Bill was the first one to wake in the morning. He had been sleeping with his head on Sandra’s stomach and his feet resting gently on her upper crotch. Sandra had fallen asleep with her hand on top of him but over the course of the night the hand had slid off. It was probably the cooler night air blowing across Bill’s naked body that woke him off.

            Bill tapped Sandra’s crotch experementally with his foot. Sandra didn’t stirr, so that ment she was probably still fast asleep. Bill started moving, gently sliding to the edge of her body and off of it. Still Sandra did not stirr. So far so good.

            Using a blanket that was hanging off the bed, Bill lowered himself off the floor. He thought about what his best course of action would be. Getting away from Sandra, of course, but how? He walked over to the door, but like he expected it was shut and there was not enough room under it to crawl. He knew these bedrooms by now. If you were small, you had a hell of a time getting in and out.

            Bill went into the closet and in the darkness stumbled over a pair of Sandra’s sandals as long as he was tall. He let his eyes adjust and continued to look for a way out. The wall between the closet and the hallway was complete; there were no gaps or holes in this wall. Nor were there any gaps or holes leading to the next room.

            Bill thought for a moment that with so many of Sandra’s clothes lying on the floor here that he could hide amoung them and Sandra would not be able to find him. But knowing Sandra, he knew she would look everywhere in the room before giving up, and when he was found, he would probably be punished. Sandra just couldn’t understand that Bill didn’t want to be just a sex toy in the relationship.

            Giving up on the closet, Bill moved pack into the room. Sandra was still sleeping peacefully, her massive chest rising and falling with her breathing. Bill looked under the bed, a gap that was almost big enough to walk upright in. He thought how ironic it was that he was exploring the underside of a bed, a place he had not thought about since he was a kid, after his mind switch more to exploring what was on top of the bed.

            There were no weeknesses under the bed so Bill moved back out into the floor. Then he noticed it—the window! The window here was low to the ground, starting just a foot above the floor. Like most people did durring a hot and dry Southon dry season, Sandra had the window opened a few inches to let the mild air in. It was only open a couple of inches, but that was more than enough for Bill to make his escape.

            Since the window was still a little above his head Bill needed something to prop him up. He looked around and saw the jeans Sandra had been wearing yesterday crumpled on the floor. He smiled, thinking how fortuanite that it was that Sandra was a little messy. The jeans were large and heavy, and most of the mass of them was dragged and not carried, but Bill managed to get them over to the windowsill.

            Bill bunched up the jeans trying to get them to stack as high as they could. He found he could almost gain his height again when he bunched them a certain way. He judged his little mound of jeans was enough to elevate him to grab the windowsill.

            Bill climbed the jeans, which gave way a little but remained mostly the way that he had laid them. His head and shoulders just now peeked over the windowsill, enough for him to put his arms on it and hoist himself the rest of the way up. Bill was on the window ledge. He was free.

            For a moment Bill worried that Sandra would see the pants under the windowsill and know that he had gone outside. But hopefully Sandra would just think she tossed the pants there and not put two and two together. Either way, if Bill found a good hiding spot outside, there was little he would have to worry about from Sandra.

            Bill fit himself easily under the open window, which to him was almost three feet wide. On the other side was a drop of about two feet to the grassy yard below. Bill trusted his shrunken body to take the fall with more ease and leaped. He landed on his feet but quickly went into a roll, surprised at how little it hurt. He guessed being small did have its advantages after all.

            He straightened himself up and looked around. He was in the backyard alright, and the unmown grass was nearly waiste-deep to him. He had never been this small out in the yard, and he had certianly not been naked out here before. He was at a loss of what to do, so he started to go on a search for a perfect hiding place.

            Bill talked by a row of flowers that reached well over his head. It was kind of ridiculous in a way, but almost comical. Bill felt that he was in some kind of Alice in Wonderland world with the garden so big around him. There were shrubs the size of apartment buildings, plants the size of houses, and some flowers that were big enough that he could almost sit in them.

            Bill almost considered hiding behind the shrubs, but he thought that would be too obvious of a place to look. So he found a flower bed of smaller flowers, ones that only came up to his mid-chest, and found that the leaves of the flowering plants were thick enough to hide his body of he laid down in them, so that is what he did.

            Sherri and Cameroon each woke up within a short time of each other, and headed out to the living room. It seemed like even though they had just gotten up that three o’clock was already fast approaching them. Perhaps it was because this competition was so much earlier than all the other ones had been.

            They talked about the competition and what they thought it could be. “I hope it’s not phisical.” Sherri said. “I don’t think any of us could compete against Sandra.”

            “I’m sure it’s not.” Cameroon said. “I’m sure it’s another quiz, or maybe a puzzle or something like that.”

            “I don’t know.” Sherri said. “Betty has never really been one for fair.”

            “You can say that again.” Cameroon said. “So, are you not going to tell me anything about what happened in that compound?”

            “No,” Sherri said. “I can only tell you that it’s more than you think.”

            Cameroon shrugged. It was okay if he couldn’t get anything out of Sherri. Maybe it was tramautic, or wonderful, or maybe she really had been threatened. Whatever the case, as long as Cameroon stayed sharp and didn’t let himself fall behind again he could avoid the compound.

            A few minutes later Sandra came out of her room looking very grumpy. She slammed the door behind her shaking the entire house and causing Sherri and Cameroon to jump.

            “Have either of you seen Bill?” Sandra asked in a growl. Sherri and Cameroon glanced at each other.

            “No,” They both said, almost in unasin. Sandra glowered, and went into the kitchen to rummage around noisily in the drawers. The sounds of pots and pans clattering together were earsplitting to Sherri and Cameroon. If Bill was in there, he would probably get killed before Sandra fround him!

            “Come on,” Sherri said to Cameroon, strugelling to be heard over the clattering pots, “Let’s go outside.” The two of them left the building through the small person flap. It was a wonderfully sunny day outside, not so hot, and a cool brease was blowing along the tall grass.

            By now the strained relationship Sherri and Cameroon had before was being patched, if by nothing else out of sheer neccessity. They were the two remaining here at one-eigth size, if you didn’t count Bill, who was never seen out of the clutches of Sandra, or now missing. It was a rough world here and they were both sensible enough to know that it was better for them to be friends then enemies.

            They walked through the fields, discussing their lives. “I worked for the cable company, installing wires.” Sherri said. “Ironic, isn’t it, that I always wished I could go inside the walls and see exacty where I was guiding the wires to. At my size I could!”

            “That is ironic.” Cameroon said. “After the navy I got a job at a distribution service. It’s a pretty borring job but I like my co-workers. The pay only goes so far in a Portabby suburb, and it’s so hard to get a good job. But I might get a promotion if I keep working hard enough. They already like me a lot.”

            “I quit school when I was twenty so I could move out of my parents place,” Sherri said. “I don’t regret it, but I want to go back now. I think I could be a computer technition and work for the government.”

            “I might go back to school.” Cameroon said. “But with each passing year it just gets harder and harder to change your pattern.”

            “Being out here is a good change in the routine.” Sherri said. “We get to stay in Southon, be on a game show, get a chance for a million bucks!”

            “Yeah,” Cameroon said. “This shrinking stuff is weird. I never thought anyone would actually get it to work.”

            “I know, me neither.” Sherri said. “What do you think the chances are that the public will just think this is just a bunch of clever special effects with paid actors?”

            “Paid actors, us,” Cameroon said, laughing. “We’re a regular soap opera, but paid actors I’m not so sure about.”

            Sherri laughed. “Yeah, you’re right about that.”

            The two of them continued walking until they reached the garden. It was kind of an enchanting place to be, thought Sherri, with plants and flowers that were far taller than you. But something in the flower bed seemed out of place. Something hiding under the leaves that was too big to be a bug or even a mouse. Sherri moved closer and the object moved, causing her to jump.

            “Bill!” Sherri exclaimed, when she saw Bill’s naked top half emerge from the leaves.

            “Not so loud!” Bill said quietly but urgently. “Sandra might be able to hear us!”

            “Sandra? You’re hiding from her?” Said Sherri, and both she and Cameroon moved closer.

            “Yeah!” Bill said. “I’ve been her toy for the past few days, not her partner! She thinks I want to be played with irregardles of myself. I can’t make her understand!”

            “It’s okay.” Sherri. “We won’t let her know you’re out here.”

            “Can you do me a favor?” Bill asked. “Could you get me some clothes? I had an ant crawl across me that was the size of my finger, and it’s starting to creep me out.”

            “We’ll do what we can.” Said Sherri, trying hard not to laugh.

            “Thanks.” Bill said, and laid back down in the leaves. Sherri and Cameroon turned to leave, giggling to each other. The idea of Bill, eight inches tall and hiding from Sandra naked, was very funny. Poor Bill, he had been the very first one shrunk when they got there and he had not been normal sized since. At least all the others had had a chance to come back at some point.

            Inside, Sandra had finally given up her search for Bill. The little fucker had gone off somewhere to hide and Sandra couldn’t find him. Well, he would turn up sooner or later, sooner if he knew what was good for him! Sandra sat on the couch and watched TV, wondering where the heck Bill could be.

            As Sandra was watching the TV, she did not notice Sherri and Cameroon sneeking off behind the couch towards her bedroom. A few minutes later she did not notice them going back the other way behind the couch, this time with several parcels of clothing in their hands.

            Sherri and Cameroon laughed giddily as they ran outside clutching Bill’s clothes. It was fun like that to pull off what felt like a rescue operation right under Sandra’s nose. They reached Bill’s hiding spot and put the clothes down in the leaves. Bill muttered a quiet thanks, and Sherri and Cameroon turned around respectfully as Bill got dressed.

            Annie couldn’t believe the great fortune she had. She thought she was going to be shrunk for good. She thought she would be painted up with white body paint and be turned into a porcilin doll like Serine. She had almost fallen over in suprize when the machine had not shrunk her, but instead had returned her to normal size.

            After waiting in the far room, Betty had explained to her everything that was going on. She explained how all the eliminated shrunk people were in her “personal” care, and exactly what that ment. They both laughed when Betty explained how she had promised Annie to Dave, and what a surprise he would get.

            Annie never had as much fun on this trip as she had with Dave in the studio room. The room Betty had given her was clearly a temporary bedroom, it was bare with the exception of a bed and a few other odds and ends. But Annie turned it into her personal palace as she put Dave through every kind of thing she could imagine putting a four inch tall person through

            Annie didn’t know why Betty saw her as special, or wanted to keep her full-sized durring elimination. Frankly, though, she didn’t care. Whever her reasons, it was great to be big, and she enjoyed a little Tom who was merely the size of a finger.

            That afternoon Annie and Betty had dinner together. Annie thought she would impress Betty by bringing Dave stuck in her cleavage. Ironicly enough, Betty showed up to lunch with Tom stuck in her cleavage! They both giggled as they saw each other’s little boy toys tagging along.

            They ate and they chatted about the game and about their little men, swapping secrets for their further pleasure. It was a fun and giggling-time. All the while Annie could not believe she was talking on equil terms to the feared host of this crazy game show. For some reason Betty liked Annie, and Annie was happy about that.

            When lunch ended, Annie stood up to depart, but before she left Betty said one final thing. “After this competition is over, meet me in room two fifteen. Trust me, it’ll be a fun time.” Annie smiled and told Betty that she would be there.

            Three o’clock rolled around, and by that time Sherri and Cameroon had joined Sandra watching TV. They didn’t sit with Sandra; she was still in quite an angry and tempremental mood. Sandra just hoped Bill was having an aweful time wherever he was and eventually would realize his mistake in leaving her.

            Bill was still outside, and he was the first one to see Betty leave the compound and walk towards the house. Knowing that he had to be there, he got up and jogged towards the front of the house. Sandra opened the door from the inside and Bill was able to run right between Betty’s tall lush legs and slip inside.

            “Good afternoon, contestants.” Betty said to them. They all murmered a “good afternoon”, but before Betty could say anything else, Sandra spotted Bill next to Betty’s left foot.

            “There you are!” Exclaimed Sandra angrilly. Bill was helpless as Sandra snatched him roughly off the ground and held him in a tight fist in front of her face. “I was worried about you! You can’t just run off like that! Just wait until after the turnament, buster.”

            Betty smiled and chuckled. “We’ll just see about that.” Those words ended Sandra’s angry rant instantly as her attention snapped back to the game.

            “You will pick up your subjects and bring them to the compound.” Betty instructed Sandra. “There, I will explain the competition in detail.” Already having Bill in one hand, Sandra reached over and grabbed up Sherri and Bill roughly in the other hand. Like so many times before they walked to the compound, and Sandra set her subjects down on the floor.

            “This competition will not take a long time, but will be important because at the end of the game one of you will be eliminated.” Betty said. “But there is a catch to this game. You must be a sixteenth of your normal size to play it.”

            All of the contestants were alarmed at this, but none more than Sandra. A sixteenth normal size! That’s only four inches tall! She hadn’t been smaller than sixteen inches up to this point, and she was proud to say she was the only person who was. But to realise that full-sized and Queen status had no say in this game was like a slap in the face. She would be competing on equil size grounds against her subjects.

            To Bill, Sherri, and Cameroon, this was merely a halving of their sizes. It wasn’t so bad for them, but it was still worrysome. Four inches was awfuly small. Sherri had already experianced this first hand in the most intimate way.

            “Cameroon, Sherri, Bill, you will go into the shrinking machine first, and come out the other door.” Sherri said. The small people walked across the floor to the open booth which still seemed ridiculously big to them. Betty closed the door on them, and there was a flash as they were reduced. Betty watched them exit the room on the monitor and said, “Sandra, you’re next.”

            Sandra took a big sigh and walked forward into the booth which was no bigger than a shower stall. Well, so much for being Queen. She thought. After this shrink all of the contestants would be four inches high, eliminated or not. Before Sandra had time to ponder the significance of this thought, the room lit up in a bright flash.

            On the other side of the shrinking room, Bill and Cameroon were astonished by how big the world had become. Even Sherri had fogotted just how awe-inspiring everything was at four inches tall. The celing looked like it was over two hundred feet above them.

            Something in the room had changed. Where the room used to be an empty space, there was now a towering table that stood some fifty to a hundred feet in the air. Four legs almost as wide as the three of them were tall towered up to the table. The table was not an ordinary dining table, it was something different.

            The monstrous door opened up behind them and Sandra walked out, four inches tall as well. Sandra was clearly shaking. Her arms and legs were even trembling a bit. Having not been to the stepping-stone one-eigth size at any point, this was quite a leap for her and a frightening one at that.

            Bill looked across to Sandra, and gave her a smug grin. Once a monstrous giantess, Sandra was now as small as they were. There was no way at this size that Sandra could excert her will over Bill or the others. Sandra felt powerless and defeated, and did not stand close to her fellow contestants.

            At that moment the door to the hallway opened and out came Betty. The four of them gasped at her size. She was a sheer mountian, with legs taller than most buildings and feet the size of limosines. Any feelings they had were replaced by feelings of intimidation and awe at Betty’s size.

            “Welcome to the game room.” Betty said, looking down at the miniscule competitors on the floor. “The game will take place on this table here. You obviously can’t see what’s on the table from there, so let me illuminate things for you.” Betty reached down and in an amazing feat picked all four contestants up in a single hand. They squished against her fingers and each other as they were raised up, up above the ground. Sandra was just about to freek out, with the pressure of the fingers and the contestants touching her so heavily, and of the sheer distance to the ground and the size of Betty. It was all she could do to keep herself under control.

            Betty released them on the table and they all sprawled out away from each other. Getting up, they realised they were standing on a fuzzy green surface, not unlike that of a pool table. But looking up, they could see it was not a pool table. There were walls that were almost as tall as they were lining the rink. At one end of the rink was a hole in the middle of the end area that lead underneath the table. On the other end there was the same thing, but there were two rows of wooden figures suspended on sticks hanging less than an inch above the table.

            They were on a giant fussball table, with only two rows of players remaining.

            “I think by now you know what this is.” Betty said. “So this is how it is going to work. The four of you are going to play on a team against me. You will each be counted on the balls you score, but you will also have parts of a point taken off or added for style, accuracy, and fowl play. Therefore, you are not just playing against me but you are also playing against each other.”

            The four of them looked at each other. This was certianly going to be a rough game.

            “Whoever has the lowest score at the end will be eliminated.” Said Betty. “If your team wins, you get a prize. If your team doesn’t win, you will not win that prize. And let me tell you, having the prize will be essential to your comfert in the next competition.”

            The four of them looked at each other. That was certianly a cryptic message. What did she mean, a prize that would be essential in their next competition?

            “Well, get in your positions.” Said Betty. “You will rotate goalie duty, starting with Cameroon.” Cameroon moved back towards the goal posts, Sandra, Sherri and Bill spread out around the center line.

            “One more thing.” Betty said. “Don’t step across the orange line, because if you do you may get hit by a spinning fussball man.” Betty indicated an orange line running a few inches in front of her front line. The team members noted this and stretched to prepare for the game.

            “We will start in just  few second.” Betty said, taking a ball from below. It was a rubber-plastic ball, a little over an inch wide and mostly hollow, making it light enough for the four-inch people to kick around. Betty placed the ball in front of the center player, which happened to be Sherri, and said, “Go!”

            Sherri might not be as athletic as Serine, but she did play soccer in her earlier years. She dribbled the ball between her feet as she approached the orange line. When she was a few inches from the line she gave the ball a swift kick. Betty, who had her hands already in position on the knobs, twirled them and caused a wooden figure to kick the ball hard across the court.

            Sandra tried to take the ball but she was unable to control it. It deflected off of her foot and rolled to her left. Bill came up and was able to control the ball, charging it forward. A few years of sports in high school did him no harm at this game. He came up right on the verge of the orange line and kicked. Although Betty’s players spun, they could not save the ball from going into the goal.

            “Yes.” Said Bill, moving his arm in a victory gesture. Betty picked up the ball from under the table and put it back in the middle. Immediately Sandra was on it, running it forward. She had difficulty controlling the ball and it kept sliding further out from her. She saw Bill running towards him, aiming to steal the ball. Sandra crossed her brow with anger. She was going to be damned if she let Bill steel this ball. She kicked it hard towards the goal.

            Unfortunaitely, the ball missed the goal and hit the far side of the table. Betty positioned her men and gave the ball a swift kick, and it flew far to Sandra and Bill’s right, straight at the goal. Sherri saw the ball coming and jumped out of the way, but Cameroon stood ready. He caught the ball and let out an “oomph” as it hit his chest. The little ball still packed a punch when it was going fast.

            Cameroon kicked the ball to Sherri, who was nearest to him. Sherri started dribling it and advancing it. Sandra came running up and blocked her, facing their own goal post as if she was playing for the other team. Sherri feighned going left and made a quick right. Sandra was caught off guard and Sherri broke away. Sherri advanced to almost the orange line. Bill ran up but he was too late. Sherri gave the ball a good kick and it went soaring into the goal. Sherri whooped with delight.

            “I’m not doing so great,” Said Betty, smiling as she put the ball in the middle. “Okay, Sherri you take goalie.” Sherri and Cameroon switched places, and the game started once again.

            Sandra tried driving the ball once again but she lost control. The ball slid into Betty’s zone and she kicked it outwards. Bill caught the ball against his foot and now he was driving it. He gave a good kick that was well-aimed, but Betty’s figures intercepted the ball with a good thwack. The ball got some air that time, flying over Bill and Sandra’s heads. It hit the ground and started bouncing towards Sherri. Cameroon made a lunge at it but was unable to reach it. Sherri tried to stop it but it merely bounced off her hand and slid into the goal.

            “Yes! One for me!” Betty said. She walked around the court to get the ball, then walked around back to continue play. This time Cameroon got the ball and he charged expertly for the orange line. Sandra got in his way, though, and suprisingly she was mastering the art of blocing better than he anticipated. Instead of going ahead, Cameroon passed the ball to Bill, who was on his right side. Bill tried once again to score but it was deflected by a wooden man. Cameroon managed to get around Sandra and reach the ball. Giving it one swift kick he sent it between all the wooden men and into the goal.

            “Nice one,” Betty said, putting the ball back on the court. This time Bill got the ball but almost right away it was stolen by Sandra. She kicked the ball but it was deflected. Bill ran towards it but Sandra reached it first, giving it another kick towards the goal. Once again Betty’s men kicked it, and the ball went flying to the other side of the court.

            Fortuanitely, Sherri was able to catch this ball. She passed it off to Cameroon, who was the person besides herself she wanted to make it through this competition. She could care less about Sandra or Bill. Cameroon drove it forward and it looked like he was going to get a good clear shot. Unfortuanitely, Bill came up to steal and ended that run. Bill’s steal backfired; although he was able to get the ball away from Cameroon he could not control it himself. It rolled sideways across the court until Sandra intercepted it. She gave it a good kick and finally scored a goal.

            “Ouch!” Betty said, referring to her being behind. “Okay, Bill take goalie.” Sherri and Bill traded places. The ball was put into play as Cameroon once again charged it forward. Betty’s players deflected the ball and it spun wildly off the right wall and carrened towards the left. Sherri took the ball but stumbled on an overlarge piece of fuzz, loosing control. Sandra got the ball and tried to run it, but Cameroon came in for the block. Sandra kicked it widly off target and it moved diagonally towards Betty’s area. Betty kicked it and it made a wild diagonal off the left side and headed straight for the goal at a forty-five degree angle. Bill did not expect this and was unable to block it.

            “Nice,” Betty commented herself, walking around and putting the ball back into play. Sherri once again moved forward and tried to put herself in position to score. The shot went too far left and it bounced off the far wall. Betty let it come to a stop before aiming it. The ball flew across the court and Cameroon kicked it desperately to stop it. The ball got airtime and ricochetted off one of the wodden man’s chest at an odd angle, abruptly striking Sherri in the chest. She cried out more for surprise than pain, as it didn’t really hurt that much. The collision slowed the ball and Sandra was able to get it under control and drive it again. She aimed and fired it at the goal, but Betty was able to deflect the ball. It flew right over Sandra’s head and towards the goal. Sandra cried out and ducked. Cameroon and Sherri were unable to reach the ball, and it came to Bill the goalie to stop it. He tried to catch it with his hands but the ball had too much momentum and slid into the goal.

            “All right!” Betty cried. Now she was only down by one. “Okay, final round. Sandra, you take goalie.”

            Sandra and Bill switched places and they prepared for the final quarter of the little game. Betty dropped the ball in and Cameroon took it right away. He seemed like he was going to fire but at the last moment made a surprise pass to Sherri. Sherri herself was surprised by this pass, and kicked it way too far to the left. Betty’s men shot it back out into the court and Bill got ahold of it. He ran it forward, avoiding Cameroon, and fired. The shot was deflected and moved straight for the goal. Sandra was on top of it, and caught the ball. For a moment she didn’t know what she wanted to do. She wasn’t too fond of any of them at this point, so she decided to try to score a goal herself. She took a few steps forward and gave the ball a strong kick. The ball got airtime, but even the swiftest kick from Sandra’s little two-inch leg wasn’t strong enough to give the ball enough speed. Cameroon easily intercepted it, maneurvered around Sherri and fired it straight into the goal.

            “Ah!” Cried Betty in feighned anguish. She was now down five to three. Of course it did not matter to her if she won or loose since she wasn’t at risk. She took the ball and placed it in the center of the course. Sherri was able to get the ball once again but when she tried scoring it was deflected. The ball moved along the ground very fast and Sandra wondered if she could stop it. Fortunaitely it hit the wall about two inches from the goal and bounced back into play. Cameroon tried to take the ball but he was too far away. It bounced off his foot and headed for Bill. This was Bill’s chance. He took the ball and advanced it forward. Sherri tried to block him but he maneuvered around her. He was now in the clear and made his advance towards the goal, running with everything he had. Unfortunaitely, he was looking so closely at the goal the didn’t notice when his foot stepped over the orange line…

            WHAM! The foot of a wooden socker player caught Bill square in the chest and lifted him off the ground. Bill did a complete flip in the air and another partial flip, landing heavily on his back with his legs raised into the air several inches back. He rotated a little and finally came to rest, sore and embarrassed.

            Sherri gasped, putting her hand to her mouth. Cameroon came running up to him. But from the back Serine was laughing. “I wonder if that will take off points or add them, ‘cause that was a cool flip!” Sandra said gleefully.

            “Are you alright?” Cameroon said, helping Bill to his feet with a strong arm.

            “Yeah,” Said Bill. He was sore and probably a little bruised, but at his small size there was not enough pressure to break anything. He was lucky; at full size he probably would have broken a few ribs at least.

            “Ready to resume?” Asked Betty, trying not to snicker. Everyone nodded. “Okay, but there’s not much time left! Begin!”

 The ball, which had been sitting in Betty’s side after Bill’s unsuccessful run, was kicked out with great force and Sherri managed to stop it. She started to drive it but fatigue was wearing on her. She kicked it but it went nowhere near the right direction. Betty’s men deflected it and it ricochetted off the walls and headed for the goal. Sandra managed to stop the ball by giving it a good kick, sending it spinning out in Cameroon’s direction. Cameroon took the ball and moved it by Bill, who wasn’t even bothering to block him, and fired it at the goal. Betty blocked it, and the ball came to Sherri. Once again she tried running it and once again she failed. The ball came to Cameroon as he heard the words “ten seconds” come from above. This was his last chance to score a goal. He ran forward and gave it a good kick—but it was blocked by a wooden man in the back row.

“Time!” Betty said. The four of them stopped running around and relaxed, panting from the effort. “Good game, everybody. You beat me five to three..” Cameroon jogged around offering everyone high-fives. Bill and Sherri accepted. Sandra even accepted, with reluctance.

“Now it is time to judge and give out the verdict.” Betty said, cracking her huge fingers.

“Cameroon, you scored two goals and otherwise performed brilliantly throughout the game. Because of this you come in first place and move on to the next round.” Cameroon smiled. It was just as he had expected.

“Sandra, you scored one goal and played well. You have made second place and will move on also.” Sandra nodded in satisfaction. She knew she couldn’t beat Cameroon, but as long as she got ahead one of the others she was safe. She was smugly satisfied with the fact that she came out ahead of Sherri, and felt it was putting Bill in his place to come out ahead of him. Now, it was just between Bill and Sherri.

“Sherri, you also scored one goal, but you let one in. Otherwise, you played well. You come in third place and move on.” Sherri breathed a sigh of relife. She was still in it! Of course, that ment…

“Bill, you did score one goal, but you let two in, and your misshap with the wooden man cost you dearly.” Betty said. “I’m afraid you have been eliminated.”

It was as Bill feared. Even though he scored the first goal he was off his game for the rest of the time. Well, now he was finished. He came pretty far, ending up in the final four. Now was time for whatever came after: he would find out if his consperacy theroy was actually true. When Sherri came back out dressed up like a doll but otherwise unfazzled, Bill started to dowbt his theroy. But then again if the game was rigged, Sherri was just kept in a room as the others were held captive.

“It’s been good.” Said Cameroon, shaking Bill’s hand. Betty leaned over the table and picked Bill up. Bill felt a rush of fear. Betty was twice as large as Sandra had been in comparasin to him. Her hand was simply massive, big enough to close completely around him. He cowered in fear as she brought him closer and closer to her mammoth body.

Betty slid Bill into her pocket with a smile. Now it was just the three of them: Sherri, Sandra, and Cameroon.

“If you wonder how the post-competition resizing process is going to work, the answer is simple.” Betty said. “There will be none, because you’re remaining at this size!”

Chills of shock ran through their bodies. Not be resized? What was happening? Was the game over now, and everything a hoax?

“The reason for this is that your next competition, your final competition, will begin right away.” Betty said. The three of them looked at each other. Another competition, already?

“First I want you to know that you are indeed the final three.” Betty said. “There will be no more chances for un-elimination and you will be happy to know that all of you, regardless of final standing, will walk out with at least ten thousand dollars.”

The three of them smiled. As much as an ordeal as this was, they had made it to the final three!

“The final competition has a simple premise, although it will be by far the most difficult competition, and the longest, as it will last nearly twenty four hours.” Said Betty. She paused here for effect. Sandra, Sherri, and Cameroon looked at her with wrapt attention.

“Your task is this: you must live for twenty-four hours out of doors, here on the complex, at four inches tall.” Betty said. Three mouths dropped open in astonishment. Survive outside here? With grass that was as tall as they, and bugs that were bigger than their hands.

“It sounds tough, doesn’t it?” Said Betty. “Well, to make things easier for you, a number of helpful tools have been left out in the yard for you to find. And, you have this, your prize for winning the game.”

Betty reached into her other pocket and pulled out a small book of matches. She handed it to Cameroon, to whom it was the size of a very large poster board. They were all relieved at this; if nothing else, at least they would have a warm fire.

“There is only one rule.” Betty said. “If you try to enter the house or the complex, you will be immediately elliminated. And don’t think I won’t know—there are more cameras here than you realise.”

The three of them nodded their head in acceptance. On the inside, they were prepping themselves for the ordeal.

“Well, it’s time to get started.” Betty leaned down and picked all three of them up in one hand. She carried them through the hallway and out the compound door into the yard. She reached down and placed them in the grass. They noticed that indeed the grass was very nearly as tall as they were.

Betty stood almost directly over them, her legs seeming to be miles high as they connected with her torso and her head, which seemed to be touching the clouds. It was an awe-inspiring sight for sure.

Betty looked down at them and said. “The competition begins now. Good luck to all of you. I’ll be back for you tomorrow afternoon.” And with that, Betty strolled back into the compound, leaving them to their competition in the wild jungles of the compound’s back yard.