They were off. Paul made a sprint to the middle of the field. He knew the most obvious ones would be grabbed up first and he wanted to get those. Indeed, there was one in a lower branch of a small tree, easily within his reach. With Jerry bouncing around crazily on his shoulders Paul reached the tree. He grabbed the egg and had just turned around to run back when he saw Vera and Marie. In that split second a trail of water came out of Marie’s gun and splattered across the front of Paul’s shirt. Already, he moaned inwardly.

“You’re down!” Shouted Sherri. “One…two…three…four…five.” Paul took off again, sprinting madly to the starting point. Making a wide birth around Andy and Dale, who weren’t far away, Paul dropped the egg to the ground. But he wasn’t the first—while he had been stunned Vera had managed to grab an egg for her team.

Hailey and Carla had run into the back right section of the area. It hadn’t taken long before Carla was barking instructions into Hailey’s ear. Even though Hailey was much bigger than Carla she was taking orders from her, if for no other reason than because Hailey herself didn’t know what to do.

“Left! Your left! Down by those roots!” Shouted Carla. Hailey already had two of the unwieldy eggs in her hand, and Carla was making her get three. Carla’s idea was if they grabbed the ones in the back first they could get ahead. Hailey grabbed the third egg and with Carla shouting “Go!” Hailey sprinted back to the starting point. What the others didn’t know was that Hailey actually ran track in high school and was still very fast.

Dale tried to hit Hailey with water but it was no use. Hailey made it through placing the three eggs down, making their team’s total four. In the meantime Andy had laid down an egg, making the game 4-2 in Paul’s team’s favor.

Vera’s team was already loosing and she was angry. Marie was hanging on like there was no tomorrow so Vera thought she could try some more complicated maneuvers. She saw Paul and Jerry go for another egg and tore off in that direction. They picked up the egg and started to run away when Marie soaked Paul once again.

Paul almost dropped his egg out of frustration but resigned himself to a ready crouch. In the time he had to stand he scanned for his teammates. Hailey and Carla already had two more eggs in their hand and were rooting around for a third. But Andy and Dale were catching up to them.

“Watch out!” Shouted Paul, causing Hailey to panic. She tried to run by Dale sprayed her. Now Hailey had to wait. Carla was saying something into Hailey’s ear but no one but Hailey could hear it. Meanwhile, Andy helped himself to the egg that Hailey had been trying to reach.

His freeze time finally up Paul shot forward, running with reckless abandon towards Andy, hoping Jerry’s aim would not fail. It didn’t, and Jerry got Andy squarely across the chest. With them frozen, Paul wipped wildly around to see where Vera was. While the others were occupied Vera had deposited another egg, making the score 4-3, and she was on her way to getting another.

Paul darted forward, hoping to catch Vera in time. But Very picked up an egg and nearly flew upwards and started running backwards, a move that would have thrown Marie off if she hadn’t been gripping with a death grip. Jerry tried squirting them but they were too far away, the stream didn’t make it. The score was now 4-4.

Behind them, Hailey and Carla had become unfrozen. Hailey ran desperately to the finish line before Andy and Dale could unfreeze and squirt them. Hailey slipped on a patch of grass made slippery by a squirt and sprawled out on the ground, Carla flying off her shoulders and landing a couple of feet away in the grass. Hailey lost both eggs she had been carrying, which rolled away in opposite directions.

Paul and Vera both ran forward to try and grab the eggs. Andy became unfrozen and sprinted towards Hailey too, but he would arrive a few seconds after the others. Since Vera had no egg Jerry couldn’t squirt her, but Marie did give an effort to soak Paul for the third time. It failed, missing widely.

Andy and Dale surged forward, Dale aiming at Paul. Andy stumbled, and the shot missed wildly. Paul and Vera converged on the eggs, each grabbing one of them. Carla put her hands on her head and curled up in a protective position, reacting to the thundering giants around her.

Paul ran off with his two eggs and Vera with one, Andy unable to catch them. They deposited them at the same time, bringing the score to 6-5 Paul’s favor. At that moment Betty shouted: “Time!”

Hailey was getting up wiping the wet grass from her body. Carla also straightened herself up, growling in frustration. They sprinted to the starting line, and Andy arrived with Jerry at this time.

“Okay, good first half.” Betty said. “Now, switch your partners! Opposite sex! Let’s go!”

Paul lifted Jerry off his shoulder and placed him on Hailey’s. He then turned to Carla, who had just arrived, and picked her up and placed her on his shoulders. Carla felt an even better fit than Jerry had been. “Let’s win this,” Said Carla, who was still partially covered in wet grass.

On the other side, Vera had settled Dale on her shoulders. She knew there was little time for a plan, but she decided to stalk Paul once the game started and rely on Dale’s hatred of him to provide an accurate aim. Meanwhile Andy placed Marie on his shoulders, and she clutched his head and neck with a reassuringly hard grip.

“Okay.” Betty said. “Ready…set…go!”

Paul once again went tarring off in one direction, Hailey in another. Hailey had already spotted an egg in the bush, but it was the same egg Andy had seen. Hailey and Vera crossed paths, nearly colliding with one another. This gave Andy the advantage and he surged forward and grabbed the egg first. He didn’t get far, though, when Dale gave him a good splashing. This gave Hailey the chance to find another egg.

“Get behind that tree!” Carla shouted in Paul’s ear. Paul ran behind a tree, though he was more listening to his own intuition than to Carla. “There’s one! Down there! Down there!”

“Where?” Paul asked, not seeing it.

“There!” Said Carla, pointing her pistol at it. Paul started to lean down to get it when Carla shouted: “Vera, Vera, Vera!” Paul turned around to see Vera approaching. He stopped bending to pick up the egg, and Vera slowly moved behind a tree, waiting for Paul to grab it. For a few seconds they both just stood there watching each other. In the distance, though, Paul saw Andy deposit another egg (6-6). Marie gave a shrill whoop of delight, causing Vera a slight distraction. At this moment Paul ran diagonally across the field, feigning another egg find. Vera followed Paul rather than grab the egg herself, which caused Dale to shout “No! Go back!”

But it was too late. Hailey, who had been behind them, reached in and grabbed that egg. Hailey made for broke and ran wide in an area unguarded and scored another for the team (7-6). Meanwhile, Paul had dashed around a tree and was trying to confuse Vera long enough to grab another egg. Carla gripped Paul’s neck harder amongst all the twisting and turning, and suddenly Paul saw an egg.

Paul was about to pounce on it when Carla shouted in his ear, “No! Don’t get it!” Strangely, Paul obeyed her, and it turned out to be the right thing to do. Dale, so sure that Paul was going to grab that egg, sprayed a line of water across his back.

“Foul!” Shouted Sherri, who was the closest. “Go back to the start and take five seconds!”

“Dammit!” Shouted Vera. Throwing her arms out before running back to the start. She had half a mind to just throw Dale off of her shoulders right then and there, but she knew she had to stay in it to win.

Paul took this opportunity to grab the egg he refrained from grabbing before. He was running back to the finish line when he felt a stream of water hit him from the right side. Marie had got him, riding on Andy’s shoulders. Paul froze, leaving Andy free to pursue another egg. But in all the excitement Hailey had slipped through another egg, razing the score to 7-6, Paul’s team.

Vera had reached the starting line and Betty had just started counting her to five. With Paul frozen, only Andy and Hailey were moving. Andy was able to get a head start but it took him a little long to find an egg, now that two thirds of them had already been found. By the time he found one Hailey had already caught up to him. Andy tried hiding between some trees but Marie’s water gun found its mark, getting him on the shoulder.

Paul became unfrozen, running as fast as he could now that it was only his team that was active. “Back left! Back left!” Shouted Carla. That’s where Paul had been going anyway and he almost considered changing direction just because Carla said it. But he still went to the back left and found a boone: two eggs relatively close to each other.

Vera’s five seconds of punishment up, she bolted forward and started gunning for Paul. She was moving so fast and hard that Dale was nearly thrown off. With his two eggs in hand Paul started running back, but he lost his grip on one of the eggs and it fell out of his hands, rolling into the open and up for grabs.

Paul cut his losses and surged on ahead with his single egg. Vera recovered the second one and charged after him. Dale thought they were close enough to squirt them but when he pressed down on the trigger only a feeble trail of water came out.

“Refill!” Shouted Dale into Vera’s ear, “We need a refill!” Vera cursed as she and Paul both put down their eggs (8-7), heading over to the water canister. She took the squirter roughly from Dale and opened the water compartment, dumping it in the small tank. Once it was full, Vera frantically turned the crank to ramp up the pressure, and shoved it into Dale so hard he nearly fell off.

Meanwhile, Andy had since been released and was off after Hailey. It was payback time. Hailey was searching for an egg with Andy waiting behind a tree. Unseeing, Hailey found an egg and was starting to run back when Andy jumped out and Marie got Hailey with a string of water. Hailey cried out in surprise and ground to a halt.

“I need a refill!” Shouted Marie. Andy heeded her call and ran over to the canister, filling the gun with the same speed but none of the roughness that Vera had employed.

Paul, meanwhile, had found a second egg and was running back to the finish line. But Vera, who had just gotten out of the canister area ran straight for him, Dale spraying him across the chest with an especially rough stream of water. Vera then ran out into the field to find an egg before anything else happened. Hailey had become unfrozen from Andy’s spray and was once again making a run to the starting line. But she made the mistake of running too close to Vera, opening an opportunity for Dale to soak her across the stomach and waste areas.

Hailey cried again in anguish for being stopped twice in one run, and Vera ran out unimpeded. Paul became unfrozen and easily deposited his egg, bringing himself just one egg from victory at 9-7. Three eggs were out there, and Paul only had to net one more. He could taste victory.

Marie’s canister full, Paul and Andy ran at breakneck speeds out into the trees. Vera had already found one of the coveted objects, and avoided everyone else by running through the far right side of the area on the other side of the trees. Hailey unfroze soon enough to pursue her, but Vera had slipped to the starting line before Jerry could get into range. The score was now 9-8.

Andy and Paul were now looking all around, the little ladies on their shoulders doing all they could to keep from flying off. Carla suddenly noticed Hailey standing, mostly ignored, almost ready to move. Suddenly struck by an idea, she said, “There! There!” Pointing to absolutely nothing in a shrubby area. Paul ran to the bush, but so did Andy. This gave Hailey the opportunity to take off in a dash towards the finish line. Vera realized the trick at the last moment and tried to catch up to Hailey, but she was too far gone. Hailey ran past the starting point and threw her egg on the ground, winning the game 10-8.

“Yeah!” Shouted Hailey, shooting her arms into the sky. Jerry was nearly thrown backwards but remained on board by grabbing her neck harder, letting his no-longer-needed water gun fall to the ground. Hailey pulled Jerry off her shoulders and gave her a large kiss on the cheek, stunning Jerry by the sheer sucking power of the massive puckers. Then a delighted Hailey threw Jerry in the air as one might throw a child. Jerry flailed his arms wildly, not liking to go so high without supports. He came down and Hailey caught him easily, pressing him against her chest in a victory hug before placing the stunned little man on the ground next to her legs.

Vera was not gracious in defeat. She came to the finish line howling and cursing. She grabbed Dale hard around the waste and nearly threw him off her, dropping him to the ground roughly and causing him to roll over in surprise. Vera kicked at the ground, knowing that if she had been paying more attention Hailey may not have gotten through.

At the other side of the area there was much less drama. Neither Andy nor Marie were too phased by their loss. Marie knew she had tried her hardest and there was plenty of game left to go. Andy knew this meant what he wanted for so long was finally coming true: he would actually be shrinking this time.

A proud and satisfied Paul pulled Carla off his shoulders. He was feeling proud and happy, knowing he would be the single full-sized male. He was happy with Carla too. He wasn’t sure what the big deal Vera had with her was, but Carla seemed just fine with him. Even if she had gotten slightly bossy during the game, it was her planning that was instrumental.

“Good win.” Said Paul, holding up his hand for Carla to give him a high five, which she did. Marie dismounted from Andy’s shoulders and ran up and hugged the girl.

“I guess I’ll be smaller than you again!” Marie said, thankful that her friend would be there to look out for her, and looking forward to the excitement of a whole smaller size.”

“I guess I will,” Said Carla, embracing Marie tightly. They broke the embrace and Marie looked up at Paul.

“You’ll be just huge!” Said Marie to Paul, spreading her hands out wide.

“Yes, that I will be.” Said Paul, unable to suppress a smile.

“I guess we’ll be the same size again.” Andy said to Carla.

Carla smiled up to Andy, a smile that sent shivers down Andy’s spine, and said “Yes, we will.”

The four of them walked over to the rest of the group who were standing by Betty. They handed Betty the water pistols which she put back in the box. Nearly everyone was full of smiles. It was only Vera and Dale who looked unhappy.

“A very well-played game by all of you.” Betty said. “Now, as I said, the winning team will be unshrinkable. The losing team, on the other hand, will be reduced to half their height.” She looked at Vera, Andy, Dale, and Marie, who all acknowledged the fact with varying states of facial emotion.

“Unless,” Betty said, waving a finger. “The captain of the loosing team can volunteer to take the place of one of her teammates set to be reduced to quarter size. She would become quarter-sized herself and that teammate would be untouched. What says you, Vera?”

Vera looked at Dale and Marie. She felt disgusted with Dale at the moment, and Marie probably wanted it anyway. No need to go through a greater shrink for either of their sakes.

“No, the results stand.” Vera said.

“So be it, then.” Betty said. “Now follow me to the shrinking room where we will reduce the loosing team to their new sizes.”

She lead them through the yard to the fence through which they had come in. They walked along the side of the building and through the door to the shrinking area. The room seemed very dim after being out in the sun for so long, and it took everyone’s eyes several minutes to get used to it.

“Well,” Said Betty, “The Captain has to go first.”

Vera nodded her head in acknowledgement. She knew it was time and there was nothing she could do about it. She felt a slight trembling in her chest and arms as she walked forward into the machine. As the doors closed she had half a mind to run out and shout that she didn’t want to do it. But it was too late.

Vera stood in the quiet, small room waiting for the inevitable to happen. She didn’t have long to think about it, though, because soon the flash of light came and the world suddenly became a lot bigger.

The door into the other room opened and Vera stepped out of it, shaking. It had happened; she was tinier than a child. Despite all her muscles and trained reflexes she felt stripped and helpless. It was a scary feeling, but also a very humbling one.

A few seconds later there was another flash of light indicating another person had been shrunk. The door opened and Andy stepped out, the same size as Vera. Andy was trembling too, but with excitement. With every moment leading up to the actual event his anticipation had been rising—he would finally be small. The world would be large around him, the objects, the people.

Vera and Andy were both staring around them at the enlarged world but it was a very different feeling for each of them. Andy felt more of an excitement and anticipation whereas Vera felt an inadequacy and dread.

There was another flash, and this time two people had been shrunk. Because they were already so small, Dale and Marie had been sent into the shrinking booth together. Dale tried not to look at Marie, who was hyper with excitement and thrilled about the transformation. He would never understand someone like Marie, who wanted to become smaller, more defenseless.

When the flash came, Marie’s first impression was that she was in some kind of grand entrance hall, many feet wide and several stories high. The doorknobs were more than twice their height, and neither of them had any hope of reaching them alone. Fortunately the doors were automatic and the one on the far end swung open to reveal the cavernous room beyond.

Marie and Dale stepped out of the booth and stood with Vera and Andy, who were giants to them but still tiny in comparison to the rest of the world. Vera could hardly believe there could be ones smaller than herself, and it made her feel a little better that at least she was not as small as could be. The four of them stood there, taking up so little room in the great large space.

Once again the ominous footsteps were heard, and Betty emerged in the doorway. Four people gaped in astonishment and awe. For Andy, he was finally seeing it. It was a woman, curvy and beautiful, twice his height and towering over him, with legs as high as he and a body large enough to smother his. For Vera, the sight of a full-sized person really drove home just how small and defenseless she was.

But nothing was comparable to what Marie and Dale saw. They each only came up to Betty’s knees, and her legs were far thicker than they were. Her breasts were nearly the size of their entire torsos and they hung far above. Her face was simply massive, her mouth wide enough to contain a quarter-sized person’s head in its entirety.

“Aren’t you a little bunch?” Betty said to the tiny people in front of her. “Well, come on back and meet your teammates!” Betty walked back down the short hallway, the group of smaller people following.

They emerged in the main room and the others got to lay their eyes on the smallest people they had ever seen. To Paul and Hailey, Dale and Marie were no bigger than toys and not even remotely human-sized. Carla didn’t feel so small anymore now that over half of the contestants were her size or smaller. Doll-sized Marie was simply adorable, though. Carla opened her arms and little Marie jumped right in, allowing herself to be picked up.

“Oh, honey,” Cooed Hailey, spotting the tiny Dale. Dale, still too shocked over seeing everything in this perspective, was unable to stop Hailey from picking him up. Her giant hands could wrap around him entirely, and she lifted him up and pressed the tiny man against her chest, rocking him gently. Dale was enraged by this embarrassment and also by the fact that he strangely liked this feeling, but he did nothing to stop it.

Down below Carla, Andy, and Jerry stood together, Marie in Carla’s arms. Vera inched away from those she shared her size with, standing closer to Paul, who towered overhead. All in all they took up a surprisingly small amount of room for eight people.

“You will remain at these sizes for twenty-one hours.” Betty said. “For tomorrow there will not just be one, but two opportunities to change sizes. The first shall take place at one o’clock, the second at eight. Don’t worry, no one will be shrinking smaller than quarter size, but there will be plenty of shifting within the order you are in now.”

The others looked at each other. This told them nothing of the kinds of challenges that laid before them, or even if they were challenges. They could be votes, or even random selections.

“Stay good until then!” Betty said. “Off with you!” And with that the eight contestants filed through the door and walked back to their house. Betty watched them until they made their way inside, then closed the door.

Sherri, who had been standing in the hallway leading into the rest of the compound, stepped out. “I think that went well,” She said.

“It did.” Betty said. “I definitely like how this competition is turning out.”

“Better than mine?” Sherri asked, smiling.

“We’ll see.” Betty said. “So, have you made the call?”

“Yes.” Sherri said. “He’s definitely coming out the night after tomorrow, and he’s willing to do the shots.”

“Excellent.” Betty said. “I always like to see alumni back here. But anyway, have you selected which one you want?”

“No,” Said Sherri, giggling. “I told you I wasn’t interested in it.”

“Are you sure?” Betty asked, grinning. “I can get you any one you want.”

“I’m still not very interested.” Sherri said, looking a little embarrassed.

“Well, they’ll be here in case you change your mind.” Betty said.

“Will the devices be ready by tomorrow?” Sherri asked.

“Day after.” Betty said. “The one in the compound is going to be installed tomorrow, and the one in the house tomorrow night. There’s no reason why they shouldn’t work.”

“I’m very excited.” Sherri said. “I still can’t really believe you’re giving me so much power!”

“It gets boring when it’s just my decisions.” Betty said. “I like having you playing out some of the action.”

“When will I get to meet the people in the crew?” Sherri said. “I’ve been staying at this place a week and I’ve yet to meet anybody?”

“Oh, I’ve instructed them to stay out of our way.” Betty said. “You know this operation requires little maintenance, so they don’t even reside on site. However, you might see them later on.”

“Neat.” Sherri said.

“I have some work I need to do.” Betty said, walking off. “Maybe later we can order a pizza or something.”

The competitors had made their way to the house and were now fanning out into their own things. Paul decided to begin preparations for dinner, since he was the only person left full-sized that knew how to cook. It was going to be extremely easy though—he only had to cook as if he was cooking for three: himself, Hailey, and all the others combined.

Things couldn’t be better for Paul. He was now the only full-sized male, and although he would have preferred Vera by his side the air-headed Hailey was probably the next best person. Dale was as tiny as could be, and his other threat to power, Carla, was half-sized. He didn’t think events could be looking up any more.

Carla, Andy, and Marie were sitting together at one corner of the couch. All three of them were decently happy with the situation, though Carla strove to be bigger if she could. Andy was happy to be small and able to talk to Carla at the same level. Marie just loved being looked after—she was sitting in Carla’s lap as Carla sat Indian style, and she stroked Marie’s hair as she talked to Andy.

“So how does it feel to be small?” Carla asked.

“It feels great!” Andy said, confident no one but Carla and Marie could hear. “I never thought it would be this cool!”

“It is kind of neat.” Carla said. “I’m used to it by now, but it was scary at first.”

“I love it!” Marie exclaimed. “You’re both so big—but you’re not even full-sized!”

Carla and Andy chuckled at Marie’s joy. “So what do you think is going to happen next?” Andy asked.

“Maybe the same thing as last season; it’s been pretty consistent so far,” Carla said.

“So the biggest and smallest people would be pitted against each other.” Andy said. “I guess the two of us would be out of it, then.”

“I wouldn’t!” Said Marie. “I’d get big enough to hold both of you in my lap!” The comment inadvertently excited Andy.

“Yeah, I’d vote for you.” Andy said. “But it might be something completely different. Do you want to come up with a strategy?”

“What, are you suggesting an alliance?” Carla said, smiling that smile.

“Uh, yeah, I guess I am.” Andy said. “The three of us, we can be allies.”

“I like that idea!” Marie said.

“And what would we do as allies, first off?” Carla asked.

“Umm, we could enlarge one of ourselves.” Andy suggested.

“I say we go after Paul.” Carla said.

“Why him?” Marie asked, not understanding why the gentlemanly giant had to be shrunk.

“Marie, just because he’s cute and is nice to your face doesn’t mean we should support him.” Carla explained. “He’s just trying to win you over so you’ll support him. He’s doing the same thing with Vera too.”

“That seems pretty cynical to me.” Marie said.

“Well, it’s true.” Carla said.

“Okay,” Andy said. “We can shrink Paul if it comes up in a vote or something. But which one of us are we going to support to grow in a vote?”

“How about Carla?” Asked Marie.

“Yeah, Carla,” Agreed Andy. Carla smiled. She hadn’t been counting on such steadfast support. With this kind of backing Paul didn’t stand a chance.

“Okay,” Carla said. “You can support me. If I become big I’ll do whatever I can for both of you.”

“Sounds good.” Andy said, excited about the possibilities already. “But do we want to focus on anyone else?”

“Well, let’s not let Vera regain size if she can help it.” Carla said. “I don’t care too much about Dale or Jerry, so let’s not focus on them.”

“That sounds reasonable.” Andy said. “How about Hailey?”

“Oh, she can shrink when the time comes.” Carla said. “But let’s not worry about her. I’m not worried, anyway.”

Marie became tired of sitting down and decided to get up to stretch her legs. She hopped off the seat of the couch, which was as high as she was tall, and went running across the expansive living room floor.

“So you’d really want me at full-size?” Asked Carla. “Even instead of yourself?”

“Well, yeah, I think you’d make a better leader,” Fumbled Andy.

“But really,” Said Carla. “Do you want me big because you’re…interested in me?”

Andy faltered, not knowing what to say. He was sitting very near to Carla, so near that their sides were nearly touching. She was looking at him with her deep brown eyes, her short brown hair flowing beautifully around her face. Why was he holding back? Knowing no one was watching, he leaned over and planted a kiss directly on Carla’s lips.

“How’s that for an answer?” Andy asked, leaning back up. Carla was surprised—she didn’t think Andy could be so out front! But despite the situation Andy was an outgoing guy who had no trouble making the first move, and it was only the size factor that caused him nerves.

“I think I like that answer.” Said Carla, leaning over towards Andy. Excitement flowing through their bodies, they kissed and kissed and kissed again.

In another room in the house, a much less romantic event was taking place. As soon as Hailey got into the house she rushed into her room. She placed Dale on her lap and started to examine him. She couldn’t believe she had her own little toy here and it was all for herself!

But things didn’t go as planned. Dale started protesting as soon as Hailey began to take his shirt off. She ignored him, but he protested louder and even fought feebly as Hailey undid his pants.

“What’s the matter?” Hailey asked. “Don’t you want to do this?”

“No!” Said Dale. “I don’t want to!”

“Why not?” Hailey asked, tugging Dale’s pants off of him despite Dale’s efforts to keep them on. “You were okay with it last night!”

“I wasn’t! Not really!” Said Dale, not wanting to watch as Hailey removed her shirt, revealing a sensuous field of skin.

“Why don’t you want too?” Hailey said. “Are you not interested in me?”

“You’re fine,” Dale said. “It’s just—you’re so big! I don’t want to be with somebody bigger than me!”

“You know I would never hurt you!” Exclaimed Hailey, her breasts shifting a little as she threw out her arms.

“It’s not about that,” Said Dale. “It’s just that it’s—embarrassing.”

“Embarrassing?” Hailey said, a hint of menace creeping into her voice. “I embarrass you?”

“I’m the man, I should take the lead, I shouldn’t be dominated like this!” Exclaimed Dale.

Hailey was angry. “That’s a bunch of bullshit. But if you don’t want to be with me, fine.” Hailey balled up her removed shirt and threw it at Dale. The force of the shirt knocked Dale off the bed where he landed in a heap, tangled in the shirt.

Hailey reached down picking up the shirt and the diminutive Dale, who weighted next to nothing at a foot and a half tall. “You know, I should really keep you here to put you in your place.” Hailey said. “But I don’t do that, so I’m just going to teach you real embarrassment.”

Hailey opened the door to her room and threw Dale, naked, into the hall. Dale suddenly felt very vulnerable in the huge hallway surrounded by doors he could not possibly hope to open.

“Maybe Paul will lend you some clothes.” Hailey said, then slammed the door with a deafening bang.

Dale didn’t know what to do. He was miniscule and naked and had nowhere to go. He could see people in the kitchen and living room at the other end of the hall, and he prayed they would not turn their heads to look over to where he was. Dale stood up and walked along the wall towards the far end of the hall. Maybe the eighth room was still open and he could hide in there.

Before he moved more than a few feet a door opened. Dale dropped to the ground covering himself, hoping whoever it was would not see him.

But he did. Jerry noticed tiny, naked Dale crouched on the floor and it took all his self-control not to break out into a chuckle.

“Hailey kicked you out, didn’t she?” Jerry said. Dale didn’t say anything.

“You can hide in my room for now.” Jerry said. Dale got up and quickly and ran into Jerry’s room, flattening himself on the wall.

“Where are your clothes?” Jerry asked.

“Hailey’s got them.” Dale said. “My bags are all in her room.”

“That’s not good.” Jerry said. “Do you want me to get them for you?”

“Hailey’s in there.” Dale said. “And she’s not happy.”

“It doesn’t matter.” Jerry said. “I’ll be back.” And with that he had left his room and was walking over to Hailey’s. Dale was dumbfounded. Why was Jerry—a man he hadn’t quite gotten along with—now helping him?

Jerry knocked on Hailey’s door. There was a shuffling and the door was opened. Hailey, standing twice Jerry’s height and looking unhappy, was Hailey.

“What do you want?” Hailey asked grumpily.

“Can I have Dale’s clothes to bring to him?” Jerry asked.

“What?” Hailey asked, as startled by the question as Dale had been by the suggestion. “What does he need his clothes for?”

“He’s running around naked.” Said Jerry, matter-of-factly.

“That’s his punishment.” Hailey said.

“Punishment? For what?” Jerry asked.

“He was saying mean things to me.” Hailey said.

“Mean things?” Asked Jerry.

“Yeah,” Hailey said. “Now I just want to embarrass him.”

“Embarrass him?” Jerry said. “Why?”

Hailey sighed. She knew she wasn’t going to get Jerry off with a simple answer. He seemed like a good guy, and at half her height he certainly couldn’t pull anything on her.

“Come in.” Said Hailey, opening her door. Jerry walked into her room and climbed up onto her bed. Hailey sat next to him, her weight almost causing her to tip into him.

“So are you going to tell me what happened?” Jerry asked.

“He said I embarrassed him.” Hailey said. “By being smaller than me.”

“That’s…not nice, but it doesn’t seem like that insulting?” Jerry said, puzzled.

“It’s not.” Hailey said. “Not in itself. But that was—that was what my last boyfriend said to me right before we broke up.”

“That you embarrassed him?” Jerry asked.

“Yeah!” Said Hailey. “He said I embarrassed him. I used to fix his collar, straighten his shirt, you know, nice things like that. But he said he was embarrassed that I did it. He also told me he was embarrassed when I tried to say anything smart, and he called me an idiot too.”

“Wow,” Said Jerry. “That’s awful.”

“Yeah.” Hailey said. “He really hurt me a lot. And he was such a nice lover too, at least at the beginning. I really thought he was going to be the one I was going to marry.”

“Yeah,” Said Jerry, thinking back to a girl he had known two years ago who had left him for a taller, handsomer man down south. The funny thing was this man was even taller now.

“So that’s why you’re punishing Dale?” Jerry asked said.

“Yeah,” Said Hailey. “He just really upset me. Part of me just wanted to keep him here, use my size to dominate him and everything. But I didn’t want him to start saying more mean things, and besides it wouldn’t look well with the others.”

“That’s true.” Jerry said. “Don’t try to be too upset with him, though. He’s just an idiot; doesn’t know what he’s doing. Besides, you’re bigger than everyone else here except Paul. You don’t need to let little people make you feel bad.”

“You’re right.” Hailey said. “Gosh, what am I worrying about? I’m practically invincible now! I just don’t want to do anything that will damage my standing in the future.”ytymnjj

“Yeah,” Said Jerry. “So do you think you can give Dale his clothes?”

Hailey paused for a moment, then she finally got up and went into her closet. She pulled out a couple of tiny suitcases and gave them to Jerry.

“He doesn’t deserve it,” Hailey said. “But I’ll do it. Oh, and one more thing.” She leaned over and planted a kiss on Jerry’s forehead. “If you ever wanted to come back and spend time with me, you’re welcome to do so.”

Jerry smiled, a tingling feeling staying where her large lips had touched him. “Okay,” Jerry said, turning to leave. He felt very satisfied with himself as he walked into the room where Dale was hiding and put down his suitcases.

“Here you are,” Jerry said. “I still wouldn’t recommend going near her, though.”

“Oh, I don’t have any doubt that I won’t,” Said Dale, fearfully.

In the other room Paul was nearly finished preparing dinner. He occasionally watched out to see what the others in the room were doing—now that he was one of two big people he felt a bit responsible. Marie had talked to him for a bit, mostly for the novelty of seeing him so big he was sure, but she walked off. Carla and Andy were sitting on a couch, but since it faced away from him he couldn’t even see the tops of their heads. Everybody else was off in the bedrooms.

When the oven was three minutes from beeping, Vera approached Paul. She was waist high to him and had a nervous look on her face. It was strange for Paul to see this girl, who he had been kissing and holding, to be reduced to such a small size.

“How are you doing?” Paul asked. “Are you handling the size well.”

“Yeah,” Vera said. “It’s not as bad as I thought, and I’m getting used to it. But I was wondering.”

“Hm?” Paul asked, looking at her. Vera almost looked sheepish.

“I was wondering if I could spend the night with you,” Vera said. “I know it’s kind of out-front of me, but I’m a little scared of being alone small like this.”

Paul smiled a little. “Certainly.” He said. “You can stay with me.” At that moment the oven began to beep, signaling that dinner was ready. He called out in a voice that could be heard throughout the house and waited for people to arrive.

It was almost funny to see little person after little person arrive. Since Hailey was the only other full-sized person at the moment it almost seemed like they were parents with a lot of little children.

Problems presented themselves right away. While half-sized people could barely see and reach over the table, quarter-sized people could not do anything at all. Marie tried standing on a chair and tried to manipulate silverware nearly as long as her arms, but it went disastrously.

“Here, come sit on my lap,” Said Carla, who had just seated herself. Even though Carla wasn’t full-sized, the little boost made Marie more able to eat with her help.

The rest of the people arrived slowly. Jerry and Andy, and Vera seated themselves around the table and started to eat. Hailey settled down on one side of the table, towering over the others. Little Dale was the last to arrive, and he quickly found out he was unable to reach.

“Come over here with me!” Said Marie, patting Carla’s other leg. Dale froze for a minute, trying not to look at Paul or Hailey. He finally decided he had no choice and allowed Carla to help him onto her lap. Hailey smiled next to him, and both of them were helped to eat by Carla, who enjoyed the task.

They didn’t talk about much during dinner, and afterwards Hailey joined Paul in doing the dishes. It was really the first time Hailey had helped out with any housework, but now that there was nobody left to assist Paul Hailey felt she really didn’t have much of a choice.

The rest of the group filtered off into the living room. Vera sat apart from the others, feeling a growing distance between herself and the other competitors. She noted that many of the others were now falling under Carla’s circle of influence: Dale seeming to be joining Andy and Marie. Vera felt that she and Paul were very much on an island of diminishing support and if they didn’t do something about it they could both be in serious trouble as the competition progressed. But for now, there was nothing she could do but watch and wait.

Carla and Marie were once again sitting together chatting and playing, but Andy was drifting off. He wanted to talk to Dale. He approached the smaller man as he appeared to be slinking off to a corner to be by himself.

“Hey, Dale?” Andy asked. Dale turned around to face the taller man.

“What?” He asked.

“I was just wondering.” Andy said, dropping his voice almost to a whisper, “What’s it like to be with a larger woman?”

For a second Dale didn’t say anything, but he could tell in Andy’s eyes that he hungered to know. “Well,” Dale started. “There’s a lot of her. Longer, thicker, everything. She’s really strong, too. You’d think you’d still be pretty strong as a man but you’re little more than a rag doll. She is basically in control of the situation. And since it takes more to satisfy her, she’ll probably make you work harder than you otherwise would have too.”

Andy couldn’t help but get excited at Dale’s words. It sounded almost too good to be true. “But I heard you left Hailey. Why?” Andy asked.

“Do you really want to be in a situation like that?” Dale asked, widening his arms. “To have no control? To have some female dominate you? That’s no way to live. I just had to get out. I mean, now that she was four times my height it would have been even worse.”

“Well, at least she let you get out.” Andy said.

“Yeah, she was a little upset that I didn’t want to participate.” Dale said, leaving out any parts involving him getting tossed into the hallway naked.

Jerry was walking around when he saw Vera alone and decided to talk to her. The woman seemed a bit distant with everyone after shrinking. She didn’t even seem to want to be around Paul at the moment.

“How are you doing?” Jerry asked. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Said Vera, slightly annoyed with being asked a second time by a second guy.

“It’s not too bad, is it?” Jerry said.

“No, not really.” Vera said.

“What do you think tomorrow’s going to be like?” Jerry asked.

“I don’t know.” Vera said. “I’m kind of worried, though.”

“Why, are you afraid you’ll become even smaller?” Jerry asked.

“Yeah,” Vera said. “This is already scary, I can’t imagine being Marie’s height! And I don’t think people have taken too kindly to me here.”

“Paul has.” Jerry said. “And I don’t have any problem with you.”

“Yeah, but,” Vera said, “Especially after the last competition, I don’t think many of the others were happy with me. I was so scared about shrinking I made an awful fuss when my team lost the game.”

“It’s okay.” Jerry said. “Alliances can change in the blink of an eye here. What you have one day could be gone tomorrow.”

“Yeah,” Vera said. “I don’t know, though. This is real tough, and I guess I’ll just play it by ear.”

Pretty soon they decided to put in a movie and everyone found places to snuggle up. Vera sat in Paul’s lap and they took one of the chairs for themselves. Carla sat next to Andy at one end of a couch, putting their arms around each other under the blanket. Marie felt sympathy for Dale and sat with him for the movie up front, where the TV looked like a very large big-screen. Hailey sat by herself, a little sad she had no companionship even though she was happy to be rid of Dale. However, little Jerry sat next to her and that made her feel a little better.

As the film progressed the two couples occupied themselves with each other. Paul scratched Vera’s back delicately and Carla and Andy took turns rubbing each others shoulders. Andy was grateful that Marie had decided to keep Dale company so he could have Carla all for herself.

As the movie went on, Hailey wished more and more she had a partner. Inadvertently she felt herself reaching out to Jerry. Jerry placed his little hand inside Hailey’s big one let her close it around his in a way that was very cute and delicate. Hailey found herself gently nudging Jerry closer and closer to herself. Jerry scooted up against Hailey’s warm side and leaned his head on her.

When the movie ended they decided it was starting to get late enough for bed. Paul took Vera’s hand and led her off to his room. Marie returned to her room and used the covers to hoist herself up onto her bed, an endeavor she certainly enjoyed. Dale did the same thing, but enjoyed it much less.

Andy and Carla walked down the corridor together. Andy decided to walk Carla to her room, but decided against asking to come inside, since he felt that would be moving things along a little to fast even in the world of a game show.

“Well, goodnight,” Andy said. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Goodnight.” Carla said. They exchanged a small kiss, but did not stop holding hands. It seemed as though something were rooting them to the spot. An odd smile was forming on Carla’s face, more reminiscent of one of Marie’s excited smiles than her own seductive shy smiles.

“What?” Andy asked, puzzled.

“I’m not sure exactly.” Carla said. “I’m just struck with how funny this all is. We’re standing here the size of children in this huge hall! It must be something about the size, but I just feel very funny!”

“It is strange.” Andy said. “I never thought I’d be in a place like this.” Carla almost started giggling. She reached out and hugged Andy, holding him tight.

“You know that this time tomorrow we might be different sizes.” Carla said.

“Yeah,” Andy said. “Probably.”

“So you know we might not be the same size again for the rest of the competition.” Carla said.

“Yeah…” Andy said, trying to convince himself Carla was not letting him on.

Carla sighed. “You’re so thick!” She exclaimed. “All right, I’ll come out and say it. Would you like to come to bed with me?”

Andy’s mouth nearly dropped open in shock. “Really?” He exclaimed. “I mean, are you sure?”

“Why not.” Said Carla. “Normally I’m not like this; I would have made you wait a few weeks. But…there’s something about being shrunk, something about this show…it’s like it’s a different world. So what about it?”

“I just have one question.” Andy said, quieting his nerves about his most personal hope, “If we are different sizes tomorrow night, and I was smaller than you…would you still take me?”

Carla’s face broke into a wide smile. Andy was becoming increasingly transparent to her, and she didn’t mind. So why not make his day?

“Sure I will.” Carla said. Nothing could stop Andy from breaking into a wide, almost boyish smile.

“I-I’m so your man.” Andy said. Carla grabbed his hand and pulled him into her room, closing the door behind them.

In the hall, Jerry was also escorting Hailey to her room. It looked kind of funny, like a child pulling his mother, but Jerry was the chivalrous type and he would always escort the lady back no matter how big.

“Jerry,” Hailey asked when they reached the door. “Would you like to come inside?”

“I—I don’t know, Hailey,” Jerry said, taken aback by the girl’s forwardness. “I like you, but I’m not sure I want to get involved. I mean, we’re not even a couple. We haven’t even kissed yet.”

Suddenly Hailey grabbed Jerry around the waste and lifted him with alarming swiftness. For a second Jerry got a glimpse of her enlarged round face, then a second later she had planted her lips over his, giving him a powerful kiss that was so one-sided it was all Jerry could do to breathe.

“How about now?” Hailey said, pulling Jerry away.

“I still don’t know.” Jerry said, his face tingling. “This is awfully fast.”

“Jerry, you’re the nicest guy here,” Hailey said, cradling him. “I won’t treat you like I treated Dale. I won’t do anything unless you let me.”

Jerry wanted to say no, but the heat and warmth of Hailey was very attractive. She was certainly a very pretty girl and she was offering him an experience he would not find anywhere else. Besides, it was unlikely he would have a chance with any other girl, and under any situation he would be considered lucky.

“Okay,” Said Jerry. “Just promise me one thing.”

“What’s that?” Hailey asked.

“Support me if I have the opportunity to grow tomorrow, okay?” Jerry said.

“I’ll do that, I hope you become as big as you can be.” Hailey said. With that, she carried Jerry into their room and they had a lot of fun lasting well into the night.