Sam awoke with a fitful start to find himself curled up in a ball on the plastic floor of the container-slash-cage that Yvenna had left him in after his…. ‘examination.’

At first he wondered what had caused his sudden awakening, but then realized the giant face looming above him probably had something to do with it.

Sam slowly sat up and stretched before leaning back against the clear wall. He gave himself about thirty seconds before he allowed his gaze to drift upwards and he made eye contact with the icy blue orbs that were ruthlessly scrutinizing him.

“You are awake.” Yvenna observed drily. “Good.”

“Oh great, it’s you.” Sam sighed. “What do you want now? You gonna poke and prod me some more?”

Yvenna’s eyebrow quirked. “Hardly.” There was a loud click that echoed in the plastic prison. Yvenna lifted up the ceiling and lowered a small container of what looked like pieces of neon green fruit.

Sam inched closer to the container and gingerly reached out to touch one of the pieces. It had a texture like a strawberry.

“What is this stuff?” He asked, sniffing it cautiously.

“It’s a kind of fruit. I would advise you to eat it; you’ll need your strength for what comes next.”

Sam glared up at her, eyes filled with suspicion.

Yvenna sighed impatiently. “If we desired to kill you, Sam Rodriguez, you would already be dead.”

Sam bristled at such a casual mention of his own demise, but he had to grudgingly admit the logic of her statement. Cautiously, he brought the piece in his hand to his mouth and bit into it.

It was…passable. It wasn’t exactly the five-star gourmet he was used to, but it seemed like it had been weeks since he’d eaten anything, and the fruit did seem to fill him up.

Yvenna nodded in satisfaction as Sam began to devour the fruit in earnest. Syon Fand had gone to a lot of trouble to acquire this particular human, it would be a colossal waste of resources if he were to perish before she could make use of him.

She re-secured the lid to Sam’s prison and lifted it off the shelf.

Sam felt a bit of vertigo as the entire room he was trapped within suddenly took off, but the giantess was being somewhat careful, so not even his food was spilled.

Yvenna left the small storage area where Sam had been stashed and quickly traversed the shadowy hallways. Eventually she came to a set of double doors. Without missing a step she flashed her security pass at the reader and the doors flew open to admit her.

She stepped out into a world of bright lights and loud noises. All around her were people in various states of intoxication, most were playing games of chance, a few were viewing sporting events on large monitors, and still more were gathered around tables conversing.

Yvenna paid no mind to any of them. She quickly crossed the casino floor and passed through another set of double doors.

They travelled through another back hallway until suddenly emerging into a light so bright that Sam’s vision was momentarily dazzled. For a few seconds he groped along, accidentally knocking over the empty bowl that the fruit had been in.

Before his vision cleared, he felt a pair of fleshy pads seize him around the middle in a vice like grip. Before he could even register his surprise, he was raised upward and dropped down onto what felt like a pile of sand.

Shakily, Sam raised himself to his feet. His vision began to clear and he looked around in confusion.

He was in a large circular room. The floor was, as he had suspected, covered completely by a fine white sand. Above him, was a ceiling of black glass.

And then Sam realized he wasn’t alone.

Whirling around, he made out another figure on the other side of the room.

Who was walking straight towards him.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*

“Come on! It’ll be fun!”

Renna sighed and rubbed the side of her head irritably. She glared at the bubbly young woman who was incessantly tugging on her arm.

“Not tonight Nyli.” The young waitress grumbled. “My head hurts and I just want to go home. I’ve got my pay, I’m off the ticket. Let me go.”

The young woman accosting her shook her mane of shaggy blonde locks and licked her blue painted lips. “No, no no, I’m going to insist. You haven’t done anything fun in ages, Ren.”

Renna sighed and rolled her eyes. “You’re not going to let this go, are you?”

“Nope.”

“You Jotunn sure are a stubborn lot.”

“Yup.” Nyli chuckled. “So come on, let’s go cash out those credits and hit the games. We’re gonna win big tonight!”

“Sure we are…” Renna sighed as she allowed herself to be pulled away by her boisterous friend.

Before long, they’d reached the bright lights of the casino floor. Nyli’s eyes lit up and a bright grin split her features, and by this point Renna had begun to feel the familiar rush of excitement. All around them was opportunity. There was a chance at glory here, their entire lives could be improved in just an instant here… all it took was one big win.

“Okay where should we start?” Renna asked. “Slates maybe? I’ve been tweaking my system.”

“Yeah, I’ve seen your system.” Nyli laughed. “It definitely needs tweaking.”

“Shut up!”

“No, I think I like the look of this over here.” Nyli pointed to a counter off in the corner, where a bored looking attendant waited underneath a series of monitors that were displaying matches and odds.

“What is it?” Renna asked curiously as they neared.

“I think it’s something to do with humans. They have them run races or something.”

Renna glanced down the bank of monitors, but all she saw were long lists of names and numbers.

“Are they actually going to show it?” She asked the bored attendant.

“No.” The young woman replied with a shrug. “I think they tried once, but it’s probably pretty boring watching a couple of humans run around a circle.”

“Well, how do we know it’s not fixed?!” Renna asked suspiciously.

“Oh come on.” Nyli laughed. “What isn’t fixed around here? Just shut up and place your bet!”

“Um, all right…” Renna muttered as she glanced up at the screen where a new match had just popped up. Isamu v. Denlati, with Denlati being the favored to win by a wide margin.

“Wow. Where do they get these names?” Nyli muttered. “Looks like that Isamu one is a total longshot… I’m feeling lucky tonight, but not stupid! I’ll take Denlati” With a playful flourish, Nyli pressed her thumb against the reader and entered her bet.

“And you ma’am?” The attendant asked, turning towards Renna.

“Oh, well, okay. I’ll do the same.” Renna replied apprehensively. “It’s only money, right?” She entered her bet on Denlati as well, wagering her entire night’s pay.

“That’s right!” Nyli chirped. “Only money, but we’re gonna win big, I can feel it!”

*.*.*.*.*.*

Sam watched cautiously as the figure in the distance approached him. Sam’s heart raced and his pulse pounded in his ears as every sense he had screamed at him that he was in danger.

Of course, that much was obvious.

Cautiously, Sam crouched into a ready stance. He didn’t know what the approaching stranger wanted, but nothing in his recent experiences led him to believe that it was going to be anything but trouble.

Moment by moment, the other man drew nearer. Soon, Sam was able to make out details about the approaching person. Pale skinned, well-muscled, shaggy mane of unkempt brown hair.

And at least seven feet tall.

Sam’s eyes widened in shock as the other man’s stature became apparent. Sam himself was no shrimp at six foot, five inches…. But for the first time since grade school, Sam felt short.

The stranger stopped about five feet from where Sam stood, and regarded him impassively. He didn’t say a word, or make any move. He simply waited.

For what, Sam was sure he didn’t want to know.

Then, suddenly, a loud buzzer filled the air for about three seconds. Sam gritted his teeth against the sound but refused to take his eyes off the stranger who stood before him. When the buzzer ended, there was a sudden quiet stillness…

And then the stranger leaped at him.

*.*.*.*.*.*

“So, this is your new acquisition, Syon.”

Syon Fand turned her attention away from the holographic projection to the young aristocrat who sat beside her. The young woman was exquisitely gowned in a robe of shimmering silver material which offset her tanned skin and glittering red eyes beautifully.

Syon’s mouth twisted into what was half smile, half superior smirk.

“Yes. I hope he’ll be the one to give your boys a run for your money, Vasha.” The words that came from her lips were smooth with just the right mix of politeness and condescension.

“Well.” The younger woman ran a hand through her perfectly coiffed brown ringlets and then adjusted the chain hanging from her neck. “It doesn’t look like he’s doing too well at the moment.”

Syon lazily turned her attention back to the projection, where Sam was currently being pounded by his opponent. “Give him time.”

*.*.*.*.*.*

Sam wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting, but he wasn’t expecting the large man to suddenly come flying at him. He fell to the sandy ground with a gasp that knocked the wind out of him. His opponent- which is what Sam now realized the other man was- reared back and began striking at Sam with fists the size and density of shot-puts. Each blow left Sam seeing stars.

After about three or four such hits, Sam had decided he’d had enough. As the behemoth above him reared back for another blow, Sam suddenly lashed out, jabbing the other man in the throat.

His opponent gagged, and fell back, coughing and hacking in pain.

“That’s what I thought.” Sam muttered to himself, rubbing his jaw. “You’re beefy but you can’t take a hit. I suppose you never really had to before, right?”

The behemoth glared at Sam, his breath still coming out in wheezes. The giant pulled himself to his feet and rushed at Sam, howling in rage.

Sam smirked and sidestepped the attack easily, whirling around and delivering a devastating blow to the man’s spine.

The giant stumbled and fell to his knees.

“I assume you’re in the same mess I am, Tiny.” Sam grunted. “So I’ll do you a favor and end this quick.”

With three quick steps he’d closed the distance between the two of them, before bringing his knee slamming up into his opponent’s jaw. This was followed in quick succession by a one-two combo across his face.

Sam fell back a pace, and watched as the giant’s eyes rolled into the back of his head and he toppled over, unconscious.

Sam doubled over, palms on his knees and breathing heavy. It was over. Not only had he survived, he’d even triumphed.

A loud rumbling noise torn through the air. Sam looked up towards the source of the roaring sound and saw the black domed ceiling splitting open.

*.*.*.*.*.*

Syon watched in satisfaction as Sam easily defeated his opponent, who happened to be Vasha’s current reigning champion.

She glanced over at the young woman, who was busily wiping the shocked look over her face as her once mighty fighter was toppled by a much smaller opponent.

“Well.” Vasha sighed. “I suppose congratulations are in order.”

“Nonsense.” Syon replied graciously. “Merely the nature of the game.”

With a click the holographic image disappeared, revealing a waist high platform. On top of this platform was a roughly oval bowl-shaped structure with a black glass dome.

Syon nodded to Yvenna, who then stepped over and pressed a button that caused the dome to split open down the middle.

Casually, Fand’s taciturn assistant reached inside and withdrew the struggling human, who was then swiftly deposited into the clear plastic carrying case.

“You may put him away, Yvenna.” Syon waved vaguely. “I don’t need him anymore today.”

“Yes Ms. Fand.”

Inside the cage, Sam groaned at the rough treatment. He supposed he shouldn’t have been surprised to see the giant hand descending on him, not with recent events being what they were… but he was nonetheless rather shocked when the fingers the size of small trees had wrapped around him and yanked him away, heedless of any injuries he might have had.

The world outside the cage passed by in a blur. Sam couldn’t tell where they were going and he didn’t particularly care.

When they did stop, the top of the cage opened and he was taken in hand again.

When the giantess’s hand lifted away again, he found himself in the nicest accommodations he’d yet had since this nightmare began.

They weren’t immaculate by any standards, and they were certainly far below what he’d enjoyed on Earth… but there was an actual bed, and a bathroom that seemed to have working plumbing. And what appeared to be real food.

The implication, of course, was obvious. If he continued to win, his conditions would improve.

He was about to turn and deliver a cutting remark to the giant who had delivered him there, but she was gone.

Well, Sam thought, no sense in letting this go to waste.

*.*.*.*.*.*

Renna looked up at the monitor in shock. The entire match, or race, or whatever it was, had only lasted a few minutes.

And they’d lost.

The odds had been practically stacked in their favor, the math all lined up with Imasu or whatever the thing’s name was losing.

And yet, against all odds, he’d won.

And Renna had lost an entire day’s pay.

Gone.

“Huh,” Nyli muttered, shrugging. “You win some you lose some.”

“I… I didn’t just lose some, Nyli…” Renna choked, tears beginning to well in her eyes. “I lost everything.”