Fir Hollow, ch. 18: The Hunt (Patreon)

Matt had less than an hour left.  He’d finally made it to the edge of town, his lungs burning and his warped body aching.  With his new shape and altered attributes the trip had been grueling, but he couldn’t stop to rest or even begin to process any of it.  Three of them had already hit him, and if he didn’t want to be stuck in his freakish new body, which would undoubtedly get worse if the fourth managed to find him, he had to make it to sunrise.

He was mortified at the thought of being seen in his current state, but he didn’t have a choice.  The things were nimble and quick, could scale trees like squirrels and leap impossible distances, which made even the dense forest useless at providing cover.  Matt was sure they could see in the dark much better than he could, so he hoped a more urban setting would work to his advantage.  It may have been a futile gesture, but at least there were streetlights and brick walls and doors that could be closed.

He didn’t know what the things were or why any of this was happening, but he was certain that, despite their outward appearance, they couldn’t be anything close to human.  When he’d seen the four of them on his way up the mountain earlier in the evening he hadn’t thought anything of it.  They looked perfectly normal, like any other group out for a sunset hike.  The two women had long brown and blonde hair respectively, their lithe frames clad in loose tank-tops and yoga pants, while the two athletic men accompanying them were similar in appearance, with cropped hair the same shade as well as complementing tanks and cargo shorts.  They seemed to be in their mid-twenties, about his age, and he initially wrote them off as tourists.  They had remarkably pale skin and sharp, angular features, but it wasn’t uncommon to have international visitors in Fir Hollow.  Matt figured they were probably from some Eastern European country and stopped thinking about them altogether as he left them behind and huffed his way up the side of the mountain.

It was a hard climb, even for someone as fit as himself who’d spent their whole life clambering up and down the surrounding cliffs.  Trail running, rock climbing, kayaking; Matt did it all, leaving the young brunette with a rugged, natural build.  He preferred to exercise outdoors as opposed to somewhere like Max, despite how hot the trainers were, and his plan for the evening had been to go for a jog to the top, take in the sunset, and then call it an early night.

That plan had been derailed as soon as he reached the summit and stepped around the final boulder to find the group waiting for him.  Despite Matt leaving them behind and moving at a steady trot the alabaster quartet had somehow beaten him to the plateau.  And while his own tank-top was damp and plastered to his sturdy torso, the wiry brown fur on his pecs matted and glistening with sweat, the others weren’t so much as breathing heavy.  It didn’t make sense.  Matt knew there weren’t any shortcuts or other paths, only the one trail up and back, so there was no way they should have arrived before him.  They would have had to sprint, and even if he’d somehow missed their passing it didn’t explain how perfect they still looked, with not a hair out of place or a single disheveled article of clothing.  It was as if they’d been picked up at the start of the trail and set down at the top, which was almost easier to believe given the stiff silence that surrounded them.

They weren’t talking to each other, and they barely moved.  Their expressions never wavered from a stoic neutral, nor did the panting young man see any of them so much as blink.  It would have been easy to mistake them for mannequins until one would tilt their head slightly, or give a barely-perceptible shift in their stance.

Matt had intended to watch the sunset, but he was too unnerved by their presence to stick around.  He’d heard enough stories and had witnessed the after effects of enough bizarre encounters to push his luck.  Fir Hollow already had a four-legged fellow who, some folks said, had started out with the proper number of limbs before sticking his nose where it didn’t belong in the very same woods.  Matt didn’t know if he necessarily believed that, but, watching the silent group begin to glow a sinister crimson as their pale skin reflected the setting sun, he didn’t want to find out.

Hoping to not draw their attention, Matt backed away towards the bend that would lead him to the trail only to have four heads snap towards him in unison after a handful of steps.  It was jarring enough to make him run, but when he attempted to flee the terrified young man found his body locked in place.  The strangers still said nothing, standing in silence as their unblinking eyes burned in his direction.  All Matt could do was stare back at the group while the sun dropped lower and lower behind them.  He tried to fight against the invisible force holding him in place, but he couldn’t muster the actual impulse.  He knew on a logical level that he should be turning and running, only to come up empty when he tried to turn that knowledge into action.  It was as if the very concepts of running and struggling had been erased from his brain.

After several minutes that stretched like hours in the terrifying silence, Matt gradually began to notice the strange thoughts filtering into his stunned mind.  The strangers weren’t speaking, their lips remained motionless and no sound left their rigid bodies, but the frozen man knew they were somehow the source.  Though he heard the thoughts in his own voice, the ideas originated elsewhere, punching through in staccato rhythm.

Dark.  Run.  Hide.  Catch.  Four.  Change.  Lose.  Stuck.  Light.  Win.  Hunt.

Matt’s stomach dropped at that last thought, his heart racing despite his inability to follow through on the surge of adrenaline that accompanied it.  The thoughts came through in broken pieces, but he confusingly understood it all with horrifying clarity.  These things were telling him he was to be hunted.  If he made it to sunrise he won; if each of them “changed” him before then, whatever that meant, he would lose and be stuck with whatever they did.

In answer to Matt’s unspoken question the blonde woman’s eyes had flashed iridescent.  He’d felt a buzzing tingle wash over him from head to toe, but it took several moments of blinking down at himself before he realized what had occurred.  Instead of looking at a familiar, chocolate brown dusting, Matt’s pecs and forearms were now coated with the same golden yellow of her hair.  He didn’t need a mirror to know that he’d somehow just gone from brunette to blonde in an instant, nor did he need further convincing to run when movement returned to his limbs moments later.

Matt had taken off at a sprint, hurtling down the trail as fast as his toned legs would carry him.  His eyes were slow in adjusting to the spreading darkness now that the sun had set, but a mostly-full moon provided at least a dim illumination for him to work with.  His mind reeled at the implication of what had just been done to his body, and he felt a stab of embarrassment when he pictured his now-flaxen scalp, and a face coated in a sandy stubble instead of the dark brown he was used to.  That embarrassment quickly turned to dread when he thought about what else they could do, so he tried to focus only on his escape as he tore across the slope.  He didn’t hear anyone pursuing him, but given their appearance at the top of the trail Matt doubted that meant anything.

That suspicion was borne out moments later when a slender brunette stepped from behind a tree in front of him, barring his path.  Without thinking Matt had hooked to the right and loped off-trail, now forced to stumble noisily across the forest floor.  He was agile and experienced enough with trail running to maintain his footing, but his pace had been slowed while the effort he had to expend had doubled.  He kept seeing shadowy forms out of the corner of his eye, only to look over and find a moonlit tree where he thought a person stood.  His gasp of relief would be short lived when he turned his attention back in front of him to see a pale man waiting only yards ahead.  Matt would hit the brakes and hook off again, and eventually he began to realize they were toying with him, either wearing him down on purpose or simply enjoying the chase.

But he didn’t have a choice.  Matt ran their gauntlet until his lungs felt like they were made of lead in his chest.  He zigged and zagged, leapt over fallen trees, slid under low branches, and clambered over fallen boulders, never making it far before catching sight of a pale figure in the distance.

When Matt finally had to stop and catch his breath he found a dense thicket and did his best to creep in silently.  The trees and scrubby growth provided cover on nearly all sides as he leaned against a trunk and quietly gasped for air, blessing the harsh terrain instead of cursing it.  If it wasn’t for the mountain slope he would have had no idea where he was or which direction he needed to head to make it back to town.  So while the constant backtracking uphill was exhausting, it at least pointed the way towards his best hope for salvation, which became an increasingly dire need moments later.

After a few minutes of quiet panting Matt heard a rustle in the branches above him.  He looked up and saw the crouching blonde man hunched on a limb just as the stranger’s eyes went iridescent.  A fresh wave of tingling washed over him, this time centered on his chest, and Matt bit back a scream when his toned pecs abruptly ballooned outward.  The modest mounds inflated to impossible, exaggerated proportions, jutting off his torso as a gravity defying shelf of muscle so large he couldn’t see over it.

Matt staggered away from the tree, letting out a gasp, then a groan, as he fell to his knees.  The gasp came from his shock, but the groan came from something else entirely.  As soon as he’d moved, the sensation of his now-straining tank shifting over the jutting muscle tits and enlarged nipples was like a live-wire of bliss.  His cock shot to attention as he stumbled upright, only making it another few steps before a wave of weak-kneed ecstasy brought him low again.  The slightest sensation against the heaping mounds was overwhelming, and Matt could already feel himself cumming as he wriggled out of the too-small top.  Exposing the meaty slab brought a little relief, but the distracting darts of pleasure were constant as the vibrations of his footfalls sent ripples through the excessive muscle and the wiry hairs had become pleasure receptors, tingling against the warm night air.

When he climbed to his feet and looked up the man was gone, evidently having fulfilled his part of the hunt.  Matt didn’t know why they all hadn’t seized upon him while he was down, or why they didn’t just herd him into a corner and hit him all at once.  It felt like his pursuers were playing a game, and he could only guess that there were some rules or a scoring system he didn’t fully understand.

A surge of anger joined his terror then as he thought about his warped body being nothing but fun and games for his tormentors.  He tried to hold onto that more than the blinding panic that vied for his attention, but with his overactive cock now thrown into the mix it was all he could do to keep moving forward.  He came two more times as he ran; once from the jarring and bouncing of his flight, and the second when he finally reached up to prod the ballooning mountains.  He was grateful to find them solid with muscle, but even his tentative explorations were enough to push him over the edge.  Matt couldn’t help but appreciate the irony that he’d become a big titted blonde, his favorite type.

With the added distraction, it hadn’t taken long before the second one found him.  Matt knew he had to be getting close to the base of the mountain, and he’d let his eagerness get the better of him.  He saw the slender blonde out of the corner of his eye, but instead of leaping for cover at the sight of one of them as he had been, he kept going.  He realized his mistake as soon as he saw the flash, but by then it was too late.  An instant later he was back on his knees, frantically tearing at the fly of his shorts as a blinding, constricting pain punched him in his abdomen.  He’d let out a deep grunt and had nearly blacked out when he finally shoved the shorts down and saw the bloated wine bottle of a cock that sprung free.  Instead of an average six inches that he couldn’t even see of his juicy new pecs, he had an impossible beast jutting an impossible length.  It was so girthy it split the fly of his boxers, and his equally inflated balls were clearly outlined as they pressed against the worn fabric.

Matt screamed.  He didn’t need to be quiet; they clearly knew where he was.  The sound echoed through the silent trees and for a moment he’d considered just giving up.  The shock of it all was too much.  With his warped chest and obscene new endowment he was staring down the barrel of a very different future.  His despair told him there was no point, that they’d never let him make it so he might as well just get it over with, but he couldn’t let himself believe that.  He’d kicked out of his shorts and was back on his feet, his pace now slowed considerably by the bobbing girder, the bouncing shelf, and the near-constant sputtering that issued from the churning grapefruits that were his balls.

As he’d darted from tree to boulder and back to tree he’d tried to tell himself that, while he’d been impaired by his new proportions, there were only two more to worry about.  And for whatever reason, they seemed to wait for him to see them as opposed to just blasting him in the back.  That had given him the opportunity to dodge a trio of attempts by the nimble brunette as she bounded through the canopy like a jungle cat.  Matt had actually seen the blasts hit the tree above his head as he’d ducked, and vanish into the ground when he’d sidestepped and jumped out of the way.

He’d been confident that he would’ve been able to keep it up if not for an unfortunately slick patch of ground.  After vaulting a fallen pine he’d come down on a loose cluster of branches, causing him to stumble just as his pursuer landed in a nearby tree.  He’d looked up in time to see her let loose another barrage, but he hadn’t been able to do anything to avoid it.

This time the constricting pain was blessedly brief.  A loud ripping sound overtook his gasp as, like his chest, his perky bubble exploded outward.  The formerly solid little cheeks were like a pair of basketballs strapped to his lower back, the extra flesh flowing down to fill out his toned thighs, leaving his lower half thick and curvy.  The elastic band of his boxers was still in place around his tight waist but the rest were in tattered shreds against the onslaught of growth.  Matt had stumbled, his eyes going wide at the way his pillowy new rear shook and bounced, and at the sudden sensation of his unleashed balls swaying like a heavy pendulum.  His thighs rubbed together in an unfamiliar way and, like his chest, each step sent little bolts of pleasure to his oversized rod as the cheeks shook and clapped together.  But he couldn’t fall.  If he fell he wouldn’t get up again, and he’d almost made it back to town.

Now, with the sky starting to show the first signs of sunrise, Matt was more determined than ever.  He lumbered through the quiet streets on the outskirts of town, hoping no one would see him in his current state.  He didn’t think he could make it to his own house, but Todd’s wasn’t far off and he knew his friend rarely locked his doors.  If he could make it inside and barricade them he might be able to hold out for the last half hour.  He didn’t relish the idea of even a close friend like Todd seeing him, but he’d deal with the humiliation later.

Matt mustered as much of his remaining energy as he could when the small bungalow came into view.  He raced around the side and up the back stoop, never more grateful for his friend’s laid back approach to security than when the backdoor opened without issue.  He slammed it shut and locked it behind him, frantically looking for something he could pull in front of it.

“WHAT THE FUCK?!  WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!  GET THE FUCK OUTTA MY….house…Matt?”

The now-blonde turned to see his wide-eyed friend staring at him, still groggy with sleep and a baseball bat clutched in his hands.  He was clad only in a pair of grey briefs, and as Matt looked at his friend’s shredded, whipcord body, he suddenly became aware that the creatures had made more changes to him than he’d realized.  With his jet-black hair and brooding features he’d always known Todd was handsome, but now the sight of the other man’s tight, defined body and bulging briefs made him groan.  He wasn’t as built as Matt but there wasn’t an ounce of fat on him, and the warped man was achingly reminded of the lean hunks above average endowment as his eyes traced the outline of his friend’s thick snake outlined in the tiny underwear.  He shook himself out of it and raised a finger to his lips.  “You gotta hide me, man!  He’s coming,” he hissed, ushering them away from the door and back window.

Todd’s olive complexion had gone pale as he stared at his friend.  “What?  Who’s coming?  What the...how are you like that?!  What happened?!”

“I don’t know!  They did this to me!  I don’t...I don’t know how...but I just need to make it another twenty minutes or so to sunrise and then it all goes away.  There’s only one left!”

Todd gave a short laugh and shook his head.  “Is this even...am I dreaming right now?  This is all a dream, right?  You runnin’ in here lookin’ all thick with a piece like that?  And those pecs?”  He grinned sleepily as he reached out to give one a squeeze.

“HHHHNNNNGGG…!”  Matt grunted and spasmed, his inflated beast spraying all over the other man’s ripped washboard.

Todd’s grin fell at the deluge of warm liquid splattering against him.  As impossible as it all was, there was no doubt that he was very much awake.  “Oh...oh shit.  Fuck, man, we’ve gotta get you to a hospital or something…”

“No!  I just need a little more time!  I’ve almost…” Matt trailed off at a sudden hint of movement.  He was still hyper aware and surging with adrenaline from his traumatic flight.  It was the only reason he even noticed the reflection in the TV of the silhouetted figure standing in the corner of the dark kitchen.  There wasn’t time to shout a warning or do anything other than hit the floor as the brown-haired stranger’s eyes flashed, leaving Todd to take the bullet that had been intended for him.

It happened just as fast to the other man as to himself, though Matt felt like it was all in slow motion as he watched his friend change.  Todd’s appearance seemed to ripple for a moment, then began to wither as he shrank.  Or at least parts of him did.  The dark-haired man’s long, lean torso remained unchanged, but his formerly proportional legs began to thicken and fill out, growing wider as they grew shorter.  The same went for his friend’s arms as the formerly sculpted limbs became beefy and stubby, leaving Todd’s shredded frame short and disproportionate.  Instead of six feet he stood barely four, his unaltered torso sitting on a thick, ample ass and tree stump legs, framed in by a pair of burly arms that were easily twice as broad but half as long.  Todd’s briefs still held, barely, and his stuffed bulge looked larger than ever as it loomed above his altered legs.

“What just...what the fuck...WHAT THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED TO ME?!” Todd shrieked, clutching at his warped body with his shrunken arms.

“I’m sorry!  I’m sorry!  This’ll all be fixed...I just need to last a few more minutes,” Matt stammered as he hopped to his feet and bolted for the front door.  He felt awful for his friend, but a part of him was grateful he hadn’t taken the hit.  With his current proportions he’d have been a carnival attraction if he’d wound up with the shortened arms and legs.  Still, as guilty as he felt, he couldn’t help but think about how hot Todd was with his new look.  Even the brief seconds that he’d loomed over his friend’s stubby new frame had made him quiver, and he was all too eager to go back and help the other man adjust if he didn’t get returned to normal.

But he’d have to think about that later.  Matt darted from yard-to-yard, alley-to-alley in his desperate attempt at avoiding detection.  He only had minutes left.  The sky had already gone from black to a dark blue, and through the gap at the end of the alley in which he caught his breath he could see the beginnings of the sun starting to crest above the horizon.

Unfortunately, he also saw a pale brunette skittering spider-like across the wall above him.  With no dumpsters or piles of debris to hide behind, all Matt could do was keep running and hope for the best as he watched the man’s eyes flash.

**********

“Oh fuck...oh fuck...oooaaaAAOOHHHoohhh…” Matt whimpered, practically drooling from the ecstasy overloading his system.  His legs were up on Todd’s shoulders, the tops of his thighs brushing against his sensitive, pillowy pecs as the other man hammered into his oversized rear.  The blonde hunk loved the sensation of his friend’s stubby little hands clutching his legs while his massive cock oozed a warm, steady stream that pooled at the bottom of his hulking chest before spilling down his sides.

“The look on...your face...almost makes this all...worth it…” Todd grunted.

“Fuck baby you’re so hot now,” Matt whined as if he was in pain.  He toyed with his lower lip, the other hand tweaking a demanding nipple as a series of constant, ecstatic expressions flowed like water across his face.  “Di...dick to your knees and those sturrrr...sturdy little arms...I can’t wait to...to bury my face between those fat cheeks and lick that ass clean,” he purred, writhing.  He gave a hiss and arched his back, another wailing moan echoing off the walls.  “GGGnn...lo...love it when you fuck this...pussy raw,” he groaned.

“Tell me how you really feel,” Todd laughed.

“Ooo...okay...I wa...I want you to cum inside me so...so hard I...I sweat that shit out…” Matt said, his tone surprisingly earnest beneath the lustful bellows.

“I was kidding, bud,” Todd said, giving his friend’s chunky thigh a squeeze.

“I...I know...I just can’t…” Matt trailed off.  He didn’t need to explain.  Todd, and by now everyone else in town, was well aware that he couldn’t filter himself.  Even Matt knew, he just couldn’t stop himself.  When the fourth hunter found him, the change hadn’t been a physical one, but mental.  That lack of conceptualization he’d felt when the group had first frozen him came back, but stronger.  That first time he couldn’t think of resisting or running, now he couldn’t think of filtering himself.  The words just came out as soon as they crossed his mind, and given his near-constant state of arousal, they usually had to do with what he wanted people to do to him, or vice versa.  This added another layer of difficulty as he’d also become eager to please, losing most of his concept of “no.”

It had made for an interesting few months as he and Todd adjusted to their new lives.  When they’d been found the morning after the hunt, no one could explain what happened.  They spent several days in the hospital, but when it became clear that they were both perfectly healthy and that there would be no easy answers, the doctors were almost eager to get rid of them.  Matt tried to convince them of the strange group, but the more he protested the crazier he sounded, and when they told him to calm down he was now quick to listen.  In any other town it could have been a disastrous outcome, but fortunately the boys at the Newcomb Estate were all too happy to have someone as uniquely endowed, eager, and handsome as Matt join their ranks.

The freshly tow-headed hunk had been embarrassed at first.  He still remembered everything, and he was aware of how odd his current actions were, but that didn’t make his new desires any less intense.  They’d offered Todd a spot too, but the shrunken stud declined.  Other than the changes to his body he was more or less the same as always, aside from a similar shift in attraction that Matt had undergone.  He was quickly getting used to looking at the world from his new perspective and navigating it with his new range of motion, and while it was certainly an adjustment, Todd actually began to enjoy it.  He liked being the shortest in their group of friends, and the way the guys towered over him.  And, far from being an outcast, the combination of his handsome, brooding features and unique shape made him the center of attention.  Like with Matt, it could have been much worse.  He’d had to make some tweaks and relearn a few things, but he was still able to both work as a mechanic as he had before, and work his body with the same precision in the bedroom.

He liked to practice that last skill with Matt as often as possible.  He didn’t blame his friend for what happened, and watching the other man walk around spouting off lusty comments and cumming almost at random just from the sensation of his ill-fitting, revealing clothes gave him enough perspective whenever he did start to feel angry.  The things that did this were the only ones responsible, not either of them.  Still, the fact that his friend had inadvertently roped him in kept at bay any guilt he would have normally felt at taking advantage of Matt’s current state.  The howling, giddy blonde was a far cry from the stoic wingman he was used to, though Todd was quickly growing to prefer the new version.

“I know you can’t, dude,” Todd said, focusing on maintaining his rhythm while he knelt on his shortened legs.  “You don’t...have to be...embarrassed…” he grunted.  “Let ‘er rip.”

Matt beamed, his smile spreading from ear-to-ear as he wailed and writhed with renewed vigor.