Chapter 15

Rodrigo nodded and waddled toward the door. He looked back at Kumar one last time, frowning. What he found on the land whale’s face wasn’t pain or embarrassment. It was resolve.

"Don’t judge it till you try it," Kumar mumbled as Rodrigo squeezed past the doorway. Jessica was waiting there, her face set in a seemingly unstoppable grin. The lines in her middle-aged face deepened as Rodrigo staggered into view. A bony hand shot out, sinking into a ring of Rodrigo’s side fat.

"Mmmmm. I knew it, you did get fatter. Love how it looks on you. How does lugging all that lard feel?"

Rodrigo went to object but stopped. He had to remember that these people were sick in the head. Jessica wasn’t intending to degrade him, she genuinely enjoyed how his added pounds looked. To her, he was a sexual ideal. Rodrigo sighed as his stomach grumbled.

"Hungry?" she cooed, drawing near and patting his bulges. Rodrigo frowned and pushed her away.

"Are we going to talk or not?"

Jessica rolled her eyes and started down the hall, motioning for Rodrigo to follow. He did, passing dozens of locked metal doors. The pink carpet crunched under Rodrigo’s wide feet, his gargantuan belly swaying in front of him. As they walked, he couldn’t help but notice the sounds coming from behind the doors. There were the ones he expected: eating, slurping, farting, and grunting. There were ones less expected too: shouts of joy, laughter, and a speech clearly addressing a fan. It gave the impression of a streamer house, except instead of playing video games, they played with food and fat.

"How many pigs do you have locked up in here?" Rodrigo asked, sweat beginning to bead at his brow.

"Jealous?" Jessica asked. Rodrigo scowled and went to retort but found the air had left his lungs. They had been walking for over a minute now, and all his fat cell passengers used a lot of fuel. Rodrigo felt sweat dampen his back, then under his moobs. His face was red and shiny by the time Jessica pointed to a door with a cast iron sign on it.

"Dom knows best," it read.

"He’s been waiting for you. No one has ever managed to find us; he just wants a word."

"He?" Rodrigo asked. Then an image of the man who answered the door flashed before him.

"Dom?"

Jessica giggled.

"Guess you didn’t eat yourself completely stupid."

Jessica turned and began to march the other way before Rodrigo shouted back.

"You did this to me, and you’re just going to walk away?"

Jessica turned back with a blank look on her face.

"I don’t think you realize what’s going on here."

Jessica was gone down the hall before Rodrigo could blink. The door with the cast iron sign cracked open but did not shift. Rodrigo sighed and turned to it. Wherever he was, it definitely wasn’t the house he had walked into. It wasn’t like he could just ask to leave, so he stepped through, knowing there wasn’t a choice.

"Welcome," Dom said, sitting on a leather couch along the back wall. It was a small room with black walls and carpet, minimal lighting, and no windows. The room wasn’t like a traditional office. There was the couch Dom was sitting in, a table in the middle, and another couch along the wall that Rodrigo had just entered.Nothing else was there, not even papers or debris on the surfaces.

"Why did you drug me? Where am I?" Rodrigo demanded. His fury was as intense as his hunger. The globe of fat seemed to vibrate with the strength of his hunger growls. Dom tutted, reaching under the table.

"Can’t talk when we're hangry, can we?"

Dom plopped down a tray burdened with food. There were six cheeseburgers, a basket of French fries, two milkshakes, a cake, and bacon strips. Dom's beefy arms moved without the jiggle that plagued the fat people who lived here as he motioned for Rodrigo to sit. Rodrigo snorted.

"You think you’re going to make me forget about everything with some junk food?"

Dom shrugged and grabbed a burger for himself.

"No idea. We just met. I just know it's difficult to stay satiated after your recent... developments. Hunger can affect your reasoning."

Rodrigo only managed to watch Dom take two bites of the burger before sitting down and grabbing one himself. As always, he cringed as he felt his thigh and ass fat spread along the cushion. It felt like he was a candle melting onto whatever he sat on. The sandwich made it into Rodrigo’s belly in half a minute, then was replaced by another burger, then another. Soon Dom had stopped eating entirely, watching as this hog of a man plowed through the mountain of food. Dom put his strong arms on the back of the chair as he watched, drinking in the scene.

"That was at least twelve hours of not eating," Dom said after a few minutes, "must be the longest you've gone without stuffing yourself in awhile, huh? No wonder you’re so hungry. Jessica really did make you insatiable."

The word "insatiable" finally snapped Rodrigo out of his calorie-induced trance. He looked at the tray, realizing the only things he hadn’t eaten were a slice of cake and two of the bacon strips. Rodrigo pushed the tray away, his mouth gaping. He swallowed, unaware of the sugar and grease that coated his cheeks.

"I’m fine, thanks. Yes, I can eat a lot, but I’m not insatiable. I’ve made strides in my diet, no thanks to you."

Dom smirked. He reached under the table and produced a second tray. This one was smaller, but had a cake three times the size of the first on it. It was multilevel and covered in pink frosting. On the top, written in black icing, was one word. "Pig".

Dom spoke again.

"I think we both know you didn’t come here to free Kumar."

Rodrigo’s nostrils flared.

"That’s ridiculous. I’m here to bring you down."

Dom laughed. He held his belly as he did, the expanse bobbing up and down.

"Please. I know about latent desires more than anyone. Why do you think I started this operation? You want to be a massive whale just like your coworker."

Rodrigo’s face burned; he stared down at the tray, trying to ignore how badly he wanted to sink his face in the cake.

"You're crazy," he managed. Dom arched a brow.

"I’m the crazy one? Let’s see. For one, you actively dislike Kumar. For two, you didn’t tell the police about your little plan. Even if they didn’t believe you, they would have had to come sniff around if you went missing."

Dom was leaning over the table now, pushing the cake under Rodrigo’s nose.

"We’ve been watching you too. Saw how hard it was for you to live at 300 pounds. Practically everything became frustrating and humiliating, didn’t it?"

Rodrigo was silent; his breathing had gone heavy.

"Deep down, you saw our piggies being worshipped, how they have every need catered to. That seems better than a regular life. I think you waddled this way hoping you’d never leave. Now, I’m going to leave this cake here, and when I come back, I think I’ll have my answer."

Dom stood up and left the room without pause. Rodrigo hardly saw him go. The words rang painfully true. He thought of every embarrassment, setback, and difficulty his excess weight caused him. He knew he’d never get back to normal again, but hearing his situation laid out this way was oddly comforting.

A slap echoed around the small room.

"I’m not a pig! I’m Rodrigo Tortella! A high-ranking, cutthroat executive!"

Rodrigo tried picturing himself as he used to be. Tall and toned, commanding respect. The image strained in his mind, as if the puzzle pieces didn’t line up. It shattered, leaving a full-bellied version of himself gorging in its place. Rodrigo opened his eyes, dismayed to find his mouth sunken into the frosting. He leaned back, drops of viscous sugar dribbling onto his chest. For a second, Rodrigo thought he was going to stand up and leave. That he was going to go home and starve himself back to his old weight. It didn’t last long. Rodrigo cringed knowing the amount of hunger, pain, and sacrifice that would be required. Eating cake didn’t hurt. Eating cake didn’t make his knees ache. Eating cake made his belly full and happy. Rodrigo never felt further from his old self. He sighed, and looked back at the cake.

"Damn."

He plunged his face forward, moaning with pleasure as he swallowed and chewed as fast as he could.

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