It was one of those miserable, dreary days when you wish that you had never rolled out of bed. To start things off on the right note, Josh had slept through his alarm and had gotten thoroughly tongue-lashed by his supervisor at the office. That was just before the editor at the newsroom had informed him that an inconsistency with one of his stories was being investigated and could result in a lawsuit. Then to add the cherry on the top of the sundae, at the end of the day he discovered all four tires on his car slashed and had to wait - in the rain - for an hour until the tow truck arrived.

Drenched, bitter and thoroughly exhausted, Josh stepped off the elevator and counted each step to the door of his overpriced and undersized studio apartment. Based on the way that the day had unfolded, it did not surprise him that his key was having trouble unlocking his door. After ten or so minutes of jiggling and cursing, the damned door finally opened and Josh sauntered inside with a sigh.

He was so mentally drained and consumed with distractions that it took him a full minute to realize that the door slammed behind him and the lights had gone on by themselves.

Josh spun around and gasped with a high-pitched squeal upon seeing a stranger leaning against the door, smiling back at him. The figure stepped forward into the light and Josh instantly recognized the face.

“Hello Josh.” The deep voice growled, “It’s nice to finally meet you.”

The man was an imposing sight to behold. Josh had seen plenty of his pictures online and even used one for his article on steroid use in sports, but he wasn’t prepared for just how massive the man was in person. His name was Dennis with some unpronounceable Russian last name. In fact a message was still on Josh’s voicemail from him, asking to meet.

“…w-w-what are you…?” Josh stammered, “How d-d-d-did you…?”

“I’m sorry Josh.” The man grinned, “I got tired of waiting for you in the hall so I let myself in. Doorknobs are not as rugged as they used to be.”

Josh forced his hands to cease trembling and breathed deep to steady his voice. “I am sorry that I haven’t returned your calls, but I’ve been really busy. I was going to call you back tom-“

“That’s fine!” Dennis cut him off. “I was in the area so I decided to stop in. Come-“ he motioned to the sofa with one extended hand, “-let’s sit and talk for a little bit. I want to discuss your article. In detail.”

“Sure okay…” Josh replied and made towards the sofa, but suddenly turned and darted back towards the door. He crossed the room in three long strides, but found himself cursing aloud when the doorknob turned uselessly in his hands, not allowing him to leave.

Behind him Dennis laughed. “I told you, they don’t make those things the way they used to.” In one hand he held the key to the security bolt which apparently was keeping the door locked. “I’ll give you the key after we sit and…discuss…a few things.”

“Please man…I don’t want any trouble, okay?” Josh’s voice squealed, “Let’s go talk about this over a drink okay? There’s a cool bar down the street…”

“Nah. I’m fine here.” The big man leaned back on the sofa and clasped his hands behind his head, causing his biceps to swell into two enormous bulges the size of cantaloupes which he casually flexed back-&-forth when he realized that Josh was staring at them. ”Come on. Sit.”

Josh nervously approached and made towards the chair opposite to the sofa, then sprinted past it towards the far window which led to a fire escape. He ripped the curtain away and cried out when he found the window lock bent into position. No one was opening that window now.

He turned around and found Dennis standing at arms’ length, his massive frame dwarfing him. “Please, let me go…I don’t want trouble..”

With speed that was unexpected from someone so large, Dennis grabbed Josh by the neck – lifted him clear off the floor – and threw him ten feet towards the adjacent wall. Josh bounced off the wall and crumpled to the floor. He lay there dazed, his head throbbing from the impact which left a small dent in the wallboard. The stars in his vision were still swirling when Dennis was upon him and reached down to lift him off the floor by his shirt collar. In one fluid motion, Dennis spun him around and flung him towards the sofa. Josh landed clumsily on the sofa, the impact moving it two feet back on the rug.

“You’re not being a good host Josh.” The big man bellowed, “I’m not feeling very welcomed.”

He walked over to the sofa and turned Josh from his side to face up and began slapping him across the cheeks to bring him back to attention. “I’ll have to do this my way.” He laughed and quickly turned then leaped into the air, landing in a seated position squarely on Josh’s torso. The small man cried out as the impact sent waved of pain across his chest. Even with the padding of the couch the weight of the muscleman was unbearable.

Dennis reached forward and grabbed an issue of “Health & Body” magazine from the coffee table, opening it to the article that Josh had written. “Let’s see now…” Dennis mumbled, “…where is it..”

“I-I-I can’t breathe…” Josh pleaded, struggling for what little air he could get in his lungs.

“This won’t take long. Ah! Here it is.” Dennis held the magazine in Josh’s face, “Third paragraph down. You wrote;