Burst Tease

Sonia was always a strange one, but we didn't know how strange until the five of us were together one day and the topic of secret talents came up. Cherry stems were tied with a tongue, fortunes were told with Tarot decks, and then she piped up, asking us if we wanted to see "something cool." We said yes, not knowing what were getting into, and she grinned and left the room, coming back with a bike pump connected to a long, trailing hose.

We thought it was a joke until she plugged it into her navel and started pumping. Then we thought it was some sort of trick when her belly started growing - a suit of some sort - until she grabbed Tony's hand and pressed it against her body; his reaction was too shocked for it to be anything but real. It was remarkable at first, but then she started getting a little big. When Alex spoke up about this Sonia ignored her, but when I mentioned that she was blocking the door with her body she stopped for a moment, staring at me before a fiendish grin spread across her face and she continued pumping frantically.

She grew at a rate I had never seen anything grow at, let alone a human being. As her head neared the ceiling she swung her arms forward, the momentum rolling her onto her stomach and blocking the nozzle from our reach. Daniel tried to make a break for the door, circling around her just as her lower hemisphere surged back, the foot on her wide, stubby leg stomping against the frame. We were trapped, and the look on Sonia's face told us she knew as well.

Sonia kept pumping and pumping, the air inside her stretching every inch of her body save for her arms and head, giving it an elastic sheen. Chairs were pushed aside and shelves tipped over, and we were forced back, at first threatening her to stop, then pleading. She just ignored us, intent on filling herself and the room, backing us toward the far corner.

At first, when we noticed that her pumping was beginning to slow, we felt relief; that she was going to stop, or reach a point where she had to. After all, we were practically on top of each other, and there wasn't much more room for her to grow. But she didn't; she kept on going, perspiration forming on her forehead and on her body, highlighting the shine even further. Then came the sounds, low at first, a barely audible creaking and groaning that could scarcely be heard over the hiss of the pump, but with each press of the plunger it rose in volume, then length, until it was a rolling series of groans and squeaks resonating from deep within Sonia.

We were packed into the corner, practically on top of each other and cowed into silence by the time Sonia stopped. As a bead of sweat rolled down her nose she looked at us with feigned innocence, her head level with ours despite rolling onto her stomach mere moments prior, back when it was still possible to tell that she had some semblance of a human figure.

"What's wrong, guys?" She smiled. "It's just a little bit of harmless fun." She drummed her fingers against the handle of the pump. "Unless you're worried..."

Her jaw clenched as she pushed down on the handle again and her body crept forward, a mixture of deep, ominous, rumbling tones emanating from within, along with the sound of stretching rubber that continued for several seconds before almost, but not quite, fading out of hearing.

"...that I might pop."