Expanse Ch 1 Interlude 1

Takes place after the current piece of ch 1

Interlude 1 

It was late. Carmine couldn’t tell how late, though. Her eyes opened to darkness, and the faint light from hospital equipment was a nonsensical blur of colors. The green, red, and orange blinking somehow blurred into a haunting pink color. Carmine shuddered. She was freezing and somehow burning up at the same time. Icy beads of sweat rolled over her curves. She felt each droplet torment her in slow motion, but her arms were too heavy to wipe them away.

Carmine’s entire body buzzed. Her mouth was dry, and her complexion pale. She tried to move, but she was too fat. Her body resisted it all as her muscles were too weak. All the fat that that witch of a woman filled her with.

“Big…Madame…” Carmine hissed the words, and the imposing woman’s image appeared in her head…no…no, it was like Big Madame stood in the room with her. Carmine’s eyes widened. She tried to focus. Was it just a dream, or was Big Madame looming over her hospital bed?

“Look at you” The voice rang in Carmine’s ears. It was cold yet teasing. “Do you miss me? You chased for so long” A phantom silhouette of a hand reached out to touch Carmine’s belly. Still, still she couldn’t tell if it was real or not. Did she feel the sensation of touch, or was it the sweat rolling off her stomach? Was she being groped or just insane?!

“Hate…you!” Carmine tried to sit up. Her back refused to arch. It was nestled into the blubbery rolls that built from her shoulders to the base of her spine. She just barely managed to turn her head. She leaned into her cheek and tried to make out any details. This silhouette was exactly Big Madame’s, but it was too dark to gather any other detail.

There was silence. 

It was as if the phantom grinned. “I don’t hate you. I treated you so well~” It said and continued to slide its hand over Carmine. Were the fingers translucent or just hidden in darkness? Did fat morph and conform around fingertips, or was it a trick of a fatigued mind? The hands went up, across the mounds of her cleavage, and then to her cheek. 

Carmine swore she smelled Expanse. Could it still be in her sweat, her breath? The way she ached right now. She had to just be delirious from withdrawal. She had never noticed until now because she was unconscious. 

“So, that’s how it is.” Carmine grinned back at the phantom. The corners of her mouth twitched, and her eyes narrowed. “You got your claws real deep in me, but I won’t give up! I’m…I’m gonna get out of this bed, bust my fat ass until I’m back in shape, then I’ll come for you again! Count on it.”

The phantom didn’t respond. Its shape faded back into the darkness, and Carmine turned her head toward the ceiling. She still stung with desire. Her breath was heavy with exhaustion and strange desire. The idea of another huff of Expanse dominated her. 

That was fine. This was part of the recovery. Carmine wouldn’t let this desire consume her. She clenched her fat fingers into a bulbous fist and prepared to battle it out. Her stomach growled constantly. It seemed to become louder and louder until it echoed in her ears. She tried to squirm, only to jostle a few rolls. That added a chorus of shrieks from her hospital bed. 

Carmine pinched her eyes shut, but this only displayed the mismatched images from her Expanse exposure. The food had been amazing, as ashamed as she was to admit it. The only thing that could compare would be home-cooked meals from long ago.

“Heh…Big Madame could have made me eat without drugs.” Carmine thought of all the crappy meals she had had in the past. Hastily put together microwaved dinners or ramen. She would eat that, chug coffee, and analyze evidence until dawn. “Maybe being fat will make me appreciate food…I’ll…ngfff become a gourmand.” 

New heat melted across Carmine’s body. The idea of eating…turned her on. She could deal with that later. The next bout of her experience came with full force. The visions where she had been fed, touched, and teased with words that were now indecipherable. She felt her thigh muscles twitch. It was involuntary. Part of her wanted to rub her thighs together, but they were already squished together. The only movements were faint jiggles. 

Carmine rolled her head slightly to the side and smiled frustratedly. ‘Great…I’m horny as hell, but I can’t touch myself! Fantastic!’ The pent-up emotions ran wild and seemed just as frustrated. 

Carmine had chills, but her arms couldn’t reach for a blanket. 

Carmine was hot, but she couldn’t slip out of her hospital gown or dab at her sweat. 

Carmine was hungry, but there was nothing to eat nor the means to feed herself. 

Carmine was excited, but she could not satisfy herself.

Beneath all that, Carmine was eager to get out of bed. She wanted to follow Madeline’s plan. Shed some weight, get back on the trail, and get her revenge on Big Madame. This nighttime suffering and frustration would nurture that fire like kindling. It would be the snack to satiate herself before the feast. 

Carmine felt sleep trickle over her. The final thought sheared through all the static. ‘Count your days, Big Madame.’