As the five surviving contestants walked back to the house, Marie could sense a tangible sense of tension returning to the group. Dale still ardently believed that Vera had attacked Carla and that was the reason why Carla was eliminated and Andy, still very partial to Carla, agreed with him. However Marie had seen the entire scene unfold and knew full-well that it was Carla who engaged Vera. Jerry believed that side of the story, and Jerry and Vera were the smaller ones. It would have to be up to Marie to protect them from the larger Dale.

As Marie opened the door to the house a sense of fright settled in Vera. She was only four and a half inches tall, absolutely miniscule in the world of the full-sized house. Nothing here was usable to her, she would have to be carried around by somebody the entire time! At least she avoided being eliminated—she didn’t know what that entaled, but imagined that it had to be far worse.

Entering the living room, Marie flicked on the television. She placed Jerry and Vera on her legs, each taking up very little room. Dale and Andy jumped onto the couch. For a few minutes they just watched the television and nobody spoke.

“That was quite a competition.” Andy said, breaking the silence. Everyone looked over at him.

“It was,” Marie said. “It was scary to watch. Someone could have gotten hurt.”

“Someone did get hurt,” Dale said. It was the last thing Marie wanted, an opening to a discussion about Carla.

“Dale, please,” Marie said. “I saw what happened. Carla made the attack.”

“Did you see what Vera did to her?” Dale argued. “She ripped her clothes off. And Carla helped me win when she didn’t have to!”

Vera felt smaller than ever as the giant on the couch across the room accused her of violence. Her only relife was that she was sitting in the lap of an even greater giantess.

“Dale, she only fought in self defence.” Marie said. “And since I’m the Queen, it’s my version that stays, so you better keep quiet!”

Dale looked for a moment like he wanted to hit somebody, but took a deep breath and calmed himself down. He still remember how he and Marie had been close just a small number of days before, and seeing her eyes bore into him with such anger made him sad. Even now after he won a competition nothing seemed to be going right. Carla, his ally, was gone, and the Queen was the one person who was the angriest with him.

After a few minutes Jerry left the room to find a more solitary place to relax. Andy was still sitting next to Dale on the couch but they didn’t talk: Andy was still conflicted as to what side of the story to believe. He wanted to believe what Dale said, but knew the kind of person Carla could get when put in that kind of situation, and thus was more inclined to believe Marie.

Though Vera was miniscule, Marie could feel the woman shift several times on her legs, much more often than the normally rock-solid woman would. She was clearly uncomfertable and scared, expecially after being accused by a man eight times her height.

Gently, Marie cupped her right hand around Vera and lifted her up to where she could see her. Vera was trying her best to keep a steady face but it was clear that she was still frightened. Marie gave her a gentle smile.

“Do you want to get out of here?” Marie asked in a whisper, so that Dale and Andy couldn’t hear, “Want to go into the tub with me? Some swimming might help,”

Vera was unsure whether she was comfertable with Marie’s collossal naked body and felt that their friendship wasn’t that far along yet, but she found herself nodding before she could stop.

“Alright,” Marie whispered, getting up from the chair and started walking to the bathroom, Vera sitting loosely in her hand. She was a terriffying distance from the ground but did not want to betray her fright by gripping onto Marie’s finger.

In any case, it was only a few feet to the bathroom for Marie and she put Vera down gently on the counter, thankfully several inches from the edge. Marie stepped back and stretched. Vera got a good view of the woman; she was vaster than the widest tree, tall as an upturned mansion.

Marie bent over the tub and closed the drain before running the tap. A thundering waterfall of cool, clear water came down from the spout. Marie tested the water with her finger and adjusted it accordingly. The water pooled below in the large pool that was the bathtub.

Now that the water was filling the tub, Marie straightened up. Without saying anything else she removed her shirt, the vast motion moving enough air to create a strong breeze where Vera was sitting. Vera tried not to watch as she started to take off her own clothes, tossing them into a pile next to the sink.

Now finished undressing, Vera turned around to face Marie. Now completely naked, Marie’s body was overwhelming to the eye. Such a vast expanse of skin—Vera could see almost every minute definition in Marie’s muscles, bones, and curves. Though Vera never had any lesbian feelings she could not help but be awed at the great curved shape of Marie’s breast and the sheer size of her pubic area.

Marie grinned as she looked down at Vera. “Have you ever been skinny-dipping before?” She asked. Vera was absolutely tiny to Marie, her arms and legs like twigs and her individual features very difficult to make out.

“Once or twice,” Vera said. She had gone skinny-dipping in a pond when she was very young. Unlike Marie, who had lived in a nudist colony for months at a time, Vera had never been inside one, and never had been that comfortable about being naked around people, or those people being naked as well.

“You’ll like this.” Marie said. “It’s like swimming in a lake after a really hot day.” Vera shruddered involintarily as Marie’s hand wrapped around her—she could feel Marie’s thick skin touching just about every part of her body.

Holding Vera firmly, Marie stepped into the water. It was nice and warm as she had wanted it. Holding onto the side of the tub, Marie lowered herself gently into the water, which raised as most of her body went beneith it’s surface.

Vera was awed at how Marie filled the entire tub with her shoulders and head still above the water. Vera wondered how she was going to swim—Marie took up almost all the room. The top of Marie’s breasts stuck up above the water, and the water was shallow over her stomach and groin. Only between her legs was there enough room.

And that’s just where Marie put Vera. “Here you go,” Marie said, bending forward and dropping Vera into the water between her knees. Vera entered with a soft plunk and let herself be submerged for a few seconds before rising to the surface and treading water. Marie was right; it was extremely warm, and Vera felt very refreshed to be floating in it. To her it was about twice as deep as she was tall.

Vera turned around to face Marie and couldn’t help but notice that she was looking right up Marie’s spread legs. Marie’s posture was incredible, like something dirty magazines were made of. Vera knew that Marie wasn’t doing it intentionally but it still brought a lump to her throat.

“How does it feel?” Marie asked, raising her head a little to take a look at the tiny form of Vera swimming four feet away.

“It’s—it’s very nice, very warm,” Said Vera.

“That’s good,” Marie said. “I bet you never thought you’d be swimming in a bath tub, did you?”

“No, I can’t say I ever have,” Vera said, letting out an uncharistaristic nervous laugh.

“Try swimming around a little,” Marie said. Vera agreed, and dove back under the water, her form nearly invisible beneith the ripples on the surface. Marie thought for a moment how odd this all felt. True, she had bathed with Dale before, but he was a quarter-sized at the smallest, and here Vera was just four-and-a-half inches tall. Dale had always been visible; she could always feel him, but Vera was so tiny Marie had to concentrate to realise Vera was even there.

Vera felt the water tug against her hair as she swam under the surface. She felt Marie’s legs as she came up near the side of the tub. Vera tried opening her eyes but the water was already saturated with Marie’s skin oil and made them sting mildly. Marie’s presence was affecting everything in the tub. The water almost tasted like skin, Vera was met with peach wherever she looked, and she could hear a grinding sound every time Marie shifted a muscle.

After a few minutes of swimming Vera came to rest on Marie’s left knee, which nearly stuck out of the water. Marie smiled down at Vera.

“Are you enjoying yourself?” Marie asked.

“Yes,” Vera said.

“I’m glad,” Marie said. “I was worried I’d be overwhelming you.”

“It’s okay.” Vera said. “I-I rather be stuck with you than any of the other guys out there.”

“Thanks,” Marie said, her voice filled with genuine appreciation. “I think I’d be overwhelmed in your situation.”

“You were nearly this small,” Vera pointed out.

“I was, but I didn’t have half the group turned against me for no good reason.” Marie said. She patted her stomach. “Come up here.”

Vera was reluctant at first, but didn’t want to disagree with a person that large. Vera swam carefully along the side of Marie’s leg, climbing up onto it near the hip bone. Vera was very aware that she was passing by Marie’s privates—they were still underwater and the smell was masked, but Vera was still intimidated.

Reaching the stomach, Vera sat down in the shallow water that lapped her stomach and back gently. Above Vera Marie’s breasts rose above the water formidibly and behind that Marie smiled gently down at the tiny woman.

“Are you worried about those guys?” Marie asked.

“Yes,” Vera admitted. She had never felt so small, so vaunerable than she did when Dale was accusing her of attacking Carla.

“I know Andy will come around.” Marie said. “He still has feelings for Carla, but he has a good heart, so he’ll see sence. Dale, I don’t think he’ll change. He’s been a blockhead since this thing started.”

“I really don’t feel safe around him.” Vera said. She remembered how she had stood up to Dale when he had been twice her size; not at eight times her height she dowbted she could so much as look him in the eye.

“Don’t worry,” Marie said. “I’ll keep you with me. You’ll be safe from Dale, I promise.”

“But what’s going to happen at eight tonight?” Vera asked, unable to stop her concerns from spilling out.

“Nothing’s going to happen,” Marie assured her. “You and I will still be here.”

Vera knew that Marie knew there was no way to be certain about that, but she appreciated the woman’s comforting all the same.

“I hope Paul comes back,” Vera said, realising a moment too late that Marie, like everyone here except her, did not like Paul. There was a tense silence for a moment, but Marie’s kind and gentle voice did not leave her.

“Maybe he will,” Marie said. “There’s always a chance for that,”

“Yeah,” Vera said. “Hey Marie, I really want to thank you for taking care of me, I really appreciate it. You did it when you didn’t even have cause—we were in opposing alliances.”

“Oh, I don’t care about that,” Marie said. “Alliances are just a silly part of this game. Looking out for someone who needs it is more important.”

“Thank you, Marie,” Vera said.

“Can I hug you?” Marie asked. Vera was confused for a moment; how could Marie “hug” her at such a great size difference?

“Sure,” Vera said, more out of curiosity than anything. Marie reached over and gently picked Vera up. Marie carried Vera a short way before placing Vera on her breast, squeezing her in a little. At first Vera was taken aback, but then she felt comforted by the soft warm tissue. It brought back memories long forgotten. Vera could hear and feel Marie’s tremendous heart beating under her chest.

Marie brought Vera up from her chest and was now holding her in her hand again. “Do you want to swim some more or are you good?” Marie asked.

“I think I’m good now,” Vera said.

“Okay,” Marie said. Holding Vera firmly in her hand Marie stood up out of the tub. The water level dropped spectacularly and for a brief moment there were waterfalls on Marie’s body as a vast amount of water dripped off.

Marie placed Vera on the counter, handing her a dry washcloth that was large enough for Vera to wrap herself up in several times over. Marie herself took a large towel from the rack and started to dry herself off with it, starting with her hair. After a few minutes Marie stepped out of the tub and toweled herself off.

“Feeling any better now?” Marie asked, now wrapping the towel around herself.

“Yeah, a bit,” Said Vera. Much of the tension she had been feeling before had gone away and she found herelf feeling very safe in Marie’s company.

“I’m glad.” Marie said. “I’ll keep you with me for the rest of the day, would you like that?”

“I would,” Admitted Vera.

Marie smiled, carefully picking Vera up again. “I’ll take you to get some fresh clothes on,” Marie said. “We can stay out of everyone’s way for a while.” And with that they left the bathroom.

Back in the house Andy and Dale continued to watch television for some time. Andy felt nervous sitting next to twice-sized Dale, who was still in a grumpy mood. Andy thought about leaving, but couldn’t think of much else to do.

“It’s incredible,” Dale said. “First Hailey, now Marie. All these psychoes leading us.”

Andy felt a rush of anger from Dale calling Marie a “psycho” and thought it was terribly unfair, but he said nothing.

“And that Betty,” Dale said. “Who the hell knows what she does.”

“Do you…do you think the rumors are true?” Andy entered the conversation tentitively.

“The rumors?” Dale said, and Andy noticed a look of fear come across his face. “I don’t know, I don’t think so.”

“You don’t think so?” Andy asked.

“No, that couldn’t be legal, the studio wouldn’t let her,” Dale said. There was another awkward pause.

“I think they’re true,” Andy said plainly.

“No they’re not!” Dale said, his voice raising slightly, “There’s no way!”

“Alright,” Andy said, resignedly. He knew that Dale was becoming very unreasonable out of fright, and that it was better not to respond to that.

In truth, Andy really did think the rumors were true. Deep inside the compound Betty was having her way with Paul, Carla, and Hailey. Maybe Sherri too? No, probably not, or else Sherri wouldn’t have come back, maybe the two of them were in it together. Andy was torn between a desire to see what happened back there and a desire to get through. Though he still had loyalty to Carla, Marie had convinced him to be in it to win. He was sure Carla would understand.

“You’ve been with Carla,” Dale said. “Could she have attacked Vera like that?”

Andy wanted to say yes, because Carla did have her aggressive side. However he found himself saying, “Maybe.”

“It doesn’t matter now, she’s out.” Dale said. “I owe a lot to her. Without her I might not have made it through. I definitely wouldn’t be first.”

“There is a way,” Andy said. “Unelimination, it happened last time, I’m sure they’ll be doing it again!”

“Maybe,” Dale said. “I’d certianly vote to get Carla out, wouldn’t you?”

“Yes I would,” Andy said.

“So is it agreed?” Dale said. “We both vote to get Carla out.”

“Agreed.” Andy said, sticking out his hand. Dale shook it with his much bigger hand. After that they didn’t say anything for a few minutes more. Eventually Dale got up to go outside—he knew Marie was still in the house and didn’t feel like talking to her when she came back into the room.

Dale stepped outside into the warm desert afternoon. It was sunny again and the wind was calm. Even though he was taller than all but one person here he still felt small. At three feet tall the perimiter fense towered over him and the window ledges were above his height. The well-mown grass seemed tall and thick to him and the trees very large.

It was bad that Carla was gone for yet another reason—he had no ally in the game. Though their alliance had been very brief—only formed that morning in fact—he felt that at least he was not alone in this game. He had never been alone—he was always fairly popular in school, spending time with his jock friends, and he never went too long without a girlfriend. He was in a bit of a dry spell when he signed up for the competition, in fact that could have been one of the deciding factors. He had hit it off with Hailey that first night but size differences turned her into a monster. But now he was all alone, and it was a very strange and desolate feeling.

Dale heard something and saw something move. At first he thought it was some kind of animal but after a second realized that it was Jerry. He was walking across the yard away from Dale; perhaps he had seen him.

Dale didn’t know why, but he was soon shouting, “Hey, Jerry!” and running to catch up with him. Since Dale was much larger he easily caught up to Jerry, who looked up at the man four times his height with a look of fear on his face.

At first Dale didn’t know what to say to Jerry. He felt an annoyance towards him, mostly over preventing him from aiding Carla at the end of the competition, but also for previous encounters.

“What’s with you, man?” Dale asked finally. Jerry shot Dale a very confused expression. Jerry didn’t know what Dale was getting at but a feeling in the pit of his stomach told him it wouldn’t be anything good.

“What do you mean, Dale?” Jerry asked.

“Whose side are you on, really?” Dale asked. Jerry had no idea why Dale was accousting him like this; he figured it must be out of pure frustration.

“What? No one’s side! My own side, I guess,” Jerry said. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing really,” Dale said. “Just that you were supporting Vera, then you weren’t, then you were again back at the competition, what’s with that?”

“I was never against Vera,” Jerry spoke, but realised that might not be the best thing to say to an irate Dale. “Look, we all got through didn’t we?”

“Carla didn’t,” Dale said.

“Look, she even attacked me before she attacked Vera,” Jerry said, his anxiety rising, “It was just a game for God’s sakes, why are you getting so irate?”

“No reason,” Dale said. “Just that no one’s on my Goddamn side here, everybody’s fucking against me!”

Dale was starting to wave his arms around and Jerry was starting to get seriously worried. If Dale struck him at this scale he could be seriously injured. But then he saw something behind Dale that made him crack a smile of relife.

“What—” Dale started, looking behind him. He flinched visibly as he saw Sherri approaching. Sherri was half-sized like Dale. She seemed to have change clothes since the competition and she was smiling an amused smile.

“What’s going on here?” Sherri asked, placing a hand on Dale’s shoulder.

Now it was Dale’s turn to get nervous. “N-nuh-nothing, nothing’s happening,” Dale said.

“Not fighting, were we?” Sherri said.

“No!” Dale said. “No, I wouldn’t…”

Sherri stepped past Dale to look at Jerry. She bent down in front of him and peered at him. Jerry was shaken but not hurt, and he looked up into Sherri’s eyes. There was a peculiar expression there, one he had only seen before, also when she was looking at him.

Sherri reached down and picked Jerry up, smiling as she cradled him in her arms. The feeling was comforting to Jerry—he didn’t feel an overwhelming sense of control coming from Sherri as he felt from Hailey. It was more protective—but more than that.

Dale watched, confused, as Sherri stepped back to stand by him, holding Jerry. He didn’t like at all the look she was giving him.

“You know, no two contestants can be the same size for the time being,” Sherri said, putting Jerry on the ground next to her. “But I still have authorization to change your sizes as I see fit. So I think I’m going to switch you two around.”

There was only enough time for an expression of alarm to come across Dale’s face before a flash of light filled the air. Now Dale was the one nine inches tall, stairing up at Sherri and Jerry as they looked down on him.

“Maybe you’ll think before you loose your temper next time!” Sherri said, grinning down at the small man. “Now off with you!”

Angrier than he had been this whole time, Jerry cursed fuck under his breath as he walked away from the two of them. Jerry watched him go around the side of the house and dissappear with a found feeling of relife.

“Wow, thanks for that!” Jerry said, smiling at Sherri. He noticed that his enlargement had brought them very close to each other.

“You know, Jerry, I’ve been watching you for a while,” Said Sherri, smiling at him.

“Watching me bungle through this crazy competition?” Jerry said.

“You’re doing well.” Sherri said. “You know, we have a lot in common.”

“Well, we are very short.” Jerry said. A second later they both burst into a fit of laughter upon realising the pun he had just made. Sherri put her hand on Jerry’s chest to support herself.

“Oh Jerry, you kill me,” Sherri said. She leaned her mouth closer in towards him, and Jerry leaned forward to meet her. They kissed romantically as they stood there, a kiss that went on for several minutes.

“You know, I had a feeling you were up to something,” Jerry said after they stopped kising a few minutes later.

“Well, you felt right,” Sherri said.

“Isn’t this highly irregular, a hostess and a contestant?” Jerry asked.

“Oh, this whole game is highly irregular,” Sherri said, giving Jerry a quick peck. “Besides, I can’t rig this for you, rigging is in Betty’s hands!”

“What about those flings from the last season,” Jerry asked. “Cameroon, that guy Tom, they didn’t work out?”

“Cameroon lived too far away for anything to happen,” Sherri said. “And Tom…he’s more of a toy, really.”

“Am I a toy too?” Jerry asked, slyly.

“Only if you want to be!” Sherri said, bopping him on the nose with a finger.

“Come on, let’s get a room,” Jerry said. Grabbing his hand Sherri let Jerry lead him into the house and into Jerry’s bedroom. He closed the door and the two of them weren’t seem for a little while.

Marie and Vera had been passing the time in Marie’s room. Marie had stretched across the bed and Vera was sitting across her chest, and the two of them had been talking. Dispite Vera’s innitial feelings that she didn’t relate to Marie very well, she found herself becoming more and more comfertable talking to the girl as time went on.

“But that Patti, she’s a real piece of work,” Vera said. “She was caught trying to sneek supplies out of the gym, wanted to check her fat index at home I think.”

Marie laughed, causing her chest to vibrate a little. She had been listening to Vera’s stories about her job and home life for a good part of an hour now.

“She got caught, of course,” Vera said. “Got a detention for that, she did.”

“It’s still hard to believe you’re a teacher,” Marie said. “You’re just to…cool to have been one of my teachers!”

Vera laughed. “You didn’t have any cool teachers?”

“Well, okay, I had a few,” Marie said. “Never gym teachers, though. Had a history teacher in eleventh grade I really liked.”

“I try to be a good teacher,” Vera said. “I really push the students. Some of them resented it I think, and I’m starting to understand why.”

“How is that?” Marie asked.

“This game,” Vera said. “I mean look at me, I’m the size of a doll! This game has really humbled me. I don’t think I’ll ever come back to this place when the game is over, but it’s really taught me a few lessons.”

“I hear you,” Marie said. “I mean, I’ve always been used to being small but wow, what an experience!”

“Do you think you’ll ever come back?” Vera said.

“I don’t see how I’d get the chance,” Marie said. “There’s going to be another season with new people, but I’d love to come back here.”

“You’re crazy, girl,” Vera said, and they both laughed. “Would you be saying the same thing if you were my size, though?”

“Maybe,” Marie said, grinning. Marie didn’t quite know why, but this place didn’t seem to freek her out as much as the others. Possibly it was because she was so used to being small that it didn’t phase her as much.

“Gee, I’m getting hungry!” Vera said, standing up on Marie’s chest.

“Yeah, me too,” Marie said, holding onto Vera as she sat up herself. “Maybe some omelettes tonight, yeah, that sounds good.” Marie thought as she stepped out of the room and walked back into the kitchen.

The house felt strangely deserted to Marie as she looked around the kitchen for the ingrediants she needed. She knew everyone was smaller now and there were fewer people, but she was surprised how much five people present could feel like hardly anyone at all.

“I’ll set you down on the table,” Marie said. “Is that okay with you?”

Vera had a momentary thought of Dale prowling around and finding her tiny and defenseless on the table. “Can—can you keep me closer to you?” Vera asked, unable to hide her concern.

“Hmmm,” Marie said, frowning slightly. “I’m kind of afraid you’ll get burnt by drop of something from the pan.” Marie looked around “Okay, I’ll put you over here, that way I can see you, is that alright?”

“Okay, that’s fine,” Vera said as Marie placed her on the far right of the counter. Here it formed a V with the wall and she could see the entire kitchen and living room area. With Marie an arm’s reach away she felt much safer than she would have behind her back on the table.

Marie turned on the burner, adding the eggs and the other ingrediants, knowing that the smell of the food would soon lure everyone into the room. In the next few minutes, however, it seemed that no one was coming. Marie found this very odd, and even a little lonely.

Then, from the corner of her vision, Marie spotted a small person peaking out from behind the half-wall seperating the kitchen and living room. He was quarter-sized…it was Andy!

“Hey, Andy!” Marie said good-naturedly as the knee-height man entered the room tentitively. Andy smiled. He seemed unusually nervous to be in Marie’s company, as if afraid if she was going to scold him.

“Hey Marie,” Andy said. “There’s something I wanted to tell you. I believe what you said about Vera and Carla. I think Carla did attack Vera first.”

Marie smiled back at Andy. This was not what she had been expecting him to say, but it made her happy to hear it nonetheless. “Thanks, Andy,” Marie said. “It’s good for you to be big enough to say that.”

Andy laughed at the pun. “Where’s Vera?” Andy asked, figuring that the tiny woman must be in Marie’s general area.

“She’s up here,” Marie said. No sooner than she spoke did Vera come up to the edge of the counter, looking down on the man on whom she only came up to the knee. Vera smiled and waved.

“Hi, Vera,” Andy said, smiling back. He wanted to make perfectly clear that he was sorry about what had happened before.

“Dinner’s going to be ready soon,” Marie said. “Have you seen the others?”

“Not recently,” Andy said. “In fact, I have no idea where they are.”

“We’ll give them a few more minutes,” Marie said.

In another minute the omelettes were ready and Marie set appropriate-sized slices on plates around the table. She didn’t need to set a plate for Vera—the small woman would be eating little bits from Marie’s plate.

Andy looked up expectantly at Marie, knowing that he would likely have to sit in her lap to be able to reach the table unless he wanted to stand on his chair. But Marie didn’t sit quite yet—in fact she looked concerned.

“I’m going to go get the others.” Marie said. She picked up Vera and said, “I’ll be back in a moment, Andy.”

Leaving Andy to wait in the kitchen, Marie walked down the hallway to see if any of the bedroom doors were closed. One was—Jerry’s. Marie knocked gently with her Vera-free hand.

“Jerry, are you there?” Marie asked. Jerry did not reply, but there appeared to be a rustelling sound coming from the room.

“Uh, yes, hi Marie,” Came Jerry’s voice, sounding somewhat disoriented.

“Are you alright in there?” Marie asked, a bit confused.

“Yes, I’m fine,” Jerry said. “What do you need?”

Marie could swear she heard another sound coming from the room—a female voice.

“Dinner’s ready!” Marie said.

“Oh, okay,” Jerry said. “Well be…I mean I’ll be there in a moment.”

“That was strange,” Marie said aloud, walking away from the room. He was with somebody in there. But Hailey and Carla were both eliminated…it must be Sherri! Now that Marie realised it she felt like she should have known it all along. Jerry and Sherri were a good match, their names even made a cheesy rhyme.

Now there was only the matter of Dale. He was half-sized and shouldn’t be too hard to find. “Dale,” Marie called out as she poked her head into the other open bedrooms, but Dale was nowhere to be seen. He wasn’t in the living room either, though Marie greatly dowbted he would be in there anyway. He didn’t seem to be anywhere in the house. Maybe he was outside?

But a quick lap around the house revealed nothing. Dale was nowhere around the house. He seemed to have dissappered completely. Marie returned to the kitchen to notice that Jerry had joined Andy at the table, but she also noticed that Jerry was half-sized. That wasn’t right, Jerry was only eighth-sized before?

“I can’t find Dale,” Marie said, “And why are you half-sized, Jerry?”

“Oh, that,” Jerry said. “A little switch was made.”

“A switch?” Marie asked. “You mean Dale is one-eighth size?”

“Last I saw him,” Jerry said.

“But how…” Marie started to ask, but there was a knock on the front door. Marie looked up on the clock…it was much too soon for Betty! It must be Sherri, but how did she get from the bedroom to the front door without passing by them?

Marie opened the door and sure enough Sherri was standing there, half-sized.

“Hey Marie,” Sherri said, “May I come in,”

“Sure,” Marie said, stepping aside to let the smaller woman through, “But where’s Dale?”

“Oh, I shrunk him,” Sherri said. “He looked like he was going to start another fight. I’m not sure where he went to.”

Both Sherri and Jerry seemed unconcerned about Dale’s whereabouts but Marie was starting to get worried.

“We need to find him,” Marie said. “What if he tried to run away? At nine inches tall he wouldn’t last very long.”

“The cameras would have picked him up if he tried to leave,” Sherri said. “Remember, it’s nothing but desert in every direction, even a nine-inch man couldn’t get away without being detected.”

“Still, I want to find him,” Marie said, “It’s the right thing to do.”

“I’ll look for him.” Andy said, stepping into the conversation. “I’m the only person here he isn’t mad at, it’ll probably be best.”

“Okay,” Marie said, still looking nervous.

“He’s probably still outside,” Sherri said as Andy made his way to the open front door and out into the yard.

It was very sunny outside and extremely bright. Andy had a strong feeling that Dale was sulking in one of the branches. “Dale, hey Dale,” Andy called as he walked around the house. In the very back he noticed something sticking out from under one of the bushes.

“Hey Dale, is that you?” Andy asked.

“What do you want?” Came Dale’s angry reply.

“I just wanted to tell you dinner’s ready,” Andy said.

“Fuck dinner, I don’t want to go in there.” Dale said.

“Do you want me to bring something out for you?” Andy asked.

“No, goddammit, I just want to be left alone!” Dale shouted.

For a moment Andy really wanted to add something, to tell Dale to shape up and stop being such a whiner about things, but thought better of it and decided that no further words could help the situation.

“Okay, if that’s how you want it,” Andy said, then turned off to walk back into the house.

“Dale’s not coming,” Andy said as he reentered the kitchen.

“Is he okay?” Marie asked.

“He’s really angry,” Andy said. “I think we better leave him alone for now.”

Marie still had an uneasy expression on her face as she hoisted Andy into her lap to reach the food.

“I don’t feel we’ve been right to Dale,” Marie said as she started in on her food. Jerry and Sherri had already started eating.

“I don’t know,” Jerry said. “He’s been a jerk to everyone recently. I tried getting through with him but it just never seemed to work.”

“It’s becoming a pattern with this game,” Sherri said. “The guys who are used to being big and in charge are the ones who break down in here. It’s girls like you, Marie, who are used to being on the smaller end of things who adapt quickly.”

“I was thinking that,” Marie said. “But, I mean, hasn’t Dale suffered enough humiliation yet?”

“I don’t know, it looked like he wanted to beat my face in when I was one fourth his size,” Jerry said.

“Yeah, maybe you’re right, Jerry,” Marie said. “Dale’s not behaved well. But still…”

Marie trailed off, unable to think of more exuses for Dale’s behavior. She wanted to think of some reason that they should all be nicer to him, but memories of all his past deeds made it difficult. Marie decided that she wouldn’t go out of her way for Dale, but she would at least protect him from retribution if anything came up, though she knew Jerry wasn’t the physically violent type at all.

Throughout the rest of dinner there was little conversation. Jerry and Sherri kept trying to avoid each other’s eye. They knew that Marie knew about their new fling…the way Jerry had acted when Marie knocked on the door was a dead giveaway. They also had the feeling that tiny Vera had figured it out as well, for she could see the expressions on their faces with great detail. She didn’t even need to have been in Marie’s hand at the time to figure it out. Andy, on the other hand, seemed happily oblivious, enjoying his dinner from Marie’s lap.

The only person who remained tense was Marie, but because of Marie’s superior size her body language dominated the atmosphere, making everyone feel a little tense by association. Jerry suggested that they put in a movie as a way to calm things down and pass time until eight, and Sherri quickly agreed.

“Go ahead, I’ll join you in a moment,” Said Marie, lifting Andy off her lap, standing up, and beginning the dishes. Vera stood and watched as Marie lifted up dishes the size of helipads and brought them over to the sink to clean them.

Andy joined Sherri and Jerry as they started the movie and not even he could fail to make the conclusion about the two of them as they snuggled together under a blanket. A few minutes in Marie joined them, sitting in the usual Queen’s chair placing Vera in her lap.

The movie was a great help, lowering the tension dramatically. It was a funny movie, and Marie’s laughs really changed the mood of the rest of the group. Part of the way through the movie Marie let Andy sit up on her lap, a position he loved as he fell into the warmpth and softness of her. Meanwhile Jerry and Sherri cuddled under the blanket and Dale continued to not be seen.

By the time the movie was over night had fallen and eight o’clock was approaching, and inevitably the topic was turning to what would be happening in just a few minutes.

“You’re still not going to tell us anything, are you?” Jerry asked Sherri.

“Nope!” Sherri said, grinning. “It’s more fun to see you guess!”

“Well we haven’t had two competitions in a day yet,” Marie said. “But you never know, there’s a first for everything!”

“I think it’s going to be another vote,” Jerry suggested.

“What did they do this time last season?” Andy asked.

“I think they were already down to four people by that point.” Jerry said.

“So it really could be anything.” Andy said.

“Yes it could!” Sherri said, grinning. They pressed her for several more minutes but could get no further answers out of her.

There wasn’t much time to do anything before eight. Jerry changed his clothes quickly while Andy enjoyed a quick snack. It was now five minutes to seven and Dale had still not shown up.

“Maybe I should go out and get him,” Marie said.

“Don’t worry about it,” Sherri said. “If he’s not back when Betty arrives, She’ll get him, don’t worry.”

But Dale did not show up and when Betty knocked on the door at eight only the five of them were there to great Betty.