Delicacy Pt. 6

Here's the next part of Delicacy as I continue to get caught up on other pieces. Thank you for your patience. 

Delicacy Revisited

Part Six

Not that he had in some time, but Tyler didn't sleep well at all that night. At time between drifting back off, through blurry eyes, he made out the Captain and Sree huddled together in her corner, whispering in the dark.

Come morning, the Captain had returned to his corner. Tyler knew what his friends had been talking about during the night: their escape. Despite being half asleep, he seemed to have picked up on a new sense of secrecy.

Had the plan changed? Were his friends going to exclude him?

If so, Tyler couldn't say he blamed them one bit. There was no denying the fact he was utterly exhausted. Frisk and Sree were probably just trying to let him get the rest he needed and he was being paranoid, but maybe not?

Still, he couldn't imagine them betraying and abandoning him after all he'd done, even if doing so made more sense… He was a liability. A huge, now hardly mobile one.

Bringing Tyler along (or even just attempting to) would just further decrease their already slim chances of success. If they were caught, more likely than not, Frisk and Sree would be killed on the spot before they even knew what hit them. Bringing Tyler and all his burdens along would be incredibly foolish and the plain and simple truth was that sometimes, sacrifices need to be made to ensure the survival of the greatest number of people.

By default, the junior lieutenant and the undetermined number of lives he contained were the greatest number, but that didn't make them the greatest potential escapees… It made them the worst. The greatest irony in all this was that Tyler, the group's greatest liability, was the only thing still keeping them all alive.

The incredibly pregnant young man was incredibly anxious.

*****

Tyler's thoughts cycled on repeat as he sat in bed, literally and figuratively tapped. Somehow, he still couldn't believe what one simple mistake on Glork had transformed him into…

He tried telling himself again that it was a blessing. That his condition was keeping him of use to their captors, and he, the babies and his friends all (relatively) safe for now, but increasingly, it was difficult for him to consider his burdensome condition anything other than a curse.

The sad but undeniable truth was that Tyler probably would've been better off having met a quick death like the rest of the crew. If he had, he wouldn't have been forced to endure weeks of grueling psychological and physical torment, but he hadn't been so “lucky.”

His sheer dependence on food only served to exacerbate things. It had reached the point where basically every moment he was conscious (and sometimes, even when he wasn't,) Tyler was eating. His hunger was relentless and knew no bounds and as a result, he'd become slovenly as he greedily shoved food down his throat, oftentimes snorting like the murspig the Zulians compared him to more and more frequently.

The ever-present aches and frequent spikes of pressure, no longer deterred him like they used to. Now, if and when they did, it was only briefly. Tyler would pause for a second as his belly tensed and lurched. He'd groan and clutch at it with one hand while continuing to shovel food into himself with the other.

He was consistently coated in various foreign foods; crumbs, grease, gravies, sticky jellies, take your pick. His hands, face, breasts and of course, belly, were all littered with scraps and food remnants that had missed his mouth in his unabashed haste to consume.

*****

“Oh, gods…” Tyler groaned late one afternoon as he experienced a particularly forceful episode of lurching, all his insides and babies squirming relentlessly. “Calm… down!” He begged himself and them as he rubbed the side of his massive orb with his messy hand, urging everything inside him to relax, which unsurprisingly, proved totally futile.

He was in bed. He only got out of it now to use the bathroom and maybe waddle around a little to try and stretch his aching back and legs.

Presently, Tyler was seated against the headboard, his legs spread wide, but not enough. The underside of his belly rested on the bed between them, but also on his thighs as he couldn't spread them anywhere close to wide enough to avoid being crushed by the huge mass.

Between bites and swallows, he gasped for breath. Anytime he breathed or chewed, his now kickball-sized breasts heaved and jiggled, his belly shelving and shoving them up and around his chin, framing it in the deep, greasy cleavage between them.

Even though he was all but entirely overwhelmed by the sheer massiveness of his own body, Tyler continued to stuff it, whining and whimpering as his insides churned in protest. His entire, enormous middle ached and pulsed like it had a heart of its own, but he still just couldn't/wouldn't stop eating, even as endless tears rolled down his bulging, sweaty, food-stained cheeks.

Per usual now, his friends were staring at him. Even if his mouth hadn't been brimming with food, he wouldn't have been able to even start to explain his state of mind… Simply put, Tyler and his babies had all become addicted to food. He'd come to do the Zulians job for them, constantly stuffing himself despite how anguished it made him, and how much closer it brought him to meeting his “delicious” end.

Speaking of his dreaded captors, the door to the bedroom suddenly flew open and several of them entered, two with buckets of slop in hand. While the Zulians’ visits were erratic, the purpose was always the same: feed Tyler more.

He'd barely swallowed what was already in his mouth when a guard forced his head back against the headboard. As Tyler's chin was freed from his deep cleavage, the funnel was shoved back between his lips.

Close to bursting as he felt, not to mention the fact he hated himself for wanting to consume even more, Tyler still willingly took the slop, gulping it down deeply as he did eagerly. It wasn't long before he started to get dizzy and his vision began to blur, but he kept guzzling nonetheless.

In hardly any time at all, he'd once again eclipsed his already tremendous capacity in his effort/need to take in as much as he possibly could. The babies wanted more. He and they all needed more…

Tyler had been too busy gulping down slop to notice when the snake lord arrived, but eventually, he heard him speak from nearby.

“What a good little bitch,” Serse smugly commended. “Little is the wrong word though… The bitch has fattened itself up to the point it's almost immobilized by its size!” He grinned down at the fecund human in evident delight.

Tyler gagged some as Serse unexpectedly (was it really, though?) ran a clawed finger across his belly. Yes, this happened a lot, but Tyler had yet to get used to the sensation and for what little it was worth, hoped he never would.

Though he couldn't see them, eyes wide open but unable to see much of anything, Tyler knew his friends were watching the scene unfold in another bout of morbid fascination. At least he'd reached the point he was hardly embarrassed by anything anymore… Despite it all, he gulped and gulped and gulped, because when he wasn't eating, he was assailed by hunger pangs so fierce, he felt like he'd pass out if he didn't assuage them.

By then, Tyler's constant state of nakedness was nothing new and the least of his worries. Whether it bothered his friends, he couldn't say he knew for sure (but was fairly certain it did) or that he even cared.

He was doing what he was doing (or really, letting it be done to him, one way or another) partially for their sakes, after all. Since he was so uncomfortable all the time, it only seemed fair that Sree and Frisk had to deal with some (admittedly, additional) discomfort, in the form of their second-hand embarrassment.

Embarrassment was survivable. Shit… by that point, they'd all faced a lot worse, and still did.

Regardless of how any of their captees felt about it, the Zulians all continued to love seeing Tyler in all his increasingly bloated, naked glory. He was their upcoming feast… He was the delicacy they were all so looking forward to.

Hand not having to travel far, Serse reached out and gave the prone human's turgid (and still remarkably round, almost perfectly so) belly a firm pat right above his navel, which now bulged out in front of it the size of a chicken's egg. Following his initial pat, the snake lord started thumping his palm against the swell, hard enough to make its owner release a loud grunt and belch as he suddenly felt like he was about to puke. Somehow, Tyler managed not to.

Tears and sweat both poured down his cheeks as he snorted, sobbed and sucked. The Zul still holding him by his sweaty forehead, made sure to keep it firmly in place as the funnel was shoved deeper into Tyler's mouth, further spreading his slop-smeared, already strained lips.

Following only the briefest of gags, Tyler resumed chugging. Now, his throat was being flooded, his painfully stuffed body being packed even more, and yet he wanted it… The feast-to-be could literally feel his skin stretching, making him wonder how much more it and the rest of him would be able to handle before something finally gave?

And still he managed to finish the first bucket of slop in record time. Before he knew it, Tyler was working on the next. By the time he finished that one, he was trembling and shaking, more scared than he usually got from feeling closer to bursting than ever before and yet incredibly, somehow, he still wasn't full enough?!

“Mo…re!” He breathlessly raised out after the funnel had been removed. The request had barely left his mouth when another massive belch flew from between his lips, making them flap. “P-p-please!” He stammered out for good measure, following its loud, gurgling conclusion.

All of the aliens present were as surprised as they were impressed and jealous. None of them (their leader included,) could believe how much the expectant human had come to be able to consume, but they all looked forward to finding out what doing so was going to make him taste like?

For weeks on end, the bitch/whore/murspig had been given most of their finest fare… As a result, most (Serse of course, not included) had been left without enough food for themselves or their families, but in the end, their sacrifices would be worth it. Ultimately, thanks to their own going without, their upcoming feast was going to be on a scale so grand, all were hard pressed to recall the last time they'd dined in what was sure to be such a fine and plentiful manner.

“You heard the bitch!” Serse shouted as he motioned for the guards holding the funnel and the last bucket Tyler had emptied to step aside. “Bring it more!” He shouted again as he climbed onto the bed, commanding what little space remained on it.

Without any regard for his audience (because why should he have any?) he nestled himself against Tyler, then took hold of his closest leaking breast. The snake lord stuck his long tongue out and briefly teased the human's swollen nipple before leaning in further and taking it into his mouth to feed from it.

Tyler moaned loudly as some of the incredible pressure filling his body (amongst other things) was relieved. As much as he hated to admit it, it felt so damn good to be drained. So good, he already couldn't wait till Serse moved on to his second mound. Tyler moaned again, this time in a combination of excitement and greedy anticipation, the latter of which he looked as two more guards entered the room with more food, rather than slop.

As Serse continued to feed, trays were set up on the other side of the pregnant young man. As soon as the guards who'd placed them stepped back, Tyler reached out, grabbed a heaping handful, and shoved it into his mouth, almost taking off a couple of his own fingers in the process. He was so crazed by his fervent need to consume (so that eventually, he could be consumed,) that he literally had to remind himself to breathe.

*****

A few minutes into he and the snake lord's latest feeding session, Tyler experienced a deep, unfamiliar and very much unpleasant twisting sensation rapidly building in his middle. For the first time in recent memory, not that he meant to, but he wasted food, letting what was in his hand fall to the bed as it and the one Serse was pressed up against, shot to his tight, bulging flanks.

“Oh my gods…” he moaned through his remaining mouthful as his belly clenched with a sudden surge of tension more forceful and violent than any he'd experienced before. It was so strong, it made the whole heavy mass jerk violently atop him.

Serse wasn't full yet so he was reluctant when he released Tyler's nipple. As it popped from his mouth, he glanced over at the human's very flushed and messy face.

“Finally full?” He asked with a sneer before licking the milk dripping from his thin lips.

Even though his mouth was empty, Tyler couldn't verbally respond. Instead, he just sniffed and nodded, even though he wasn't sure if that was the case?

Honestly, he had no idea what was going on? He worried Serse would demand he keep eating, but much to his surprise and relief, he didn't. Instead, the snake lord just leaned back down and in and resumed his sucking as his men all obviously watched, each wishing they could take just a single pull from either of the pregnant man's breasts and finally get to enjoy what their leader had selfishly been keeping to himself.

The unpleasant sensation radiating from Tyler's bloated, overburdened, over-packed, over everything was core, lasted thirty or so seconds. He suspected he was having a contraction but just as quickly banished the thought, too scared to consider it and otherwise, too preoccupied anyway. Tyler managed to stay in this state of denial for some five minutes before the sensation returned, causing him to let out another loud grunt.

He closed his eyes and smashed his lips together in an exhausting effort to not react noticeably. Acting like things were “normal” was very difficult as the sensation he was now certain was indeed a contraction, was accompanied by an increasing amount of pain that spread throughout the rest of his body.

It still mostly centered in and around his belly, which felt like it was getting heavier while simultaneously dropping, but other parts of Tyler's body were also experiencing the effects… All of a sudden, his hips felt like they were being forced even further than they'd already spread.

While he managed to keep relatively quiet, despite his best efforts, Tyler wasn’t able to keep still… His back arched involuntarily causing him more pain and discomfort. His captors had become so accustomed to his moans, groans and fidgeting by then that none reacted to his latest, their leader included. Serse continued to take his time (and pleasure) getting his latest fill.

When he finally pulled back, he did so breathing almost as heavily as the human he’d just fed from as he looked down at him. The dreaded snake lord wore a very satisfied grin as he gave the tit he’d just drained a light pat. As he watched it jiggle and its fecund owner grimace in response, he was quite happy with himself knowing he’d caused some of his discomfort.

“The greedy whore is truly a gift,” he said to his comrades as he got off the bed and adjusted his clothes. “Everything it offers is or surely will be delicious!” He continued to muse before turning to one Zul in particular. “I have made a decision…”

“Yess, Sssir?”

“This human and its offspring will all be feasted on,” Serse informed. “But I think the time has come for us to start a breeding program.”

The other alien nodded. “That iss sssomething we can look into, however…”

“I don’t care what the Federation has to say about it! So what if they deem the practice archaic?!”

As the other Zulians all hissed and muttered in agreement with their leader, all Tyler could do was keep rubbing his belly and groaning as he and his friends registered the fact their fates had just been sealed. They would not be spared…

“Time to let the whore rest,” Serse said as he turned to leave, waving over his shoulder for the others to follow suit. “We must make sure our meal remains untroubled… Soft and supple.”

Soft and supple (super taut belly aside) as he undeniably was, Tyler was anything but untroubled as he watched the Zulian contingent leave. As he did, he wondered how much longer it would be till his friends, his captors and his babies realized he was in labor?

*****

Needless to say, Tyler hardly slept that night either. Between contractions, he managed to doze, but never fully slept.

Every time his belly clenched or convulsed, he had to fight hard against the need/urge to grunt or groan. Even though Tyler knew the babies were coming, he wasn’t ready for his friends to know yet. Even though they knew they were, he couldn’t bring himself to tell them they’d just about run out of time.

Some time early in the morning, Serse returned, this time by himself, which wasn’t unusual when he made late-night/early morning visits. Having the decency to keep quiet, he slipped into bed with Tyler and started to drink, enamored by the fecund human’s milk, seduced by its taste.

The liquid he so enjoyed was the only reason the snake lord had briefly considered keeping Tyler alive and just feasting on his plentiful offspring. But as much as Serse had come to crave the human’s milk, he craved its flesh even more… Unfortunately, he’d gone without tasting such a delicacy in over a decade, but he’d soon have his chance.

While he was very much going to miss his constant supply of delicious, creamy milk, Serse was very much more looking forward to savoring the whore’s rump… Male rump was the snake lord’s favorite part of a human, and this one had grown a very large and fat one he couldn’t wait to taste.

On the subject of tasting, Tyler had never tasted what he’d come to so abundantly produce. He didn’t want or need another reminder of what he’d become: this motherly vessel, some foul machine of (over) production, an eventual feast for lizards… As much as he tried to ignore it, the fact of the matter was he’d become all but incidental to the three now constantly throbbing orbs dominating his form.

As Serse drank, he pressed himself hard and tight against the human’s hot as it was tightly packed body. Tyler continued to do everything he could to mask his contractions… Whenever one hit, he breathed through it as normally as he could, yet his entire form ached, radiated even more heat and poured sweat. The snake lord either didn’t notice or didn’t care, which Tyler reasoned was a good thing as it meant he had a little longer left.

He did a remarkably good job acting as if the now regular and intense tremors were nothing unusual, even as they shoved and squeezed his load of offspring lower and lower. The contractions were coming more frequently now but still weren’t evenly spaced. Much like Tyler’s pregnancy had though, their frequency seemed to be advancing quickly…

As such, every time one hit, he wanted to wail, but since he couldn’t, he just clenched his jaw tight as he waited for Serse to finish his latest feeding. Tyler silently prayed to the gods because he didn’t know how much longer he was going to be able to keep it all together, literally and figuratively?!

Ready or not, deeply conflicted as to which would be better, Tyler realized he’d just about reached the end: going into labor. This was one of the inevitables everyone involved, most especially, himself, had been waiting for/dreading.

Given their undetermined but obviously abundant quantity, and how much he and they had all rapidly grown, Tyler was surprised he hadn’t gone into labor sooner! If it hadn’t happened now, surely it wouldn’t have been much longer before the babies just started shooting (or maybe even bursting) right out of him on their own?!

For whatever reason, with a quiet grunt he followed with a groan, Tyler tried to reach his bulging navel, already knowing he wouldn’t be able to. As he did, his entire massive middle gave a correspondingly sized shudder, the skin struggling to cover it becoming even more tense as it positively wept with perspiration.

The only response the snake lord pressed tightly against him gave, was to snuggle up even closer.

*****

Briefly between contractions, Tyler drifted in and out of semi-consciousness. He’d been awake when Serse left but had passed out soon after. As he “slept,” Tyler thought he dreamed of being fed from again, this time from both breasts at once, which was weird, but basically everything was weird (not to mention scary and disconcerting) by then…

“Tyler!!!” A voice urgently whispered.

Apparently, he’d drifted off, or rather, passed out again. A groan of relief traveled up this throat as he opened his eyes and saw Sree, not Serse or any of the other Zuls, thank gods.

“W-what?”

“It’s time!” Sree said quietly once she had as much of his waning attention as she realized she was going to get.

“W-what?” He repeated.

He didn’t understand, but then maybe he did? Sree realized the babies were coming…

“No!” He protested, rapidly and repeatedly blinking his eyes as he tried to get them to focus in the dark. “I can hold them in a little longer!” He insisted. “I can’t let them be…”

“It’s time to go, Tyler!”

“What?” He asked as he continued to blink, eyes finally starting to adjust to the dark. “Now?!”

“Now,” Frisk confirmed from the other side of the bed. “But before we do, there’s something you should know…”

“Yeah..?” Tyler asked, assuming he was about to be told he was going to be left behind.

“Sree and I…” the Captain trailed off as he turned to the alien amongst them for support. Sree rolled her large eyes and quietly sighed as she nodded.

“We fed from you while you were asleep,” he went on. “Both of us. We tried to wake you to get your consent first, but…” he briefly trailed off again. “Anyway, gods know when we’ll have the chance to eat again, so we needed to get our strength up,” he shrugged.

“It’s fine,” Tyler replied. Really, I should be thanking you,” he said before quietly asking, “So we’re ALL doing this now?”

I’d say it’s now or never,” Frisk said as he eyed his junior lieutenant’s massive middle, making said man wonder if he knew?

Regardless, escape… Tyler had never been more scared or excited in his life, the former of which really said something by then.

Apparently, the Captain didn’t know. Not yet, anyway… He and Sree helped Tyler to his feet, which took a lot of effort from all three of them. After he was balanced, Tyler staggered over to the closest wall and pressed his belly against it for some already much needed support. He did so just in time, right before the giant orb gave another forceful heave, causing him to cry out in pain and surprise.

The Captain gave him a hard look, causing Tyler to press his right fist against his mouth to quiet himself. All of a sudden, Sree realized what was going on, her expression quickly reflecting her concern.

“Oh, gods… You!” she shook her head. “You're in…”

Tyler nodded as he blinked back tears of pain and fear. “Labor,” he finished for her as he clutched his mass, not wanting, but finally having to come to terms with the fact that he, his children and his friends were all more than likely doomed.

“OK,” Frisk said calmly as if he'd already considered this a possibility. “We should've done this sooner, but what can we do now?” He quietly sighed.

“He's in labor, Captain!” Sree urgently whispered. “We can't…”

“We have to!” Frisk whispered back before turning to Tyler. “I'm sorry, but you're gonna have to hold on. How long, I'm not sure,” he shook his head. “But the sooner we get on our way, the better.”

Tyler sighed in relief. They were still going to take him with them.

“I'll…” he hesitated. “I'll try my best,” he finished with a sniff and a nod, the latter of which Frisk returned.

“I'll go through the grate then circle back to the door. Wait for my signal,” he instructed before heading into the bathroom.

Tyler and Sree waited in the darkness. Already his legs felt like gelatin as not another contraction, but a different intense pain shot from his core down his back and thighs. He could feel something, a baby he realized, shifting and pressing down harder against his pelvis. Tyler fidgeted, taking his right hand from his belly and pressing it against his aching back. He desperately wanted to sit but doing so and getting back up would've taken time and energy he didn't have to waste, so he focused on his breathing instead, keeping it as quiet and even as possible.

A few seconds later, the smallest, most quiet scratch came from the other side of the door.

“That’s… him,” Tyler managed to get out in a single breath, but just barely.

The handle turned and then ever so slowly, the door opened inward, revealing the Captain standing in the corridor. He’d done it. They were free. Well on their way to freedom, but at least it was a step.

Tyler groaned as he tottered forward. He groaned again when the sides of his belly pressed against the door frame as he tried to step through it for the first time in days, in which time he’d grown to be nearly wider than the portal itself. He had to wriggle through, bulging left flank followed by his right, which thankfully worked.

Once he was out in the corridor, he didn’t walk. He didn’t even waddle. Now, Tyler staggered. He arched his back even deeper to try and balance better, but it didn’t help as much as he hoped. As such, it wasn’t long before he was hunching forward over his pregnancy, tits framing his chin again, already greatly fatigued.

As he moved more than he had in days, his enormous pregnancy jerked and puffed out as it wobbled, causing Tyler to lose what little breath he contained and start to wheeze. He cradled what he could of his pulsing, throbbing orb in his hands and forearms as another powerful contraction pummeled through it.

Tyler tried to ignore how difficult it was to make ground, but it was impossible. Every few feet, he had to stop and lean back against the wall, struggling not to moan or groan. Frisk and Sree did their best to flank him, taking his arms about their shoulders to try and keep them moving along, ideally, a little faster, but their escape attempt was proving undeniably arduous.

So much so that Tyler now seriously doubted it was going to work. He was just so full and heavy. Far too much of both… He couldn’t help but start to sob as another contraction tore through him, once again bringing the group’s painfully slow progress to a halt. One they couldn’t afford.

“We have to keep moving,” Frisk said, the urgency in his tone leaving no room for argument.

All of their lives, including those of the babies, were on the line. To be fair, the babies obviously didn’t know what was going on, yet they seemed determined to sabotage the group’s efforts, most especially their carrying father’s, whom they now seemed to want to burst out of. As he was pushed and pulled onward, Tyler started to get delirious from all the pain and pressure along with now having to fight the sudden urge he felt to start pushing. It got to the point he could no longer contain his moans.

He had to release something. As he did, Sree reached up and covered his mouth with her free hand, offering him an apologetic look as she did.

“Just a little… further,” she quietly encouraged, both him and herself.

Sree looked to be in almost as much pain as Tyler from giving him what little physical support she could. Her friend was just so heavy and only getting heavier as his legs fumbled beneath him, causing his pendulous pregnancy to rock even more, further slowing their molasses pace.

Somehow, the laboring man managed to give (relatively) silent direction as to which corridor to turn down next. Not that he wanted to, but the further they slowly got from the bedroom, the more important it became for them to continue. As much as it pained him, Tyler forced himself to keep going and quit stopping. Finally, they were getting close to possibly getting off this awful planet.

As he trudged on, Tyler felt a new pressure forming at his backside. Even though the contractions were coming closer together and getting stronger, his water (or more likely, waters, plural) hadn’t broken yet, meaning it was too soon to push despite it very much feeling like he needed to. But even if he’d been “ready,” now wasn’t the time to start pushing given their location and what they were doing.

Even if they were just about ready to come out, Tyler needed to keep the babies in him, where they’d remain relatively safe. The second they started to come out, if they hadn’t made it off the planet, it would all be over.

He was so hot and sweaty by then that for the first time in a long time, the fecund junior lieutenant was happy to be naked. Anything else causing his temperature to increase would’ve been the straw that broke the camel’s back. Speaking of breaking, Tyler’s hips and ass now all felt painfully tight… A searing pain bloomed from his hole as the great pressure within him continued to shift lower.

With Sree’s hand over his mouth, he could barely get in enough air, but it was a good thing it was there. Without it, the noises Tyler was making against her palm would’ve certainly given them away…

Finally, just when he was ready to give up, the group reached a part of the palace Tyler had never been to before, but had seen Zuls in flight suits coming from that direction. At the end of the corridor they turned down, there was a metallic lift that looked out of place amongst the otherwise antiquated, stone-centric architecture. That was a good sign…

An elevator raised things after all, so barring any additional complications or challenges, it would raise them to the roof, where hopefully, they’d find a ship or a pod Frisk could commandeer and get them the hell out of three, hopefully before the babies started making their way out of Tyler!

They were so close. Close enough Tyler had a change of heart and finally started to believe their plan might work, but first things first…

First, they still had to get to the elevator, get up to the roof, and then get into a pod or ship that may or may not even be there or accessible to them, so it was a bit premature to get excited.

Ever so slowly, the group continued down the last corridor. As his sweaty, swaying belly led the way, Tyler thought it was never going to end but finally, they made it to the elevator. Frisk reached out and pressed the button to summon it.

The hiss the door made as it opened caused Sree to flinch and quickly look around in panic but fortunately, the coast remained clear. Tyler almost started to sob again, this time in relief as they proceeded into the elevator one at a time.

The Captain entered first, followed by Sree, momentarily leaving Tyler under his own uncomfortable, barely strong enough support, but he didn’t care. Hopefully, the most harrowing part of their escape was now behind them…

But no, of course not.

Once it was his turn to enter the elevator, Tyler took two small but still quite ponderous steps. Almost immediately, he stopped again. He had to.

He physically couldn’t continue. Looking down and out, Tyler was horrified to see his belly wouldn’t fit through the door.