Manhunt – Inflator Style
The sun rose upon what was supposed to be a normal day. The light shone upon the city, bathing it in a gentle glow. The sky was a clear blue with only a hint of clouds, the air was cool without being cold; everything pointed to it just being another day. As the sun rose, the normal city crowds started to fill the streets, replacing those who wandered them during the night. People got up and prepared for work, or headed out to do some shopping in the city, or simply went to go meet friends. It was another perfectly average day, and it seemed at first that nothing out of the ordinary could happen.
But elsewhere, in a small apartment, a plot was being unfolded. Today was going to be anything but the average day; instead, one black wolf had a plan, and it would involve the city as a whole. Fingers danced over the keyboard as they typed out a long email, specifying sixteen recipients that would get the message and gather together to help see his idea come to fruition. The message was simple, stating a time and location for them to meet, and signed with the wolf’s trademark signature, a large letter Z. These sixteen were to be a part of his plan, and eagerly too; now they just had to initiate it. As the message was sent, Zee leaned back and grinned to himself, his paws behind his head.
The game would begin soon enough.
—
Sixteen furs gathered at the edge of the city at a predetermined meeting place, a wide variety that stood out to any watchers. They ranged in size and species to an amazing extent, from a mint-green heavy wolf to a rather average-looking white fox. An anthro bat rubbed shoulders with a red-and-brown dragon. Certainly it wasn’t the most organized bunch, but it did make for an interesting group. All of them had gathered together for one purpose, though, and one only: they had all received the same message from a certain wolf, and were eager to see what it would entail.
The message had been simple: “I’m feeling up for a game. The rules are simple: we will gather together tomorrow at noon, at the location given below. From there, you all will hide; why, do you ask? It’s simple, because I will be pursuing you, ready to catch you and turn you into another one of my ‘victims.’ Now as you’re all more than willing to be caught, there’s a bit of a catch; the longer it takes for me to find you, the bigger you will be. The last one caught… let’s just say that ‘living large’ won’t even be able to compare! The game will begin once I arrive, and from there we’ll have some fun. I look forward to seeing you all there!”
Of the sixteen recipients, not one of them chose to be even a minute late. In fact, the majority of them were there over half an hour early. They spoke quickly among themselves, excited and eager for the game ahead. Every one of them was a fan of Zee’s work, and they all enjoyed inflation in some way or another; the thought of actually becoming a ‘victim’ was all too exciting. But they didn’t just have a chance to be inflated, or fattened, or whatever else they had come here to get. No, there was much more! Zee hinted at something larger than most pranks he had done before, a gift only given to the one who could avoid his touch the longest. That alone was incentive enough for them to play the game to win.
Noon came and went quickly, and the gathered ‘players’ started to worry. Zee still hadn’t shown up, and the game was supposed to start soon. They spoke among themselves, discussing various possibilities; maybe his bus had gotten held up, or perhaps he had forgotten the exact location he had given and had to backtrack. None of the explanations seemed wholly plausible though, and in the end they all started to wonder at the time it was taking him. The wolf had seemed very eager for his game, but his lack of appearance made them all start to wonder if something had happened, or if the gathering was in itself a big prank of its own. That thought was particularly discouraging, though. For a minute they all considered leaving and just going home…
Then one of the players, an arctic fox in the back of the crowd, let out a meep of surprise. The others turned to look as his belly started expanding outward with air, the red trench coat he was wearing overtop his fur stretching to accommodate his growing girth. The fox’s muzzle started to puff up as a hissing sound became apparent, his cheeks puffing out like miniature balloons. Everyone saw that the fun had begun, and grins were exchanged between everyone except the poor arctic fox that had been chosen as the game’s first victim. Leaning against the fox as he puffed up to comical, yet mobile sizes, was a single black wolf, a pair of shades hiding his lupine-yellow eyes from view.
“Alright, folks. Bayard here has ‘volunteered’ to demonstrate the size for this round… so unless you want to be cut off at this point, I suggest you start running and hiding! You’ve got twenty minutes before I start coming after you.”
Zee had arrived, and the game had started. Everyone scattered to find their hiding places, knowing that they had to do their best to keep out of sight if they wanted the real prize of being the wolf’s biggest victim yet.
—
Alex contently made his way along the farmer’s market, his whole body relaxed as he walked between the stalls. The bat was unusual in his calm; though he was part of the game, he didn’t mind whether or not he won. To him, it was all a relative win; whether he gained a little or a lot was no matter. Alex had instead decided to enjoy himself. He could blend into the city by being the only one not acting like they were on the run, though even if he were found he wasn’t going to panic. What happened, happened, and it was as simple as that. Scratching at his large, sagging belly, the bat let out a yawn and continued from stall to stall.
He had chosen the farmer’s market because it was a good source of one of his favorite things: food. Not only that, but it was a good source of his favorite food, fruit. Naturally, being a fruit bat, that would be the most appealing to his palate. A farmer’s market was the best place to find the largest variety as many different crops of peaches, avocados, and figs tended to be brought in by their harvesters. Plucking one particularly ripe peach from a pile after paying for it, Alex sank his fangs into it and sucked at the juice, enjoying the sweetness as he did so. Biting off a large chunk of the peach, he reached in while chewing at it and plucked out the pit, tossing it aside before continuing on the peach. He gave a compliment to the stall’s owner, got a smile and a free additional peach in return, and continued on his way.
The bat had to admit it was a good idea to visit the farmer’s market. His appetite was acting up today, and this was the best source of his preferred foods around. Next on his list was a juicy avocado, a bit more bitter but not by much. It too was downed, and soon Alex was feeling content. His HUD indicated that his body was nourished and in no need of food for health reasons, though his appetite still remained, so he continued down the stalls.
A fur accidentally bumped against the bat, triggering his HUD to warn him that he had been impacted on one side. Turning, Alex frowned and instantly reprimanded the young male, asking him to watch where he was going. The fur nodded and continued on his way, looking a bit sheepish. Rolling his eyes, the bat continued on his walk, ignoring how rude some people were. Instead he focused more on how his appetite was still there, and that he wanted to at least satisfy it before moving on to another part of the city.
A warning appeared on his HUD as he continued, though, warning him of his body’s need for food. However, it was marked as abnormal, as in his body didn’t normally need anything else to sustain it currently, but still was demanding more for no known reason. Alex’s eyes widened and he tried to figure out what was going on, but there was no indication of what was causing the abnormality. The bat groaned as he realized the obvious answer; he had been too cautious, and now some unscientific force was acting on his body, making him hungry despite being physically satisfied. Only one fur he knew currently would be aiming to do that.
‘Conveniently’, there happened to be a fruit stand right nearby, completely unattended and piled with oranges, bananas, and more peaches, more than any one other vendor had. There was no one around operating it, and Alex could feel himself getting hungrier as he walked towards it, slowly unable to resist its allure. Finally, he stood in front of it, and the sweet scents overwhelmed him. With a sigh, knowing what the results would be, he started in on the pile. A banana went first, unpeeled and gulped down quickly. A peach was followed behind it, and once again for convenience’s sake there was a large trash barrel nearby. At least Zee was thoughtful. The pit was spit into the trash before another large peach was finished off, and then an orange.
Alex quickly tore through the pile of fruit as several passing furs watched. He couldn’t help himself at this point; though his head said it was Zee’s powers making him so hungry, his body refused to listen and instead demanded more, overriding him. As such, he was forced to eat more and more of it, slowly reaching the halfway point of the pile. The nanobots inside of him were already breaking down the food at a much more rapid pace than a normal digestion would. If he wasn’t a cyborg, as unnoticeable as it was, he would have merely been left with a hugely bloated belly that would have taken days to digest. In this instance, though, the sheer mass of it was being broken down into pure fat.
Alex could feel his large belly starting to stretch outwards, making him go from a fat appearance to a heavily obese one, sagging lower over his legs. Being short as he was, getting wider broke the proportions for him much faster than it would for a normal fur. Soon one could say he was almost a sphere, though it was because his width was starting to match his height. His gut poked out a good extra foot in front of him, and his limbs were starting to become heavy as he shoveled piece after piece of fruit into his maw, hoping that he ran out soon.
Finally, the bat did run out of food to eat, his belly resting up against and atop the cart as he let out a sigh of relief. His HUD finally started to indicate that his body was stable again, the abnormal hunger gone. Groaning, he leaned up against the surface supporting him, feeling so impossibly heavy. It had only been a cartful of food, but with the sheer bulk of it all, he had to have at least doubled his weight. He could still walk, somehow, though he was wondering just how far he’d make it before he’d drop in exhaustion. Alex shook his head, pressing one paw to his large middle.
“Uurp… it seems that fruit’s a lot less healthy than people give it credit for…”
