Escape From the Blueberry Factory (Patreon)

Escape From the Blueberry Factory.

Quin parked her vehicle at the edge of the rusted chain-link fence and shut off the engine. “I hope Pam is doing alright.” She sighed and opened the door. “Because if she isn’t, we are screwed.” She ran her hands along the fence. “I wish I remember where I had left her, though. I thought I had rolled her to the edge of the fence.” Quin shook her head. “Pam! Pam, where are you?”

She put her hands on the fence. “I can’t go back in there. What if I turn into a blueberry like Pam did.” She shook her head. “No. I said I would come back for her today, and I am here. I have to go back in there and find her.” She shook her pale hand. “She most likely rolled back into the factory. What else could happen to her? It isn’t like there was anyone else around to take her.” Quin let out a laugh that sent shivers up her spine. “Maybe I should just get in there and find her.”

She climbed the fence and hopped over on the other side. “Ouff.” After dusting herself off, she looked around her. “Stop being paranoid. There is no one there.” She put her hands into her jeans and walked back into the erie factory.

Her head turned from side to side as she walked into the first massive room filled with rusted conveyor belts and unopened boxes. “Pam! Come on. Where did you go?” Quin sighed.

“How is it that a gigantic blueberry woman could just vanish like this?”

Quin twisted around at the sound of jingling chains. “Pam?” She looked into the gloom and at the broken doorway at the far end of the room. “Hello?” She ran her hands along her arms. “Whoever you are, just come out, ok.” Quin looked back and forth. “This isn’t funny anymore.”

The sound of footsteps filled the air, and Quin fell to the ground. “This place was much more fun yesterday.” She wormed her way under one of the ancient conveyor belts. “When the place was deserted, and it wasn’t turning anyone into giant blueberries.” She took long deep breaths as the footsteps slowly became louder and louder until they suddenly stopped. Quin held her breath as she waited and listened, her heart pounding away in her chest.

Then suddenly, the echoing steps started up again, this time moving away from her. With a sigh of relief, Quin moved out from her hiding spot. “Well, at least whoever it was, they decided to go away.” She put her hand on the rusted conveyer belt beside her. “I wonder who it is anyway. Maybe it is Pam, and she is looking for a way out. Maybe overnight, she turned back to normal. I mean, who else would have come to this crazy place.” Quin started walking towards the industrial-sized doors. “It would also explain why she wasn’t by the fence where I had left her the night before. I had left her out there as she wanted to soak in the sun. I didn’t think she could move on her own.”

She walked into the next room. “Well, if she is no longer a giant blueberry and running around the facility, why is she still here?” Quin shrugged her shoulders. “That I don’t get.” She looked up to see a giant blue wall in place of the doorway. “That is strange. I don’t remember that being there before.” She walked up and touched the blue wall, a blue sticky substance coming off onto her hand. “Ugh, what is this?” Quin raised her hand up and licked the blue goo. “Blueberries?”

She put her hands on the mushy blue wall. “Pam? Is that you?”

A muffled voice came from the other side. “Quin? Quin, it is so good to hear your voice.”

“How are you doing? Are you alright?”

Pam groaned. “I am not doing well anymore. I think I have been a blueberry too long. I think I had too much sun.” She groaned again. “So much juice. I need to let it out somehow.”

“Ok. How can I help?” Quin ran her hand along Pam’s body. “And more importantly, how did you get yourself rolled inside this room. It is going to take me ages to get you out of here again.” She tapped the side of Pam’s swollen body. “You should have just waited for me outside.”

“Hey, you. Get away from the blueberry.”

Quin turned around as a man in a strange yellow outfit walked towards her. “But she is my friend.”

“That juice coming off of her body is contaminated.” He rushed forward and sprayed water over her body.

“Hey!”

“We can’t risk another outbreak.”

Quin pulled away. “Who the hell are you?”

“The less you know, the better. Now leave this place. We have contained the berry for now, and we won’t let this spread to the rest of the town. I would find yourself lucky that you didn’t share your friends' fate.”

Quin narrowed her eyes at the strange insignia on the man’s breast.  I swear I have seen that before. Wasn’t it on the slide show that we watched last night before Pam started to turn blue?

The man turned Quin around and pushed her. “Leave this factory at once.”

“But Pam.”

“We are keeping her quarantined as she swells and her eventual bursting.”

“What!”

He put his hand on her shoulder. “I am sorry. If we took the risk to drain all of the juice, we could have a blueberry epidemic on our hands.” He shoved her into the next room. “Now count yourself lucky that this didn’t happen to you. Forget what you saw here and move on with your life.” He hit a button, and the gigantic doors behind her began to close. “Have a nice day.”

She twisted around and slammed her hands on the door. “Hey, you can’t do this.” Quin kicked the door as it sealed shut. “Pam. Pam!” She took a few steps back and sighed. “This is crazy. I have to do something. Before Pam bursts apart. But how am I going to even get in there? I can’t possibly get that door open again.”

She across the room and tried the next door. “Oh, come on. It is rusted shut. Fuck.” She shook her hands as a small amount of blood hit the floor. “I hate this place.” She wiped the blood on her dark shirt and looked around. “What am I supposed to do now? The only other way out of here leads me back to the exterior of the building. I know for a fact that there aren’t any other ways into this blasted factory. Pam and I checked a week ago.” She kicked a nearby cardboard box. “Damnit, what am I going to do?”

She looked directly up at the broken ceiling above. “I would think that with how broken down this place was, there would be another way into the room where Pam was.

Why look at that giant hole up there.” Quin arched an eyebrow. “Maybe if I could get up there, I could find my way over to Pam.” She began to look around. “I mean, I did have a ladder yesterday so I could reach Pam’s head. She wasn’t that big, but still, one was lying around.

If I could find it and others, I could possibly get up there and walk over to Pam.” A smile appeared on Quin’s face. “I am going to get my big blue friend out of here after all.”

Quin began to search the room for anything to help her up to the gap in the roof. Time was of the essence as she had to get to her friend before her body reached its blueberry limit. When Quin arrived at the west wall, she found three ladders, one of them covered in blueberry juice. “Perfect.” She picked up the juice-covered ladder. “This must be the one we used last night.” She sniffed the rungs. “Yup, smells like it.”

She carried the ladders to the center of the room one by one. “Ok, I just tie these things together, and then I can climb all the way up there.” Quin turned around. “I am sure there is some rope around her somewhere.” She walked over to one of the cardboard boxes. “I mean, what exactly are they keeping here anyways.” As she opened the box, strange blue flies flew into her face.

“Ugh, no. Get away.” She jumped around and shook her hands. “Damn bugs.” Quin shivered. “God, I don’t think searching these boxes is the best idea.” She looked at the open doorway which led outside. “I will just get the jumper cables from my car. That way, I don’t have to play around with the dam wildlife here.”

She rushed back outside and climbed back over the fence. Once on the other side, she quickly unlocked her vehicle, opened the back door, and grabbed the cables. “This should do.” She slammed the door down. “Though I hope that I don’t do too much damage to the cables by using them in this manner.” She made her way back over the fence. “If I become stranded out in the middle of nowhere because of this, Pam is going to have to pay me back for this somehow.”

She quickly made her way towards the ladders and tied two of them together. “I hope this is enough because I don’t know if I have anything else to connect the third one. Uufff.”

She picked up the wooden ladder and tried to set them against the hole in the ceiling. Unfortunately, the top of the ladders just touched the roof. “Yes.” One side of the ladder slipped as she let go, and Quin grasped the device before it fell downward. “Crap.” She took a few steps back and repositioned her makeshift device, took a moment to shake it, and then took a step back.

“There, that should be good.” She looked up. “I just hope the roof is stable enough for my weight.” Quin put her right hand on the first rung. “Ok, Pam, here I come. I won’t let you explode.” She pulled herself up the rickety ladder. “I kind of wish I had some blueberry juice in my system right now.” She looked down. “It might be nice if I feel down right now. I have to imagine that would help make falling down from heights feel like jumping into a bed of pillows.” She shook her head and continued her climb. “If she wasn’t constantly filling up with juice, I wouldn’t think being a giant blueberry would be all that bad.”

A few moments later, she reached the apex of the ladder, and she pulled herself onto the roof. “Phew.” She shivered as she looked out over the dull barren slates. “Now, I just need to find my way over to where Pam is.” Quin sat on her hands and knees. “Hopefully, that won’t be too terribly difficult.” She shivered once more as the wind hit her in the face. “It is so cold up here.”

She involuntarily kicked out with her legs and kicked the ladder behind her over. She quickly turned her head. “Oh shit.” Before she could raise an arm, the ladder struck the ground with a mighty thud.

Quin fell onto her stomach with a sinking feeling in her gut. “I am trapped up here. What am I going to do?”

Suddenly the roof beneath her began to vibrate. “What is going on?”

“I heard something.”

“It is most likely nothing.”

“But what if that girl is still poking her nose around?” The vibrating suddenly stopped.

“Let her. The rest of the factory is sealed off. We made sure of that last night when we rolled that infected berry woman into the chamber. Now get back in here and help us make sure the walls don’t crack. We don’t need any of her juice seeping through and contaminating us.”

“Fine.” The ground began to vibrate once more, and Quin narrowed her eyes. “Well, at least they are not looking for me.” She turned around. “And they gave me a general idea on where Pam is.” She forced herself to her knees. “If the voices came from that way, then Pam should be that way as well.” She began to crawl forward. “I am coming, don't worry.” Quin gulped. “Besides, I need you to jump off this roof.”

A few moments later, she came to another hole in the ceiling. As she peered down, she could see a giant blue mass below her. “Pam.” She leaned over the ledge. “Pam, it’s me.

Quin.”

A bubbly voice echoed from below. “Quin? Where are you?”

“Up here.”

She could see Pam’s small blue head look up. “Get me out of here. They said they are going to let me explode. I don’t want to blow up.” She closed her eyes. “I can feel so much juice inside of me.”

“I am going to get you out of here. I just don’t know how yet.”

“Well, hurry. I don’t know how much longer I can keep swelling.” She shook her head.

Quin sat on the edge of the roof, crossed-legged. “How am I going to get her out of here? I can’t just open the door and roll her out like before. They have here locked in.” The roof suddenly shook beneath her, and she had to grab on the side to avoid falling down onto Pam. “What was that?”

“Oh, sorry.” Pam shook her head. “As I have been slowly growing in here, my body has been causing this room to shake.”

Quin’s eyes lit up. “That is it.” She jumped down, landed on Pam’s mushy body, and bounced up and down.

“Oww.” Pam shook her head. “I can feel the tidal waves of juice moving through my body.” She looked at Quin. “Did you have to do that?”

Quin grabbed Pam’s cheeks and smiled. “Yes. I know how to get us out of here and away from those hazmat weirdos.”

Pam’s face turned purple. “Really?”

Quin turned her head to the side. “Are you ok? Your face looks weird.”

Pam smiled. “Yes, I am delighted to see you. It is just the juice runs to my face when I feel good.”

Quin shrugged. “Well, then I am happy to see your big purple face.” She hugged Pam’s big purple head. “Now, let’s talk about how we get out of here.” Quin felt down and hugged Pam’s blue body as Pam trembled. “What is going on?”

Pam groaned. “Ugh, I am expanding again.” The walls around them shook, and a crack appeared on the ceiling above. When the shrinking stopped, Pam took a deep breath. “Please get me out of here.”

“Sure thing.” Quin ran her hand along her friend's cheek. “I need to ask you to try and roll that big massive body of yours.”

“Quin I am trapped in a small rectangular room. I can’t move.”

“Just try. We have to use your mass and break these walls down.” She walked along the top of Pam’s blueberry body to the edge of the wall and put her back against it. “We knock one wall down and keep rolling you until we get outside.”

“But if I start rolling, how will I stop? I am massive.”

“We get away from these weirdos first, and then we figure that out.” She pressed her back against the wall and used her feet to push on Pam. “Then we figure out how to get all of this juice out of you.”

Pam shook her head. “Right.” She turned her head. “Though I don’t think this is working, Quin.”

Quin groaned. “It has to. Come on. Use that massive blueberry body of yours.”

Pam closed her eyes. “I am trying.” She groaned.

“Ughhhh.”

Suddenly the walls around them began to make an ear-piercing sound. Quin looked around as bolts began to fly from the hinges around them. “Pam.”

“Ugghhhh.”

Suddenly one of the walls burst apart, and Pam began to roll forward. Quin fell onto her face. “Ugh.” She looked up as the edge of Pam’s body came closer and closer. “Crap.”

Quin jumped to her feet and ran for the center of her body. “Don’t roll me off your body.”

As Pam rolled out into the hallway, cries rose from below and right through another wall. Quien threw up her arms as the debris flew around her. “Whoa.” She looked down as she ran along Pam’s giant body. “Oh boy, they are following us. What are we going to do? Pam?”

She turned her head. “Where are you?”

“Down here.” Quin looked down to see Pam’s face coming up to her feet as her body rotated. “I am not sure I am going to like this.” Her head passed under Quin’s feet. “I almost wish I could retract into my body like a turtle.”

They went through another wall and bounced outside. Chrrrunch. “What was that?” Quin looked down as Pam rolled forward. “My car.” She narrowed her eyes as Pam came up again. “You crushed my car.”

“I am sorry. I can’t really control where I am going.”

Quin turned around. “Then I will try my best to steer you.” She altered direction, and to her luck, Pam began rolling to the right. “Perfect.” Quin’s eyes widened as she spotted a row of houses in the distance. “Oh no, no, no.” She began to turn Pam as hard as she could to the left.

“Move Pam, move.”

“Why?” After she had rotated Pam out of the way and down the next street. “Oh my, I almost ran down some houses.”

Quin wiped the sweat from her forehead. “That was close.” She turned her head. “Oh shit.”

Directly ahead of them stood an unfinished skyscraper. Quin tried to veer Pam out of the way, but it was too late; the pair rolled down into the construction yard. Pam rolled down into a dug-out piece of earth, and her momentum sent her flying out the other side like a pro skateboarder. Quin held onto Pam for dear life as they sailed up towards the mess of steel beams. Pam’s body struck the side of the building and bounced back towards the ground like a giant bouncy ball, a few bounces later coming to a complete stop.

Quin took a few deep breaths as she hugged Pam’s head. “At least we have stopped.” She blinked her eyes. “I don’t want to go on that ride ever again.”

Pam threw up blueberry juice. “You aren’t kidding.” She burped again. “I still feel sick. All of the juice inside of me is in knots.” She sighed. “Are the crazy people still following us?”

Quin held her hand over her stomach and stood up.

“I don’t see them anymore. I think you out-rolled them.” She fell down onto her back. “Good job.”

“Quin, we still have to get all of this juice out of me, though.”

Quin twisted around onto her chest. “I know. We will figure that out, ok.”

“Oh my god. It is the world's biggest blueberry.”

Quin raised an eyebrow. “Who said that?” She slowly crawled so she could see the pavement below. An odd-looking man looked up at her friend with a long red coat and red overalls. “Hey, you down there. What do you want with us?”

He looked up at Quin as he scratched his short grey hair. “What do you mean us? I just see you, lass.”

“Well, the “world’s biggest blueberry” is my friend. She is a person who has swell to this size.”

“Wait, you are serious.”

“Yes, and unless you want to help us, just move along.”

He turned around and began to mumble to himself. Quin shook her head and climbed back up towards Pam’s head.

“Hey, wait.” Quin turned around. “I will gladly help.”

“How so?”

“You need the giant blueberry lady moved, right?”

Quin shook her head. “No, we need all of this juice out of her before she explodes.”

The man mumbled some more to himself. “Perfect. Give me fifteen minutes, and I will help you two out.” He turned around. I promise I can help you and your blue friend out of this mess.” He rushed down the street waving at Quin.

Quin pulled herself up towards Pam’s face. “Well, I guess we are going to get some help after all.”

Pam forced a smile. “Good because I feel like an overstretched beach ball.” She sighed. “Do you think what those crazy people back there said is true?”

Quin moved, so she sat cross-legged on Pam’s body. “What are you talking about?”

“That the blueberry juice inside my body could cause this to happen to other people? To you? I mean, I don’t want to turn you into a giant blueberry like this.”

Quin tapped her friend. “Hey, yesterday you were liking your new form.”

She smiled. “I still do. It feels nice and all.” She tilted her head to the side. “It is just the ever-expanding thing. If I was just a semi-big blueberry, and that was that.” Her eyes suddenly lit up. “Able to soak up the sun’s rays, have you sprinkle me with water. Oh, that would just be wonderful.”

Quin laughed and smiled. “Umm, that sounds like a bit too much like a blueberry there, Pam.”

She laughed. “Well, it opens up your views to things that you couldn’t imagine. You feel things that you couldn’t before.” She lowered her gaze. “But I just feel so overstuffed that my senses are in pain. I guess there is too much of a good thing.”

Quin ran her hand along Pam’s body. “Well, we will get all of that juice out of you soon. Don’t worry.” She winced as Pam’s body trembled from a sudden growth spurt. “Just hold on a little longer.”

The strange man pulled up in a red pickup truck a few minutes later. On the back of the vehicle stood an odd-looking device. Quin peered down from the top of Pam and scratched her head. “What in the world is that?”

The man slammed the door to his vehicle. “This? This is a little thing I have been working on to suck the air out of those massive balloons you see in those balloon races.” He made some strange gestures with his hands. “But I have been experimenting on how to both suck the air out and put it back in. Kind of a one thing fits all.” He pointed up at Quin. “I never caught your name before.”

“Quin.” She tapped the side of her friend. “And this is Pam.”

“I am Red. Or at least that is what everyone calls me.” He turned around and picked up a giant nozzle. “So you want to slide down here and help a follow out?”

Quin narrowed her eyes. “What exactly do you plan on doing, Red?”

He held the nozzle up in his hands. “I am going to stick this in your friend and pump all of the juice out.” He scratched his head with his left hand. “I think it should work like pumping all of the air out of one of those hot air balloons.”

Quin slid down the side of Pam and onto the ground. “You are not sticking anything into my friend like she is some. . . well, blueberry.”

“You want the juice out of her, right.”

Quin threw up her arms. “Well, ya.”

“Then move aside. I have work to do. Trust me, this is perfectly safe.”

“Quin, what is going on down there?”

She turned around. “Don’t worry, everything will be fine. We will find another, safer way to dejuice you.”

Red suddenly thrust the nozzle into Pam’s body. “Owww!” Blueberry juice squirted onto the ground and onto Quin and Red. “What happened? It felt like something big stuck its finger inside of me.”

Red put his hand on Pam’s side. “I just put my machinery in you. Give me a few moments, and we will have all of that nasty juice out of you.”

Quin ran in front of him, her eyes burning into his soul. “Don’t you dare hurt her anymore.”

He held up his pale hands. “Hey, I am helping her. Though I have to say I am colorfully surprised that a woman’s voice came out from the top of that thing.” He chuckled.

“She just cried out in pain when you thrust that piece of crap into her body. Do you really think I am going to let you do this?”

“If we don’t, that juice is going to seep out of her like an open wound. Now either we do this the safe way, or we can be covered in a tidal wave of her insides. And I am sure that wouldn’t be pleasant for the poor blueberry woman.” He rolled his eyes. “I still can’t believe that thing was a lady.”

Quin crossed her arms. “Just hurry.”

He walked over and climbed on his truck. “It will be a chinch. This baby can deflate up to ten giant balloons. It should be able to suck out all of the juice inside of your buddy.” He flipped on the switch, and the machine roared to life, a puff of smoke puffing out of the top.

Quin crossed her arms. “I am scared already.” She watched as thick blue goo traveled through the pipe and into a massive chamber on Red’s truck. Quin walked over and ran her hand along Pam’s body as the process began to ramp up. “How are you holding up?”

A strange groan drifted down from above. “Ohhhhhh. This feels oddly satisfying. Ohhhhh.”

Red crossed his arms. “See. She likes it.”

Quin shook her head. “But. . .” She threw her arms up. “Whatever.”

Blueberry juice suddenly squirted out of the pipe and into Quin’s face. “Ugh.” She wiped her face, but it only made the juice spread. “I need a towel or something.”

“Here.”

Red tossed her a piece of cloth. She used it to wipe her face. “Ughh. I can taste the blueberries.” Quin blinked her eyes. “Gross, I can taste Pam’s blueberries insides.”

Red walked up and grasped her shoulder. “It isn’t all that bad. Imagine what that juice would be worth?”

“What?”

“Why do you think I want to help you out here? I plan on selling all of this juice.”

Quin’s eyes went wide as Pam quickly deflated. “Are you crazy? People could possibly turn into blueberries by just touching that juice.” The moment the realization hit her, she shook her head. “Oh crap, crap, crap.”

“Hey, calm down. I don’t think things are as bad as that. I don’t see you turning blue or anything.” He touched his chin. “Though if that was true. . .”

Pam’s arms and legs began to grow back out of her round body. “Hey, this is working. Thanks, Mr. Red.”

He gave Pam a thumbs up. “No problem, my plumb darling.” He turned his head as sparks began to fly from his machine. “Oh crap. It is filled to the brim with juice. I need to relieve the pressure.” He rushed over.

Quin shook her head. “What is going on?”

“Climb up on the top and open the hatch.”

Quin began to climb up the slippery tubes of Red's strange machine. “Why? What is going on?”

He slammed his hand down on the side of the truck. “The damn thing is almost full.

If that happens, it will automatically go into reverse and pump all of that juice back into your friend. You want that?”

Pam shook her head. “I don’t want that juice back inside my body.” She touched her hips. “This is a good amount.”

Red turned around. “We are getting all of it out of you, and that is that.” He looked up at Quin. “Now get that lid off before we pop your friend like a giant blue balloon.”

Quin grasped the container's lid and tried to unscrew it like a giant water bottle. “Come on.” Blue juice squirted out of the sides as she twisted the cover more and more. “Get off already.”

Quin fell down with the lid in her hands as blueberry juice poured out from the top of the machine. “Yes, I did it.” She winced as she threw the heavy disk to the side. “How is Pam looking?”

Red shrugged. “Well, more like a normal human now. If a blue human.”

Quin stood up to see Pam as she shrunk down to her usual size, the roundness of her frame all but gone. Pam moved her limbs with ease as she stretched her arms and rocked back and forth on her legs. “Oh, I feel so much better now.” She grasped the nozzle which stuck out of her chest. “I think we can take this out now.”

Red held up his hand. “Not until we get all of the juice.”

Quin stood up. “Come on. She is better.”

“Not yet.”

The blue color began to drain away from Pam’s body. She blinked her eyes, the amber in her eyes appearing once more. “Hey. Look at me.” She raised her pale-colored arm. “It is really all going away.”

The machine chugged to a stop, and Red walked forward. “Ok, now we can take it out.” He pulled the nozzle out of her chest. Oddly enough, there was only a small dark hole in her stomach.

Pam gently touched it as Quin walked over. “Is Pam going to be alright?”

Red shrugged. “I don’t know. That wound seems to be alright to me.” He packed his equipment up on his truck. “Though if you are really concerned, you can take her to a hospital. Use some common sense, why don’t you. Look, I have to go. Have some blueberry juice to sell and all that.”

Quin narrowed her eyes. “Well, thanks anyways.” She shrugged. “I guess too bad there isn’t more of these giant blueberries for you; otherwise, you could make a killing.”

He laughed. “Ya, well, you are on to something.” He opened the door to his truck. “Good luck. And if she swells again, call me.” Red drove off down the road.

Quin turned around and threw her hands around Pam.

“I am so happy you are ok.”

Pam laughed. “Hey, I am happy to be back too. But can we focus on the important things first?”

Quin took a few steps back. “What is that?”

Pam ran her hands along her body. “I need some clothes. I mean, it was fine to be naked as a blueberry, but I am not one anymore so. . .”

Quin laughed. “Of course. Let’s head back to my place; it’s closer.”

The pair began to walk off into the distance. “Quin, I do have to ask you something.”

“What?”

“Those strange people said that juice that came out of me could cause others to turn into blueberries as well as those strange flies that we let out. Do you think people in town will start turning into giant berries?”

Quin shook her head. “Don’t be absurd. We can’t possibly listen to crazy people in crazier-looking suits. They were trying to scare you.”

“You are probably right.”