Chapter 3 - 2-2 - a change in the natural order, part 2

Ben felt increasingly ravenous as he cut the monstrous burger in half, his belly growing more impatient. The knife wasn't even long enough to cut through the whole thing, but after a minute or two he had a meal he could work with. Ben could still hear Jim giggling as he watched his skinny friend try and eat the ridiculously oversized sandwich. After the first bite though, Ben scarcely heard anything. The flavor was unlike any he had tasted before, occupying every inch of his consciousness.

Ben had never disliked his food, but this was on a different level to any other flavor experience he had ever had. His mind was awash in pleasure, and he even felt as if he blacked out during parts of his meal. All he was aware of was the constant shoveling of food into his maw, the pleasure of the taste overriding anything else. Bite after bite of greasy burger found itself down Ben's throat, fully unaware of any discomfort feeling from below. Ben was only broken out of his hypnosis when his fork made a clanking sound of the bottom of his bowl of baked beans. He looked dumbly at his empty plate before unleashing a massive belch. Almost in shock Ben looked up to see his equally surprised friend staring slack jawed at him.

Jim gave a few slow claps before addressing his friends display of gluttony with an incredulous look. "Damn dude I thought you were gonna get the All American non-finisher special. I've never seen you eat anywhere close to that!" Ben tried to respond but another belch filled the room instead. The weight of his feast suddenly made itself felt, forcing Ben to arch his back and loosen his belt. He rubbed his taut belly and moaned. "Oof, I think I took it a bit far.. but I didn't want the baby portion!" That was only half true, Ben had definitely not wanted to get booed by the crowd, but that wasn't the reason he ate the whole thing. He was barely aware while he was eating, like he was under some sort of spell. Only now was he fully aware of his accomplishment, and his normally small stomach made him really feel it.

An eater of mainly moderate meals Ben had to squirm in discomfort as he felt the pounds of dense meat stretch his stomach past any level of comfort. Sensing his friend's predicament Jim volunteered to pay. "I honestly can't believe a skinny bag a bones ate that whole thing, I'll cover it to mark the momentous occasion." He said with a bemused look on his face. After they were taken care of Ben gave his thanks and hoisted himself upward, trying to not disturb his overfull stomach. The two left the diner and made their way to their forms of transportation. For Ben it was a red street bike, Sarah's apartment was only a few miles away. Jim, despite living on campus preferred to drive his tortured Honda civic. Jim shouted jovially as he started to leave, "If you keep eating like that we can put some actual meat on those bones buddy boy!" Ben had a chuckle and swung his leg onto his bike, mentally preparing to heft his overstuffed belly. They waved as they left, with Jim blaring loud rap music on his way out.

Ben hoped he wouldn't get too queasy as he rode, but to his surprise his stomach felt much better as he started to make his way off campus. He figured the exercise must have loosened up the food baby he was currently stuck with. Ben made it back to Sarah's apartment in a half hour with no incident, however once he locked up his bike an unexpected development occurred. His stomach growled again. 'That couldn't be right...' Ben thought in confusion, giving his midriff a poke. The way he ate just a half hour before made him think he would never be hungry again, was this just the food gurgling around getting digested? Ben pondered before he reached the white paneled door of his girlfriend's apartment. Before he could touch the shiny brass knob the door swung open, Sarah holding a huge pot of what looked like lobster mac 'n cheese.

"Hope somebody's hungry for their reward!" Sarah said with a huge grin. "I just looked up this recipe, looks great right?" Ben nodded dumbly, the delicious smell of the food suddenly stealing his full attention, he felt himself start to drool. But no matter how good it looked Ben was certain there was no way he could eat any of it, after such a feast Ben figured there was no possible room left for another heavy meal. The universe had other plans. "This looks great babe but I just had some late breakfast with Jim, I'm not sure if I could force any down-" Ben was interrupted by a growl, and what felt like real, legitimate hunger. 'How was that possible?' Ben thought in deep confusion. 'What was going on?' Sarah however only heard his belly, not his thoughts. "Well a certain organ of yours disagrees with you! I'll fix you a nice small portion."

As Sarah left the doorway Ben stumbled to the couch, mind swirling. He pressed his flat stomach and felt it was nearly empty, in fact he was actually pretty hungry again! Ben had no idea what was going on. 'Was something wrong? Was his body changing?' Ben thought, panicked. He knew he tended to be paranoid, maybe that was just it. But before he could think any further Sarah appeared with a tall glass of beer and a salad bowl full of mac 'n cheese. Ben gave her a quizzical look. Sarah brushed her hair back and grinned. "You don't have to eat it all, it was the only bowl we had left. Now cmon, eat, I worked really hard on this! And you deserve a treat after that test." Ben only nodded, and scooped up a big bite. He placed the spoon in his mouth, and instantly forgot all about his previous feast. All Ben felt was hunger, and pleasure. He scooped bite after bite into his eagerly awaiting maw...