Gravidity -- non-inflation floating story

I submitted this story a while back, but Luther rejected it because it doesn't actually contain any inflation. That being the case, it does feature pregnancy and floating, which I know many people here enjoy, and since I can't think of anyplace else to put it, I'm throwing it out here for anyone who's interested. This would probably be rated explicit, so be warned. Comments and (constructive) criticism are appreciated.

Gravidity
by RenegadeKamui

Cora was just as guilty as anyone of not always appreciating how science and technology improved her life. Of course, she had access to unspoiled food, modern medicine, a warm home on a cold day, and other benefits that humanity had enjoyed since time immemorial. But even recent innovations had a way of becoming routine. Take levfields, for example. In grade school, she'd been taught that flying cars were strictly the realm of science fiction. Less than two decades later, not a day went by that she didn't see a car, truck, drone, house, or even the occasional skyliner floating eerily with no visible means of support. Even so, familiar technology could still show up in unexpected places.

As a young, petite woman pregnant with twin boys -- BIG twin boys -- Cora could have used a little lift herself. And so, in her sixth month, her husband presented her with a gift, something he'd custom-ordered just for her. It was one of those pregnancy harnesses designed to cradle the mother's belly, but with suspensors sewn into the fabric, which could hook into a levfield and support part of her body weight.

Cora had recoiled at the sight of it. Images of the floating fat duke from the Dune film flashed through her mind. Aside from the indignity of it all, she wasn't convinced it was even safe. Yes, levfields were a part of life nowadays, and anyone who still didn't work from home would pass through ten or twenty of them on their daily commute, but the idea of effectively turning her own body into a levballoon, like the ones on the cell towers, inspired a type of nausea in her that had nothing to do with morning sickness.

So her present went in the back of her underwear drawer, and as the weeks passed, her belly swelled, her hips spread awkwardly, and her boobs, butt and thighs piled on the pounds. Simply getting around the house got harder and harder, until the fateful day she found herself trapped for hours in the basement because she couldn't manage to haul her bloated body back up the stairs. This was the final straw, and at last Cora relented and reluctantly let herself be strapped into the harness.

The contrast was like night and day. Like any proper prenatal cradle, it lifted her stomach, straightened her posture, kept her rear from sticking out too far, and restrained her broadened hips so they didn't gyrate so much as she walked. But negating part of her body weight made all the difference in the world -- she went from being heavy as a whale to light as a feather. Cora exulted in being able to go up and down stairs, reach high shelves on her tiptoes, and indulge the nesting instincts that kept nagging at her. She even put on an impromptu dance show for her husband to celebrate her newfound freedom of movement.

The harness did have a couple negatives, though. First, the biggest suspensor was right under her crotch, and it tended to vibrate a little under heavy load. Then again, maybe that wasn't such a terrible thing after all. She was reminded of the second downside when she went to fetch the mail. Going outside made Cora a little nervous; she had horrible nightmares of the levfield malfunctioning and making her float off into the sky, despite her husband swearing up and down that it simply didn't have enough power to do anything of the sort. In fact, she was reminded of the limitations of the system when she felt the gentle tug of the harness pulling reproachfully at her.

Cora hated when this happened -- it made her feel like a dog on a leash. The generator was too big and bulky to carry on her person; it was set up in the kitchen and projected a field that covered the house and most of the yard. But it didn't extend all the way down the driveway, and levfields always curved inward at the edges, creating a backward pull as she approached the limit. Cora persevered against the opposing force, and after a few seconds she managed to push through. She knew from experience that the levcapacitors would hold their charge for at least a minute, long enough to get the mail and get back inside.

An Amazon levtruck pulled up to the curb of the house across the street. Cora suppressed a flush of embarrassment; she hadn't expected anyone to see her on her brief errand, and she hadn't bothered to get fully dressed, or even put her shoes on. Hopefully the modesty of her nursing bra and maternity panties would conceal what would probably look like bondage gear to a casual observer. At any rate, the driver would probably be too busy with the delivery crane to even notice her.

Suddenly the harness jolted upward, goosing Cora and making her blush beet-red. Her husband had warned her that the levfield might grow or shrink a little at times, and to expect this sort of thing at the limits of its radius. But when she tried to walk back to the house, she found the field pushing her back instead of pulling her in -- and for some reason, she couldn't seem to break in the way she'd broken out before. What in the world...

Cora's blood ran cold as she realized her harness had somehow hooked into a completely different levfield than it was supposed to. Before she could react, the Amazon truck started driving off, and at the field's edge, the inward pull yanked her out into the street!

As the vehicle pulled her pregnant body behind it like a waterskier, Cora screamed at the top of her lungs, trying to get the attention of the driver, or really anyone who happened to be around. But the streets were deserted during the day, and the driver apparently couldn't see or hear her. The accelerating truck soon outpaced her running speed, and she had to resort to skipping to try to keep her bare feet under her.

Finally, it pulled over for another delivery, and Cora just managed to stop short before slamming belly-first into the back. Furiously she stalked up to the driver's window, ready to give him an earful for not watching the road, running an uncalibrated levfield, endangering her life and the lives of her unborn children etc. etc. The "driver" turn out to be one in name only; he looked barely old enough to have a license, and had let the autodrive take over while engrossed in some tablet game. He was even wearing earbuds, the better to completely isolate himself from the outside world. She banged desperately on his window, pleading for him to notice her, but to no avail.

Cora didn't even try to get out of the harness. It took her husband ten minutes every morning to fasten all the straps, snaps, buckles and hooks that secured her body in this stupid thing, and another five to pull it off her before she went to bed, so there was just no way she was getting it off herself. She tried to run away, but the truck's field generator was more powerful than her little home model, and no matter how she pushed, and struggled, and cursed, she just wasn't strong enough to fight it. There was a street sign nearby she could try to grab onto, but it would probably just get wrenched out of her grasp. Then Cora noticed an old DVD rental kiosk by the side of the road. It had probably been abandoned almost a decade ago, but it had to be bolted down securely if it hadn't been stolen by now, and it might just be stronger than this levfield she was trapped in. As the delivery crane started to retract, she quickly ran behind it, braced her back against the cold metal, and braced herself for what she knew was going to happen next.

The pressure (unsurprisingly) hit her like a truck. The breath was forced out of her lungs in a sharp squeak as the harness squished her against the unyielding surface. She heard the vehicle's repulsors squeal in protest as it was dragged to a halt. Would the driver stop and try to figure out what was going on? Would he get out of the cab and notice the poor pregnant woman he was turning into a human pancake? No, the stupid little shit would just gun it and try to power through. Cora gritted her teeth as she heard the metal groan and warp behind her. She couldn't breathe through this pressure on her chest, and her vision started to go black...

At last she broke through the edge of the levfield and collapsed gasping to the ground. Cora felt the reassuring thumps of her babies kicking, letting her know they were alright. She marveled at the pear-shaped dent she'd left in the kiosk; everyone who drove by would be wondering what exactly had happened, and they'd probably never guess the truth. After checking herself over and not finding any serious injuries, Cora began the long trek home.

At first she had an easy time of it. The strong field had charged the harness' levcapacitors more than her home unit ever could, and the extra lift pulled her up almost to her tiptoes. But all too soon they started losing power, and her walk turned into a plod, then a trudge, and after about ten minutes they ran out of juice altogether. Having acclimated to carrying only part of her body weight, Cora simply couldn't deal with all of it being dumped back on her. Her hips, knees and ankles screamed at her with every sluggish, leaden step she took, as the rough concrete of the sidewalk scratched at her bare feet. And every car that passed her showered her semi-clothed self with hoots and catcalls. Cora didn't bother asking any of them for a ride home, not that they seemed interested in offering. Finally, she couldn't take the physical pain or emotional agony anymore, and collapsed behind a stand of trees, hoping for a little privacy as she rested her legs.

Levitating vehicles were almost silent when idle or at low speeds, so Cora didn't notice the lev-semi pulling up behind her as she blinked back her tears. And even if she had, she'd assumed the truck was at fault in the incident today, that its levfield was out of calibration, and that other levcars would be safe. So it took her a few moments to become aware of the growing upward tug the harness was once again exerting on her body. By the time it pulled her roughly to her feet, she was already thoroughly locked into the field, with no chance of escape. Then Cora shrieked as the suspensors pulled her OFF her feet into the air! She found herself suspended at the apex of the field, hovering thirty feet over the trailer, flailing for handholds that didn't exist. Then the driver finished programming his GPS and got back on the move.

Being flown like a kite was far, FAR worse than her last little adventure. At least then she could keep her feet on the ground, her head above her ass, and exert some small degree of control over her path. Now Cora was tumbling end over end as the wind whipped her about, far from anything she could grab on to. Not that that would have been a good idea -- escaping from the last levfield had nearly killed her; this one was an order of magnitude stronger, and would probably rip her apart if she tried to break out of it.

The semi hit a curve in the road, and Cora's momentum carried her over to the left, into a series of tree branches. The field's inward pull snapped her back to the right, and she narrowly missed sailing into power lines. Finally, she stabilized center and face-forward, just in time to see the bridge in front of her -- she was going to fly right into traffic! Cora screamed in terror, covering her face with her hands as she waited for the inevitable. After a few seconds, she realized that by some incredible chance she'd somehow managed to weave through every lane. Her heart pounded as sweat soaked her body after the terrifying event. No, she corrected herself -- they were because the suspensor vibrating against her undercarriage had brought her to an involuntary climax. Her first one in months, and she hadn't even noticed it.

A driver a few cars behind her had finally noticed her predicament and was sounding his horn. Soon she was surrounded by a chorus of honks as the drivers around the truck tried to communicate to its driver what was going on. Someone eventually patched in a video feed to his cab, and he did what would probably be anyone's first instinct: he shut down his levfield. The semi sent up a shower of sparks as it skidded on the asphalt. But her levcapacitors were still charged and generating lift -- the field's edge and its inward pull had been the only thing keeping Cora from flying away. Which is exactly what she proceeded to do, shrieking in terror as she floated forward and upward, until she was just a dot against the sky.

--

Cora was doing her level best not to panic. On the other hand, there wasn't much else for her to do. She had nothing on her person but this fabric-and-technology prison that she couldn't escape from, if she even wanted to fall to her death. All she had to distract herself with was the view, which, even in her current circumstances, she had to admit was spectacular. After about half an hour of steady climbing, she seemed to have leveled off about a thousand feet in the air. Hopefully that meant in another half an hour, she'd be on the ground and could burn the stupid thing in a bonfire.

Half an hour unmolested, that is. She started being accosted by drones -- levdrones, of course. She was clearly meant to grab onto them, but every time one approached, her capacitors charged up and she rose out of reach. Their tiny fields weren't strong enough to lock her in and pull her down; all they accomplished was to extend her flight time and make her float even higher. Even after the well-meaning idiots realized they were doing more harm than good and gave up, Cora still had to deal with the vultures and their camera drones, snapping pictures of the heavily pregnant woman floating in her underwear to sell to the media, not caring that they were making her situation worse. Hours after she should have been back down, out of the harness and in her husband's arms, she'd risen hundreds more feet, and at the rate she was drifting east, if she didn't manage to land in a couple more hours, she'd be splashing down in the ocean. Cora burned with anger at her helplessness, the loss of control over her body, the carelessness and apathy of all the people who could have helped her and didn't, and most of all this stupid, uncalibrated, piece of shit gadget her husband had convinced her to try against her better judgement, which might be the last piece of clothing she'd ever wear!

She heard rumbling behind her as the skyliner approached, but had no way of turning around to see what it was. And even if she knew what was coming, there was absolutely nothing she could do to avoid it. For safety's sake, vehicles of that size didn't run on just one field generator; this was fortunate for Cora, as a single field of the necessary strength would have overloaded her levcapacitors and incinerated her in a spectacular explosion. A set of redundant fields covered it, and she would drop out of each in turn, only to be recaptured by the next. The hurricane-force winds ripped her bra and panties into tattered shreds and sent them flying away. After one last push, she broke free of the tail field, and with her capacitors charged to maximum, Cora wailed as her harness bore her higher and higher, climbing inexorably to the upper atmosphere.

--

Seven hundred eighty-five. Cora had been aloft for twelve days going by the sun, but she couldn't see much of the ground through multiple layers of clouds, so she had no idea how many time zones she'd passed through. So she didn't count the hours; she counted the orgasms. The big suspensor pushing against her pussy was buzzing to beat the band, and her body reacted as expected, with enough regularity that she could use it as sort of a primitive calendar. She'd been through the denial (this was all a horrible, horrible dream), the anger (goddamn her husband for making her wear this piece of junk), and the bargaining (maybe she could chew off one of the suspensors, none of which happened to be anywhere her mouth), and had finally accepted her fate.

Now Cora truly had nothing. Her last vestiges of clothing had been stripped from her, leaving her completely naked. Yes, naked, because at this point she considered the harness part of her body. Indeed, it clung so tightly to her, and was soaked through with so much sweat, that it might well have fused with her skin. At any rate, she couldn't get out of it. She still tried, though, because there was absolutely nothing else to do but dangle her legs and wait to come again. The only other break from the tedium had been a jumbo-sized bowel movement, ballast she couldn't afford to lose, but couldn't manage to hold onto any longer. She at least hoped it would land on whoever forgot to calibrate this thing.

Seven hundred eighty-six. Cora wondered if she'd passed the critical point, where the suspensors would lift her out of Earth's gravity before running out of charge. Not that she was likely to last that long, regardless. Were they even still looking for her? They didn't need to bother. There was way too much sky to search for her, and the skyliner encounter would have so muddled her trajectory that they wouldn't even know where to begin. Back when she'd started wearing the harness, Cora had asked her husband about attaching a radio beacon to it, in case of the accidental liftoff scenario she'd brought up, but he'd laughed her suggestion off. Ha ha ha. Then her water broke.

Cora gasped at the wetness running down her thighs. All this time in the air, she'd thought only of herself, not of the two lives she carried. She couldn't let herself be carried away, by despair or by malfunctioning technology -- her children were counting on her!

She heard the sounds of hissing and popping below her, just before a sudden downward lurch made her heart leap in her throat. By the time she realized her breaking water had shorted out the main levcapacitor, she was already falling at a noticeable rate. Soon she'd passed through the cirrus clouds, and she kept on picking up speed. Breaking through the cumulus layer gave her pause -- she didn't recognize the land she was over, and although the sun had almost set, she didn't see any lights.

As the ground drew closer, so did her contractions, and she could only hope she made it to her destination before her babies did. But with her increasing rate of descent, she wasn't sure she'd get to the ground in one piece. To further complicate matters, she felt the seat of the harness, which had supported three people for so long, beginning to fray and tear against her backside.

Everything worked out in the end. She landed in a tree whose branches had enough give to break her fall without seriously hurting her. The harness tore away somewhere on the way down, the small amount of charge left sufficient to fling it off somewhere she'd never find it again. And a hunting party found her and got her to their village in time for a midwife to help with the labor.

Cora had landed among one of the primitivist tribes that rejected all technology. She didn't speak their language, and to the degree she could make herself understood, they didn't seem interested in helping her contact her people. And with two infant sons to take care of, the last thing she had time for was wandering the land in search of a civilization that she didn't even know where to find. The tribe was generous enough to take care of her in her time of need, but eventually she had to make herself useful to them. She became the midwife's apprentice, using her knowledge of modern medicine to her advantage whenever she could.

And in time Kho'ra gave up on getting her old life back. She learned the language of the tribe and its customs. She found a husband who would accept her children, and bore him three more. And while sometimes she shivered in the cold, or suffered a migraine with no aspirin to soothe it, on balance the primitive life wasn't so bad if it meant keeping your feet on the ground.