Martin heard a groan behind him and he turned quickly. One of the figures was stirring. It was a boy, probably in his late teens or early twenties. He sat up, in the same state of disorientation that Martin was recovering from. He wore a buttoned shirt and khaki pants, which were now covered in dust. He had disheveled black hair and a thick frame. His face was round and looked unaccustomed to holding the frown that accompanied his moans. Martin hurried over to him.
“What’s going on?” Martin asked sternly. “How did I get here?”
The boy’s eyes came to focus and they scanned the room. They traced the walls and then locked with Martin’s, quickly growing wide.
“Why are we here?” Martin asked.
“W-Who are you?” the boy stuttered.
“What’s going on?” Martin roared.
“Don’t hurt me,” the boy shrieked. Martin saw the confusion on his face and turned to the other figures, who had begun to stir. Martin helped the boy stand as the other two figures, who were also male, sat up. They struggled to get their bearings as well, however they managed to stand faster than the other boy could.
For a moment all was quiet as each boy looked at the others. One was tall, well over six feet, with dirty-blond hair and striking blue eyes. He wore only a pair of name-brand underwear. His skin was tan, smooth, and hairless, lacking any imperfections. He had thick, defined muscles that moved with a careless fluidity. His strong jaw rippled under his skin as he tried to wrap his head around his situation. The other boy had fiery red hair and matching eyes. He wore a black leather jacket and tight black pants. A red dusting of stubble traced his jaw, which was clenched with confusion.
“What’s going on here?” The redhead growled, rushing up to Martin.
“I don’t know,” Martin said, backing away. “I just woke up, same as you.”
“Is this some kind of game?” The blond boy said. “I didn’t sign up for this.” He walked over to one of the walls and banged his hands against them in a peculiar fashion. They weren’t bangs of anger; they sounded more like a signal. “Stop the cameras and let me out of here,” the blond boy continued. “We had a deal. I said I’d never do more than two.”
“Who are you talking to?” Martin asked.
“What the hell is going on?” the redhead barked, shoving the blond boy against the wall.
“Hey!” The blond boy shouted, shoving him off. “You are not allowed to touch me until I tell you to.” He turned and spoke to the ceiling. “You’re not paying me enough for this. I’m not doing anything until one of these actors leaves.”
“Actors?” Martin said. “I’m not an actor.”
“Shut up,” the blond boy said. “They’re not filming right now so you can take a break from whatever role play this is.”
“Role play?” Martin said. “I don’t understand, is this some kind of twisted LARPing?”
Suddenly, the boy with black hair clutched his chest and began breathing heavily.
“Please get me out of here,” he cried. “I’m claustrophobic.”
“What do you know that we don’t?” Martin asked the blond boy. He stared back at him, his face falling.
“Cut it out,” the blond boy said. “You’re starting to freak me out.”
“What are we doing here?” Martin asked.
“We’re shooting a video,” the blond boy said. “Aren’t we? You’re the actors, right?”
“No,” Martin said. “I’m not.” He turned to the redhead.
They turned to the black-haired boy, who was wheezing in the corner of the room.
“Something tells me he’s not the mastermind behind this,” The redhead said.
“Shit,” the blond boy said. “Then why am I here?”
“That’s what we’re trying to figure out,” Martin said.
“So you don’t know each other?” The blond boy asked. Martin and the redhead shook their heads. “Who are you?”
“I’m Martin,” Martin said.
“I’m Aaron,” the redhead grunted.
“I’m Adam,” the blond boy said. “And you?” He turned to the boy with the black hair. He had stopped wheezing and managed to collect himself enough to walk over to the group.
“E-Ed,” the boy managed to say as tears formed in his face.
“Where are the rest of your clothes?” Aaron asked Adam.
“What’s the last thing you remember?” Martin added.
“It’s fuzzy,” Adam said. “I’m an underwear model…so I think I was on my way to a photo shoot.”
“What about the videos?” Aaron asked, his tone approaching accusation. “At first you thought you were shooting a video with us in here. What kind of videos do you make?”
“That’s my business,” Adam spat. “I have student loans to pay off so I take what I can get.” He stared at Aaron for a moment. “And don’t pretend you’re so squeaky clean. I saw that tattoo on your wrist. Which gang is it for?”
“Watch it, prettyboy!” Aaron growled.
“Alright, simmer down,” Martin said.
“What do you remember?” Aaron asked, his red eyebrows furrowing.
Martin thought, but his brain couldn’t grasp anything from before he woke up in the room.
“I can’t remember anything,” Martin said. “What about you, Ed?”
“I think,” Ed started. “I think I was coming home from college. F-freshman year.”
“None of this helps us figure out why we’re in here,” Adam said, pacing the room. He looked down at the floor. “What’s that?”
The others looked down and saw a long black strip painted onto the floor.
“Where did that come from?” Ed whimpered.
“The dust,” Martin said. He crouched down and rubbed the floor beside the strip, revealing more of it. “All our moving around must have brushed it away. Help me see where it leads.”
The four crouched down and started wiping at the ground. They found more black strips, which connected and branched off in an intricate network. Once the entire floor was wiped off, they stood back up.
“What is it?” Aaron asked.
“Some kind of crazy symbol?” Adam suggested.
“Look at that red dot,” Martin said, pointing to a red dot within a small square that was missing one of its sides. “They usually put those on maps to mark where you are.”
“This is a map?” Adam asked.
“It looks like a maze,” Ed said.
“If that’s us,” Aaron started, pointing to the red dot on the map, “then why are there three walls around it but four walls around us.”
“Maybe the missing wall is the way out,” Martin said. He looked at the map and then at the corresponding wall. “There must be something here.” The other three walked over to the wall and began running their hands over it.
“Shit,” Aaron said, pulling his hand away.
“What’s wrong?” Martin asked.
“The paint,” Aaron said. “It’s peeling and it jabbed into me.”
“Of course!” Martin said. “The paint.” He ran over to the wall and tore at the paint where it was already peeling. “That map was underneath the dust on the floor. Maybe there’s a door or something underneath this paint.” The other three began tearing the paint down too.
“I found something!” Ed cried. There was a small, deep hole in the wall.
“That doesn’t help us,” Aaron snapped.
“There’s a reason it’s there,” Martin said. He put his finger into the hole and touched something smooth, like a marble. The object moved further into the hole and there was a thump from within the wall. Suddenly the remaining paint cracked as the wall caved in to reveal a small passageway. The four rushed through the narrow pass and came to a small door. They squeezed through and then their jaws dropped. The room was filled to the ceiling with small, yellow muffins.
“What the fuck?” Aaron said as the door closed behind them.
“Is that lemon?” Adam said, sniffing. Ed’s stomach growled. Martin picked up one of the muffins and examined it closer. It had small blue-black dots protruding from the soft yellow top.
“They’re lemon poppy seed,” Martin said.
“Great job, Rachael Ray,” Adam said. “Let’s go, there must be a door on the other side.” He dove into the pile and started pushing his way through, triggering an avalanche that filled the only clear space around the three boys. They followed Adam, navigating through the muffins with greater difficulty than they had imagined. Adam reached another clearing at the opposite wall. There was a door. Adam raced up to the door and turned the handle, but it wouldn’t move. He looked down and saw a padlock.
“Great,” Adam groaned, running his hands through his dirty-blond hair.
“What is it?” Martin asked as he and the other two made their way into the clearing.
“It’s locked,” Adam said. Martin lifted the padlock and examined the keyhole.
“This door must have been locked from the inside,” Martin said. “So that means the key must be in here.”
“Look at how small that hole is,” Aaron said. “We’ll never be able to find a key that small in all of this.”
“The padlock looks like a muffin,” Ed said.
Martin turned and looked at the padlock again. Ed was right.
“We get it,” Aaron said. “The person who locked us in here has some sort of muffin fetish. That doesn’t make finding the key any easier.”
“I think it’s a clue,” Adam said. “The key goes inside the padlock, which is a muffin. But maybe it’s already inside another muffin.”
“We have to go through all of these?” Aaron asked, picking up a muffin. Martin picked one up too and pulled at the top. Strangely, it didn’t split apart. The muffin felt spongy and soft, yet no matter how hard Martin pulled and squeezed, the muffin didn’t tear.
“What’s going on? Why aren’t any of these breaking?” Aaron roared.
Martin tossed the muffin aside and picked up another one. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Ed chewing as he held a muffin up to his face.
“Ed!” Martin shouted. “Stop that, you’ll choke.” Ed turned to Martin as he popped the muffin into his mouth.
“I’m hungry,” Ed whined as he chewed, his words muffled.
“How can you…” Martin looked at the muffin in his hand and bit into it. His teeth ripped through the buttery surface with ease and it instantly began melting in his mouth. Martin licked his lips and swallowed. “We have to eat them,” Martin said. “That’s the only way to reach the middle.” He grabbed a handful of muffins and started popping them into his mouth, chewing slowly. Aaron and Ed followed suit, but Adam did not. “Just chew slowly and carefully,” Martin said to Adam. “You won’t swallow the key.”
“I can’t eat these!” Adam protested. “They’re all sugar and carbs. I have a photo shoot coming up.”
“And how do you plan on getting to that photo shoot while trapped in here?” Aaron growled. “We’re in this together.” He dumped a handful of muffins into Adam’s hands and turned to start eating again. Adam slid one into his mouth slowly and began to chew. The taste was maliciously alluring, and Adam popped another two into his mouth.
The four boys ate voraciously, gradually clearing the room. Finally, when there was only a small puddle of muffins left, Ed bit into something hard.
“Ow,” he shouted as he pulled the key out of his mouth.
“Finally,” Adam groaned, stuffed to the brim.
“Let’s go,” Aaron said with a yawn. The four boys trudged to the door, suddenly becoming exhausted. Ed slipped the key into the padlock and turned it weakly. It clicked and he pressed against the door. The four boys made their way through the doorway and then collapsed, falling into comas from the mix of overindulgence and poppy seeds.
Adam stirred awake first since he ate the least amount of muffins. He stood up and instantly felt strange. He felt…heavier. Adam looked down and was filled with horror; his abs were gone. In their place was a soft belly, which hung ever so slightly over the waistband of his underwear. Adam pinched it and was surprised by how soft it was. He had no idea that one binge could create such a thick layer of fat so fast. He followed a line from his deep bellybutton around his soft hips and finally to his backside. It was definitely bigger and lacked the firmness that it used to boast. It was certainly big before, but now it was even rounder and more jiggly.
“Fuck me,” he breathed, still astonished.
Martin woke next, and his change was even more drastic than Adam’s. As Martin stood, Adam could tell that he was confused by the sudden increase in body weight. Martin lifted his shirt. His stomach was softer, but his hips and ass acquired most of the fat. His once loose jeans were skin tight all the way down to his thick thighs. He grabbed his ass and kneaded it. It was almost ripping the seams. Martin pinched his love handles before dropping his shirt again, his face red.
Aaron woke next. He was bigger too, but the weight was more evenly distributed. The others could hear his leather jacket straining as he stood, and his tight jeans were unbelievably tighter. His stubbly face was rounder and the bits of red hair failed to hide his new double chin. Ed got up, slower than the others, but didn’t seem to notice his gain. It was surprising because it was perhaps the most drastic. The buttons on his shirt were immensely strained under his wide, round gut. They stretched the fabric so that bits of his undershirt showed between each button. His khakis were tight around his huge thighs and meaty ass.
“What are you staring at?” Ed asked. He looked down and his jaw dropped. “I’m so big.”
“That’s what happens when you eat too many muffins,” Aaron said.
“But not that fast,” Martin said. “Something isn’t right here.”
“Guys,” Adam said. The others turned to him to see that he was staring at the rest of the room for the first time. “Nothing about this is right.”
At the side of the room was an empty conveyor belt which ran from the far wall to the back wall. It ran steadily but carried nothing on top of it. At the far end of the room was a metal door, bolted shut with two large bolts that each had a red light above them. On each side of the door was a small metal platform. Hanging above each platform was a screen. A wire ran from each platform to the bolts in the door. The boys walked over to the platforms.
“Are those scales?” Adam asked. Martin stepped onto one of the platforms and the screen in front of him flickered on. A number appeared: ‘158’. Below the number were red letters which read: ‘Add more weight.’
“Alright,” Aaron said, “then let’s add more weight.” He began to step up next to Martin but the platform shocked him and he jumped back. The number on the screen disappeared and was replaced with a message: ‘Only one occupant at a time.’ Martin stepped off and looked at Ed.
“It said to add more weight,” Martin said carefully. “So…uh, you’re our best shot.”
Ed pulled at his pants a bit but it was no use, they were skin tight. He stepped onto the scale and looked at the screen. ‘203. Add more weight.’
“More!?” Adam shouted. “That’s the most we’ve got.”
“Hey,” Ed said, stepping off the scale and frowning.
“Come on, doughboy” Adam said, “You know it’s true. Don’t cry about it.”
“You ain’t exactly a twig anymore either,” Aaron grunted.
“You wanna say that one more time?” Aaron asked threateningly.
“Don’t test me,” Aaron growled. “You won’t be the first twink I’ve crushed.”
“Settle down,” Martin shouted. “We need to figure this out.”
“This doesn’t make any sense,” Adam said. “How are we supposed to add more weight if only one of us can stand on each scale?”
There was a loud beep from the direction of the conveyor belt and everyone turned to see what it was.
“Maybe there’s a way out through those,” Aaron said, pointing to the small flaps at each end. They walked over and as they got closer, they realized how narrow and short the openings were.
“No offense,” Adam said, “but if anyone’s gonna fit through there, it’s me.” He walked over to the edge of the conveyor belt. He felt the new flab of his ass jiggle with each step but he tried to ignore it. Adam lifted himself up and lay down on the smooth black rubber at the middle of the conveyor belt. It slowly carried him closer to the opening in the wall and the boys walked by his side. Adam pressed his head against the belt as he approached the flap. His head entered the opening and his shoulders followed. He smiled and laughed with relief, approaching freedom at last. Suddenly, his body stopped moving forward and the conveyer belt began rubbing against his skin. From outside, the boys could see the problem; Adam’s ass was too big to fit through the opening. Adam wailed in pain as the belt rubbed against the front of his bare body. The boys grabbed his legs and pulled him out. He fell to the ground and clutched his stinging chest.
“What do we do now?” Ed asked.
“There are still some of those muffins left,” Martin said. “Aaron, if you and Ed eat the rest then maybe you’ll weigh enough to release those bolts.”
“Have you lost your mind?” Aaron asked. “I’m not putting on more than I already have. My pants can’t take it.”
“Then unbutton them,” Martin argued, “We don’t really have a choice here.”
“There weren’t that many muffins left,” Aaron said, pointing to Ed. “I don’t think there’s enough to make me weigh more than tubby frat boy over here.”
“Stop calling me names,” Ed whined, his eyes growing red.
There was another beep from the conveyor belt.
“Why is this here?” Martin asked. In seconds, he got his answer.
The flap at the other end of the conveyor belt opened slowly. A plate with an enormous cake on it slid out and glided slowly down the belt. The boys walked over to it and the flap opened again. This time, a tray of milkshakes came out. In a few moments, a tub of fried chicken followed it. After that was a stack of deep dish pizzas.
“If this food is anything like those muffins…” Martin started.
“You can’t possibly think…” Adam said. “Why? What the hell is going on here? Why would someone want us to do this?”
“Why do you want them to do this?”
The voice was Martin’s but he heard it only in his head. He knew that he had said that before, but he had no idea to whom he was speaking or where. It was the only memory he had from his entire past, and it gave him hope that more were coming back.
“It doesn’t matter why,” Martin said. “We have to do it to get out of here.”
“Grab a plate,” Adam said, turning to Aaron and Ed.
“Why can’t you do it?” Aaron asked.
“You two are closest,” Adam explained. “I’m just being reasonable.”
“This conveyor belt doesn’t look like it’s stopping anytime soon,” Aaron said. “I’m sure we could get you there too.”
“This will be faster,” Adam snapped. “Quit being so selfish and start eating.” Adam picked up a bucket of fries from the belt and shoved it into Aaron’s hands.
“Twig bitch,” Aaron grumbled as he stuffed a fry into his mouth.
“Chubby ginger,” Adam spat.
“Knock it off, you two,” Martin said. He turned to Ed. “Go on, you have to eat too.”
Ed picked up a milkshake and dumped it into his mouth. It cooled his hot face and his eyes began to dry. When Martin turned back around, the entire bucket of fries was empty.
“Damn, boy,” Adam said. “You sure can eat.”
Aaron put the empty bucket on the conveyor belt and grabbed a chocolate pie. Adam held it for him as he used his hands to break apart pieces and stuff them into his mouth. Surprisingly, he didn’t begin to feel full at all while he was eating. In a few minutes he polished off the entire pie and Adam tossed the container back onto the belt.
“Shit, this stuff is delicious,” Aaron moaned as he let out a huge belch. He readjusted his leather jacket and picked up a tray of cheeseburgers, putting it in Adam’s hands. Martin turned to Ed, who had just finished guzzling another milkshake.
“Let’s get you onto the scale,” Martin said. “We don’t want you doing any more than you have to.” Martin and Ed walked over to one of the scales and Ed stepped on. The screen read ‘207’, but before their eyes it changed to ‘208’. The message underneath the numbers still indicated that more was needed. “Alright, back you go,” Martin said. Ed walked over to the conveyor belt and Martin followed him. Adam put the empty tray back on the belt and picked up a few milkshakes, handing them to Aaron. Aaron held them, waited a few seconds, and then farted.
“Ah, that feels better,” Aaron sighed, a small belch escaping as well.
Ed picked up a plate of warm chocolate chip cookies and began devouring them. For the next few minutes, the only sounds from the room were the steady hum of the conveyor belt and the loud munches and slurps coming from Aaron and Ed.
Ed popped a handful of chocolate balls into his mouth and the button at the bottom of his shirt burst off. His soft belly poured out, still covered by a grey undershirt. Ed put the rest of the chocolate into his mouth and looked down. He had to lift his gut to see the bottom of it where the button popped off. When he released his belly it jiggled and poked out from his undershirt.
“Let’s try again,” Martin said. He walked with Ed over to the scale and Ed stepped on. The number ‘224’ appeared on screen and no message appeared underneath it. There was a quiet click as the red light on one of the bolts turned green and the bolt released. The number on the screen changed to ‘225’ and Martin turned around.
“We got it,” Martin called. “You need to get to about 225.” He turned back to Ed, who started wincing in pain. “What’s the matter?” Martin asked.
“My pants,” Ed cried. “I can feel them getting tighter and it hurts.”
“Unbutton them then,” Martin said.
There was a loud tear and Ed sighed in relief. His pants were ripped down the middle in the back. A strip of boxer-covered butt hung out of the tear.
“I think he’s ready,” Adam said, leading Aaron over. His leather jacket was unzipped but he pulled it off and tossed it aside. His growing chest and belly were covered in tufts of red hair. His jeans were unbuttoned and even somewhat unzipped, his belly spilling out all the way down to the zipper. Aaron stood on the other scale and the screen read ‘232.’
“Shit,” Adam said. “You’re fast.”
The bolt clicked and released and the metal door swung open. The four boys hurried down a narrow hallway. It seemed to last forever but they eventually reached a corner. They turned the corner and found themselves at another long hallway. They walked through it, twisting and turning down hallway after hallway. They lost all sense of direction, but eventually came to a door. The door was unlocked, luckily, and they walked through.
The four boys walked into a vast empty room. There was no other door in the room. The only thing that was inside the room was a small belt, which sat in an illuminated circle in the center of the room. The boys approached the belt, which appeared much too small for any of them, except perhaps Adam.
“Is this supposed to be some kind of joke?” Aaron asked, looking down at the belt and then at his unzipped jeans. “If I ever see the person who put us here…”
“I don’t want to see them!” Ed cried.
“I don’t want to see them.”
It was another of Martin’s memories. This time he saw where he was.
Martin sat on a beige couch. In front of him sat a thick man with a round face and black, slicked back hair.
“If you want,” the man said, “I can bring them in here.”
“I don’t want to see them,” Martin said. “Not after what happened.”
“Are you afraid of being judged?” the man asked.
“Of course,” Martin said. “They won’t understand.”
“Things like this are hard for people like them to understand, but we can help them.”
“I don’t want to see them,” Martin repeated.
The memory ended and Martin returned to the room. His head spun; he had barely any information and so many questions. The man whom he was speaking with seemed like some sort of therapist. But who were the people they were talking about? Perhaps his parents. What was he hiding from them that he felt so ashamed about? What wouldn’t they understand?
“It has something written on it,” Aaron said, looking closer at the belt.
Martin blinked and returned his focus as Aaron crouched down to read what was written on the inside of the belt. His jeans groaned as he bent down.
“It says ‘Wear Me’,” Aaron said.
“How is wearing a belt going to get us out of here?” Adam asked.
“I don’t know,” Martin said, taking the belt from Aaron and handing it to Adam. “Why don’t you find out?”
“Hell no,” Adam said. “If I put that belt on and something happens to me like what’s been happening in these other rooms, my whole life is screwed.”
“You’re screwed if you don’t put it on,” Aaron growled. “Ed and I have already pulled enough of our weight here. It’s time that you did something.”
“Why doesn’t he do it,” Adam cried, putting the belt in Martin’s hands.
“It won’t fit on me,” Martin said. “You’re the only person who can fit into it.”
“This is bullshit,” Adam spat, grabbing the belt. He wrapped it around his waist and waited. Nothing happened. “Wow, we’re free!” Adam yelled with hysterical sarcasm, “That helped so much.”
The belt began to gently vibrate and Adam looked down at it.
“Is that one of those belly-burning belts?” Aaron asked.
“It better be,” Adam mumbled. As it vibrated, he felt a tingling throughout his entire lower body. The tingling remained constant, but it grew stronger around his butt.
“Shit,” Adam said. “I think it’s making my legs fall asleep.” He picked up a leg and shook it, alternating every few seconds. The tingling didn’t stop, nor did it get stronger.
“What do we do now?” Ed asked.
“What do we do now?” Martin asked, standing from the couch and grabbing a mint from the man’s desk. He popped it into his mouth and sucked on it as they spoke.
“It’s almost time for me to begin my study,” the man said.
“And what exactly are you studying?” Martin asked.
“Human behavior,” the man answered. “The human brain is a fascinating thing. There’s still so much we don’t know.”
“Am I done here then? Can I leave?” Martin asked.
“Not yet,” the man said. “There’s still one more thing that I need to explain to you.”
Martin understood even less now. The man felt less and less like a therapist as their conversation continued. But what were they doing? What was he studying?
“What’s it doing to me?” Adam cried, the tingling unbearable despite its steadiness. Adam grabbed the belt and tried to pull it off, but it was locked around him. He felt a familiar heaviness growing throughout his whole body, but the most noticeable heaviness came from behind him. Adam turned his head around to see his ass growing before his very eyes. It was a slow growth, but it was fast enough to be visible. He saw the fabric of his underwear grow tighter around the fleshy cheeks. Luckily it was an extremely stretchy fabric, but his ass showed no signs of stopping. Adam’s mouth opened and closed but no words came out. He spun around, tugging at the belt. It grew tighter as the rest of his body grew bigger. Nothing grew as fast as his butt, but noticeable changes were taking effect everywhere else. His arms were thicker and the muscles underneath were no longer clearly defined. His chest lost its perkiness and began to droop. His love handles poured over the side of the tight belt and his thighs stretched the fabric of his underwear. Soon, the overhang from his soft belly and love handles began to cover the belt until it was barely visible. Adam could hear the fabric straining as his gargantuan ass grew to the size of soccer balls. Adam cried out and the belt snapped, falling to the ground. Adam fell on his knees and his ass shook.
“There was something inside it!” Ed exclaimed. The three looked at the belt while Adam put his hands on his face, the tingling and growth subsiding. Protruding from the interior of the snapped belt was a small metal strip. Martin pulled it out and examined it.
“But what’s it for?” Aaron asked.
“Look,” Ed said, pointing to the floor. “There’s a slot.” Martin bent down and saw that there was, indeed, a slot. They must not have seen it because the belt was resting on top of it. Martin slid the metal strip into the slot and it fit perfectly. The illuminated circle on the floor grew bigger and shone brighter.
“Adam,” Martin said. “Look, we’re going to get out of here. It’s going to be okay.”
“Nothing about this is okay!” Adam screamed, grabbing his monstrous ass.
“Relax,” Aaron said. “Your career is fine. You know, in the gay underwear industry, bigger is always better where butts are concerned.”
“I’m not gay,” Adam snarled.
“Right,” Aaron said. “You just film gay porn.”
Adam stood up, enraged. “I am this close to snapping—”
“Cut it out!” Martin said. “Something’s happening.” The illuminated circle on the floor vibrated and then disconnected from the rest of the floor, rising slowly. The boys looked up and saw that there was a similar circular hole in the ceiling. “Jump on,” Martin said, stepping onto the illuminated circle. The three others followed him, struggling to keep their balance with their new weight. The platform rose higher and brought them through the hole in the ceiling. The room they rose into was completely dark, but once the platform connected with the rest of the floor its light shone brighter and the rest of the room was illuminated.
They could smell it before they knew what it was. Surrounding them, from floor to ceiling, was a wall of gingerbread.
“Do you think it’s like those muffins?” Ed asked.
Aaron jabbed his finger into the soft surface of the gingerbread, but it bounced back as if he had punched metal. “I think it’s exactly like those muffins,” he said.
“You’re insane if you think I’m going to eat any of that,” Adam said, trying to suck in his flab. It was useless, so he released it.
“I think it’s your turn,” Aaron said, turning to Martin.
“It’s only fair,” Ed said.
“Alright, fine,” Martin said.
“Alright, fine,” Martin said, sitting back down on the couch. “What else do you have to say?”
“Have you heard of implicit memory?”the man asked.
“The human brain is so complex that it can remember things even without you being consciously aware of it. These memories, which you don’t know that you have, are called implicit memories.”
“What’s the point of remembering if you don’t know that you remember?” Martin asked.
“These memories were discovered by studying a patient who developed amnesia. Shortly after events occurred, he forgot all about them. But researchers got an idea; they asked him to perform certain memory-based tasks such as drawing a symbol on a piece of paper while only being able to look at a mirror’s reflection of his hand. After he practiced a few times, he got better at drawing the symbol. Later, he was asked to complete the task again. He had forgotten completely that he ever did something like that, but right away he performed better at drawing the symbol than he did the first time that he tried.”
“What’s all of this supposed to mean?” Martin asked.
“What are you standing around for?” Aaron asked. “Start eating!”
Martin walked towards the gingerbread, utterly confused by what was going on in his memories. He opened his mouth and started eating. It was surprisingly soft for gingerbread; most of the stuff he used to make candy houses when he was a kid was almost as hard as rock. Martin tore through it, digging deep holes in the spongy surface.
“How deep does it go?” Ed asked.
“If it’s only me doing this,” Martin said as he chewed. “We’re going to be here forever.”
“Oh screw it,” Aaron said. He unzipped his jeans all the way and charged at the gingerbread. Ed turned to Adam.
“I am not putting anything from here into my mouth again,” Adam said. “Ever.”
“Well technically the belt wasn’t even—” Adam flashed an acidic glare and Ed turned away. He walked towards the gingerbread and began to help carve out a path.
The gingerbread seemed endless. At one point the three boys split up to make separate tunnels, hoping one would reach a door at some point. Martin stopped to rest, wiping sweat from his forehead. The gingerbread was somehow warm, and being so deep inside it was like being in a sauna. He didn’t feel full, but he felt heavy. The sticky heat didn’t help either. He looked down and saw that there was a tear in the side of his jeans running all the way from his upper hip to his knee. He hadn’t even felt it when it happened. Martin was surprised that the rest of the jeans hadn’t given in yet. They were unbuttoned completely but his girth was spilling out of them. As had happened with the muffins, hardly any of the weight went to his upper body. Starting at around his bellybutton, his gut widened to enormity. It poked out from under his shirt and was practically wiggling from how tight his waistband was. He was sure that his ass was huge and jiggly, but his jeans were so tight that it felt like two watermelons were stuffed in there. He stared at the endless expanse of gingerbread in front of him and contemplated whether he should try to tear his jeans off then or wait for them to explode later.
It was Aaron. Martin’s eyes lit up and he hurried through his tunnel and into Aaron’s. The other three were already there with him as Aaron ate through the last piece of gingerbread in front of a narrow door.
“Finally,” Martin sighed. “I don’t know how much longer I can do this.”
“This better be the end,” Adam grunted.
Martin stepped away as Aaron finished chewing the last of the gingerbread. He was a fast eater so his tunnel was long, but his speed showed in other ways as well. His pants were completely off (Martin passed them somewhere in the tunnel), but with good reason. He was huge. His red, enormous hairy body jiggled and bounced with each step. His gut looked like a beach ball and his thighs were like overstuffed tubes of jelly. His chest grew remarkably as well. He had round, perky moobs which extended all the way to under his armpits, forcing his arms to always remain somewhat outstretched. His red boxers looked incapable of holding him for much longer.
The four boys opened the door and hurried into another narrow hallway. It grew darker and narrower as they walked, reaching a point where they had to walk single file in complete darkness. As Ed hurried through the hallway, which occasionally brushed up against his wide body, he noticed that the sound of footsteps had faded.
“Are you guys going faster or something?” Ed asked. There was no reply. His heart began racing as he ran through the hallway, groping at the walls and calling out to anyone who could hear him. “Where did you go? Why aren’t you answering me?” Tears streamed down his eyes as he raced through the hopelessly empty hallway.
Ed saw a light far ahead of him and he ran even faster, panting as he approached it. There was a light at the end of the hallway, right in front of a door. Ed hurried through the door and closed it behind him. He turned around and gasped; he was standing in his home. Ed touched the walls and floor and the furniture. It seemed so real; it even smelled like his house. The smell was delicious, like his mother had just cooked dinner.
“Hello?” The warm, soothing voice was his mother’s. She walked out of the kitchen and her eyes fell upon him, lighting up. “You’re home!” She exclaimed. She smiled, but then her brow furrowed somewhat.
Ed recognized what was happening; he was inside his memory from just before he entered the maze. It was different, however. Not just because he was different, which his mother strangely didn’t notice, but because of something else. “Why are you home so early?” his mother asked. “Didn’t classes just start?”
“I couldn’t take it there!” Ed cried. It was exactly what he had said before, but the feelings were still fresh. “Everything’s so complicated! And the people are so mean and no one will help you and the food isn’t the same as yours and I don’t know how to get money out of the account and nothing is right! I hate it there! I need to be back here; I need you!”
“Oh, baby,” his mother said, rushing towards him and embracing him. “The world is a big, scary place. But you don’t need to go out there if you don’t want to. You can stay here as long as you want.” She smiled and scratched his back as she hugged him. “Are you hungry?”
“That’s great!” his mother beamed. “I whipped up a little something. Come into the kitchen.”
Ed followed her into the kitchen and saw that the room was vastly out of proportion. It was enormous, the size of a high school gym, and in the center was a giant table. Covering the table was every kind of food that Ed could imagine. It was all the food that he loved.
“Sit down, sweetie,” his mother said.
Ed felt his mouth watering as he sat on a big chair by the table.
“Now,” she said. “What do you want first?”
“The pudding,” Ed said greedily. His mother grabbed an enormous bowl of pudding and walked over to Ed. She wrapped a bib around his neck and stuck a ladle into the pudding. She then held the ladle up to Ed’s mouth and he licked it clean.
Ed sampled everything that his mother made, which seemed to replenish endlessly on the gigantic table. He never felt full, and continued eating until all of the buttons popped off of his shirt and his khakis split wide open and even his underwear snapped off.
Adam ran his hands along the dark hallway.
“Where’d you all go?” He asked, noticing an absence of noise. “There’s no way your fat asses got ahead of me so quick.” He saw a light at the end of the hall and hurried towards it. As he got closer, his mouth curled with confusion. At the end of the hall was an escalator leading far up out of Adam’s sight. “What the hell?” Adam said. He stepped onto the escalator and let it take him up into the unknown. Not long after he passed above the ceiling of the hallway. The area around the escalator opened up into a gargantuan shopping mall. It was completely empty and completely quiet. Adam stepped off of the escalator into the bright fluorescent light of the mall. He didn’t let himself feel relief or happiness. It was too eerie to feel like he actually escaped.
Adam walked around the mall, glancing into the store windows and scanning for any signs of life. He stopped in front of a store named ‘Booty 4 Days’ and walked in. The sign at the entrance of the store read: ‘A pants store specifically tailored for those guys and gals with extra junk in their trunk’. Adam walked over to the men’s section and found a pair of jeans. He tried them on and, remarkably, they fit him. He looked at himself in the mirror.
“Damn,” he moaned. Even though the jeans fit, they accentuated just how plump his bouncy bubble butt was. He threw on a shirt and hurried out the door. Adam stopped dead in his tracks, staring ahead. In front of him was a giant billboard. It featured him modeling the latest, most fashionably underwear. However he looked chubbier in the billboard than he had looked in the mirror just moments ago. Adam tore the billboard down and hurried away, his face growing red. He saw a huge poster on a wall. This one featured him wearing popular workout gear. His flabby muffin top poked out from under the skin-tight shirt and his ass made the shorts look painted on. A slogan read: ‘Even the best of us suffer from winter weight. Hit the gym today!’ Adam ripped the poster off of the wall furiously. Suddenly, his jeans felt tighter and he looked down. He was definitely bigger, and now the jeans weren’t doing as great a job containing his rear as they had in the store.
“Shit, how is it happening now?” Adam said. He turned back in the direction of the store and saw another poster. It was a ‘Before & After’ poster for a weight loss supplement. He was featured as the ‘Before’ picture, fatter still than he was in the other posters. Adam ripped it down but immediately saw another one beside it. This one showed him wearing his favorite brand’s underwear. Underneath the brand name were the words ‘Now in XXL!’ Adam tore the poster off of the wall. Each time he tore down a poster, he saw another somewhere in the mall. In each poster he was depicted fatter and each time he ripped one down he grew as fat as he was in the poster. Eventually, not even the custom jeans of Booty 4 Days could contain his massive ass.
Martin walked slowly through the dark hallway, aware that he was now alone. He came to a door and walked through it. He was in the room from his memory. The man turned to him and stood up. He acted as if nothing was out of the ordinary and they continued their conversation.
“So what’s all of this supposed to mean?” Martin asked.
“Do you know why I asked you to procure those three boys?”
Martin’s jaw would have dropped, but he felt barely in control of his body. He was experiencing a memory, and he had no power to change it. It rushed back at him with the man’s words. He remembered being offered a position as a research assistant for lab credit. He remembered all of the strange things the man asked him to do. He remembered turning a blind eye as the requests became more dangerous and less legal. He needed that credit to graduate. He was even willing to kidnap Aaron, Adam, and Ed for it.
“They’re your tests subjects, right?” Martin said, “But I thought there would be a fourth. Didn’t you say that the maze was designed for four?”
“That’s right,” the man said. “There’s where the implicit memory comes into play.”
“You want to put someone in the maze who knew about it but forgot?” Martin asked. “But I thought that I was the only person you told about it.”
“You are,” the man said. “That’s why I’ll be putting you inside the maze as well.
“What!” Martin stood, but his legs gave out and he fell back into the couch.
“The sedative in that mint you ate earlier should be kicking in by now,” the man said. “Once you fall asleep I’ll do some electroshock until you forget all about this. Then I’ll put you in the maze and see how you do.”
“You monster,” Martin cried. “I trusted you!”
“That was your mistake, Martin,” the man said.
“Tell me how to get out of the maze,” Martin said sleepily, forcing his eyes to stay open.
“You can’t get out of the maze,” the man laughed.
“What?!” Martin whispered. “Then what’s the point? How can you study our ability to solve the maze if we can’t get out?”
“The point was never to study you,” the man said. “I only told you that to make it believable.”
“Then why are you doing this?”
“So I can sit back and watch the show!” he said with a crooked smile. He sat back in his chair and straightened his nametag. Engraved in the shimmering silver were bold black letters: ‘Dr. Silenus’.
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