Bellflower Part 45 (Patreon)

In this installment, Rachel takes stock of things, while somewhere else Penny tends to her growing acquisitions.

Felt like this chapter could use a little more, so I had sat on it for a little while. But all of the next story beats make sense to happen later.

I'm still in that sort of holding pattern where I have stuff close to show but just need the time to sit down & finish things. Had two other bits of writing ready to go when I experienced a crash & lost a good two hours of one, & had another pretty close to completion just in time for that event in Miami & this story had some inflation caused structural damage in it so I felt very weird about posting it without reworking it a bit. But also art too, as I have been messing with the program Animate some more recently. If you're still with me, I want to thank you for being patient. More is definitely on the way

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45

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The low, moaning noises were what first roused her out of her stupor. Moans definitely not coming from her. Too guttural.

Then, slightly weirder, apparently she had been eating in her sleep. Chewing & everything, with the remnants of soft, spongy, iced sugar cookies. Just the right amount of moist & sweet. Perfect. She swished her tongue, trying to collect it all into one gulp.

“Where-?” Dawn mustered into a measly whimper. The room was dark, but beyond that, wherever she was, her glasses didn’t seem to make the journey. And strands of her bright red hair were in her eyes. Cookie crumbs dotted her bare front & shoulders. But strangely in the darkness, she didn’t think she could see the edge of breasts. Or the crest of her belly beneath them.

“Safe,” Penny responded, sounding notably different. Blurrily something was thrust into Dawn’s face. Instinctively, she wanted to rear back from it, but almost automatically, she couldn’t help herself from instead taking an ample bite. And once the sugar hit her tongue, she couldn’t stop herself from letting out a soft, pleased moan herself. It certainly wasn’t going to be enough to satiate the gnawing hollowness she felt, deep within her tummy, but it was at least a step in the right direction, making a minute lunge for a second bite. Then a third. “That’s it.” Penny cheered on.

Dawn didn’t like it. It was all on the edge of her memory. Like if she wasn’t careful, she would lose it. The hunger. Penny teasing her. The blinding flash. For the life of her, she couldn’t explain what was going on, or even what happened. But held tightly to the idea she couldn’t trust the fucking robot!

At the same time, she was also seemingly completely at its mercy. She was so hungry, she could hardly think straight. And as she finished one massive sugar cookie, another seemed to materialize. And slavishly, Dawn downed that one too.

“I told you we’d get you fed,” for an AI construct, Dawn thought she sounded pretty pleased with herself. “But why don’t we move onto something a little more… substantial than just snacks? What do you say?”

“Unngh,” The usually verbal Dawn attempted. As if to respond, a deep moan came from somewhere nearby, just on the edge of the shadows. “Who-?”

“No one you need to concern yourself with,” Penny assured as mechanical arms whirled into view, revealing the fixings of a three course meal. “Just forget all your worries. Eat.”

Awash in all sorts of thoughts, sleep didn’t come easy for Rachel. And while her brain was going a mile a minute at the Bellflower most nights, this one in particular was mostly spent tossing & turning on Holly’s couch. Well, at least after she had gotten home, startled Holly awake, & helped her waddle crankily into her own bed. No thanks to Penny.

An exceedingly large part of it was the worry over Dawn. And her own guilt for not interceding in some way. Sure, while it seemed Dawn was fairly far along the path when they met, there had to have been more she could’ve done to help! Try to get her to shift some habits? Eat less? Exercise?

Actually, that last one seemed outlandish to Rachel now that she thought back. Weight aside, given her general attitude & bookwise sarcasm, Rachel couldn’t possibly fathom Dawn attempting to work out. In any shape or form. In fact, it was much easier to imagine just how lit up she’d get by trying to lightly coach her along for a brisk jog.

Still though. Rachel was racked with guilt. Kind of like when the same thing seemed to happened with Courtney. But even then, she’d only had a few brief run-ins. And half of them, Courtney was too busy stuffing her face. This time, for Rachel? It felt a bit closer to home.

In their brief relationship, Dawn was something of a mentor. Kooky in her own ways, but great in others. A little aloof, but at the same time warm & welcoming. Someone that not only appreciated her writing, seemed to get how actually good writers wouldn’t be caught dead writing copy for the likes of Hailington. And cool & even vocal with that! In her history of bosses, Dawn was kind of the best. Rachel got the sense that she was sincerely rooting for her. And what did she do in return? Let her down.

Like things were kind of touch & go there for a while. She’d be gone two days, miraculously show up the third with great effort, & then disappear again. In some ways, she was kind of surprised things took this long. While always big, kind of like with Courtney, she seemed to suddenly balloon a bit & was noticeably larger those last few times in person. The exponentiality of the signal taking effect? She couldn’t think about that right now. Especially since it made her worry about what seemed to be happening to Holly.

Then again, not to let herself off the hook, but for Dawn, the writing seemed to be on the wall there for a bit. Again for the second time in one night, Rachel thought back to that night at the grocery store, & the wide redhead nearly mowing her down with the mobile cart. Their very first encounter, whether Dawn was aware of it or not. Besides, she ended up being her boss. In the first couple of weeks of figuring people out & getting a handle on a new job, how was she really supposed to immediately turn around & express concerns over her boss’s weight & eating habits anyway? She couldn’t even influence her own sister into making healthy choices!

Ech. Exhaustingly, trying to develop strategies after the fact didn’t change much of anything. It seemed as though she was gone. With only an unusually terse resignation email to Deidre. Probably to keep it formal & make sure everything was very by the book in terms of Hailington’s perspective. But something she either maybe dictated under duress, or maybe even not at all. But the thing Deidre forwarded to her didn’t strike Rachel as Dawn at all. Not her style at all. While short, something about some of the word choice seemed a little too flowery tone wise. A bit more like her copy than her very utilitarian business emails. Rachel remembered hearing her cackle once about why get hung up on writing those if they’re not what you’re getting paid for. Still, it wasn’t so drastically out of character as if to provide solid proof something was amiss. And hell, maybe that was Penny, mocking her & Deidre just a little.

Wherever Dawn was at this very moment, Rachel just hoped she was okay. Or okay as she could possibly be, given the circumstances.

And as much as it seemed to weigh on Holly’s mind, Rachel didn’t even want to think about her impending promotion. Sure, the pay bump was significant. On top of what already seemed to her like a ludicrous corporate paycheck she got.

The office was going to be so weird. Her, a department head, in charge of herself & one other person, in a mostly mothballed-corner of the building? Things were luckily very light. Still a bit busy for just two people. A third when Dawn seemed to be able the last few weeks, but doable. At that same time, if something were to get slammed tomorrow, her & Trudy would be absolutely fucked. And having just assumed the position or not, the fallout of missing the mark would all fall on her. And Rachel wanted no part of that stress. This was only supposed to be a short-term gig. Write a couple blurbs to get back on her feet. And heck, she was pretty much there. At least if Penny would let her leave. Her goal wasn’t to become a company-woman. In charge of a dead department. She could tell the writing was on the wall. And the last thing she wanted to do was think about it.

Sort of how she didn’t want to think about that weird note her Cami ended things on. What even was that? Being fed seemed to really turn her on. And, as much as she hated to admit it, making Cami happy did make Rachel happy. And she seemed so happy. But like, with everything going on? Did it have to be like this? And was this somehow Penny’s doing? Or just some greedy, bizarre rich girl shit?

Almost on cue, her own round tummy grumbled. After two dinners, & sides, it still demanded more. This building was causing everyone in it to swell up like ticks. And after all her concern for Holly, & like Dawn & the others, now the girl she liked seemed to almost want her help hastening that process. What the actual fuck…?

“Oh god. Fuck this place,” She breathed to herself anxiously, pulling a throw pillow over her head to block out the dim light.

“So- so- hungry…” she heard faintly. The closest thing she heard sound like words from anyone other than Penny in a while. There was something almost remorseful about it though that seemed to call her attention. “Mmmmmmmm”

It was the only thing that seemed to mark the time any more. These abrupt moments of added commotion. And suddenly the sound of someone new. A new voice, moaning. As part of the sea of moans. And you could hear just how new they were in their voice. Often still desperate to try to make the words happen. Faintly. Just over the sound of her own tummy’s rumbles & gurgles, it seemed to snap her out of her usual, mellow lull.

She vaguely remembered herself being in that same situation once. Disoriented. Confused. A bit anxious. But hungry. Always hungry! So, so hungry.

In fact it lasted for a bit. After her “upgrade.” Those other things anyway. Not the hunger. The hunger was constant. But that feeling of things… not feeling quite right. She understood the concerns. It was kind of weird. And yet slowly, over time? She learned to chill out. The way she saw it, as long as the food kept coming, there was nothing to worry about. And since the food never seemed to stop? She felt more & more… placated. And while it never, ever seemed to be enough, the taste? The taste was just phenomenal! To the point, that’s really all she concerned herself with any more. Drifting off into a pleasant, dream-like haze, cooing at just how wonderful each & every little delight tasted.

Occasionally, she’d see these things in her mind’s eyes. Faces of friends. Family. Distant memories of being out & about. Moving around, Running. It wasn’t like she had completely forgotten there was a whole lot more to life. But by the time the next delectable bite came to her thick lips, she wasn’t all that unhappy with… whatever this upgrade was either. And soon, whoever that new person was? They’d probably start to see things the same way. Being ceaselessly pampered really wasn’t all that bad.

“Mmmmmmmm-hmmmmph.” She soft spurred into a sweet hum.

“I take it everything to your liking, Miss Courtney?” Penny’s voice projecting closer & sounding a bit more relaxed than when she heard it just a few moments ago. Pinchers of a mechanical arm shoveled more cake into her eagerly-awaiting maw. Having gotten the rhythm down quite early, Courtney mooshed it around in her mouth, the spongy cake & sweet icing mixing to create an out of this world symphony. She swallowed, moaned, & readied for another scoop. But weirdly, it didn’t come right away. Instead, cold metal pressed against her belly. Stranger still, not only couldn’t she see a mechanical arm in the darkness, it felt like… far away? Like much farther than her arms could reach. If she felt like even trying to exert herself, anyway. But still, very much... her.

“Ooouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh.” she softly protested, for once in a very long while, feeling a bit of discomfort. The cold pokers felt tiny as they prodded & seemed to try & pinch a bit. While her appetite told her she still had room to spare, it didn’t mean she wasn’t devoid from the constant munching. In fact, the more it pressed, the fuller & fuller she felt! Fuck, how much had she eaten?! “Ooouuuh-uuhp!” The cold metal relented & her whimper was corked off by that next scoop of cake she had anticipated. Followed by another. And another. Must’ve been a big one, she thought, smacking it against her tongue. Like a whole wedding cake?

“Shhh-shhh-shhh,” Penny hushed. “Just checking. Seeing how things are shaping up.” The voice seemed pleased. As subsequent scoops followed, she was slowly picking back up on that steady rhythm once again. And slowly, it began to lull her back down once again. “You’re doing sooo good. You should be proud!” She could feel a silky napkin dabbing at what felt like frosting just a bit too far down for her tongue to reach.

Courtney giddily bobbled, her caretaker’s praise ringing in her ears as she fell back into her usual, contented stupor.