4. In-But-Not-Out Burger

Fifteen minutes earlier…

Bobby’s SUV purred along the highway as the last glimpses of the sun faded off into the distance. Francine sat in the seat next to him, while Simon and Tommy were strapped in in the back.

            “So what have we learned?” Simon said. They had already told Bobby and Francine about their investigative results, and they just finished listening to what they had learned about Carl.

            “That this case is messier than spaghetti,” said Francine. Everyone looked at her. “At least the way I eat it…,” she mumbled and suppressed a soft burp.

            “The point is,” said Bobby, “we have a bunch of clues, but we haven’t put them together. So let’s review the facts: on the same day, both Lara and Mrs. Watson were shrunken and kidnapped –”

            “And most likely eaten,” Simon added. “You’ve got to get rid of the body somehow.”

            “Do you think that the killer has already resorted to cannibalism?” Francine asked. “I mean, sure, Kelsey did it, but she was fucked up.” Just then, she squirmed as if something was in her pants, and discretely put her hand down the front of her shorts to fix something.

            Bobby saw. “You okay?” he whispered.

            “Yeah,” she said.

            “We need to review our list of potential suspects,” said Tommy. “Caterina was there right after class before Mrs. Watson disappeared, and I may have even been there when she swallowed her. She also didn’t particularly care for Lara.”

            “Who else?” asked Francine, who burped again. “Wow, I’m getting really gassy.” She blushed.

            “It’s okay,” Bobby said to her, reaching across and patting her tummy. “You just need some food in there…”

            “Well, we don’t really have any one else on our list,” said Simon. “We need more information, specifically about what happened to Lara. Or rather, who would have wanted to kill her?”

            “Let’s get something to eat,” Bobby said, taking the exit to the In N’ Out Burger. “Francine’s hungry.”

            As if in response, her stomach rumbled again.

A few moments later

Lexi didn’t know what to say, standing there as the massive grumble in her tummy died down. Everyone heard it.

            “Lexi’s so poor,” Cat sneered, “that she has to get her boyfriend to pay for every meal. And even then, she’s thin as a pencil!”

            All the girls laughed, expect for Autumn, who watched silently.

            Tears swelled up in Alexis’s eyes. Another one of Cat’s friends, Kathy, saw an opportunity to impress Caterina. She went up to Lexi, grabbed a napkin, and started wiping her eyes dry.

            “Thank you,” Lexi said.

            Then Kathy rammed the napkin into her mouth. “Eat this, you hungry bitch!”

            Cat laughed hysterically. A knot formed in the pit of Autumn’s stomach, and a sly smile came to her lips.

            Kathy was still standing before Lexi laughing, so she decided to go for the ultimate: she sucker-punched Lexi right in her tummy!

            The teenage girl wheezed as the air was knocked out of her. Clutching her belly, she toppled over and started shaking on the ground.

            Everyone was silent. A few people from the line-up turned around.

            Kathy kept smiling. “It’s funny,” she said, pointing on to the ground where Lexi lay, tears streaming from her eyes and clutching her stomach. She looked behind her, where Caterina stepped back, creating a ripple effect with the other girls. The look in her eyes said that Kathy had gone too far.

            “Excuse me, what’s going on here?” said a tall man.

            “I was just… I was…,” Kathy stuttered. “Wait, you have no business in my beeswax. Who the fuck do you think you are?”

            He pulled out a badge. “Detective Kenner, California state police. Who the fuck do you think you are?”

            “I’m…I’m…,” Kath stuttered.

            “I slipped,” Lexi said. “She was just laughing at me. She didn’t do anything.”

            Kenner looked at the girl on the ground to the one standing before him. “I’m watching you.” He said it like he meant it.

            Kathy nodded.

            Kenner walked past all of them and out into the night.

Tommy and the rest of the Rays Club were just walking up to the door when the policeman stepped out. “Watch yourselves in there,” he said. “Teenage girls are crazy…”

            He walked off.

            “Okay…,” Simon said to no one in particular.

            They walked through the door and came inside.

“Get away from my girlfriend you bitch!” Zack screamed, helping Lexi to her feet. Kathy was still in shock, backing away. Everyone was watching now.

            “I’m so sorry,” Kathy said, starting to cry. She didn’t mean it, but she was just so shocked to see everything turn against her so quickly.

            “Damn you right you are,” Zack said, shoving past her as he brought Lexi to their table. Noise returned to the restaurant as people went back to their line-ups and previous conversations.

            “I’m going to go get our food,” he said to Lexi, kissing her on the forehead. He walked up to the pick-up line.

            Kathy walked back over to Caterina, who put up her hand. “You only beat people up where there’s no witnesses,” said Cat. “We’ve got to maintain public opinion. So get the fuck out of my sight.”

            “But why?” Kathy cried, turning to Cat’s friends who were too shocked to do anything.

            “I said FUCK OFF!” Cat roared, her blood boiling.

            Kathy nodded, crying, and ran out the front entrance past the Rays.

            “The fuck was that all about?” Bobby asked.

            “I don’t know,” said Francine, looking down at her hungry stomach. “Let’s just get something to eat.”

Kathy cried all the way out to her car, where she dropped to her knees and looked up at the starry sky. “I had it all!” she cried. “I was popular! I just had to fuck it up!”

            She cried into her palms, then looked up suddenly. “Wait, this isn’t my fault… It’s that cunt, Lexi! It’s all her fault! Fuck that stupid fucking bitch. Fuck her!”

            “Keep telling yourself that,” a voice said behind her.

            She turned around just as the beam hit her.

When Kathy came back around, it was dark, moist and…it smelled really, really good. In fact, it made her mouth water. Something soft was blanketing her and there was something almost gooey beneath her. Curiously, she took a bite out of it. It was cheese. Horrified, she leaned over her shoulder and took a bite from above. It was bread. She gulped.

            She was in a cheeseburger.

            That can’t be! she thought. “Get me out of here! Somebody help!”

            Suddenly, there was a loud noise and everything around her shook. “Yes, please rescue me!” she cried. Then, suddenly, light was all around her as massive teeth cut through the space before and pulled back to reveal the face of the beautiful giantess, who chewed the mouthful of nearly half a burger with her eyes closed, moaning as to how good the food tasted. She chewed partially with her mouth open, showing Kathy the horrors about what was about to be done to her.

            “No!” she screamed, but couldn’t break loose. She had a front row seat to getting eaten.

            The giantess took a big gulp and licked her lips, then smiled as if…she’s directly looking at me! Kathy thought.

            If she was, the giantess took no notice. She brought the burger into her mouth and Kathy was engulfed in blackness once more. She hoped her end would come quickly, but instead the giantess’s teeth chewed around her, crunching and mushing the meat, cheese, and ketchup sauce all around. Kathy couldn’t breathe, she couldn’t see where she was going, she was totally lost.

            Then, finally, her tormentor swallowed and she plunged down the girl’s gullet all the way into the pit of her stomach, where she landed amongst the remains of the burger, but it seemed as if there was even more food here. The belly seemed cramped and full.

            There was a loud gurgling noise, and then the entire place shook. She realized the vibrations where coming from one side of her gastric tomb, and it felt like it was coming from outside the body. She started to tear up with the realization.

            The girl was patting her stomach.

“Buuuurp,” was all that came out of Caterina’s mouth as Autumn watched her finish a burger. “Ah,” the teenager said, sitting back and patting her belly. “That’s the way a girl’s tummy should be…nice and full.”

            She stretched and leaned back, exposing more of her stomach, which let out a gurgle.

            “So where do you think Kathy ran off to?” Autumn said, taking another bite of food.

            Caterina gave a sly smile as she rubbed her stomach and licked her lips. “I don’t know. I wouldn’t care if I never saw that stupid bitch again in my life.”

            She burped again.

Alexis swallowed the last mouthful of her final burger, sending the chewed food down to her big, full tummy below. It bulged out a lot into her lap and ached, but ever since the party, Lexi had found stuffing her belly to be attractive. She loved the way her distended stomach contrasted her slender frame. And so did Zack. In fact, this why she had worn a top that exposed so much of her abdomen tonight.

            Across the table, Zack was staring at her belly lustfully. She gave it a heavy pat as it gurgled and moaned for him. He looked down and shook his head, chuckling to himself.

            “What?” she asked.

            “It’s just…I’m so glad to have a sexy girlfriend who likes stuffing her gut in front of me. It’s a rare fetish.”

            “What did you call it? Vorarephilia or something?”

            “That’s just belly-stuffing what you’ve got there, Lexi,” he said, pointing at her gurgling, bulging tummy. “Vore is when you get aroused by seeing people eaten by stuff, especially hot girls.”

            “Sounds stupid,” said Lexi, sipping her soda. “How does anybody practice that?”

            “It’s impossible to,” he said. “And quite frankly, in real life it would be kinda icky. But it’s great for animation videos and fanfiction.”

            “Still sounds stupid. I would never get into that.” Lexi burped and her tummy glorped. “There, I ate four burgers. Are you happy?”

            He smiled at her stuffed belly. “Absolutely.”

            She drained the last of her soda and handed it to him. “Refill.”

            “What’s the magic word?” he asked.

            “It’ll make my belly stick out more.”

            “Even better!” he said, grabbing the cup and getting up.

            As he walked off, Alexis looked down at her aching stomach and smiled. He has no idea, she thought, rubbing her tummy. Satisfied, she let out a big belch.

Francine ate three burgers and most of Bobby’s fries. Then she downed two sodas. She was now leaning against Bobby, a hand on her gurgling stomach. She let out a burp, to the surprise of the rest of the Rays Club.

            “Excuse me,” she giggled. “I was so hungry…”

            “So what was that all about?” said Simon, gesturing towards where Caterina’s friends and Lexi and Zack were sitting in separate areas.

            “Cat’s a bitch,” said Tommy.

            “And on our suspect list,” said Bobby.

            They all looked over to where she was lounging with a hand on her tummy. Tommy saw Autumn get up across from Cat and walk to the door. She turned around, beckoned to him with her finger, and stepped outside.

            Tommy looked at his friends. Nobody else had seen it.

            He took out his phone. “Oh, I’ve got a call coming in. It’s my parents, you know how they get when I don’t answer.”

            Simon nodded. “Same here.”

            “Be right back,” he said, and walked off towards the front door, pretending to answer the phone.

            He stepped outside beneath the starry night sky. Autumn was standing with her arms folded and her strawberry-blond hair blowing in the wind, staring out at the sea. In the distance, he could hear the freeway that they had gotten off of.

            He walked up behind her. “You wanted to see me?” he asked.

            “Such a beautiful night,” she said, turning around. She was wearing short shorts and a pink shirt that exposed just under an inch of her stomach. “I always like to share this kinds of moments with certain people, Tommy. If you know what I’m saying…”

            He nodded. It was a calm and peaceful night and they were illuminated by the neon glow of the restaurant. Waves lapped against the rocky shore nearby. The stars twinkled above. It was like a dream, and Tommy didn’t want to admit it, but ever since he met Autumn earlier today, he couldn’t stop thinking about her. Was that really today? he thought. It seemed so long ago…

            “I’ve barely met you,” he said. “Hell, you transferred like a week ago, or something.”

            She looked into his eyes and he looked into hers, those gorgeous, deep amber pools that drew him in like quicksand. “Some people make a lasting impression,” she said.

            He didn’t know who made the move first or if they both did, but the next thing Tommy knew, he was locked in an embrace with the one of the most beautiful girls he had ever met as their lips touched.

            They stood there kissing beneath the starry sky for what felt like an eternity.

TO BE CONTINUED