here. But he found it—it was near the back of the purse partially wrapped around a lipstick bottle.

Jerry tucked the ribbon into his pants and crawled out of the purse. But before he dropped back down to ground level, he realised he could get a good view from up here. He was not far away from the end: he could make out three different paths that terminated there! He traced the nearest path with his eye. He followed it with his eyes, going around turns and taking forks until it came nearly up to his feet! It was just on the other side of the partition and he was high enough to jump over it! However, he also saw on the right side of the exit, opposite from where he was, two figures were moving. He had no idea how many flags they had, but he must beat them!

Careful to memorise his route in his mind, he jumped off the purse, clearing the partition and landing heavily in the path. Knowing where he had to go, he made a left turn. Following his mental image of this part of the maze’s layout he made a left turn, went around a hundered and eighty degree bend to his right, a ninety degree turn to his right, right fork, left fork.

Jerry knew he was on it: The final path that led to the exit. Running up the final incline, he could see it ahead: the board with six names on it. Ribbons were only displayed under two of the names. He had done it: he had survived. With one last burst of speed, he made his way to the board and posted his ribbons.

There was another round of applause. The three giantesses were congradulating him. Sherri in particular seemed to be beaming.

“Great job!” Sherri said. “I was rooting for you!”

“Thanks,” Jerry called up to her. He looked around and saw the two people who had beaten him: Dale and Andy. They were standing against the wall, nodding towards him. Jerry walked over to join him.

“It’s a stag party!” Dale said. “What happened to the ladies today?”

“I don’t know,” Jerry said. “I thought for sure Carla was going to win. She had three flags ages ago.”

“I know!” Dale exclaimed. “I ran into her when she had four! I thought both she and Hailey were going to beat me!”

“The ladies must all be lost,” Jerry said.

“We’ll get one of them.” Andy said.

“I guess us men are getting enlarged,” Dale said. “We’ll be in control for once.”

“Don’t forget about Marie,” Jerry reminded him.

“Oh yeah, right.” Dale said.

Up in the tower, Paul was watching the game apprehensively. Vera, Carla, and Hailey were still left in the maze and only one of them could still survive elimination. Hailey was out for the count—she had gotten completely and utterly lost in an area near the model railroad. She appeared to have lost all sense of direction.

But both Carla and Vera were near the exit. Neither of them were on a path that would actually take them out of the game, but both could make a correct turn at any time that would lead them there. Also, they were very near to each other. They were just a few turns and junctions away from running into each other, and what would happen then? Paul knew Vera was a very athletic girl, but Carla could gain an advantage if she surprised her.

Worse yet, Vera was still one flag short. It wouldn’t help her to finish now if she didn’t have enough ribbons to proceed. Paul knew there were still a couple nearby. He grew restless from sitting, he had to do something.

“Tom, can we do anything to help Vera?” Paul asked.

“I don’t think so,” Tom said, who had been following the underwear-clad Carla on the monitor.

“Come on, what kind of controls do we have up here?” Paul asked. “The trap doors are all somewhere else on the board, do we have any access to shrinking machines or anything?”

“Do you really think Betty would leave shrinking machines in the hands of us?” Tom asked with a dry chuckle. “I found this cool water cannon, though.”

Tom pressed a button and a small jet of water squirted out of a completely unrelated part of the maze.

“Will you focus?” Paul growled, raising his voice, “You want that damn Carla here, don’t you? And I want Vera to stay in the game. We have to find some way to help Vera or hinder Carla, do you understand?”

“Hold your horses!” Said Tom. “I’ll look around the area, see what I can control.” Tom pressed several buttons, examining the controls. He made a wall a few feet away from Carla open and close. He pressed a few more buttons, and a couple of red lights lit up temporarily on the board.

“Hey, what was that?” Paul asked.

“Looks like I can operate lights and buzzers,” Said Tom.

“How loud can you make them?” Paul asked.

“Pretty loud.” Tom said.

“Let’s use one to direct Vera somewhere. Is there any buzzer with a flag nearby?” Paul asked. Tom searched though the digital map.

“Here’s one,” Tom said. “There’s a buzzer right here, and over there is a flag on a candle. It’s closer to Vera than Carla.”

“Do it!” Paul said. “Maximum volume.”

A loud whooping sound and a bright flashing light stopped Vera in her tracks. What was that? Was the game over? Had four people already reached the finish line? It stopped, but she did not hear calls from Betty that the game was over. It started again. If it was not telling her the game was over, then it was supposed to be directing her attention! She ran towards it.

Carla heard the buzzer as well and came to the same conclusion. Whatever it was, someone was trying to call her attention to it. Vera and Carla raced along parallel passageways towards the source of the sound. Vera’s passageway made a straight shot to the buzzer; Carla’s curved away, but a thin side passage made out of transparent glass with no side support actually traveled over Vera’s passageway. Carla went that way, and looked down on the path. Someone was coming—it was Vera! So that was who she had been dogging all this time. Excellent. She would wait for Vera, and when she came by, jump down and tackle her.

Vera found the source of the noise, and when she approached it the sound and light stopped, giving her the distinct impression that whoever was using it had been signalling her specificly. Who was trying to help her? Was it Betty, Sherri, or Marie? Vera didn’t have time to think about it. She needed to figure out why she was being signaled.

Vera glanced down the passageway to her left, then the one to her right. On her left there was an assortment of small scented candles. On top of one of them was a ribbon. Vera dashed over it, taking the ribbon off the top. She breathed a sigh of relife. She now had three ribbons and could complete the game.

Now it was only a matter of which way to go. She could go back the way she came or keep walking ahead, either seemed to have an equal chance of bringing her to the end. She chose to go forward. It was a very fateful decision, because in going forward she brought herself right under the passageway where Carla was hiding. Carla waited until Vera was just under her, then she jumped.

Vera caught the motion out of the corner of her eye and moved out of the way just in time. Carla managed to grab Vera’s shoulder and push her to the ground, but was not able to land on her as she had wanted. Vera rolled out of the way as Carla hit the ground. Carla was in her underwear and had a crazed look about her.

Vera got up as quickly as she could and started running. She had no idea how long Carla had been following her nor how many ribbons Carla had—she saw a glint of yellow as she fell so she had at least one—but Vera knew she had to distance herself from her competitor as fast as she could. Carla recovered quickly and started chasing after Vera.

The women ran down the passageway until Vera took a sharp right at the first intersection. Clara followed, but Vera was able to throw her off by taking a counterintuitive second right instead of continuing straight. The women were now running down different passageways, both looking for the end and both preparing to fight the other if they came across each other again.

Vera made a few more turns at breakneck speed. It was not the time to stop and think about directions; Carla could be hiding around any corner. The way Carla was acting ment she most likely had one or two flags and needed Vera to steel the third and final flag. She just had to stay away from Carla.

Carla knew she didn’t have to find Vera in order to win, but if she took Vera’s flags she would be unable to finish. That meant that Vera would be sent back to see Paul with Betty and Carla would be rid of her. Carla was not looking for Vera, but if she ran across her she would try her best to take Vera’s ribbons.

Vera had the feeling she was closer to the exit than ever before. There was a long straight passageway with a left turn two-thirds of the way down it she was sure lead towards the exit. But as soon as she started making her way down it, she saw Carla from the other side. They raced to be the first one to the passageway, but Carla had a clear advantage.

When they were just inches away from the passageway, Carla turned to go up it. But it was a feint. Shortly after she started turning, Carla wipped around and tackled Vera hard to the ground. Vera felt her head smacking against the ground, knowing that it was going to hurt later. Carla was on top of her, but Vera’s ribbons were pinned under her body, Carla couldn’t get to them!

Vera shoved Carla hard in the shoulder, pushing the dark-haired women off her. Vera started to get up but Carla recovered quickly. She pounced towards Vera again, but Vera held out her leg to stop Carla. Carla grabbed Vera’s leg, causing Vera to de-balance again. Vera fell onto her front and Carla made another dive for Vera’s ribbons. Vera rolled over just in time. Carla landed off balance on Vera’s front, and Vera managed to curl her legs around Carla’s middle, trapping her.

Vera used all her strength to flip Carla over so she pinned her on the ground. Carla swung, but Vera jumped off her at the last moment. Now disentangled from Carla, Vera made a dash for the passageway. Carla was not kept down for long; she got up onto her feet and persued Vera closely.

The passageway wound around several tight corners and was an incline. Vera lost time rounding the corners and Carla was gaining on her. Finally, in a straight away Carla lunged for Vera’s legs, managing to grab them and forcing both women to the ground once again. Carla tugged on Vera’s legs dragging the woman’s body towards her so she could grab the flags but Vera acted instinctively. She flipped around and kicked Carla.

But it was no ordinary kick. Vera did not kick at Carla, but rather across her. The kick caught on Carla’s panties and with a ripping sound they tore down the seam. The panties came loose, and the ribbons that had been secure in them fell to the ground. While Carla scrambled for the ribbons Vera got up and started running again. Carla tried to hold up her panties but it was no use. She discarded the ruined undergarment and chased Vera wearing only her bra, holding the ribbons in her left hand.

They were rounding the final curves. Vera had a considerable lead. Finally, they broke into the open at the ending platform. Out of the corner of her eye Vera saw the three men standing there; they had already finished. If she could just make it she would be the last one to survive.

Dale, Jerry, and Andy were taken aback by the apperance of Carla, naked except for her bra, chasing after Vera who seemed to be running for her life.

“Stop her! Stop her!” Carla called. Dale started to move forward, but Jerry stepped out in front of him. Dale tried to push Jerry aside—Carla was his ally and it looked as though Vera had assaulted her. Jerry showed uncharicatistic strength, however, and pushed back at Dale, keeping him from passing through. Andy just stood, dumbfounded by the unfolding scene.

Vera ran forward and pulled her pin out of the board. She expected Carla to tackle her again, but she felt something quite different. Something very heavy landed near her on the ground causing a large tremmer. Vera looked behind her. A gigantic foot was in place just inches behind her. Vera looked up to see who it belonged to. There stood Marie, dominating the scene, holding a struggeling Carla in her hand.

“Go on, finish it!” Marie said. Vera pressed her ribbons against the board and put the pin through them. The two giantesses and Jerry all burst into applause. Andy tentatively joined them, while Dale stood there stewing.

“Great job,” Betty said, smiling as if the whole scene had been a priceless visual treat, “Vera, you were fourth to return and you survive, though you will not be enlarged. Carla, I’m sorry, but as fifth, you are eliminated.”

Carla now hung limp in Marie’s hand. It was over; she was eliminated. Oh well, at least she didn’t have to face Andy.

“Hailey, who hasn’t finished the maze, comes in sixth place and is also eliminated,” Betty said. “Marie, if you could be so kind as to find Hailey and bring her over here.”

Marie nodded, and moved to walk across the course. Crossing the course was much easier when you were sixteen times taller than the intended participans. Marie was carefull to step between partitions but still managed to knock some over anyway. It didn’t matter much; she didn’t even know if the maze was going to be reused or not.

Carla was so tiny in Marie hand that Marie might have forgotten about her there if it weren’t for the incident that just happened. There was a time not so long ago that Carla was Marie’s protector, her safe haven. Now Carla was loosing it, and she was a mere doll in the palm of Marie’s hand. If Carla had made it, Marie would have taken her back and protected her, but Carla was being eliminated. Marie stopped Carla at the last moment from tackelling Vera. She knew Carla would only be getting herself in more trouble, and Marie hoped that Carla would understand that Marie was doing her a favor by preventing her from fighting Vera.

Hailey knew the game was over. First she had heard buzzing sounds coming from far away near the end of the game. Then she heard noise and commotion from that area—multiple giants had been talking. It turned out the path she took led her into a quagmire of interlocking and backtracking walkways. She had only just managed to find her way out into an area containing a model rail set, but even the train was no longer running.

Hailey could feel Marie coming before she could see the giantess. Marie stepped over the partitions and even the raised paths with ease, spotting Hailey and bending down to pick her up.

“I’m sorry,” Marie said as she scooped up Hailey in her free hand. “The game’s over. You and Carla are being eliminated.” Hailey noticed Carla in Marie’s other hand. Carla looked defeated and was not looking at Hailey. Hailey said nothing as well as Marie made her way back to the clearing.

“Very good job, guys,” Sherri was telling the others. She bent down, picking up Dale and Andy with one hand, and Jerry and Vera with the others. She open her palms so they could sit as she looked down on them.

“Did you enjoy the ride?” Sherri asked Andy, “That was me behind the controls, you know.”

“That was you?” Andy said. “Yes! It was a fun ride.”

“Were you controlling the railroad?” Jerry asked, raising an eyebrow.

“No, that was me,” Betty said, snickering.

“I still can’t believe I was first.” Dale said. “And that Hailey was last. She robbed me, early in the game.”

“Yes, we saw,” Betty said. “But Hailey was stuck in a little trap for several minutes, which didn’t help.”

“And Carla,” Dale said. “She gave me one of her flags! Without her I wouldn’t have been first. I might not have even made it at all!”

“Carla helped you?” Vera said, incredulously. “She tried to kill me!”

“No way.” Dale said from Sherri’s other hand. “Carla wouldn’t try to kill you. You attacked her, didn’t you?”

“I did no such thing—” Vera began.

“Quiet, you two!” Sherri hissed, her voice breaking up the fight right away.

Marie returned carrying Carla in one hand and Hailey in the other. Betty looked around and smiled. Everyone was here.

“A very well-played game by everyone,” Betty said. Vera and Carla glared at each other from their respective holder’s hands.

“Dale finished the race first, so he will be enlarged to half-size.” Betty said. “If you would, Sherri, place Dale on the ground for re-enlargement.”

Sherri bent down and put Dale on the floor. There was a flash of light and Dale was returned to half-sized. He looked around him. The conference room didn’t seem quite so big anymore, and even though the three ladies still towered over him he was amazed how small the little people in their hands were.

“Next, Andy, you were the second to finish, so you will be enlarged to quarter-sized.” Betty said. Sherri put Andy down on the ground and a moment later he was a foot and a half tall, looking at the knees of the giantess. He actually didn’t much mind being taller—he remembered what Carla said about going overboard and had to agree. They were still all fundimentally in it to win, including him.

“Jerry, you finished third, and a such you will be enlarged to one-eighth-size.” Betty said.

It’s not much but it’s better than nothing, Jerry thought as Sherri put him down on the ground. A second later Jerry found himself doubling his height.

“Finally, Vera, you finished fourth.” Betty said. “You do not get enlarged at all but you get to return to the house with the others.” Sherri carefully put Vera on the ground near Jerry, every bit as tiny as she was in the maze. Vera wondered how she could ever successfully navigate the house that this size.

“And I’m sorry, but Carla and Hailey did not finish in time, so they will be coming with me.” Betty said, an all-too-familiar sinister smile creeping across her face. “Marie, if you would please,”

Betty held out her hands expectantly and Marie placed Hailey and Carla in those outstreached hands. Betty did not grip Carla as tightly as Marie had, and her naked lower body was exposed for all the larger people to see.

“That is all for this afternoon, but I will see you again back here at eight o’clock,” Betty said. “So if you would lead your fellow contestants back to the house Marie, and Sherri, if you could stay and help me for a moment.”

“Excuse me,” Marie said, nervous about interrupting the host, “But what’s going to happen at eight o’clock?”

“That,” Betty said, her sinister smile growing, “Is for me to know and for you to find out!”

Marie looked nervous. She hated not being in the know about things. But she knew better than to press Betty, so she looked down at the four small people of various sizes that were returning with her to the house.

“Jerry, Vera, do you want a ride?” Marie said. They both nodded appreciatively. Marie curled her hand around Jerry’s middle and Vera’s entire body and picked them up. “Come on, guys,” Marie said to Dale and Andy and lead them across the edge of the conference room and out the door they came in.

Now that Dale was eight times taller he could see over all but the tallest elements of the maze. Only now did he appreciate how much work had gone into it. It was simply gigantic; more than thirty feet long with twisting, winding paths that climbed over each other and several open areas with full-sized objects in them. He realised he hadn’t even seen half of it when he was in it.

As they exited into the hallway, a thought struck Andy: they were walking through the compound unsupervised! This was his chance to break away from the group and check out the place. He had always wondered what lied in the many unused rooms that lined the corridor, expecially the large room obscured by thick curtians. He didn’t think he would be able to reach the doorknobs, though, even if he jumped. Besides, the entire place was lined with cameras and he knew he wouldn’t be able to get away with it.

As Marie led them unerringly down the path that lead to the door, Andy knew that Marie wouldn’t let him go errant from the group. As wonderful of a girl as Marie was, she was a rule-follower, a team-player. She wouldn’t do anything out of line or anything that would jeapordize her charges. Andy did notice, however, that Marie paused at the room with the shrinking booth, giving it a good hard look before opening the door and proceding into the sunlight.