Interactive: Climbing the Ladder, ch. 16 (Patreon)

Shawn leaned back in his chair and rubbed his tired eyes, his head spinning.  Duncan had him working on a budget report all afternoon for an HB&L exploratory expedition to somewhere in South America.  The location was classified, but he saw line items for everything from climbing equipment to scuba gear.  The team was evidently hoping to find something in the cenotes and aquatic subterranean cave systems, but he had no idea what they were looking for.  It was odd, but certainly not the strangest figures he’d reviewed, and he learned right away not to ask questions.  He figured if it was anything too nefarious they’d keep it well away from an entry-level number cruncher like himself.  

But it was always exhausting.  Shawn felt like he was looking at the data through a filter, like he could never quite get a handle on it.  It was tedious, sure, but it was the kind of basic stuff he’d done during the freshman year of his business degree.  It shouldn’t have left him as drained at the end of the day as it did.  By the time he made it back to his room at the end of his shift he didn’t care what the numbers were for.  They were the last thing he wanted to think about, and with the myriad distractions in the Tower, he usually never did.  

He hit save on the spreadsheet and stretched his muscled arms over his head, the biceps flexing impressively as his back arched away from the chair.  On anyone else the routine motion wouldn’t have been noteworthy, but with his athletic torso clad in nothing but a lace teddy the absentminded reflex turned into a seductive posing.  The effect was magnified when Shawn spun in his chair and showed off the stuffed, matching lace briefs and sheer leggings that terminated in a pair of garters around his hairy thighs.  

Duncan liked it better when he wore the leather, but despite the rush of embarrassment he felt whenever he slipped into the more feminine outfit, the softer fabrics were more comfortable when Shawn was glued to his desk all day.  The heels weren’t as comfortable, but he didn’t walk that much during the day anyway, and the way they forced him to stand made his perky bubble look fantastic.  His gym gear wasn’t bad either, with the cut off muscle shirts and assless running shorts, but he had to save those for casual days.  

Shawn looked around as he stood, still not understanding the quick gut punch of humiliation as he looked at his coworkers in their business casual outfits.  A small, quiet voice in his head told him that he should be dressed the same, in chinos and a shirt and tie, not with his girthy package on display in a pair of nearly see-through underwear.  The way everyone looked at him didn’t help either, how their eyes would flash wide or their faces red when they first saw him, only to settle on his twitching cock, exposed bubble, or sparsely-haired pecs, all of which were inevitably exposed.  He’d brought it up to Duncan, but the big brute had only laughed it off, asking Shawn if he wanted to be dressed like them.  Shawn always quickly and forcefully said no.  The idea of being wrapped up and covered in such a way was almost physically repellant, and whether he understood it or not, the dark-haired stud liked the way he felt when people looked at him.  

With his project as far as he could take it for the day, Shawn locked his computer and headed for the elevator, his heels clacking loudly on the way.  He waved goodnight to his coworkers as he passed, his stomach fluttering as he felt their eyes land on his shifting, barely-covered globes.  He hoped Cayden would be home when he got there, his cock already twitching in anticipation.  The compact power bottom loved getting fucked by Shawn in this outfit, and the scantily clad man was all too happy to oblige.  Normally he’d take a few “breaks” with Duncan throughout the day, but the hulking blonde had been in meetings all afternoon and he’d barely seen him.  

Shawn could tell something big was going on behind the scenes.  He’d asked Duncan about it a few times in bed, hoping the distraction would get the burly blonde to slip up, but he always just shrugged and said it was “need to know” only.  Duncan kept hinting that there could be room for advancement in Shawn’s future, though the way he said it always made Shawn wonder if that was a good thing or not.  Depending on Duncan’s mood he figured he’d try again later that evening, knowing that after a day of meetings the hulking man would need his help to blow off steam.  

“Hey, Shawn, wait up!”  

Shawn paused as soon as he stepped out the door, turning to see AJ hurrying in his direction.  He grinned as the gorgeous blonde looked him up and down, loving it all the more when someone as good looking as AJ gave him the eye.  He didn’t care that the taller adonis could have comfortably fit into an actual pair of lace women’s panties with his tiny endowment, and his cock surged at the thought.  “Hey man, what’s up?” 

“Dude, those shoes cannot be comfortable,” AJ said, nodding down at Shawn’s high heels.  

Shawn shrugged.  “They’re not, but they go with the outfit.”

“That’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about…” 

“You like it?” Shawn interrupted.  He posed and flexed, his muscled, masculine frame a sharp contrast to the soft lace garments.  

AJ pried his eyes from Shawn’s sheer bulge and searched his friend’s face as he spoke.  “The more important question is, do you?”  

Shawn looked down at himself and ran a hand along the teddy that accentuated his tight, tapering waist.  “Of course!  What’s not to like?” he asked, his tone hesitant.  

AJ motioned for them to keep walking, slowing his longer stride to let Shawn’s clacking, heel-clad feet keep up.  “It’s just a pretty radical shift these last couple weeks, you know?  One day you’re dressed like me, and the next I see you showing up to the office in a leather harness.”  

“Duncan told me it’s okay,” Shawn said defensively.  He’d gone from enjoying AJ’s probing eyes to feeling uncomfortable.  Something about the taller man was making that quiet voice in his head louder, and Shawn could feel himself blushing with every loud footfall of his shoes on the pavement.  

“I’m sure he did,” AJ sighed.  “I was afraid this might happen.”  

“Afraid what might happen?”  

“It’s not going to make any sense if I try and explain this to you right now.  All I can do is show you.”  

“Uh...in there?”  Shawn hesitated when AJ started to lead him down the walking path towards the woods.  “I don’t know if I want to see anything in those trees.”  

“You’re fine as long as you stay with me.  I have a spot out there they can’t see.”  

The pair was well down the path before Shawn realized what his friend had just said.  “Wait...who can’t see?  Is something actually out there?”  

AJ nodded, a sad look on his face.  “That’s why I need to get you out of here.  It’s my fault you’re in the state you’re in...if you stick around it’s only going to get worse.”  

Shawn grabbed AJ’s arm when they stepped from the path and his heels caught on the forest floor, but he held onto it from the memory of his terrifying jog through the dark trees around them. “Your fault?  Because I changed my wardrobe?”  

“Not just that.  All of it.  Cayden and Eric too...everyone who’s been caught up in the unintended effects.  We didn’t know this would happen.”  

“Who’s ‘we’?  And why do you keep acting like something terrible happened?  Cayden and Eric, hell, everyone in the Tower, seems perfectly happy.”  

“Just like you,” AJ said softly as he led them into a small, circular clearing of trees.  “If it’s any consolation, they actually ARE happy.  One of the things that makes this place so insidious is how much you love being devoured by it.”  He stepped away and began making sweeping passes with his arms, his fingers moving as though he was plucking strands of spiderwebs from the air.  “There’s no pleasant way to do this,” he said, “so I’m just going to rip the bandaid off.”  

Shawn gasped as AJ made a final gesture, jerking and tensing like he’d just started awake from a nightmare.  His eyes were wide, his chest heaving for breath as he frantically looked around.  As soon as his eyes drifted down to his outfit he gave a mortified groan and turned a deep shade of crimson.  “Wha...what did you just...what am I wear...oh...oh god...I’ve been wearing this all day?!  Everywhere?  People actually see me like…” his shaking voice trailed off as a wave of awareness washed over him.  He’d had moments of clarity before, but they were brief and hazy.  Now, he saw everything in high definition, his descent from average jock to depraved exhibitionist standing out with perfect clarity. 

His stomach turned when he thought about how often he traipsed around the Tower naked, and the public jerk offs in the shower, or how he walked around the office hard and leaking before finally showing up in next to nothing at all.  He whimpered at the memory of eagerly fingering himself while he watched Cayden bounce on Eric’s lap, the images of his friends shifting in his mind.  He saw them both as they should be, taller for Cayden, leaner for Eric, and felt like a fool for not recognizing the changes as they happened.  His diminishing wardrobe was one thing, but his roommate had literally lost over a foot in height and they’d all just gone along with it.  

Worse, though, was how the crushing embarrassment made his knees weak.  Shawn was horrified at what he’d been doing in public, but that horror made his cock surge like never before.  The eager organ sprang free from the lacy confines, and even through his obliterating humiliation Shawn had to fight the urge to grab it and start pumping.  

“Just breathe,” AJ said, his tone gentle as he put a hand on Shawn’s shoulder.  “I’ve been there.  I know how jarring this is.”  

Shawn slumped to his knees, the debris-covered ground tearing small holes in his leggings.  “What...what kind of nightmare is this place?”  

“The kind that makes other nightmares,” AJ said, dropping down to be level with his stunned friend.  “You don’t need me to tell you that the world doesn’t work the way most people think it does.  But this place?  It’s just the tip of the iceberg.”  

Shawn stared at his throbbing cock as it pointed in AJ’s direction.  He felt like he should try and cover himself, or at least that he should want to, but he was content to leave the rigid organ exposed.  “You said you’ve been here?  What’d they do to you?”  

The stunning blonde gave a short, cold laugh.  “You can probably guess, at least part of it.  When I showed up I was just an average guy like you.  I wasn’t in the kind of shape that you are, but not bad.  I wasn’t the best looking, either, but I was hung.  I guess somewhere along the way someone around here in a position of power thought it would be fun to make some changes.  I started bulking up and my features started sharpening, but along the way eight inches became five, then three, and now this,” he said, cupping his tiny package.  “I thought I was going crazy.  I knew it was happening, that it shouldn’t be possible, but I couldn’t do anything about it.  At least not until I was approached by the Learned.”  He raised a hand to cut off Shawn’s next question.  “Not now.  Even in this protected space I have to watch what I say.  The short version is they needed someone on the inside to try and put a stop to this place.  They’re not as strong, not yet, anyway, but they’ve got tricks of their own.  We tried to cut off the flow of energy feeding this place...what we didn’t anticipate was there being the kind of backlash you got caught up in.”  

“Feeding?  I don’t know what you’re…” 

“It’s not important right now.  What’s important is that they can get you out.  It’s not safe for you here, not anymore.  You’re dressed like this because Duncan couldn’t get my name out of you.  He’ll keep trying to make an example, and trust me when I say there are worse ways you could end up.  You’ve met Taylor.”  

Shawn paled when he thought about Benton’s slender assistant.  He’d always seen the man as professionally dressed, but now he saw his lithe, supple frame with its missing equipment.  The same went for Duncan, who he suddenly remembered as the prettyboy he should have been, not the lumbering bruiser he’d become.  “Wait...Duncan...why is he…and how is Benton’s ass so big?”  Shawn’s cock surged again at the now-clear image of Benton’s muscled, masculine body with its massively oversized rear.  

“Power comes with a price around here, which is all the more reason why you need to go.  I know Duncan’s mentioned you moving up to some “special” projects.  That’s what Benton told him, and you’ve seen how he turned out.”  

Shawn looked down at himself again, hating how much he loved the feeling of the tight lace against his torso.  “So if I just leave, does this stop?  Do I go back to normal?”  

AJ’s expression told Shawn what he needed to know before the handsome man spoke.  “It’s not so simple as just quitting.  They don’t just let people leave around here.  And even if they did...I’m sorry, but what’s done is done.  Reality has literally been rewritten to include this version of you.  They don’t have the kind of power to overwrite that, and even if they did, that’s not the sort of thing to toss around.  They do it here because they WANT to punch holes in the fabric of existence to let the others in.  That’s what we’re trying to stop.”  Shawn was too focused on being told that his future looked the way he did now to fully grasp the last half of Shawn’s statement.  “But I can at least get you out.  We can slip you through one of the cracks they made and leave you a blindspot the way I am.”  

Shawn shook his head and snapped the elastic of his tiny briefs.  “And then what?  I just go around like this?!”  

“The Learned will get you set up.  I know this isn’t what you wanted to hear, but out there you’re at least free.  And I’m sure they’d be happy to have you if you want to join the fight.”  

“What about Cayden and Eric?  I can’t just leave them!”  

“I’ll work on getting them out, but I think they’re as safe as they can be.  The higher ups seem fixated on you specifically.  Once you’re gone that attention should shift back to looking for me, and I have a feeling your disappearance will lead to a change in management.”  AJ pulled Shawn to his feet, casting a glance at the forest around them.  “Look...I know this is a lot, but we need to do this now.  I’m sorry you got caught up in this, but the best I can offer at the moment is to get you in the hands of people who’ll take care of you.”  

Shawn didn’t know what to say.  The thought of stepping into a future where he’d be stuck as the exposed, lustful new version of himself was far from appealing.  At the same time, though, he knew AJ was right.  After everything he’d seen, there was no way he could stick around.  Even if he was a better actor and could hide what he knew, it was only a matter of time before something worse happened to him.  “Okay...okay.  How do we do this?”  

AJ made another strange gesture with his hand and pointed at a blurry spot that appeared in front of them.  Shawn instinctively drew back, but the taller man pushed him forward.  “That’s not like the other ones you felt out here,” he said, giving Shawn’s solid cheeks a final squeeze.  “Just step into it.  They’re expecting you on the other side.  Trust me...you’ll be in good hands.”  

Fighting back a surge of guilt at leaving his tiny roommate behind, Shawn took a deep breath and stepped forward.  

**********

“Damn, Timmy, that was a hell of a night.  You were on fire out there.”

“Thanks!” Benton chirped in the dull, eager tone he hated so much.  The middle aged hunk’s pillowy cheeks were sore from bouncing and shaking all night, not to mention the group of satisfied young men who’d ridden him to the point of exhaustion.  He’d worn them out, Timmy was quick to note when they were done, not the other way around.  

Mike grinned from behind the bar as he took the wadded fistfuls of money when Timmy waddled over.  “How much you pull in?” he asked, laughing at Timmy’s confused expression.  “I’m just fuckin’ with ya.  I know you can’t count.”

“Can to!” Timmy whined while Benton bristled inside.  The part of him that was Timothy Benton, wealthy executive, wanted to reach across the bar and strangle the burly ox of a man, but all he could do was watch while his dominant Timmy persona stuck out his lower lip and pouted.  For the past several weeks he’d been forced to spend his nights just like this, flaunting his muscled body, flaccid cock and impossible ass with a brain that worked at a quarter of its normal speed.  Benton knew it was supposed to be teaching him a lesson, but he argued that all it really did was slow him down and waste time that could have been spent looking for the saboteur.  

Upper management had other ideas, and so every night Benton was forced to step from a life of privilege and power to one where he was nothing more than a dimwitted go-go boy, unable to even do something as simple as counting money.  

“Yeah?  How much is this, then?”  

Benton hated his dual impotence as Timmy stared at the bill in Mike’s hand.  He knew that it was knowledge he possessed, he just couldn’t access it.  “Umm...one?” Timmy said, chewing on a finger.  

He giggled when Mike reached over and tousled his hair.  “You’re sorta right.  There’s one bill in my hand, but how much is it worth?” There was another pause as Timmy struggled for the knowledge before finally giving up with a shrug.  “It’s okay...we don’t keep you around for your brains, do we?”  

“Nope!” Timmy cheered, giving his ample bottom a shake as he turned towards the door.  His night shift was up, and Benton wanted nothing more than to open it and step through from the club back into his office.  

His stomach dropped when he opened it and saw a dark, empty street outside.  He stood, blinking at the pools of streetlight, his skin breaking out in goosebumps at the cool evening air as a voice echoed in his head.  

“The seed escaped.  You failed to find the agent working against us, and you let the seed escape.”  Benton screamed at himself in his mind, desperately wanting to protest but only standing in numb silence.  “This was a costly setback and it happened on your watch, Benton.  As such, I regret to inform you that your services are no longer required at Hadley, Bowen & Lath.  Enjoy your new position as we try and clean up this mess.”  

Benton gasped, feeling the door slam shut in his mind even as the one leading to his new future stood open before him.  He was still aware of himself as Benton, only now he stuck as a passenger in Timmy’s limited mind, forever aware of how things should be but unable to find his way back to that reality.  

“Whoa, hey, not so fast Timmy,” Mike said, giving Timmy’s exposed rear a squeeze as he pulled the door shut.  “I’ve still got cleanup and you can’t just walk out there naked like that,” he laughed, handing Timmy a shiny pink thong.  “Why don’t you start putting the stools up?  We’ll be on our way home in no time.  Think you can handle that?”  

Benton roared in Timmy’s mind, but the addled dancer just nodded and flashed his perpetual dull grin.  “Sure thing!”