Slim Chance 3 - Chapter 4

The nursing staff was the first to notice something was off. At first they thought seventeen was simply gaining weight as a result of her increased calorie intake. The teen giantess had been permitted to gorge herself per orders handed down from HQ, though no one could figure out exactly why. A strictly regimented lifestyle was part of how they kept patients on an even keel. Every one of their lives had been turned upside down and the staff understood that constant testing didn’t make anyone feel at ease. Routine helped keep everyone sane. Or at least that was the conventional wisdom around the facility.

Soon it became clear that seventeen was growing again, and when that happened Alan was ready. Doctor Sullivan, the chief researcher at the facility immediately notified his superiors at HQ that seventeen was growing and including phrases like ‘deeply concerned’ and ‘untenable situation’. Alan got a good chuckle reading over the email before deleting it. Hacking the email server had been one of his first acts of espionage, and since then controlling the flow of information into and out of the facility had become an ever-present responsibility. Faking emails from HQ had granted Amanda more freedom than ever. Due to Alan’s tampering she was now allowed to eat whatever she pleased, had increased access to the gym, and was on a reduced battery of tests under the pretense that her condition seemed to have stabilized.

His machinations paid off beyond anything he had imagined. Amanda grew four full inches before the staff caught on and by then she’d had ‘special visits’ from two more patients. Alan could not wait to see what their strains of the disease would do to her, though a part of him was irritated they were given pleasure by the goddess instead of him. It really wasn’t fair. He consoled himself with the knowledge that she would surely reward him for all that he had accomplished in her honor. In the meantime he had to settle for hours of footage saved via the security cameras. Bearing witness to his goddess outgrowing the facility was going to be truly divine. 

The rest of the Lansing Research staff did not share that opinion, with the notable exception of Lana. There was a lot of talk about what to do with seventeen if she continued to grow, and more than a little muttering about the safety of the staff. Amanda’s ego swelled with her size and she had begun to refuse testing. Alan considered asking her to keep a low profile, but who was he to make demands of a goddess? And so emails flew back and forth from the staff ranging from casual bitching to formal complaints- the latter of which Alan made sure to edit before the communications made it up the chain to HQ. But he could not stop phone calls and it was only a matter of time before someone realized what was really going on. 

By that time Alan hoped that Amanda would be so big that there would be nothing anyone could do about it. Large game tranquilizers were enough to stop his goddess at ten feet tall, but what about when she grew to twenty feet? Or thirty? It was only a matter of time until nothing and no one could contain her. Before that happened, Alan intended to keep his goddess's expansion as quiet as possible.

He clicked into the facilities new admittance logs, searching for fresh prey to send Amanda’s way. Newbies were the easiest targets since they were the least likely to ask questions. The third man he had sent Amanda was one of the new ones, a dark skinned latino man with a big temper that did not fit his three foot frame. After one look at Amanda’s enormous rump Miguel was putty in her hands. A new file appeared in the folder Alan was browsing and he opened it with a grin. Lets see, he mused while studying the newbie details, five feet tall and… That was strange. This newbie, Jake, had the same last name as Amanda. Well, it was a fairly common last name. The new guy had arrived at the facility a couple of days ago which made Alan shake his head in disapproval. The staff really needed to do a better job submitting their paperwork. Of course if they were more diligent they might have made hacking a chore rather than the breeze it had been so far. 

Alan suppressed the urge to laugh as he scheduled gym time for the new guy during the block of time allotted to seventeen. Their ‘chance encounter’ would be one more stone on the path to his goddess’s ascension.

***

I expected Lansing Research to be a lot of things: big, intimidating, maybe even a little scary. Boring never occurred to me yet here I was only five days in and bored out of my mind. Every part of my day was regimented. There was time allotted for eating, exercise, and trips to the bathroom. When it was time to eat I was expected to consume a precise calorie count and sleep was limited to no less than six and no more than eight hours. I felt like a prisoner. Part of that was being cooped up in my room all the time. Another part of that was the uniformed staff poking and prodding me half the day. The nurses rarely spoke, seeming to prefer clinical distance over bedside manner and left me feeling more alone than if no one had been around at all. Lunch should have been better, there were other patients there but they were absorbed with their own problems. They gathered in cliques that Alan guessed had something to do with how long they had been at the facility. That or age- whatever the case the only other new guy, an irritable man named Miguel, seemed more interested in shouting at the cooks than making new friends. So lunch was a bust too.

I checked the schedule the nurse’s left hanging on the back of my door without much hope only to see gym time had added to my schedule, replacing part of a block that had been allotted for ‘personal time’. I smile for what felt like the first time in days and walked over to the plain press-board dresser the facility had furnished me with and dug through my drawer. The chance to meet some of the other patients was a chance to make some new friends so I chose a nicer shirt than I would normally wear on workout days and a pair of nylon shorts. By the time I finished getting dressed there was still half an hour before my gym time began. I sat at the edge of my bed checking the time every couple minutes until I thought I might go insane. I pulled out a book on meditation I’d been reading, skimmed a few pages, then glanced back at the clock. Only three minutes had passed. This continued until the final sixty seconds where I stopped pretending to distract myself and simply walked over to the door to wait.

A uniformed security guard arrived right on time, though he still felt late to me, and swiped his access card against the panel by my door. “Chompin’ at the bit, eh?” the guy said sardonically. He had a thin, angular face that reminded me of the type of guy Hollywood might cast as a small-time crook. Not evil exactly, just a bit seedy.

“You could say that,” I grinned at him.

“Before I let you in, there is something you need to understand,” he said with an air of dire importance.     

“Okay?”

“There is a female patient at this facility and-”

“I thought females were immune to the disease.” I couldn’t help but interrupt. This was huge news and my mind raced over the possibilities. Could I find someone that would shrink with me? Was it possible I would not be forced to live like a monk for the rest of my days? My penis stirred immediately at this thought and I realized how dangerous this line of thinking was. No, I reprimanded myself, stupid. I am in control, I want for nothing.

“Normally they are,” the man grated, seemingly irritated at having been interrupted. “Seventeen is a special case. Very special. But she, like most of the patients here, has sexual urges amplified by the disease. If she makes any advances toward you it’s important that you do reciprocate. Do not engage with her sexually. She may ask, even demand it of you, but if you’re caught you’ll be removed from this facility without pay. Breach of contract, you don’t want that right?”

I groaned inwardly. A horny girl was going to demand sex from me and I was supposed to turn her down? Dammit, yes. Turning her down was exactly what I was going to do. If I failed to get paid I’d never be able to help Mom. No matter what else happened I had to see this contract through to the end. Part of what the man said was bothering me though. What had it been ‘if you’re caught?’ wasn’t that like saying ‘you can do it, but don’t get caught’. I raised an eyebrow at him and he responded with a conspiratorial smile.

“One guy has already been removed from the program due to unauthorized relations with Seventeen. I suspect at least one other has been with her, but I only suspect,” the man splayed his hands in the ‘what can you do?’ gesture. That sealed it, this guy was all but telling me I could have sex with this girl as long as did it secretly. I wasn’t sure whether to thank the guy or tell him he was a creep. He didn’t give me a chance to decide because without further word her turned and lead me down the hall. A few minutes later he swiped his card on the gym access door and stepped aside to let me pass. “Be on your best behavior,” he said with a wink. Jeez, I get it already buddy. I can make secret sweet romance with the girl.

Except that I couldn’t. Not really. Not without losing everything I’d fought months to protect. Multiple feet of height, dozens of pounds- some of which was actual muscle- not to mention the confidence that I could survive in a world that had once seemed impossibly stacked against me. I offered a smile and a thank you then stepped through the door and into the gym. 

My heart sank. It was empty.

With a sigh I tossed my towel down on an empty bench and surveyed what the room had to offer. Squat rack, assisted bench, pull-up bar, the list went on and on. Lansing Research certainly had not skimped when stocking their gym. I noticed an open archway at the back of the room with hallways branching off to either side. At first I thought it was a bathroom until I got closer and realized there were no gender signs on the walls. The hallways were short, so I chose the right side and came around the small dividing wall into a full sized basketball court. 

“Wow,” I said, impressed. And was that chlorine I smelled? Further to the right was a large glazed glass wall and from the way light danced on its surface I knew that it hid a pool. “This place is legit,” I muttered. I trotted over to a rolling metal rack that was stocked with basketballs and squeezed a couple to test for air before selecting one that was a little overfilled. I liked a bit of extra bounce, it made it easier to dribble. I took a few practice shots that made me feel better about being the only one in the gym before settling into a rhythm. 

I missed more than I sank and the ball was way heavier than it should have been, but it felt good to be doing something. Every basket felt like a little victory, something I never thought I’d be able to do again. Before long sweat was pouring down my face and I could feel the faintly pleasant ache of exercise settle into my muscles. I had just started a game of Horse against myself when a loud thump brought made my heart skip a beat. Loud noises got to me sometimes, reminded me of how big and scary everything sounded when I was little. I am in control, I told myself and sucked in a steadying breath. The noise came again, then again. A rhythmic thumping like footsteps only much too large. Panic began to rise in my throat again, was it the girl? Was she big? Excitement tinged with alarm shivered through me and I found my breathing had grown erratic. Focus, Jake, I told myself and closed my eyes.

The thumping sound drew nearer, and louder. I could feel the vibrations roll through the wooden court and up the fragile stalks of my legs. It couldn’t be. The steps shook the floor, not slight vibrations but powerful tremors that made my legs wobble. It wasn’t possible. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. A yelp of primal terror escaped my lips before I could bite it back. BOOM BOOM BOOM I am in control! BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. I am in control! BOOM. BOOM BOOM. I AM IN CONTROL! BOOM. The sound was right next to me, my eyes were squeezed painfully shut, couldn’t open them. My heart pounded in my chest so loud that I couldn’t hear anything else, but the booming had stopped. Nothing bad had happened. I was okay, everything was okay. Probably just an episode, I had probably imagined the whole thing. 

My eyes opened. The scream I had held back burst out like water from a broken dam. 

Amanda grinned evilly down at me. “Just couldn’t stay away, huh runt?”