Day 1:

Tracey sat alone in Room 401, staring at her positive test. She felt herself sink into the couch. Her phone buzzed next to her. All her friends were reporting their negative tests. She felt sick, guilty, alone. All that talk she'd spewed at Rebecca the night before, and here she was the only positive friend of the group. Then Erica's results came back. She had it too. Shit. Had Tracey given it to her? The guilt was making her claustrophobic.

Then she realized, it wasn't just the guilt. Her chest was feeling tight. She stood up, and walked over to the mirror. Her face was beet red, and her eyes were glassy. It was already starting. She felt the neck of her t-shirt dig into her shoulders. And then, all of a sudden, she felt... good.The guilt began to wash away with a new sense of calm, pleasure. She wondered if Erica felt the same. Maybe she'd given her a gift, instead of a curse. If she was feeling even a fraction of what Tracey was feeling right now, she should be grateful.

Tracey snapped out of it. Her phone buzzed again. It seemed like the group was coming together in Dave's room. She thought about grabbing her keys and joining them. Then she looked in the mirror again. Her shirt was already starting to ride up, exposing her belly. Her self-consciousness took hold. She tried to push the shirt back down past her belt line, but it wouldn't budge. Tracey forced herself to stop as she noticed the shirt was riding higher and higher the more she tugged.

She sat back down on the couch, and sat there, staring at the television for what felt like hours. When her pants felt like they would squeeze the life out of her, she pulled them off, watching her soft flesh ripple outward. Had her legs always been this long? Of course not. She felt her thighs, letting her fingers tickle up toward her sex. Her shirt dug into her chest as she let her fingers slide into her wet pussy. On the couch, she brought herself to orgasm, letting the low happy emotions of the virus guide her to climax.

She stood up, feeling her new balance. The room definitely looked smaller. She went to her bag and pulled out her tape measurer, glad she brought it from her last job site. It seemed silly at the time, but now here she was, measuring herself along the wall of Room 401. She touched the top of her head with her fingertip, clamping the measurer into place and stood back to take a look: Five foot eight.

Tracey gasped. Seven inches in one day. She looked at herself in the mirror. Her once round, hourglass appearance had become more slender, more lithe. She noticed the beginning of muscle on the few inches of stomach poking out of her shirt. Seven inches in a day. And now she was pretty average sized, she'd almost wager that she would be considered tall. Erica was only an inch shorter than her now, after all. She remembered how she used to tower over her just yesterday.

Then Tracey remembered Erica had it, too. She wondered if she grew seven inches today as well. Maybe not, she found herself hoping. Rebecca had grown less than a foot in her stint. This was probably it for her, Tracey assumed. She looked at herself, 5'8". She could get used to being 5'8". It suited her well.

Day Two:

Tracey woke up with a feeling like someone was strangling her. She came to, realizing her shirt was stuck to her, pressing against her far too hard. Still half asleep, she ripped it off herself. It came off easy. Maybe it had worn down with all the stretching. One look at her arms made Tracey realize that wasn't the case. Even at rest, she could see hard lines of muscle along her biceps and triceps. She looked down at her now bare chest, past her new pair of breasts, to the rock hard abdominals along her stomach. She was a brick house. She stood up to get a better look and realized immediately the room had shrunk i  the night.

She snatched her tape measurer and raced into the bathroom. With the mirror in front of her, she measured 6'1" and gasped. She was a giant. Tallest person in the friend group by an inch. She stared at her massive new body with awe, watching her muscles shift along her frame as she moved. What would Martin think? What would all of them think? She wondered if they were still all in Dave's room. What was that number again? She dug through the group chat, stumbling on the answer: Room 412.

She thrashed through her suitcase, looking for anything that would fit her. Luckily, a lot of her fashion sense lent toward baggy. She'd thrown a pair of wide slacks, now looking like baggy culottes, and a sweater that showed only a little of her tummy, and raced out the door. Her eyes scanned along the rows of doors in the hallway, hungry for the number 412. She felt her long legs carry her swiftly along the hall. She felt her heart skip as she imagined all her friends faces when they saw her. There it stood: the door to the Fortress of Immunitude. She raised her hand to knock, but the sound of another door slamming stopped her.

A few doors down, a woman slid down the wall, her hands buried in a big tuft of red hair. Tracey crept toward her, watching her sob into a night shirt that was like a second skin on her. "You ok?" Tracey asked.

The redhead sniffled and looked up at the tall blonde woman smiling down at her. "He says he can't handle it."

"Somebody in there?" Tracey nodded toward the door.

"My boyfriend. I was 5'2" yesterday and now... look at me!" She shot up like a bullet, standing to her full height. Tracey rose up with her, and smiled, realizing she was a few inches shorter than herself.

"Doesn't look so bad to me. And I was 5'1" yesterday." she said, calmly.

"How tall are you now?" the redhead asked.

"Six-one, as of a few minutes ago. And my name is Tracey."

"Paulette." The redhead replied, holding out her hand for a shake. Tracey shook it warmly.

"Paulette, why don't you stick with me for a bit. We've got... at least this in common. Maybe we can give each other a little help in the transition."

"Thank you." Paulette sniffled. "I'd like that. I'm definitely not going back in there!" she pointed to the room.

"Do you need anything to take with you? I have some friends a few doors down I was going to hang with."

"No, nothing fits me anyway. That's what started this whole mess." Paulette replied.

"Let's see if I can find you something in my room, then." She took her hand and walked her back down to Room 401.

Once inside, Paulette's demeanor calmed. Her worries over this tall, thick woman were washing away as she realized her room wasn't full of switchblades and assault rifles. She was just a woman, going through the same thing Paulette was. Her eyes fell on the tape measurer on her desk. Tracey noticed.

"Yeah, that's been a real help this afternoon. Feel free to give it a shot." Tracey said, pulling clothes out from her suitcase.

Paulette brought the tape measurer down along her scantily clad body. She watched the numbers creep closer and closer toward six feet. She looked up and Tracey was right in front of her, holding a big sweat shirt and shorts. "Allow me."

She took the tape measurer and pulled it taught next to Paulette's head. "Five-ten. Not so bad, huh?"

"Bad enough to ruin my whole life." Paulette pouted.

"Not so bad that you can't start another one." Tracey replied. Paulette couldn't help but smile at that. She took the clothes from Tracey, and slid them over her own. Their baggy shape seemed to fit her well, and for the first time, she let herself feel normal again. "These rooms have a lot of channels to them, if there was something you wanted to watch..."

"I don't mind just sitting for now." Paulette replied. They sat down on the couch, and talked about each other's lives for the rest of the afternoon. They kept their mouths shut as they noticed each of their heads slowly crawling upward toward the ceiling. Paulette was surprised to find herself excited by the sight, knowing it was happening to her as well. Finding someone to bond with during this ordeal was making it all seem natural, and dare she say right. She told Tracey about her boyfriend, the years they'd spent together. How she thought he was going to propose on this trip. Now, it felt all over.

"Fuck him, then." Tracey spat.

"Yeah, I guess so." Paulette tried. Then she thought about it. "Yeah, fuck him!"

They both laughed, letting all their anxiety escape with each little expression. Tracey looked out the window. "Oh my god, it's dark out."

"We talked all day." Paulette sighed.

"Feel better?" Tracey asked.

"Much." Paulette hugged her. She had made a very good friend at the end of her life. Here's to the next life. They turned on the TV, and watched the pale light flicker as they cuddled warmly together in Tracey's bed. As her eyes shut, Tracey could only wonder what tomorrow held.

Day 3:

"Tracey get up!" Paulette screamed.

"What?" Tracey moaned, rising slowly.

"I'm huge!" Paulette continued.

"This again?" Tracey rubbed her eyes, standing up. She looked up at Paulette. Way up. It hit her. "You're huge."

Paulette nodded quickly, concern in her eyes. 

"Let me get the measurer." Tracey lumbered over to her desk, feeling her own clothes constrict against her body as she moved. She lined her massive redheaded friend along the wall and slung her long arms up to her head, measurer in hand. Her sleepy eyes shot open as she read out, "Six foot six."

Paulette put her hand up to her mouth, choking on her gasp. "That's too big."

"It's going to be fine, Paulette. I'm here. I'm..."

Paulette grabbed her and spun her against the wall, sliding the measurer up to Tracey's head. "Only six-three! You grew two inches and I grew eight!" 

"Technically, I grew fourteen inches, and you grew sixt-" Tracey tried. But Paulette shrieked again. Tracey approached her, rubbing her shoulders as she watched tears form in her eyes. "It's going to be fine. I'm here. I'm in it, too."

"But what if it doesn't stop?" Paulette choked.

"It will. It always has. It takes about a week."

"It's been three days!"

"Here, why don't you make some coffee, and I'll grab a shower. Then you can take a shower, and we'll be nice and clean, and ready to start the day fresh?"

Paulette nodded, unsure. Tracey smiled. She hugged Paulette, feeling her wide hips collide with her own. Compared to Paulette's soft curves, Tracey couldn't help but feel just how hard her body had become. She had gained almost no fat with her growth, as her body flared out like a fitness coach. She parted from Paulette and stepped into the bathroom.

As she watched the water ripple down her tight stomach, and broad shoulders, she felt that same old feeling of awe return. She grabbed for anything nearby, settling on the lid of the toilet. She lifted the heavy porcelain like it was styrofoam, watching her bicep bulge as it came toward her. It wasn't enough. She wanted more. She killed the water and jumped out of the shower. It took a minute to wrap a couple towels around herself to comfortably step out to Paulette.

Paulette was holding a cup of coffee for her, looking more settled. "I think I grew again."

"You don't look like it to me." Tracey said, approaching her. She grabbed the cup from her hands and stopped dead. She was staring her right in the eye. They were the same height. Paulette caught on as well. "Definitely don't look it to me." Tracey repeated.

"That must have been some hell of a shower." Paulette replied. Tracey giggled. She was happy to see her new friend returning to her playful demeanor.

"Let's see what the damage is." Tracey said, pulling out her tape measurer. After a couple quick stretches and string outs, they both measured out to 6'7".

"I can't have been in the shower that long." Tracey sighed.

"It's the inconsistency of the thing that's the real hell of it." Paulette concluded.

"And... the other thing." Tracey muttered.

"What other thing?" Paulette asked.

"Are you... are you not... do you feel..." Tracey stumbled. She was afraid to say it in front of someone she just met.

"Feel like I would fuck a mule if it bought me dinner?" Paulette asked. Tracey laughed.

"Yes!" 

"God, I hate to say it, but I've had to stop myself going back to that ass in my room a couple times already."

"Good for you. You shall be rewarded by my bold new idea." Tracey announced.

"And what's that?" Paulette queried.

"Exploration."

Both women crept down the stairs, wearing what best they could scrounge together. Tracey had pulled her zip-up hoodie along her tight chest, letting it dangle like a baby tee above her stomach. Her once baggy shorts were now scrunched tightly against her booty. Paulette had settled on something a bit classier. Tracey had brought along a floor-length evening dress for their now-canceled goodbye dinner. It was now hovering just above Paulette's kneecaps as she tip toed behind Tracey toward the bottom of the stairs.

They opened the door into the lobby, looking out at the deserted space with wonder and confusion. "Is there nobody running the store?" Paulette asked.

"I think they've abandoned us." Tracey gasped. There was silence then. Tracey howled, listening to it echo along the empty walls. Paulette jumped at the sound, then giggled, joining in on the howls.

"Explorers!" Tracey shouted.

"Loud ones, too." came a voice from behind. They both spun around, startled. A group of people looked back at them. Two men, and a woman. The men all looked normal, if not a bit concerned. The woman on the other hand, was just shy of six feet and scowling up at them.

"Sorry, we didn't mean to startle you." Said the other man. "I'm Josh, and this is my brother Greg, and his wife Alicia."

Tracey smiled. "I'm Tracey, and this is my partner in crime Paulette." Paulette waved shyly. "We decided to take in the surroundings."

"I take it you also have the virus." Greg said, stupidly.

"Or maybe the circus is in town." Alicia snarled.

Tracey ignored her. "Yeah, things were seeming a bit cramped, so here we are. What are you guys doing down here?"

"Alicia has been experiencing some symptoms." Greg replied. "The front desk hasn't been picking up in a few hours, so we wanted to check in and see if there were any updates."

"Update: They fucked right off." Tracey said, motioning toward the empty counter behind them.

"No!" Alicia gasped, staring at the nobody in charge. "I can't do this alone, Gregory."

"You've got us. We've got you, sweetiepie." He hugged his wife. He was still several inches taller than her, Tracey noticed.

"What if it gets worse?" Alicia cried. "It's only been three days and I grew two whole inches!"

Tracey choked on her laugh, trying hard not to let it out. Alicia's fierce eyes fell on her. "Something funny? We're not all used to being tall."

"Three days ago, I was five foot two." Paulette giggled. "And Tracey was even shorter."

Alicia's eyes widened. Compassion filled them. "Oh my god. You two are really going through it. That explains why you're flashing us."

"Huh?" Paulette asked. Alicia's eyes pointed down toward Paulette's legs. Tracey's eyes followed, noticing now that her friend's pink panties were poking out from underneath what was now a very short-cropped dress. Paulette blushed, putting her hands around her crotch. "I'm so sorry!"

"It's been a learning process for all of us." Tracey said, smoothing things over. "Here, why don't we all walk together for a bit and see if we find any staff hanging around?" They all nodded in agreement.

The five of them walked along, looking around the abandoned hotel, chatting with one another about their experiences in quarantine. Greg and Alicia were visiting for a cousin's birthday. Josh had come to the hotel to greet them the night before, and was stuck with them now until the stay at home order lifted. Paulette looked over at Josh, who was oddly quiet since they'd begun. She saw his eyes move away from her quickly as she looked at him. She'd caught him staring. She felt herself blush. Was he into this new version of her? Paulette found herself oddly surprised by this, given the past few days of fear and confusion. But now she felt... ready.

"So it must be tough being stuck as the third wheel this weekend." Paulette said, nudging closer to Josh. She let Tracey carry on with the couple ahead, letting her pace slow down. Josh followed her long legs.

"It's not so bad. We've got the couch at least, which hasn't been the worst thing I've slept on." Josh replied. "Not like I wasn't going to be the third wheel at the birthday, anyway."

"So you've got nobody waiting for you outside?" Paulette asked. She saw Josh's face fall. "Oh no, I didn't mean it like that!"

"No, it's ok. I'm a pretty solitary guy." Josh smiled. "Not that I don't mind company."

"And what kind of company are we talking about?" Paulette cooed.

"Nobody as beautiful as you, at least." Josh muttered. He shook his head. That was stupid.

Paulette smiled. She felt something come over her. She grabbed his hand, stopping him in his tracks. She watched the other three walk further away down the hall, and pulled Josh in for a kiss. He kissed her back, and she felt her spine straighten. Wait, it wasn't straightening. Was it... lengthening? She pulled away, staring down at herself. Josh watched as her dress slid further up past her hips, becoming a blouse before his eyes. Her breasts pressed further outward, creating a tight, soft cleavage. Josh gulped.

"Are you ok?" he wheezed.

"Never better. Where were we?" She pressed herself against him, letting her long legs slide up his side as she kissed him deeper and deeper.

Their bodies collided along the hallway, in search of a more open space to do the deed more appropriately. Clutching his head in her hands, Paulette looked up to see the bar, empty, just a few steps away. "Follow me, I have an idea."

She tugged the nearly unresponsive Josh into the bar. He laughed as he felt her strength guide him toward a tall table at the end of the bar. She spun him around, hands on his shoulders staring down at him with eyes like firecrackers. "Would you believe I've never done this before? Not in public, I mean."

"I haven't either." Josh sighed, staring up at her radiant face between a thick curtain of red locks. "Especially not with a giant goddess." Her mouth parted into a hungry smile. Then it was on him. He felt her lips dance against his as her tongue found him. His hands were all over her, feeling her soft curves along the tight dress on her torso. His hands crept inside, feeling the soft flesh of her massive breasts. She moaned, still kissing him as her hands found his member.

Then she stopped. Josh looked at her, her face now full of worry. "Did you hear that?" she whispered.

"What?" He asked.

"It sounded like... laughing." Paulette replied. Josh shook his head, staring around at the empty bar. Paulette looked around as well. There was no one in sight, but she sensed something. She took a couple steps toward the bar, listening. Then, she thought about it. What would she do if she found someone? Yell at them because she was having sex in public? She didn't have a very long leg to stand on in that argument.

"Let's get out of here." she announced, grabbing Josh and pulling him out of the bar.

Tracey walked along the last row of rooms, with nobody in sight. "Yeah, it's like a ghost town." she commented.

"This feels illegal." Alicia replied. 

"What can we do?" asked Greg. "Complain to the front desk?"

"Hey, are you alright?" Alicia cut in, grabbing Tracey's broad shoulder.

"Yeah, why?" Tracey asked, confused.

"Your zipper just popped off." Alicia explained. Tracey looked down at her hoodie. The zipper was indeed gone, with the zipped middle of her hoodie now slowly unraveling from the top. 

"Oh jeez, I'm sorry." Tracey said, impotently trying to redo the zip without her zipper.

"It's just been constant for you, hasn't it?" Greg asked. Tracey nodded. 

"I guess I should count my blessings." Alicia replied.

"It's not all bad. Check this out." Tracey grabbed a support bar from the wall. She put both her hands around it, unsure if this would work. With a tug, it came free from the wall. Greg and Alicia gasped. "I wasn't sure if I could do that." She bent the hollow metal tube into an arc. "Jesus."

"Jesus." the couple agreed.

"Paulette, did you see that?" Tracey asked. The hall was empty save for them. "Paulette." She had just now realized her friend was gone. She couldn't guess for how long.

"Josh?" Greg added.

"Here! Right here!" Paulette and Josh raced into the hall in front of them. Tracey gasped. Paulette's disheveled red hair was now touching the top of the ceiling.

"What happened to you?" she asked.

"We got a little sidetracked." she huffed.

"We thought if we split up, we'd cover more ground." Josh added, breathlessly. His hair was equally mussed. They were fooling no one.

"Well, so long as it was productive." Alicia replied.

"Oh yes." Josh smiled. Paulette nudged him.

"No, actually. We didn't find anybody." 

"Same here." Tracey said. "But hey, we made some friends. That's not nobody, right?"

Alicia stared up at Tracey's beaming face. Her scowl returned, before giving way to a smile. "It's not... nothing."

"Here's some people!" came a voice. They saw another party of folks approaching from the pool. "Have you guys seen any staff?" asked the leader.

They all shook their heads. It was becoming clear the search party was bigger than they thought, and nobody was successful. "I guess this calls for a drink." Tracey announced.

At the bar, a group of some dozen people, led by the nearly seven foot Tracey and the over seven foot Paulette, emptied bottles into glasses as they talked and sang of their quarantine sorrows. It was clear to everyone that they'd all been cooped, tired, and frustrated for far too long.

"Then why don't we do something about it?" asked a round-faced woman, Debbie. She was five-nine today, and feeling worked up.

"Like what?" Paulette asked, Josh draped over her huge form. They both held tumblers of rum, and were starting to feel it.

"A shindig!" Debbie stomped her foot.

"What, like a party?" Tracey asked, also in the beginning stages of tipsy.

"Exactly like a party! said a man, Fred.

A low roar of cheers rang up amongst the assembly. Plans were soon hatched, and everyone got to work writing the official announcement of bits of paper from behind the front desk. Two copies for every floor. Each to be posted by the stairs and elevator for anyone brave enough to chance the world outside their rooms. The shut ins would be kept to their peace. Everyone else was invited to that very bar, two nights from then. Enough time for the prisoners of the Hotel LeGrande to find the message. It was time to cast off their chains and cut loose. The warden had fled, now the inmates were in charge.

Tracey laughed as she and Paulette climbed up the stairs back to their room. They waved excitedly to their new friends as everyone turned off to their respective floors. Paulette hung her arm across Josh as he waved goodbye to Greg and Alicia. They smiled at him, knowingly.

"You sticking with us, Josh?" Tracey asked.

"Oh, actually. I was thinking I'd go back to my old room tonight." Paulette stammered. It was an odd look for a woman now standing at 7'2", a foot over her sheepish date.

"Oh! Good for you!" Tracey saved. "Are you sure the ass won't mind?"

"The ass is not the one with the credit card on file." Paulette said, finding her courage. "Not like there's anyone left to complain to anyway."

Tracey smiled. She took Paulette by the shoulders and hugged her. Only a couple days ago she had been almost a foot and a half shorter, and sobbing like her life was over. Now she was about to reclaim it for herself. "See you at the party?" Tracey asked.

"We'll be there." Paulette sighed. "Thank you, Tracey. For everything."

They parted, and Tracey watched from room 401 as Paulette and Josh walked down the hall to their new life.

The ass was sitting on the bed, staring at the ring box in his hand. He hadn't heard from Paulette in days. She'd left her phone when she stormed out. Stormed out, he told himself. Not that he threw her out. It was her decision to leave. He just told her it would be a good idea. He had poked his head out the hallway a few times a day, but she was nowhere in sight. Who knows where she went. Hopefully she had found what she needed. He still intended to marry her, if she found a way to get well again. He was only five-ten himself, and when she stared him right in the eye, he couldn't help but be upset. How could she do that to him? After all he had done for her.

A knock at the door shook him out of his stupor. He stood up. It was time. "Babe?" he called to the doorway.

"Yeah, babe." came Paulette's voice from the other side.

"You ok now?" he asked.

"Never better." Paulette replied. The ass smiled. He tucked the ring back into his pocket and moved toward the door. Now was the time to pop the question. She had learned her lesson, and was ready to be his again. He opened the door, and stared directly at a pair of nipples poking through what looked like a very short dress.

His neck craned up and up, until it got right to Paulette's smiling face. That face was now attached to the biggest body he had ever seen, with curves rolling along in a perfect hourglass. Her long arms pulled him close to her. He felt his body sink into her soft, warm flesh. It was like a dream. He barely noticed the man standing next to her, trying his best not to look awkward. He had slid into a cozy unreality as he felt his gargantuan future-fiancee move him out into the hallway. He snapped out of it when the door slammed. He was alone, and all was quiet.

There must be some mistake. He knocked on the door. No response. He knocked louder. "Paulette, come on. Let's talk about this, baby."

He heard heavy footsteps. Thank god. She still had some sense. They could work this out. There had to be a cure or something. She'd come around.

The door swung open, and Paulette effortlessly chucked his suitcase right at him. It hit him like a lead cauldron, and he fell to the ground. When he stood up, there would be more knocking. But the door would not open again until it was party time.

Day 4:

Tracey spent the day before the party making arrangements with the ragtag crew of folks that came together to plan. They took stock of the bar, made everything they could out of what ingredients remained in the kitchen, and tried their best to decorate as festively as possible given the barren surroundings of the abandoned hotel.

She couldn't help but marvel as she made more and more friends, and watched the female half of them slowly rise taller as the day went on. She had become something of a de facto leader, as people naturally looked up to her. Around lunch time, they all munched on the little bits of snacks they had prepared that morning. Tracey considered it a taste test to see what dishes passed for party consumption. They all took turns measuring themselves then, and the loudest cheer came when Tracey clocked in at exactly seven feet.

"At least it's slowing down." she remarked to the laughing crowd. 

About a dozen women all joined together in a first floor room owned by the irrepressible Debbie to cobble something together for them all to wear. Debbie had broken six feet herself just after lunch, and couldn't stop giggling the rest of the day about it. Everyone brought their bedsheets, finding different ways tie, scrunch, and wrap them to fit themselves. Some of the women were still lucky to have a few things that fit them to accessorize with. But the little crew of big women all started with a foundation of bedsheets.

They crowded around Tracey, helping her figure out just how to get her massive body fully covered. There would be no more accessorizing for her. They all worked it out into a stately, regal toga for their warrior queen. She stood before them, like an alabaster Statue of Liberty, making joke poses and laughing with her new friends. She wondered about Paulette then, and if she was still getting bigger with Josh nearby to watch in amazement.

She sat on her knees as Debbie did her hair. It was decided to get it all done tonight, in case she was too big to reach by party time. 

As Tracey laid down in her bed, taking gentle care not to mess up her look, she could barely shut her eyes from the excitement of what the next day held.

Day 5:

The Immune Squad listened, rapt in joy, as Tracey finished her story. She stood there, now 7'3" by her most recent estimate, her toga creeping up her ankles with the biggest smile they'd ever seen. "So yeah, that was my week. You guys get up to anything fun?"

The Squad all took turns murmuring and muttering. They didn't exactly know how to top that. Especially since they couldn't even see the top of her head.

"Well then, you guys think about it. And I'll get us a round of shots." Tracey beamed.