Expanding Bootcamp - BluePotion85 - BluePotion85 [Archive of Our Own] (2024)

Chapter 1: Welcome to base.

Chapter Text

We were coming back from our regular training, when a guy in a lab coat and stylish glasses came to our base on the last day of bootcamp. He had a thin physique, dark hair tied to the back of his head in a knot and a bored expression that showed he had better things to be doing than this. He presented himself as a scientist for the military, Dr. Vicent Belmore.

“Thanks for coming gentlemen. This should be a fast meeting so we can all get back to business. We are going to call some of you, if you get called, stay where you are. The rest can go to your barracks” – the man said in a monotone voice.

Then he proceeds to call names from a list in no particular order. I’m trying to remain calm, but it’s hard not to let my mind drift into the worst scenarios.

My family is lower middle class, as their only son their hopes for class mobility are placed on my shoulders. I’ve never been particularly gifted for exams or sports, so there were no prospects for scholarships in my future. The only option I had left for a higher education was with the military. The idea of getting kicked out is terrifying to me, even with the torture that the past weeks have been.

As the scientist continues reading the names of more and more of our group all I can think is how likely I am to be discharged. They will kick me out because I trip at that time during our drills or because I overslept a few too many times or because I’m a little forgetful. Then the man calls my name like all the others before it.

“William Kent” - I’m sure my heart stopped there.

But the world doesn’t revolve around me, and the list continues. After not too long the name

“Connor Anderson”- is called.

Connor and I met on the bus on the way to the bootcamp on the first day, while I joined the military in hopes to climb the economic and social ladder, he did because of a legit love for the military. His brother enlisted while he was just a kid, he got ambushed with his team on a mission abroad, survived the attack and came back as a condecorated war hero.

Ever since then, Connor has been dedicating his every breathing moment to enlist and make his brother proud. While my brain is going to fear and doubt, I look in his direction for comfort or camaraderie. What I found instead is a confident expression. Connor like always is secure that this is his path, and that the military will do the best choice. I wish I could be that optimistic, or that trusting for that matter.

“What are you waiting for? The rest of you go!”- said the scientist exasperated.

Half of our team was chosen. As soon as the rest of them left the room and closed the door behind them, the scientist continued.

“You have been randomly chosen to participate in an exercise to measure a new facility for the military. Our engineering team has developed a new facility with the intention to be more efficient in resource consumption, waste management and overall improve quality of life. Of course, this exercise is voluntary, anyone who wants to continue with their training alongside the rest of their team here is welcome to do so.” – He took a pause and looked around, waiting for someone to step down. But no one did.

“Perfect. You are going to finish this week of bootcamp, say your goodbyes to your teammates for now and next week you all will be transported to the new base to continue your induction into the military. Any questions?”- he gave a last glance at us.

None, and just like that the man gave his goodbyes and was escorted by other two soldiers and left the facility.

As we moved to the barracks, I got close to Connor.

“It feels like a lie, after 10 grueling weeks of bootcamp anything new will be a welcome change of pace”- I tell him trying to ease myself from the scare we just passed.

“Yes, this is going to be great as a team activity, and we will be able to see a brand-new facility” -he said with a look of excitement in his eyes.

For all the time I have known Connor, the biggest issue we ever get into is related to my ever-skeptical mentality and his overconfidence in the military. I try to avoid bringing subjects that get conflict going. Even then, some habits are hard to lose, and I express my doubts about the idea.

“But it feels too good to be true, I’m keeping my expectations low. I can imagine we will get a minimalist station with small food portions and tiny beds making our barracks look like a night in Vegas” - as soon as I see his pained expression I kind of regret the comment.

“You should have more confidence in the team Will. I’m sure they have everything in mind. Besides you heard what they said, it’s thinking of improving our quality of life”

Connor is a cheerful and positive person, he hardly ever lets things get to him. But when we argue about anything I can feel his sadness. And for someone who always looks like rainbows and sunshine a sad look on their face is painful to witness. So I decided to go along with it.

“You are right. maybe it will be better than what we have here, but just in case try to enjoy the night as much as possible soldier” - say while patting him on the shoulder and we both laugh the matter off.

The day of the move to the new station came and with it, a bus to take our few belongings and our asses to this experiment.

The bus takes us to the base in a secluded area outside of town. The base was filled with white and gray premade buildings, simple designs focused on practical use more than their looks. But what they lack in aesthetics they compensate in size. As soon as we got out of the bus, we noticed how big the base was compared to our expectations.

Just from the main gate I could see we had the standard barracks across a few plots of land, A watch tower with a clear view of the whole area, what I could only imagine as a central base at the end of the plot, a vehicle loading area and a bunch of small buildings interconnected by wires and tubing from one another.

Dr. Belmore was in the main entrance to receive us, just like before he looked bored if not a bit annoyed.

“Welcome to Fort Celsus, during the next few weeks we will be monitoring the degree of optimization of resources in this facility. First, we will have a little tour of the station. Once we get to the infirmary, we will have a mandatory health check to make sure you are all ok for the duration of the experiment. After the tour you will all be provided with your instructions for the day. Any questions?”

One of the cadets raises his hand and the scientist signals him to talk.

“What are the expectations of the experiment on our end sir?”

The scientist looks at him unimpressed and replies while checking his notes.

“You will live here and work to the best of your abilities, try to keep your usual routine from the bootcamp. Don’t think too much of the experiment or optimization for that matter, it’s supposed to be seamless. We want to ensure that even in dire times these sites can keep our troops comfortable and in peak performance to get deployed into action”- He paused and focused back to the cadet that made the question with a new proud look on his face.

“If the test proves successful sites like this will be easily deployed in our different camps around the globe.” – He clears his throat, and his bored look comes back.

“Ok let’s get started.”

We walk with Dr.Belmore all over the station, all the while Connor and I are impressed out of our minds with some of the developments in this place. We see automated facilities that keep waste to a minimum, A self-regulating energy generator, an automated machine in the chow hall that takes raw materials and cooks for the day. Everything in the smallest size I have seen in my life.

But one of the things I wasn’t expecting was a recreation room, for us new members of the team communication or entertainment is basically off limits. There is always training, studying or maintenance duties around base.

It’s a rather small room compared to the rest of the base. With a single-family size sofa facing a massive tv. A brand new game console and two shelves that fill the walls on each side of the tv, filled with games and movies to choose from. On a corner there are some stools for extra people trying to share the space and a cabinet with some comic books.

“We have optimized most of the activities in the facility. We hope that it leaves you with some free time and that you appreciate some entertainment to burn the hours” -said Dr. Belmore smiles when he notices everyone excited for the room.

Some of us were ready to get inside and give it a spin but we needed to keep moving.

We get to the infirmary and like everything before it, it’s simple but more than functional. We are set in a line inside the building for the health checkup, we will be called and get a private session in the different cubicles that form the left side of the building.

When my turn arrives, I meet Doctor Donovan. He is a skinny guy with long brown hair, green eyes and a big smile. His excitement is palpable as he greets me.

“Hi Will nice to meet you” -he says while reading my information on a clipboard

We shook hands and started the check up. It’s as simple as you would imagine. Cough here, do you feel pain if I press there?

The only thing that was odd came when the doctor reads my vaccination chart and says

“Look at that, you are missing a flu shot” - He shows me the empty spot in my chart and there is no denying it.

I can’t remember for the life of me when was the last time I got a shot. I don’t do well with shots, generally speaking I try to avoid syringes at all costs. but I trust the report and there are worse things in life than a pick on the arm.

“But don’t worry, the military filled this place with basically anything to treat an emergency” -he says as he reaches for the syringe from a kit near him.

The cubicle is supplied with medicine, emergency kits, testing equipment all as tiny as they come. I wonder if all cubicles are as well supplied or if it’s just this one.

The doctor comes back with the shot in hand and stands by my side showing me the syringe.

“They even brought some of the most common shots in case anyone missed one before the experiment”

His cheerful demeanor changed to concern for a second. Most likely he noticed my look of disdain towards the situation and tried to talk with me, in hopes of helping me calm down.

“You know most of the other cubicles have a doctor provided by Dr. Belmore’s team but you got lucky, I’m going to be the resident medic at base”

“That’s cool, and don’t take me wrong Doctor but I don’t know how that helps in this specific situation”- I say looking outside the window in the cubicle.

“Because boy I’m the best at what I do” -He looks at me with a proud expression and shows me the empty syringe, with almost superhuman speed he got the shot while I looked away.

After that we move on with the checkup, he tells me how much he is looking forward to working with us and to get to meet everyone in the team.

This is his first job with the military and the man looks ready to burst with anticipation, his energy is contagious I will give him that. When he lets me go I stay out with the rest of the team waiting for the others to get their check ups done.

After we are finished, we move to the barracks. Inside we find rows of big beds in a single long room, each bed has a locker just like our previous base. Each bed is assigned in alphabetical order and on top of each bed installed on the wall there is a metallic slit with a button beside it. It has engraved the word “daily schedule”. I press mine and a card comes out. Mine says

Patrolling Shift - 9:00 till 12:00.

cleaning duty - Dinner service.

Energy station - Health checkup.

Everyone gets a basic task to maintain the place in shape, but what we find weird is there are no training or study sessions on the cards. Aside from patrolling shifts, there is no time assigned for the other activities.

“Well gentlemen. To make this experience as similar to one of our camps abroad as humanly possible, we are cutting you off from the outside in most ways. No phones, packages are restricted, and letters are limited to once a week. A truck will come to provide supplies once that is necessary, but I doubt we will come to that. When the experiment ends, we will have you review the facilities”

Some cadets start to raise their hands to question what’s on their cards, but the doctor assures them the commander will cover those questions later.

“Ok, I will take my leave then, thanks for your service and good day” – and with that the man is gone for now.

Connor is checking what’s in his locker, some standard documents explaining the functions of the facility and a manual of how to operate most of the machinery. A mini map of the place and a little pamphlet with work life balance information. I’m already rolling my eyes at it, but before Connor can reprimand my lack of enthusiasm, I ask him to see what he got assigned. We exchanged activity cards.

His card goes as follow:

Waste Disposal Unit - Health check up.

Watchtower Shift - 24:00 till 6:00

“Oh damn dude, we just arrived and night patrolling already, you better get the disposal unit checked and try to get some sleep in advance”

He took the card back and we started to walk out to our assignments. As we moved, I asked.

“Don’t you think it’s weird we don’t get any training assignments?”

“Not really, they must trust us to do everything on the list and find time to train. You know, to show we have the discipline”

As we get out of the barracks everyone is standing in formation and without questioning it, we get in line. In front of the group is a man in his early 40’s, with the build of an ex heavy lifter, a muscular build with a healthy layer of fat to pad the look, a plain military uniform and a pair of shades.

“Ok gentlemen I think we are all here, My name is Commander John R. Parish” -he stopped on his tracks and looked at us.

“I will oversee this base for the duration of the experiment, alongside me is Dr. Donovan he will be our resident medic”

Standing besides the Commander is the doctor with a wide grin.

“Hi everyone, the infirmary hours are posted in the entrance. I hope we can all get along and . . . “

Before he can finish the sentence, the commander is cutting him to continue his speech.

“Thanks Doctor, we appreciate the service”

Connor notices me reaction to the doctor, and since we are fairly back, he asks

“Do you know the doctor?”

“Yes he did my check up, he seems nice”

“Are we having something interesting going on back there eh Kent, Anderson?” -the commander said while he takes away his shades and looks directly to me

His face is filled with determination and rage. The kind of look that would make anyone obey his orders or run in the opposite direction.

“Come on, I want to enjoy some of the gossip!”- he shouted

“No sir, nothing sir!” -we said at the same time while my heart jumped all the way to my throat.

“I thought as much”

After a few seconds he continued.

“Some of you might be wondering. When are we training Sir? Who leads the barracks Sir? How do we do our activities Sir?” - he paused and looked around him, the man transmitted anger in every word.

“Well, our scientist friends want you all to know, there is a master manual in each of your lockers, every task is doable and easy to accomplish. So no excuses! They say that with the ease of managing the facility, you will all have spare time to do your chores whenever, train and relax to your own liking” -after that he took a little pause and continued.

“But let me tell you something else, even if you don’t have an assignment for training or cleanliness in your space. I will be watching, if any of you think this experiment will be an excuse to slack off you are all having something else coming” -he said as if holding his tongue not to curse us all out.

“Ok you are all dismissed” - he took a strong pace and walked away with direction to the main hall, most likely his office with the doctor following him there.

Connor and I split up, and the work day starts.

For the first activity of the day I have to patrol the base. A standard exercise for camps abroad, but very boring for an experimental facility with nobody planning to attack or sneak in any time soon. While walking around the perimeter I saw a little box attached to the end of the fence that covers the facility. I chose not to engage with it for a while but after a few hours of nothing to distract myself the curiosity took the best of me.

Looking around the box something comes to mind, the manual we all got in our lockers. Thankfully I took it with me, and after not too long I found the device. Apparently, it is a snack box, for when soldiers need a little extra energy during their patrol.

There is a button on the side of the box and after pressing it, like magic the lid pops open and reveals protein bars. I’m more than used to this from base but I guess they would work for any emergency if someone were patrolling on an empty stomach.

After patrol I went to check the energy station. It’s a core collecting the energy from solar panels all over the facility. There is not much for me to do here after reviewing the manual of this activity. The facility is self-regulated and self-maintained; the only thing to make sure is that the general values of the machines are in check and engaged if there is a massive issue.

With little else to do I went to check on Connor, but he was training. This man is going to spend his night in a watchtower and his best idea of resting is catching up with his exercise. And I know for a fact that if he sees me all free and bored, he will try and pull me into a workout.

On any other day I would be more than happy to train with him, but with the experiment lasting god knows how long we will have time for that. So that option is out of the list, the rest of the team could bring some fine entertainment and I could get ahead of learning how the other facilities work.

In the kitchen there is Bradley, a muscular guy with a crooked nose, chipped teeth and some minor scars. He got like that in some part from helping with the machinery in his parent’s farm; but mostly for being the star player of his town football team.

He is supervising the automated cooking machine that makes our dinner.

“I’m telling you Will, if all the assignments are as easy as this one the next few weeks are going to be a breeze” - he said with a pleased tone.

“I don’t know Bradley; you heard the commander. If you are found slacking off, you could get kicked out.”

“Nah, don’t bet on that. They are so focused on the effectiveness of the facility they won’t bat an eye if we take a few naps here and there. Just like back home, if the farm was running smoothly nobody would get on your ass.”

I manage to convince Bradley to show me around the kitchen, we notice the amount of materials getting feed into the cooking machine and get surprised with how much food its pumping out.

“How it seems like the rations won’t be an issue while we are here” -said Bradley

“I think so” -I say while approaching the food and being tempted to take a bite of something but choose to stop before it. The variety and quantity are outstanding.

“Well it’s a welcome change of pace, you know I don’t like to fight over food”

Bradley was raised with 4 brothers, so he was always fighting over food, tv, attention, everything really.

“I’ve always known how to get what I need but having lots of everything is always appreciated” - he said while taking a french fry and biting it.

I think he sensed my hesitation and led the snack, he looked at me and chuckled while gesturing toward the food.

“Come on mate no one is watching”

I grabbed a french fry and ate it with gusto, then he playfully put me in a lock and started to laugh.

“Commander! We have a traitor eating our rations come here haha” we wrestle for a minute, and he lets me go. We laugh it off and continue to explore the kitchen.

There are some fridges lined up against a wall, half of them are empty and the others are filled with raw ingredients that need the cold temperature.

“Apparently someone has a job to fill those with food that’s not consumed in meals or new food for the day in advance” - he mentions while checking the guide.

After checking everything in the kitchen I leave Bradley resting his eyes while the machine works and move to the next place to visit.

The watchtower catches my eye and after using the elevator to the top, I find Carlos. He is maybe an inch taller than me, but is the thinnest of the cadets by far. He has an olive complexion, black hair and glasses.

The work in the watchtower is also easy, a pair of binoculars are provided, and Carlos is talking with me while keeping guard of nothing.

“I’m going to die of boredom in here, at least I’m not the poor soul stuck here in the night shift” -said Carlos mortified.

“Well, don’t tell that to Connor or he might ask you for accompany tonight.”

“No way!, he got the night shift? hahaha poor guy. When you see him at dinner give him my condolences”

I see a similar box to the one near the fence around base.

“You also got a snack box?”

“Oh those, yeah. Before getting here I check other buildings and a lot of them have these boxes. All filled with those bars, I can’t see anybody from our team dying to have them though.”

“Not even Salazar?”

“Dude, you know Salazar is in another league completely haha”

Cadet Salazar is a tall guy, with light brown hair, covered in freckles and a little gap in between his front teeth’s. He was a bit chunkier than most when we started the bootcamp, known as the fat guy of our unit in a friendly teasing way. He lost most of the weight with the constant pushups and early morning runs we all got, leaving him with a strong build that would intimidate most people.

We stayed talking about some of the scenes Salazar had in boot camp like trying to get in the chow hall with some cadets for extra rations or hosting food competitions in the base when we were short of time. After reminiscing for a while, I left him to work.

Since we started working right away, we only had some nutritional bars for lunch, and I feel like eating a horse.

We wait outside the chow hall till it’s time for dinner. Apparently, the Chow Hall is closed before meals to give the cadet assigned to the kitchen time to set up. When Connor arrives, he looks like he just woke up. He clarified his assignment was done and he tried to take a nap before his night shift. He just looks bad after day naps.

“It was amazing to get there and see that it’s mostly automated, all I had to do was make sure the values of the waste are under the red line.” -he says describing the task in detail.

When he is done with the explanation I reply “Well then it’s not too different from my day of work aside then, well aside of the long nap haha”

“Well, what did I told you? everything is going to be fine”- he replies with a smug air around him.

We get interrupted by Bradley opening the doors to the chow hall for dinner with a proud smile on his face. Once inside everyone gets shocked with what we saw. A massive display of food from all kinds and sizes.

Even after witnessing the cooking machine in the kitchen making all of this food, I’m still shocked by the amount of food out there.

My stomach grumbles just looking at the buffet style dinner awaiting me, but I’m not the only one hungry. Everyone looks ready to pounce at the food but one of the cadets catches my eyes, Salazar. He is always excited about having something to eat but today he looks extra fidgety and desperate while waiting. As if he is fighting all his instincts to just run for it.

Against my best judgment, I get a simple portion of chicken breast, mash potatoes with gravy and beans. It was either because I’m trying to stay with the strict regimen of our training . . .that or because Connor was looking at me like my mother does when I’m indulging too much in thanksgiving.

Everyone gets their food, including the commander and doctor Donovan. They share a table at the other end of the hall. The doctor looks cheerful and talkative, deep in a conversation. The commander just nods at the doctor, looking as menacing as early today. Those two can’t be more different even if they tried.

Once we get seated the air of camaraderie is palpable. Our team has different friend groups, and they all talk and laugh while they enjoy their meals. In my case I tend to eat with lunch, but we share meals with our friend group every now and then.

This time Connor and I eat alone and talk about the day. I tell him about some of the facilities, and he tells me what he is expecting from the night shift.

While we talk, I can see Salazar at a table near us. He has a huge plate filled with a bit of everything. He started eating his meal slowly with a pleased expression on his face, the most joyous expression I have seen on a human being since enlisting. But as he kept eating his demeanor changed. His pace quickens, little moans and grunts escape him, and he starts to grab pieces of food with his hands, leaving his utensils on the sides.

When I tried the food, it tasted good enough but nothing to write home about, but you wouldn’t notice that from Salazar’s reaction.

As his meal got louder Connor noticed as well and turned to look at him. The man was taking pieces of chicken tenders, dipping them in gravy, eating them in a few bites and licking his fingers clean. Double fisting the different things in his tray.

Connor looks at me shocked and I just shrug not knowing what to say.

Salazar second helping
Salazar second helping
When Salazar finished his meal, he stood up with difficulty and went back to line for a second helping. His middle looks distended, packed to the brim and we wonder how he manages to eat so much and still crave more. When he comes back, he goes to town with a gluttonous haze over his eyes.

After his second service was done, he let loose a belch with a chuckle and excused himself from his table since he had to get back to work.

On his way out Bradley approached Salazar and patted him in the back. Bradley is used to rough housing and the playful teasing, but he sometimes forgets when to call it quits. And even though he is overall a good guy, the whole room could tell where this was going.

“Hey be careful big guy, if you have too many meals like that we might need to roll you out of here”

“I know I can count on you to help me out any time Bradley”- said Salazar in a happy but over dramatic way, returning the joke.

They both laughed, Salazar came back to finish his meal and Salazar went out rubbing his stuffed belly.

I must stay in the cafeteria waiting for everyone else to finish their food to start cleaning, so Connor keeps me company.

Once everyone is out of the chow hall, I start looking around for the cleaning appliances and get to work. Sadly, there is not an automated robot to clean the tables, but everyone is careful with their space and there is little for me to do. I load the dish washers and the tray cleaners. While waiting for them to be done I stack the fridges with the leftovers from today’s meal. Once the cleaners are done, I put everything back in place.

Expecting to see more work inside the kitchen, I learned that the automated machinery that made today’s food also self-cleans after preparing everything. With a little too much time in my hands, I decided to get to my barracks.

Once inside I find Salazar sleeping his food baby away.

I’m tempted to go to sleep as well but decided to start reading the instructions for every job in the manual.

If every task is as simple as the ones we did today, maybe I could go to bed early like Salazar.

Chapter 2: A new competition.

Chapter Text

The next day to my surprise and most people, yes, the assignments were very easy.

Stuff like turning on the vehicles in the parking lot and ensuring they are working correctly, keeping the supply of materials for the kitchen in check, keeping the snack boxes full, cleaning duties of several areas and there are some spaces here that do self-cleaning like the cooking machine.

The more I read the more it dawned on me that time wouldn’t be an issue.

By the time I woke up Connor was getting back from his shift, he wasn’t in much of a mood to talk. He saw his assignments for the day and took a well-deserved nap.

It’s good that we don’t have a very strict schedule. Besides the patrols most activities can be done at any time of the day, so he can sleep now and get back to his work later during the day.

During the morning I went to the gym on base. I saw some cadets training as well using the machines available and Bradley, like always, was trying to make a big show of how much he can bench press. As if everyone hasn’t seen how much he can lift for the last 10 months.

“Come on, who wants to try their strength against me? I have done some work already so you all have a shot this time”

He is a natural show off but we all have learned to embrace Bradley’s personality. Most of the group is playful, and one by one people come to challenge him to who can bench press the most or who can do the most reps.

I try to tag along in these competitions every now and then but after getting my ass kicked in a pull up competition some weeks ago and feeling sore for days I have decided to choose my battles more wisely.

After that I go to the field to do a run and get the blood running. Carlos was there before me leading a run with other cadets, so I joined their group.

Carlos is the fastest in our group so he always takes the lead and encourages everyone with chants or jokes while we try to keep his pace.

“Who is ready to catch up with me this time ladies?” -he says, mocking us.

The group erupts in a wave of shouts and howls while some speed up in hopes to catch up with Carlos.

By the end of the run Hill, the second thinnest and fastest cadet is getting closer towards Carlos. Hill has black hair, prominent cheekbones and a pale complexion.

Carlos slows down to allow someone to grab him. Most of the time it is Hill, but after that everyone grabs him and they act as if they have won a super bowl. I have seen these displays take place every other day in our bootcamp but seeing it here makes me think that the experiment will be not that different from the old base.

Everyone moves to their next thing and only Carlos, Hill and I remain on the field. Carlos excuses himself to go and work on his assignments but not before looking at Hill and saying

“Well Hill you win once again I guess you don’t have to worry about me for today” -he says with a wink

Hill just looks at him with anger and looks in the other direction. Carlos laughs and goes away with a cheerful pace to his walk.

I get closer to Hill that is huffing for air in the floor. I offer my hand and with some help he gets up. He looks at me with the same expression he always carries, serious if not bored.

“I cant believe Carlos is still holding that bet with you, isn’t it enough now?”

They are childhood friends, their parents work together and even while they are as different as they come; they manage to stick to one another. Since the beginning they’ve had a weird friendship. Carlos teases Hill to hell and back, he pretends to hate it, but he is still Carlos’ shadow. Once bootcamp started they came up with this silly game, if Hill catches on Carlos during the morning run, he won’t pester him during the day.

They still do their running gag thought, just that when Hill is done with being buddy buddy he can tell him to f*ck off no offense taken.

“You know him, the only thing that will get him off my back will be a bullet to the head” -he says in a monotone voice

“Maybe but you are aware he does it just to be friendly”

“He could be friendly and quiet . . . But I guess you are right. At least with him hanging around nobody is annoying me with my teamwork skills as much”

After that we cooled down for a moment, and realized I needed a shower pronto.

I go to the showers and stumble across Salazar. He was getting off the showers, his body strong and burly. Showing the years of work and the added training of the last months, covered in a modest layer of fat. I notice his gut looking tight like a drum as if he had a heavy breakfast, and some red stretch marks looking new. But it must be my imagination. Regardless of how much he ate, he couldn’t be gaining weight this fast.

After drying up and noticing me, he approaches and tells me about how he did his routine earlier today, mostly heavy weight training. He is the only person I know that is a legit challenge to Bradley in the raw strength department. But I was concerned with the earlier than usual workout.

Apparently, he did wake up for a snack early on, I would imagine for his look it was more than that but still. Since he was already up he might as well jump-start the day.

“Well that’s good to know Sal, but be careful. The Commander finds you in a light snack like that and you might get some extra runs around the field.”

“I wouldn’t worry too much, a big body needs a lot of fuel” - he says flexing his arm and showing his biceps.

It’s no secret that Salazar is built like a brick house, but knowing his appetite I would keep an eye on the seemingly limitless food this place is providing. Not to mention that wrapped with only a towel his belly packed to the brim shows my concerns could be right.

After finishing my assignments for the day in record time I get to the chow hall for lunch. Connor is taking a while so I get some food and wait at an empty table, who sits beside me instead are the Benley’s.

Identical twins, they have blonde hair with green eyes and muscular bodies. They are very proud of keeping a peak physique, but what they have in good looks lack in social skills.

“Hey Will, I hope you don’t mind the company”- says Daniel

He is the more collected and calm of the duo, he tags along his brother for everything even when he would rather stay still.

“Sure go ahead” -I reply

“Cool dude!” - says Jones

He is the more energetic twin, adventurous and a bit airheaded. He gets them both in trouble more times than not.

“So . . . how are you feeling about the new base so far?” -Daniel said, looking at me with interest.

“Oh, everything seems to be going pretty good, easy work, lots of food and a comfy bed” -I stick a piece of pork chop in my mouth and continue.

“I could get used to this” -Jones added with a satisfied expression.

“Yeeaah I imagined you would say that, Im more bored than anything. since most of the things here are automated there is not much to do. I’m already done for the day” - Daniel says, sounding mortified.

“You almost say it like it’s a bad thing, We had to run around the base and do push ups so many times we lost count. And then get extra rounds because we lost count” - I reply

He looks at me and laugh “Yeah maybe we should just enjoy it for what it is, I just hope we get something nice to do in the meantime” -Daniel replies

“And what about the recreation room? you don’t want to give it a shot?”- I say

They look at me puzzled and Jones asks “Have you tried it yet? I tried to connect online but the function is locked as expected. Also most of the games are cooperatives but playing against Finn is almost cruel”

“Hey it’s not my fault you keep using the most broken character in every fighting game!. Try to diversify for once”

They start to bicker and I can only laugh, when they notice my enjoyment they also relax and laugh the issue off.

“No I haven’t tried it yet but if that’s the case you can count on me for a session, we deserve some fun after all we have done right?. you guys don’t mind if I tell Connor to come right?”

“Yeah haha lets try it after dinner, and of course dude your friends are our friends” - Jones reply

As we continue to eat, a short cadet with an athletic build and brown hair passes in front of us with a half eating plate and Salazar calls him. I recognize Neil’s face right away, he has a pretty face. Some cadets used to make fun of him for looking too delicate but he is stronger than he shows.

We can’t hear what he and Salazar are saying but when they are done speaking he gives Salazar his portion of food, adding to Salazar’s already pretty full plate. After that he left with a smile on his face.

As Neil leaves Salazar starts to cram the food of both plates double fisting like his life depended on it, having the same display of gluttony as last night. A part of me wonders how he is still hungry after last night.

As he belches and grunts in gusto Daniel cuts my pondering

“Most likely he just told him not to throw away the food, since he is going to get a second plate anyways”.

He tells me that shortly after the bootcamp started Salazar would have all the food other cadets didn’t finish on meals.

“It was a miracle to see him lose weight even with how much food he can consume” -Jones adds

Even with all the extra food available they don’t find it weird that Salazar is still doing treats like that every now and then.

“I guess he helps to reduce the waste of the base in one way or another” -I say feeling bad for the fact we are still talking of his weight behind his back.

We see Bradley getting near Salazar, most likely to tease him a little bit more but they have that kind of almost sibling playfulness.

“Sal, long time no see. I almost didn’t see you with how thin you are looking”

“Im sorry Brad, I will grow a bit just so you have easier time finding me”

“I guess you are ahead in that task dude, but here you go. I think you will appreciate this more than I do” -says Bradley as he gives Salazar a dessert from the menu of the day.

“Aw thanks dude” -salazar snapping the dessert from Bradley’s hands with so much speed we got spooked. He looked so pleased with the new piece of food in front of him. Tackling it before Bradley had a chance to add anything.

These two never change.

Connor showed up to the chow hall and explained he got delayed in cleaning duties. After he finishes his meal, we all get ready to make plans of what to do next. Some cadets are getting together to play some football, others are doing like me yesterday and reading their manuals, others are catching up with assignments.

We invite Connor to join us in the recreation room and he tags along to watch. Connor is not the best in video games, but he appreciates being invited regardless. We play some fight games for a few hours, and we call it a night.

The next day after training and hitting the showers Connor and I get breakfast. Bradley shows up out of nowhere and sits with us.

“The food here is ok but the quantity is just wild, I’m still shocked with how much they are willing to spend for us” -Bradley says while eating some hash browns, leaving some grease in his lips and grabbing some sausage.

He is having a bit more than what he is used to, but he explains it is due to the higher quality food. I don’t notice any difference but I have heard some cadets mentioning how better the food is tasting.

“Remember this is not for us, this is for the experiment” -I add

“Will! you know they are spending this money in our best interest as a team, and if it works in the interest of other teams” -Connor adds looking almost offended by my remark

“Suuure, that’s what I mean” -I reply sarcastically and Connor just shoves me to the side and we continue eating.

We finish our meal, by the end Bradley looks pleasingly packed,

“I can’t have another bite, that was the best breakfast I had in a while” - he remarks massaging his middle

Connor and I finish before him but stay talking for a bit.

While we talk Salazar shows up and starts to eat with Neil at a nearby table. Ever since Salazar asked him for his food they’ve been eating together.

With the small physique of Neil his protruding belly filled with a massive meal is more than an eyeful, but Salazar is motivating him to enjoy as much as him.
For a while nothing happens till Neil releases a belch and excuses himself looking red like a tomato, in response Salazar expels a massive burp and says

“Thats how its done rookie”

Bradley gets a wicked smile in his face and Connor reaches to him

“Come on Bradley I know you both love to tease each other but just let him eat one meal without a snippy remark”

“Don’t worry Connor, nobody gets hurt, besides someone needs to keep Salazar in check. I can lose the biggest competition in the gym because of his appetite” - he replies while standing up and going to Salazar’s table

“Hey Sal, I missed you at the gym today, too busy stuffing that monster gut?”

“I was too busy busting your deadlift weight record” -he sticks his tongue out and continues to eat.

“There is no way”

“Of course there is a way dude, you just need to fill the tank and the muscles do the job”

We all start to laugh and Bradley takes the mockery lightly, he gets besides Salazar asking him the details of his gym achievements. While they talk SSalazar passes a plate with food to BRadley signaling him to tag along their meal. Even after saying he couldn’t take another bite, it seems Salazar got invested in the conversation enough to ignore his fullness and continued to eat like nothing happened.

“Well I guess that solves itself”- I say.

Connor keeps a dumbfounded look while watching the display. But he recovers fast and picks his empty plate alongside Bradley’s and mine

“Ok let’s get going, if we finish fast enough we can try and go to the recreation room later”

“Hey I like the sound of that!” - I add excited and follow him

We couldn’t use the recreation room that day after all. With the influx of free time people have picked interest in the entertainment room. It’s almost always busy with someone inside, but never more than 2 or three people at a time; and with how anti crowds Connor gets, we choose to move somewhere else.

The days passed and the extra free time also enabled cadets to slack off in some minor areas. I have seen a couple of protein bar wrappers on the floor and some beds are left in half ass order. The Commander leaves warning notes on the beds of those who are not tending their beds, but with no punishment attached people start to ignore them.

Connor is always the hardest ass about stuff like this kind of stuff “I can’t believe they are leaving these wrappers around, there are bins every other corner” -he says while picking a couple of wrappers from the floor and throwing them in a bin.

“I know what you mean, if we don’t get our acts together the commander is going to bite our heads off. I only think he is staying quiet so far because the scientist asked to let us direct ourselves”

To most people a few wrappers and disorganized stations is a minor inconvenience but, in the military. A badly folded bed sheet is the motive for your whole team to get a good run down a muddy hill and climb it all the way back.

When we got in the bootcamp I had the hardest time to get in line with the standards of the place. Those warning notes people are ignoring now, were the bane of my existence. There is nothing more annoying than an officer reviewing your work station while you are having a long day of training and finding one of those.

Things got so bad that our commander assigned Connor as my mentor. Imagine my embarrassment getting the number one cadet to mentor me on how to make my bed and fold my clothes.

Not going to lie, he loved it; he would have the happiest face while explaining the proper method to do anything and I was ready to bite his face off. I’m aware it wasn’t with bad intentions, but my ego was wounded. Every morning my bed would get inspected and some minor issue would get me a round of burpees or push ups. Eventually it clicked on me, and I managed to get it to work, but my commander assumed it was due to Connors help and we got teamed up every time I started to lag behind.

He started to get this sense of responsibility by helping me out and I started to respect his earnest desire to be the best and help anyone in the way to that goal.

The more time we spent together the easier training became to me and I managed to get up to level with him. We had some training drills, and we mesh well together as a team. I have grown to trust his judgment and he learned to trust mine.

And knowing Connor I’m sure he is thinking right now about trying to tell everyone a speech about cleaning or something like that.

Thankfully it doesn’t become necessary. Because Commander Parish calls for the next morning. As soon as we are all formed, he starts to scream.

“Ok slackers, I don’t care if it’s one or a hundred of you sitting around doing nothing!” -he said pacing around looking at us like rage is seeping out of his eyes.

“It hasn’t even been a week and I’ve already seen some of you acting like this is a field trip, if you need me to put you all in order for the day I will!”

We get sent to do some laps around the field, and the classic exercise routine that leaves everyone exhausted.

We gathered for dinner that night and the morale was low after the training, almost as if the expectations of some easy time off just flew away.

When we sit down Salazar starts to gather a couple of cadets and starts to whisper with them. Curiosity got us to get closer to hear what’s going on.

“Hi guys, what’s going on?”- I ask

Neil looks up to me, he replies with a big smile “Sal had this idea to start a little food review game, to pass time”

I notice Neil is looking fuller than I remember, it could be from all the time eating with Salazar. Most of the new weight went to his hips and belly. . . At the start I blamed it on my imagination after all, we haven’t been here enough for him to gain significant weight. But looking up closer I realize there is no denying it, eating with Salazar has consequences.

“Whoever constructs the best plate with what’s available for the day wins”- he adds

Bradley starts to laugh and gets closer to Salazar “Really Sal, are you going to taste test everyone’s plates?”

Salazar swallows some of his pop and belches in Bradley’s direction and replies “Nah we will exchange plates and choose a winner but you give me a better idea”

Bradley recoils from Salazar and laughs it off while waving away the smell.

“Why not try and have the old fashion eating competitions, whoever finishes their food first wins!”- said Sal while the people on his table cheered.

It seems like they managed to light up the mood in a way. People join and sit at his table, picking tons of food. We stay and look as they go wild eating with a desperate speed. People cheer and scream for their bets, cadets going to town with reckless abandon.

Midway through the ordeal the twins, Carlos and Hill leave to have their meals, some other cadets leave as well to do the same. But Bradley Connor and I stay to see it to the end. People start to give up and to nobody’s surprise Salazar is still going strong leaving stains of food in his mouth and shirt. At the ends he wins the challenge and accentuates his victory with a thunderous belch.

While we all laugh, and cheer Bradley gets besides Salazar and raises his hand like a boxing champion.

Connor seemed like about to object to the display but remained quiet and he got closer to me to ask.

“Have you noticed that the commander is not here for dinner?”

I just noticed that we were able to make this whole display due to the commander not being around. He had dinner with us on the first day but after some point I guess I lost track of him.

“True, maybe he is having dinner in his office. You know, busy with other matters.”

Connor agreed with the response, and we got our meal. While we ate I could tell that he was getting annoyed with the increased rowdiness in the chow hall. After spending some time with him I have learned to read his subtle queues. The fidgeting, the lack of eye contact, his sudden silences. For someone who is always so ready to get into work, he can get somber when he is ticked off.

Even when he gets annoyed, I can tell he is trying to remain jovial and get along. But there is no need for him to force it.

“It’s ok if you want to leave, we can go hang out somewhere else.”

“Thanks, Will, I would appreciate that.”

We finished our meals and put the plates away, went to the barracks. Once there we threw jokes and told stories.

Like when he tried to do star flips at home growing up and ended up rolling down his stairs. He got a scar on his top left eyebrow after the incident. Not to be outdone I told him of the time I tried to make my own Frankenstein monster with pieces of toys. Looking for lightning I ended up getting stuck in the attic of my house for a few hours.

After a few laughs everyone gets back from the chow hall, and we go to sleep.

The next few days most of us try to get some training done to prevent the commander from having another forced drill on us. Carlos continues to lead the runs in the mornings with Hill close behind him, Bradley and the twins are doing the competitions in the gym, but the shock of the commander action subsides, and some cadets take days off from training. The first one I notice is Salazar, from being Bradley’s direct rival in the gym to showing sporadically.

Regardless Connor and I try to stick with the routine. After a workout Connor and I see Bradley walking around with a bag, ever since the food competitions started Bradley has been eating with Salazar and his friends. So, Connor and I wanted to reach out and talk with him whenever possible during the day.

“Hey Brad, what do you have there?” -says Connor while trying to guess what’s in the bag

“Yeah, you need some help?” - I add

“Hey dudes, No worries I can manage with this and more. I got assigned to refill the fridges in the kitchen and the snack boxes around base”

“Well, then we can assume those are the bars for the snack boxes right?” -Connor replies

“Right in the money, I had to do this job on our second day here and most of the bars were still there but now it seems like people are starting to take advantage of them.”

“Lets just hope people dump the wrappers this time around” -Connor said while pointing to a wrapper attached to Bradley’s shoe.

“Oh yeah, I guess I’ve also been taking a few of them. You know I need the proteins haha”

We didn’t think too much about it at the time, especially because it was starting to become commonplace to see one or two cadets munching on protein bars around the day as if they were running out of style.

“Also! Guess what I discovered today?”

We looked puzzled at him.

“Did you notice that the commander hasn’t been eating with us lately?”

“Yes, something happened?” -I quickly reply, my interest now peaking

“Relax Will, nothing bad happened. We were asking Salazar at lunch why he tried to do the taste test idea not too long ago, you know what gave him the idea?. Apparently, the commander asked him a few days after we arrived to get him a plate of food from the chow hall, since he was busy”- he looks around and gets closer to us and whispers.

“And Sal was so hungry on the way there that he started to “taste test” his plate” -Bradley started to laugh and continued.

“It seems like he didn’t notice because Sal is still around to tell the tale. But he liked the combination in the commander plate so much he wanted to try what others had to offer” – He continues to laugh, and I join in, but Connor looks more concerned.

“Be quiet Brad, if the commander hears this out, he might get angry and god knows Salazar could get kicked out.” -Says Connor is concerned.

“Ok you are right, it’s just funny to imagine Sal nibbling at the commander’s food on the way to his office.” -he holds his laughter and tries to act serious.

I compose myself as well and ask “And is that it? You sounded very excited to just be sharing some of Sal’s hijinks.”

“Well, there is also this. He has been in his office for most of these days as well, the scientist group seems to want him busy. So he’s been asking every night another cadet to bring him food while he works. Some cadets have heard him on calls debating with the scientist to put us all in a traditional training regimen.”

We both look shocked to hear this, but we don’t say anything hoping Bradley has more information.

“But if he hasn’t put us through another drill like last time, you can imagine the scientist’s response. I told you, if the farm moves smoothly nobody gets on your ass.”

“Well that explains why people are slacking more by the day, have you told this to anyone else?” -I ask.

“Will, come on what do you think? no. There is no need, the rumor of the commander having both hands tied is spreading like wildfire without my help, but you haven’t heard it from me.”

We both hear a grumble and Bradley blushes.

“Oh look at the time I have to hurry and fill the snack boxes if I want to get to the chow hall in time for lunch. I don’t want Salazar eating everything without me. See you guys.”

And like that he speeds away from us.

As Bradley paced away, we both noticed he had a certain new jiggle to his frame. Even with the constant weight training there is no way of denying that taking place in the food competitions with Salazar has been affecting Bradley.

“Well if Brad was concerned with Sal getting too big to leave the chow hall, at least now we know he won’t be alone in the matter.” -I say and Connor laughs but composes himself and tries to shut me up in case Brad hears.

While we laugh, a bit of worry clouds my head. Salazar, Neil, Bradley and some other cadets have started to fall behind. I just hope we can finish the experiment without going towards the same thing.

Chapter 3: A little invitation goes a long way

Chapter Text

The next day Connor and I get to the chow hall for lunch, and we share tables with the twins. We see that the eating competitions of Salazar take a different turn for lunches. They will be more tame, revisiting Salazar’s tasting idea. Mixing and mashing with the different food in the cafeteria, meats with different sauces and sides trying to impress one another, trying to be modest so they can go to town with dinner.

At the beginning it’s just a little game between them and nobody minds, but at some point, people started to stand up and try to solve disputes with people outside their group.

They will come to your table and ask you to try this? and what do you think of that?

After rejecting an offer from another cadet Jones burst

“God, can’t they keep their mess to their own group? this is getting tiring!”

“I know what you mean” -says Carlos behind him.

He is coming with his tray in hand hoping to sit with us, besides him is Hill with his tray as well. Once we are all together Carlos tries to explain an idea.

“I know that Salazar and his friends are just trying to be playful and bond, but I just want to have my meals in peace. I’m hoping that if we sit together and reject their offers they will eventually stop”

I don’t tend to share meals with so many people but for the sake of keeping the food reviewers at bay I’m willing to try, I look at Connor ready to ask for his opinion and he just nods with a smile in my direction.

“I like the sound of that, it’s tiring enough to deal with Carlos to also have Neil as a shadow offering treats” -adds Hill.

“Oh come on Hill, you know you love my company”-Carlos adds trying to reach out for a hug knowing Hill hates them.

“Remember I catched you on today’s run. So, no hugs”-he replies right away.

Carlos recoils like a spring and continues to eat.

the twins laugh at the display and Daniel says “Well at least we will have something less to worry about, I don’t know you but I’m a bit troubled with how things are developing around here”

“True, at least it was fun when we were the loudest pair here. But with the food competitions unless we say goodbye to our abs, there is no way to tag along. -says Jones

“Is that your worry?”-Daniel bites back.

“Sure, if we lose the abs, how are we going to score?” -Jones says as if making the most obvious question in the world.

The twins have this issue of not managing to get a partner . . . ever. It could be because they boast of their looks, the fact that they are never apart from one another for more than a second or that they get jealous as soon as one gets a date and the other doesn’t. But regardless, part of the reason they stay in top physique is due to their desire to find love.

“If that’s your biggest concern then why not try and score with one of the guys in Salaza’s table, they seem more than friendly?” -Hill asks with the same monotone voice, making it hard to distinguished if he is joking or being serious on the matter

“Of course not, have you seen them eat? they wouldn’t appreciate these gains” -Jones adds while flexing his arm.

“I could appreciate it” -says Neil behind him.

While we talked, he got closer to ask for our opinion on a dish and listened to some of our conversation. When we turned around to see him, he winked at Jones, ate a piece of chicken tender from his plate and walked back to his table. He was going back to his table with a swing to his walk, almost as if showing off his now slightly plumper hips.

Daniel was holding his laughter not for Neil but for Jones that looked as red as a tomato.

The next morning, I woke up early to workout with Connor. As we talked on the way there, not really looking where I’m going, I ended up crashing against something soft. It was Salazar, he was talking with Bradley in the Hallway.

He looks like he has grown more since the last time we talked, his belly growing to eclipse most of my view, his legs like tree trunks, his arms pressing against his side accentuating the start of moobs and his face looking rounder from the extra fat. We knew he was growing but up close its outstanding and it’s no wonder with his track record. From all the cheers and shouts we hear at meals he seems to be winning every food challenge. They both keep their muscular bodies, Bradley more than Salazar at least. But for the amount of weight Bradley was carrying, he is looking less like a quarterback and more like an off-season linebacker.

“Im sorry Sal, I wasn’t watching”

“No problem Will, you would need to do force to harm me with your size haha”

“Yeah I guess so haha, hey we are going to the gym. Do you guys want to tag along?”

He looked at Bradley for a second and replied with a disinterested shrug “Not really, we were just heading to the chow hall. they have cinnamon rolls if you are the first to get there and we need to keep the bulk going”

I shouldn’t try to get involved in the situation, but I get worried for Salazar and Bradley and let my tongue get the best of me.

“I don’t want to get in the way, but don’t you think you should be cutting a bit now?”

He looks puzzled as if not understanding the comment and then he starts to laugh.

“Oh no Will, of course not. Its ok for you to ask, in my height is hard to build muscle without a strong base so all of this is necessary” -he adds slapping his belly that jiggles for a second before stopping.

“I get that . . . but with the food competitions and all, aren’t you afraid of going too far?” -Connor replies

Salazar took a second and for a moment I was afraid of touching a nerve. But he smiles and with his chubby face his face radiates confidence.

“I know what you both mean but soon enough you will see how this gets results, and who knows maybe you will come ask for advice”

With that Bradley and Salazar walk away towards the chow hall and Connor and I just come to terms more with the fact that there is no dialogue to convince them to stop what’s in motion.

That day after finishing our assignments I got a stomachache. It could be something I ate that didn’t mix well with me. So, I decided to go to the infirmary for some medicine. Once inside I walk to this office at the other end of the building. I knock on the door, and he calls me to get in. I notice Doctor Donovan seems to have gained some weight. His cheeks look a bit puffier, and a bigger belly is pushing against his medical robe. Apparently even those not eating in the chow hall can indulge.

I explain my symptoms and he tell me to sit down while he looks for a quick remedy.

I ask if it’s better to move to a cubicle.

“Oh there is no need, unless you are unable to stand on your own, I can evaluate you in my office. Just don’t faint now haha”

While he looks for the medicine in his supplies, I see his pants struggling a bit as he bends over for a cabinet. Trying to cover the awkward silence I look for something to talk about. And my curiosity gets the best of me.

“So, why haven’t you been eating with us lately? afraid of getting a stomachache as well? haha”

He retrieved the medicine and as he stands upright, we both hear a little rip. He blushed a bit, maybe concerned with the source of the sound, or my comment that reminds him of his growing middle and I’m immediately regretting the question realizing the connotation.

I was ready to be reprimanded for asking on a matter that’s none of my business, but instead he says that he’s been helping the commander with some assignments of his own, so they both eat in the main hall for most meals.

“Not that I wouldn’t like to eat with you all guys, the last time we were at the chow hall it was pretty lively”

“Yeah they are having their own fun at meals”

While we talk I see a file archive half open behind the doctor. He took my medical summary from it and I don’t think too much about it, but I wonder what the files say about us at base.

Another couple of days pass and things around the base stay the same. Easy work, lots of free time and since the eating challenges continue, lots of food.

After Salazar managed to entertain the team with the eating competitions, more people joined him to try a shot at the challenge.

During lunch Carlos, Hill and I are waiting for the others at a table and Neil approaches.

“Oh Will you have to try this idea we had” -one of them tells me while

I see the half-eaten plate that so many of them have already tried and replied.

“Ah no thanks, I’m kind of full now hehe.”

He shrugs and offers some to Carlos.

“No thanks I’m fine” -he replies but after focusing on the plate he stops Neil before he leaves.

“Wait, is that sweet corn?”

“Yes, it’s new, it’s so good you have to try it out.”

Carlos gets closer to the plate and gets a spoonful of the mush, and moans at the test. He looks at me and acts naturally.

“Ahem yeah it’s pretty good, thanks.”

While Carlos tries the food Connor and the twins arrive, they see the whole thing.

Neil looks excited and raises his voice so the rest of his table can hear “See they love my plate, put another point to me.”

I cross looks with Connor that suits down at the table and is as puzzled as me at how serious these people take their game.

Before Neil gets back to his table, he looks at the twins and says “Hi Jones. Maybe we could hang out again, later today if you are free”

Jones starts to change colors not knowing what to say, “Sure no problem, as long as I can bring along these bad boys” - he says and flexes his arm.

We all cringe at the sight of Jones’ miserable attempt to be a human. Those two really do not know what to do when someone tries to flirt with them, but Jones takes the cake.

Neil laughs it off and goes back to his table.

Once we were all together Daniel said “What is that about? I thought you said you were not into Neil, and what does he mean about, Again?”

Then he looks at Carlos and adds

“And we said not agreeing to their food, otherwise they won’t stop!”

Hill looks at Carlos and says “Its true Carlos you have stabbed us all in the back and the only solution is execution by firing squad, I’ll look for the materials on the storage unit”

Daniel glares at Hill for mocking his concern and Carlos interjects “I know, I’m sorry guys it won’t happen again. . . well unless Neil gets invested in you Jones”

We all look at Jones waiting for a reply and he signs “Ok here is the thing, I had a little crush on Neil when we joined the team. He is my type ok, and even with the extra weight he looks cute”

Nobody says anything to object to the matter. Daniel looks at him with an expression that can only mean, keep going and so he does.

“So yeah, the day he tried to bring us food. He approached me afterwards to hang out in the recreation room”

Daniel looks puzzled and Jones adds “The day I got assigned the watchtower and you were patrolling, I kind dof left my post to hang out with him”

“Jones you could have gotten in trouble just to hang out with Neil, you could have done that at any other time!” -Daniel adds exasperated.

“I know but he was really nice, I had fun and nothing happened. So no big deal”

We look at him, nobody commenting against the notion. Connor looks about ready to add something but refrains from it.

“And maybe I will go and spend some time with him again today!” -he continues to eat, and we let the matter end there.

I could see a worried look on Daniel’s face, but we continued our meal and got back to work.

The next day while I do my assignments, I catch Jones and Neil on what could only be described as a date, or as much of a date you can have in a military base. They were sitting in the field with some food, Jones talking nonstop and Neil rubbing his arms. They seem to have fun and I move on.

The week passes by and the changes continue, people have started to go with their shirt’s outs, food stains have plagued some uniforms and during nights people have started to snore or mumble in their sleep.

One night Salazar woke up and left the barracks. He kicked my bed by accident on his way out and woke me up by accident. He didn’t notice I was awake, so he just left the room for good. Trying to go back to sleep I felt my throat dry up. So I standed up to take some water from my bottle, and realized it was empty. Walking to the chow hall to fill up the bottle I see Salazar is already inside. He was having a midnight snack, or meal for the size of it. I enter to get the water hoping that he won’t notice me with how focused he is on the meal.

On my way out the blasts the room with a belch and I turn back, we lock eyes and he smiles. He shouts “Hey dude come tag along while I’m here, no need to be sneaky”

“Oh don’t worry Sal, I’m on my way back to bed, have a good meal tho” -I said while getting out of the chow hall and walking back to the barracks.

Once I’m in my bed a while later Salazar comes back huffing and puffing from a full stomach, ever since then more and more cadets would wake up to snack during the nights. Every time they will come back with a packed full belly and gasping for air.

The recreation room has become a massive point for gathering. People will do tournaments and pass their control to the next person over and over again. People camping out of the room snacking or sleeping while waiting for their turn.

While walking the base cadets are found boasting to one another about their recent achievements in the challenges at the chow hall, some of them eating mid day and joking about how they are all in a “dirty bulk”.

Jones and Neil continue to go out, one night during dinner he comes with Daniel and after taking his food he comes to us and say

“Hey guys, I will be eating with Neil for a while. Things are going well between us and I want to spend some extra time with him”

Daniel looks mortified but he remains quiet, nobody says anything and Connor finally breaks the silence

“Sure Jones enjoy the meal, you can always eat with us later”

Everyone adds congratulations to him and encourages him to go for it, except Daniel. Jones looks toward his brother but he doesn’t say anything and after thanking everyone for their support he walks to Salazar’s table. He sits besides Neil and gets a passionate kiss, some cadets whistle and cheer.

We continue to have dinner like always, Carlos is eating more than usual and he mentions how the food is tasting better now.

We let it slide and finish the meal and Daniel asks if we want to hang out afterwards. We all agreed and went to the field. Once there Daniel start to ramble

“Incredible, he just leaves us for Salazar’s little recruiter”

“Come on Daniel, it’s not like they are building an army he is not doing anything criminal”-Carlos says

“That we know so far!, don’t you all find it weird how suddenly they all start to act the same?”-he says looking angry and agitated.

“Daniel, if they are building an army, what are they fighting? the gym, the military, us? besides being lazy or hungry is universal not like they are drones” -I add

He looks at me and tries to come with a rebuttal but seems to realize how silly it all sounds.

“It’s just so annoying how they just plucked him like nothing happened, he has been with Neil day and night for the past couple of days. It’s just not how we do things!”

“Nobody plucked him Daniel, he went there out of his own volition” -Connor adds trying to be reasonable.

“Could it be possible that this is about being a tiny bitsy jealous of him dating Neil?” -Carlos asks nervously

“Of course not, I don’t even like Neil!”

“You know he is not talking about Neil, he has a right to time of his own; and if you truly trust your brother, you have to allow him to drift away and come back” -Hill adds standing up and looking at Carlos “I’m going to bed, there is not much we can add to this situation”

Carlos stands up and says “Ok that’s my queue to go as well. Have a good night everyone and Daniel, It’s the first time he is having someone handling his energy. Cut him some slack”

With that Carlos and Hill go back to the barracks. We stay in silence for a second, Daniel sits down on the field, looking upon the stars and Connor whispers in my ear

“I’m going to bed. Try and talk to him, maybe it will help. You know use your Will charm”

Connor excuses himself and goes to the barracks leaving Daniel and me alone in the field. I get closer to him and I see he is looking at a picture of him and his brother. They are both kids in the picture playing around.

“I’ve been with him for everything, his silly blog in highschool, the time he wanted to go to the Appalachian trail when we were kids and our parents said no; He tried to get a ride there on his own and we were known as the runaway twins. Even when he tried to do that stupid prank channel. Do you have any idea how many opportunities I lose because my name is attached to ‘double pranks’?”

I try to remain serious, even when my brain bombards me of memories of that youtube channel. Jones couldn’t shut up about it when we met and made me promise not to tell Daniel he showed it to me.

I put my hand in his shoulder and ask “I think what Carlos asked was, that maybe you are jealous of Jones getting a partner first”

“He doesn’t have a partner, they’ve been dating for two weeks!”

“Come on Daniel you know what I mean”

he sighs and folds the picture, putting it back in his pocket he looks at me and replies.

“It’s possible, I have botched so many opportunities with people before because I want to support him. That now that he is having a first time getting things his way I don’t know”

“It’s ok Daniel, you have done everything with him for a long time. It’s natural that you feel a bit left aside. But he is still here and you are still siblings, no matter what happens you will stick to one another by the end”

He looks at me with a pained expression so I add “And yeah It’s true that he is being a little bit weird but give it a couple of days and he will be back to the same old, same old. Even if he doesn’t we have your back”

He shakes his head and nods my way “You are right, this is so dumb. I’m sorry I dragged you all into this. It’s just not like him to react like this”

We stand up and walk back to the barracks to let time fix things.

The next few days that followed were marked by morning runs that were slowly having less and less people, Carlos slowing down and Hill catching on to him earlier than usual, the machines at the gym getting less crowded and Bradley showing up to train less often. At this point Salazar has stopped showing up all together.

During all of this Daniel looks pained with the distance from his brother. But we keep him company to help pass the time and he stays strong in his resolve. Sadly my comment of Jones coming back to his common self were . . . wrong.

He has stopped showing up to training to spend time with Neil, and spending time with Salazar and his team is rubbing some of their traits on him. He will participate in challenges and go to town for the sake of the validation of his loverboy.

whenever I cross paths with them and ask about the routine they reply about bulking for the moment and coming back to the gym soon. But I find it hard to believe, in the short time they’ve been together Neil managed to get Jones on track along with the rest of his group. At some mornings they push their beds together and enjoy a more private meal while everyone else is running tasks.

He has started to develop a beginner’s gut and as Daniel started to notice, he started to speculate more and more of something going wrong. I know his words are a result of his pain, but I would be lying if I said some of his words haven’t ingrained in my mind. Swirling during the nights looking at the ceiling of the barracks, especially when another cadet comes huffing from a midnight binge.

I try as much as I can, not to pay too much attention to the matter at hand but it’s starting to become harder to ignore.

A few days into the week I have to take a shift in the watchtower and Carlos is the person with the shift before mine. I cross paths with Hill that’s going there to bring Carlos some snacks.

“I owe him something so he asked me to bring him these” -he says while showing me fries with tons of toppings.

When we get to the top there is Carlos looking around the base finishing a protein bar, he throws the wrapper to the floor and belches loudly since he is unaware we are there. And I clear my throat to make our presence known

Carlos looks back at us with a face that said earth please eat me whole.

“Wow you can’t even say sorry in front of our visits?” -Says Hill while giving Carlos his food

“Sorry guys, I’ve been just a bit gassy”

His belly rumbles and I notice his belly straining his shirt, it’s looking bigger than before but his chest is the main attraction on display. the buttons on his chest are straining and I try to look away not to seem intrusive.

“And hungry it seems” -Hill Replies

“It’s nothing really, it’s just a little bloat, it will pass in a few days. I’m trying a new diet and it’s common to get bloated at the start and . . .”

Before Carlos can ramble anymore Hill covers his mouth and says “Please shut up”

Then he gets his hand away from Carlos in a swift motion and Hill looks angry like I haven’t seen him in a while. Carlos is lolling his tongue out with a cheeky smile.

“For Hades sake, did you just lick my hand?”

“Yeah, want me to lick something else?”

“Ok you have your snacks. I’m getting the f*ck out of here.”

Hill gets out followed by a laughing Carlos.

I stay in the watchtower, cleaning the mess Carlos left behind him. Enough wrappers to fill a snack box, did he really have this all in a sitting and still asked Hill for more?. Maybe Daniel is right and we are turning into fat drones.

I stayed patrolling in the watchtower, I leaned in the border of the tower looking down at everyone dealing with their day. Boredom got the best of me and by the end of my shift I had fallen asleep in an awkward position, only waking up when Connor passed by to bring me something to eat and hang out.

I decided to pass by the infirmary to get a pain killer. That nap on the watchtower was worse than I thought. What I heard was Doctor Donovan inside moaning and wrinkling of aluminum paper. I knock at the door, and I can hear him scrambling around. He opens the door and I notice immediately that he got bigger than last time. His belly is pushing against his robe so much so you can see the gaps between the buttons begging for release. His arms look like sausages inside the sleeves and his pants are at two meals of retirement.

He lets me in to have my check up and I explain the situation. Around the cubicle there are pieces of fries and wrappers from different dishes from the chow hall all scattered around.

“Here it is, a light pain killer. We don’t want you going around with something too strong” - he says with a jovial tone.

“Thanks doctor, I don’t want to intrude but we haven’t seen you or the commander around as much is everything ok?”

“Oh sure Will, but thanks for asking. The scientific team has been giving the commander a lot of paperwork and he hasn’t been able to finish a stack of papers before a new one gets added”

“And you have been helping I imagine”

“Of course, we are a team after all” - he says with his chest puffing out.

His chest looks so strained in his clothes I was scared a button would fly to my eyes, at least in that case I’m already in the infirmary.

Once I’m out I tell Connor What I heard

“It’s good to know they are ok, but having so much paperwork he can’t regulate the camp? it’s kind of a problem” - Connor says.

I could only agree. With the commander out of service due to the scientist’s continued request and the changing tone of our bootcamp all I can do is hope the experiment is close to an end.

Chapter 4: Do they look happier?

Chapter Text

It’s the end of another week, Connor and I get to the cafeteria a little later but when we enter, we see there has been a little change in the dynamic. Some of the cadets that take part in the eating challenges and taste testing with Salazar have moved the tables in the hall to make one long meeting spot.

They have decided to change things up with the competition, now instead of everyone eating as fast as they can people pair up and compete with one another to see who can eat the most. That on its own is already shocking but what really makes us open our eyes is Bradley standing up, punches in the air hollering.

“Yeah! Brad wins once again!” -as he screams, he shakes his belly as his prize trophy. And the crowd around him stop their meals to clap and cheer.

Till a massive belch distracts everyone, an already fatter Salazar cuts the cheers to show he has managed to finish his fourth plate in a new record time. And like a bullet a button on his shirt pops out, his belly spills on his lap and everyone goes crazy for the man as if he just won a championship.

Connor and I are just standing there in disbelief, the idea of passing time during meals has gone a little out of hand in our eyes.

Other people in the cafeteria look annoyed or disgusted, and while we find a seat and gather our plates, we see some other cadets standing out and leaving due to the display at hand.

Carlos and Hill are sitting at a table with Daniel, and we join them. Daniel is having his usual conservative meal, but Carlos has once again upped his intake, his plate looks huge in comparison to what was his usual at the beginning of the experiment. Hill has also started to increase his food intake slightly, and while other cadets moan and grunt with the pleasure the food brings them, Hill is leaning forward eating from his plate with a more relaxed expression. As if he is in a peaceful haze.

Connor and I notice the changes, Daniel seems to be too focused on the other tables to care. We decide not to mention Carlos or Hill changes for now, but it’s starting to become difficult for Connor to stay quiet. After I told him what happened in the watchtower days ago, he became concerned.

But managed to convince him with how things are related to the twins. Weeks pass but Jones never comes back to his brother, if anything it seems like they are avoiding each other. And every time we sit down to have a meal Daniel starts to look at Salazar’s table with either anguish, anger or downright fear.

At first, I thought his idea of something else going on was the reaction to jealousy or anger but he either always believed something was off or started to believe his own words with time.

In any case, while I feel bad for him Carlos and Hill to some extents are not as charitable. They see his comments for what most people would, delusion created out of pain and anxiety. Especially since Carlos has started to gain weight as well, the comments on how Salazar table is brainwashing everyone are not as pleasant to him now.

My words could only do so much, with the show today and Carlos slurping some pasta like the last meal on earth cause Connor to ask.

“Is it me or does Salazar look . . . fatter than yesterday?”

Daniel looks up at us, but Carlos and Hill remain focused on their food. Then I decide to also join in.

“Like way fatter? Yeah, I did notice he was starting to get a proper belly from all the food challenges, but I don’t know how I didn’t realize he gained so much weight” - I reply.

Carlos swallows some food and finally acknowledges our presence but ignores the notion of the conversation but with the look he is giving me, I know he is listening and is not liking it.

“Bradley is not faring any better, he might pop a button of his own soon enough. I’m a little worried, everyone is letting themselves go. At the beginning it was Salazar and a couple of his friends, but now half of the cadets are sitting there going as far as they can go.”-I add

“Even Jones has gained weight. The last time I saw him he was hanging out with Neil, Salazar and Bradley, and his abs are gone for good. My old brother would rather jump off a bridge than get fat and now he is competing to see who can eat the most burritos. I’m telling you guys something is off”

“I know what you mean, there is a lot of food and a lot of free time, and it seems like the scientists that made this experiment want things to be that way.” -I say letting my inner doubts of this place float.

Carlos stands up with his plate and adds “I’m sorry guys but I think this discussion is getting out of hand, I honestly don’t think there is something more sinister going on than some people enjoying their meals. Maybe we are taking things wrong by opposing the rest of the team so harshly. Maybe I won’t go to eat with them right away, but I won’t push against them as much anymore.”

He looks at Hill and asks, “Or do you think they are all pod people?”

Hill looks at us, shrugs and replies “We are all going to die anyways.”

They both stand up with their trays to leave, but before going Hill gets close to me and whispers in my ear.

“If you are so invested in enabling this idea and truly worried about this been a trap, you better hurry before they get you.”

And with that they both leave.

“That’s just great, you know what it’s fine. Besides I lost my appetite” - says Daniel frustrated as he leaves the room.

After some silence Connor and I continue talking

Once we are alone Connor asks me what Hill told me?

I repeat the message and I can tell Connor knows what I’m thinking.

“He is calling us out for enabling the paranoia” -he said.

“Yeah, but honestly I’m not sure how much it’s just paranoia and what is true.”

We look at Salazar’s table and see how belches, grunts, moans, blabbering for more food and being able to go for another table drown the chow hall.

“I think this is as normal as a bunch of people letting go. We could ask the commander to intervene.” -Connor says, with a look that shows this comment was more to convince himself than me.

“Oh please Connor, I’m not any happier than you are with this. But whatever is going on is higher than the commander. Who would take our concerns seriously?”

I look at the crowd again, Jones, Bradley and now Carlos and Hill. I don’t want them in trouble if all of this is in our heads, even when their figures and demeanor are changing before my eyes.

“Besides technically speaking they are no harm. . . Aside from their own wardrobes. There is no need to be such a narc.” -I say bringing an end to the subject, or so I thought.

I see him getting a little down from my comment and I regret it a bit, but Connor needs to be lined up at times, so he doesn’t get himself in pickled situations with his teammates. If he starts to get between the cadets and their food, or worse, gets us another training drill. They might resent him moving forward. Besides, we should focus on other things.

“Maybe you are right, besides what matters is that we stay strong right?”-he replies while looking more confident.

“Exactly that’s the spirit!”

“But don’t come at me when one of those buttons fire in your way Soldier Kent.”

We both laughed at the prospect, and I realized most of the cadets are still in the chow hall so we could get a head start for the recreation room.

“Hey Connor, what do you say? we can always take advantage of this and go to the recreation room while everyone is still here.”

A spark glows in his eyes and he smiles, he then whispers.

“Sure, lately it’s been hard to get a spot there without waiting a century. But let’s leave quietly not to raise suspicion “

With a renewed spirit we put our plates away and get our way to the recreation room, on the way there we see the main hall and a figure we assumed to be the commander entering. But it seemed oddly bigger, so we assumed Salazar or someone else was bringing him dinner.

We get to the recreating room, and we can smell the sweat and food from previous uses of the room; But it is expected of a small room getting so many people at the same time. We agree it’s not worse than the smell of the old gym at the base and try to ignore it.

Connor jumps on the sofa and immediately gets up “Oh dude what the f*ck!” - he shouts.

“What’s the matter?” -I ask, fearing he got stabbed with an outing nail or something stuck in the mattress of the sofa.

“This think is cover in sweat that’s what’s happening.”

I get close to him and smell his back, indeed the same smell that saturates the room. I put my finger on the sofa and it’s like it’s been used as a sweat rag in the gym.

“Well, you have to give the team kudos for this, they found a way to sweat like pro athletes while playing video games” -I say while laughing.

Connor throws me a dead stare and I shut up, after his anger subsides, we get some stools from the corner and get started to play. We found a race game where we can both play in an equal field. It seems like Connor does well with racing games but sucks at shooters. Kind of ironic if you ask me.

We hear the crowd of people getting close, most likely dinner was over, so we get our stuff and get out before they arrive.

The next day comes and it’s pretty calm. During the day Connor and I walk around the base filling the snack boxes. While we work, we talk about our prospects in the military and our dream specialties to take. We get interrupted by a crowd of cadets passing by. They were all in ill-fitted clothes eating protein bars from a snack box we most likely just filled.

“I don’t know Connor, yes I don’t think aliens are invading us, but it is weird to see a gym bunny throwing everything for a guy so out of the sudden.”

The words of Carlos got to Connor, and he is worried we are enabling Daniel’s paranoia for the sake of support. So, my comment wasn’t well received.

“It doesn’t change that we are feeding his anxiety against the rest of the team, maybe we should encourage him to talk with his brother and fix things up.”

“Or we could let them figure out this on their own, look what happened to Salazar and Bradley they are doing ok”?

“It’s not the same, they were teasing one another. This is different, Daniel is avoiding his brother and we are allowing him to do so.”

“We are not their parents, it’s not our place to allow them or not to reconnect.”

Connor stops in his tracks and signs towards the end of a hallway. I look at Salazar and Bradley, they are walking shoulder to shoulder, their bodies clashing against one another, laughing to the top of their lungs and exuding happiness.

“They are hanging out more often now”-Connor says looking happy, but I can see a slight glimpse of doubt in him.

“More than hanging out, they look the happiest I have seen them.”

“Yeah, I guess that’s a possibility. We have to get our act together; people will think I’m making you sad.”

“That’s not possible Mr. Sunshine, have you seen yourself in a mirror? You have a smile even while sleeping. If anything, they will think I’m making you sad.”

He looks pleased and he looks in another direction for a second, then looks at me and replies.

“You always cheer me up Will.”

“Well in that case I say we are beating everyone’s asses here, Bradley and Salazar are just getting close to our level.”

Connor laughs and we continue to walk getting the protein bars in the rest of the snack bars.

After Lunch I’m walking to my post for a patrolling shift and find Jones, he has grown just like Daniel mentioned. His once muscular pecs are now pushing with fat the front of his shirt, his nipples marking underneath it. His belly looks a bit bigger than the last time we saw him, and his legs have filled out leaving little space for wrinkles in those pants.

He is sitting down with Neil. He also gained some weight since the food challenges started. If Jones looks tight in his clothes Neil looks ready to burst, having a head start with his weight compared to Jones helps, I guess. Some stitches on his pants have popped but he seems blissfully unaware.

They are having some of the bars Connor and I just refilled, those boxes sure have seen use lately.

Jones looks so happy with Neil, it’s such a drastic contrast to Daniel now. He exudes sadness and a bit of regret. Ever since Carlos left our table, I try not to get in their situation more than I already had. But remembering Hill’s comment at the chow hall, it dawns on me. If I’m not even sure something is going off, have I contributed to the twins’ separation by enabling Daniel?

Then I reconsidered what Connor said, I already intervened in the wrong way. Mighty as well help now.

I start to think about what to do and come to the conclusion that instead of trying to convince Daniel into fighting his instincts and that everything is A-ok. I could try and tell Jones to see his brother more often. It’s possible he doesn’t fully grasp the extent of what’s going on.

I get close to them and apologize to Neil asking to talk with Daniel in private for a second.

“Whatever you have to say we can speak with Neil” -Daniel says without a trace of malice.

Neil looks at him and giggles before commenting “Come on Jones I’m not going anywhere you can talk him Will for a second”

He looks at me and winks “Just don’t take him too long”

Jones looks at him with a soft smile and stands up with a little struggle, we walk a few meters away and I start my pitch

“You seem to be doing pretty nicely with Neil”

He laughs and looks back at him “Yeah, he is pretty nice actually. I haven’t been able to be so open with anyone except . . .”

“Daniel?” -I ask

He looks sad right away and he replies

“Yeah I guess so, Do you know why he is so angry at me lately? I know we get jealous at times but he should be back to normal by now”

“Maybe it’s because neither of you has ever been in dating anyone for longer than a few days, from what you told me in bootcamp”

“Maybe. . . But I haven’t done anything to him and he is looking at me as if I stabbed a puppy. Even if he is mad, couldn’t he be happier for me?”

“I think the same way, but you have to understand him more than anyone. You both have been doing everything together and you have left him to the side in the last few weeks. That and he feels a bit weirder out with your new look, if you know what I mean.”

He looks down toward his belly and looks flustered, I was expecting another reaction from someone who prided himself on his muscles.

“Haha yeah I guess I got a bit bigger right?”

“It’s a bit odd but it has a reason, I could tell you but you have to stay quiet ok?”- he replies while looking excited to tell someone.

He has never been good at keeping a secret but the few he does have are always pretty tamed so I agree. He gets closer to me and looks around, then he whispers in my ear.

“When Neil and I started dating he told me he liked my size, my muscles and such. But as we kept talking he said he likes size in general. So he offered to help me bulk, I gained some extra weight than expected and he just went crazy for me. I loved his attention but I also came to enjoy the size. It’s like he said it gives me a strong look”

I don’t particularly understand what he sees in it but I respect the explanation and his taste for the matter.

“Well, congratulations Jones you won the lottery. Not only he likes you but he likes more of you”

He looks pleased with himself till he grabs his belly and lets me know he is getting a bit peckish. That he wants to finish his meal with Neil, so I hurry back to the topic.

“Back to Daniel, If you and Neil try to spend some time with him, he will see how good you are for each other. Just outside of the chow hall, the mess during the food competitions won’t help him to relax haha”

He looks determined and nods “I’m going to give it a shot, just I hope he doesn’t get weirded out haha”

After that we split, I waved back to Neil and moved on with the day.

I’m not too excited about having to clean the kitchen after dinner today. Carlos and Hill have been balancing eating with us and at Salazar’s table, having more outings on the latter lately. At some point Hill also started to match the gains of Carlos, but knowing he wouldn’t care for the intervention we never bring it up.

Before we start having our food Jones reaches out to our table.

“Hi guys, long time no see”

Daniel looks in the opposite direction and doesn’t engage with his brother.

“Let me cut to the chase, I’m sorry Dan. I’ve been so distracted with Neil I left you on the side. Neil and I want to try and hang out with you, would you be ok with that?”

“It’s ok, you don’t have to worry about me. And about the offer, I don’t know Jones, you seem to be doing pretty well on your own. why would you want me ruining your vibe with Neil?”

“Come on Jones have a heart. . . he is apologizing, give them a chance” - Connor adds looking concerned

Jones grins for a split second and I know he is having an idea.

“You got me brother, you have always been better at this kind of stuff. I’ve been unable to know what to talk with Neil lately and was hoping you could help me keep the energy going”

Jones looks at him for a hot minute and calms down, almost as if hearing his brother asking for help makes him see he is still the same person.

I think a part of him was trying to see the old version of his brother at that moment even with the paranoia and resentment.

“I knew you would end up coming back to ask for help. I will do my part, but not here. I don’t need Salazar’s ruckus while we do this. And don’t you think I’m going to ignore that belly of yours, we are going to have a talk”

With that Connor and I stay on our table, alone.

He looks at me with a sh*t grinning smile, I ask him what happens and he replies

“You did something, didn’t you?” - he says with joy

“Yeah yeah, I saw Jones and Neil today and ended up talking to them about making up with Daniel”

he elbows me and his expression softens.

“I knew you would do the right thing Will, you always know what to say?"

I get a bit flustered, and a sense of pride fills my chest. We continue our meal and hope the twins manage to get along at last.

The chow hall looks like a war zone by the end of the display of gluttony everyone has every night. Two thirds of the team are taking part in the food competitions, so tons of plates and trays are collected in the massive table in the hall.

While I clean, Neil comes through the door of the chow hall with his backpack and a pleased expression. His belly is poking from under his shirt, I try to ignore it. But he notices me staring and I have to come up with something to make the situation less awkward.

“Hey what’s so good? you look happy?”

He cheers up right away and explains that he was picking some food to continue the picnic the twins and him were having. Apparently, Jones’ tactic worked, and they continued in the field.

“Thanks for talking with Jones about his brother, they both look happier now.”

“It was nothing really, family need to stick together.”

Neil moved towards the food and started to fill his backpack, he grabs pizza, burgers, hot dogs and fries all in aluminum wrap or boxes neatly stacked in his bag now.

“Hey, be careful, you will end up filling Daniel up.”

“Oh no, some of this is for me later, you know in case I get hungry at night.”

“I see, but you do know you can always come here and grab anything later, right?”

“I know but is such a drag to walk all the way here when I could just have it outside the barracks watching the starry night.”

Even when the idea of a night picnic sounded nice, the thing that stuck to me was the laziness of walking to the chow hall and back for the food. I tried to remain non judgemental in front of him and replied.

“Sure, I get what you mean, it’s such a drag right?”

“Exactly dude! well I will let you finish cleaning in peace.”

After filling his backpack with enough food to calm an army he left.

Situations like that became more frequent. People bring food from the chow hall in their backpacks and eat around camp or they park themselves near snack boxes and empty them before noon.

Besides the growing appetite of our teammates, Connor pointed out something interesting during lunch a few days later. Not only are the cadets having more food more often, but the menu of the past few days has changed slightly. He thinks it’s matching the tendencies of the team. I can’t fight back that idea, there is no other explanation to why there is so little vegetables and lean beef and so much of everything else. Fast food, dessert, lots of breads and buttery options.

“If there are cameras recording everything it could be fed into a learning machine algorithm so the machinery in the kitchen makes more of the dishes people are eating.”-he adds while pointing at the camera on the corner of the building.

“In theory it would reduce waste on the dishes people are not eating by replacing them with the most popular option.”

We realize that with the now more fattening menu options the idea of anyone losing some of the weight they gained is turning more complicated than expected. Not to mention we also have to choose the healthiest option around.

I came up with the idea of teaming up for our workouts and assignments for the day. Most assignments are done in a few minutes, so we can just help each other to finish faster. And the number of people training has decreased again so we might as well encourage one another.

Bradley had fully stopped to show up for trainings, alongside a good chunk of the team that used to compete with him. Neil and the twins bond more, and they tag along base ignoring the gym or the running field. Daniel starts to indulge while he is with them, and it’s starting to show on his figure, a thin layer of fat shows on his middle covering his abs.

Carlos and Hill are camping in the recreating room for most of the time, in a way they became the regulators of the competitions there, Carlos’s rotating the controllers as people lose and Hill supervising everything is ok.

From somebody who hated big groups and unnecessary banter ever since Hill started to hang out more with Salazar and his group, he has been weirdly chill. Connor and I even think he might be high for all we know. He is less sarcastic and more focused on relaxing, and even if he is not high you wouldn’t be able to tell by his appetite. The man acted like he had perpetual munchies.

They all can be seen alongside Salazar and his group having silly competitions around base like who can eat the most protein bars in a minute, or who can chug more pop.

Both Bradley and Salazar have grown in record time in front of our eyes. With time some of their hair grew and they stopped shaving so now they both show off beginner beards. While Salazar’s looks more collected, Bradley’s looks perpetually wild. I guess they match their personalities.

Most of their uniforms don’t fit them anymore. They have tried different ways to stay dressed while they stuff their faces.

It started by having their uniform open with their white shirt under it. But when seams started to open and rips showed up every other day, it was obvious those uniforms proved to be also too small; so, they tried to ask the commander for a size up. We were all terrified since it was obvious, we would all be executed for letting them get so out of hand in such a short time.

That evening Connor was all over my case that we should have intervened before it got to that. But when they got back to the barracks, they had new uniforms and no commander on sight.

They explained that the door to his office is looked, and they had to ring the intercommunicator.

“We asked him for new uniforms and after some silence he replied just asking for what size we needed.”-said Bradley all happy since his head is till on top of his shoulders.

“We went for 2XL but asked for a few 3XL just in case we need them later.”- added Salazar holding the 3XL with pride.

From my point of view, they were ready for those sizes right away. And I know they were both already fairly big guys but the speed in which they have managed to fatten up was shocking to say the least.

As their not so little group kept growing more and more, people went to the commander for an upgrade in sizes till one day when we woke up everyone had several sizes up, of uniforms to change once they needed it.

Connor was getting worried by the day, and I can’t deny I was starting to get a little paranoid as well. At the beginning I was worried that this would be a half ass experiment by the military where I would get overworked to hell and back but now, I can’t even tell why they are allowing this to continue.

“We haven’t even seen the commander in days now, this can’t be normal.” -Connor says while keeping his focus on the commander’s office.

“It’s weird indeed, but I don’t know what he or the military would get in letting a whole team of cadets fatten up during a facilities exercise.” - I reply looking at the building as if hoping for a tv host to come out and say this was a big brother style prank.

I add “The last time I think we saw him was when we were going to the recreation room after dinner a few days ago.”

Connor tries to remember, and he looks at me with shock “You won’t believe the fat guy entering the commander office that day was him, right? That was at least Bradley.”

“I don’t know mate, with how much everyone has gone full hog in the last few days I can believe anything.”

Chapter 5: A night of discovery

Chapter Text

A few days passed and I saw Carlos walking around base. I approached to try and invite him to train with us and was a bit spooked when I realized he was having a massive burger out on the way to one of his assignments.

“Hey Will, how is the day treating you? you saw the chow hall extended its serving hours and menu to cover for the demand?” - he asks before taking a massive bite of his burger.

I just watch pretending I don’t see his uniform painted to him like a second skin. Some of the meat grease and ketchup lands on his shirt but he doesn’t seem to notice or care.

After swallowing he continues “It was time, people are hungry at other hours, and living off of snacks is not optimal you know.”

“Oh of course” - I say trying to keep the conversation going and not to bring up the fact that one of the skinniest men I have met now is looking like Salazar a few days after landing here.

“So you wanted to tell me something?”

“Ah yeah, I wanted to check if you wanted to tag along with me and Connor for some training later today or tomorrow?”

“Thanks Will but I’m in a bulking cycle. I want to try and build some muscle and Bradley is guiding me on this new regimen. I think it’s giving results already” -he says with a big smile and an air of smugness I haven’t seen in a while.

“But thanks anyways, hey maybe you and Connor could tag along with us on the routine. You could do good with some mass.”

he grabs another bite of his burger and adds

“Or we could go to the recreation room, Hill has been getting better at the fighting games”

“Thanks, I will tell Connor and see what he thinks of the idea. See you soon”

During Dinner that night I told Connor about the conversation with Carlos. While I explain the situation, Carlos and Hill show up to the chow hall with some cadets and go straight to their table with the rest of the members of the Large and up team. They have completely stopped hanging out in meals with us and twins have integrated to their table as well.

Connor looks at me like he has just seen a ghost, after finishing my story he asks.

“Do you want to finish food somewhere else?”

We go out with our plates and have food in the benches by the field.

“I don’t know Will, I feel like we are drifting away from the rest of the team”

A part of me feels partially responsible for this, Daniel just started hanging out with their group because I intervened, Carlos and Hill bailed out because we enabled Daniel’s conversations about the situation. I have to make sure we don’t dwell into it though, at the end of the day we made our beds and we had to lay on them.

“They are happy Connor, I miss the company but I don’t think either of us is looking forward to join their games”

“I know but that’s also the thing, I’m not particularly comfortable with how they have changed”

“Do you mean for the eating competitions or because you are scared of ending up like them if you let go for a while?”

“You know it’s not like that, I would never. . . We wouldn’t get like that. It’s just after all the effort we have put through to get along and to be top of our class”

he looks at me with a sad expression “Besides you, no one else seems to care enough to try and stick to the program. They all look so happy but they are also burning their work away. And it’s all been so fast, I don’t understand it. Is it bad of me to think this way”

“Connor, your world revolves around this. Not everyone is going to feel the same way. Carlos’ parents are loaded, Bradley has a farm waiting for him at home. You know I need this for me and my family. They can enjoy their choices freely without much of a worry compared to us” - I take a pause and look directly into his blue eyes.

For Connor, who has placed his trust in the military and its people for his whole life, the idea of them plotting against us in this experiment represents destroying his world view. I know verbalizing his concerns right now is taking a lot from him. And even though I believe there is something going on now, I can’t allow myself to push him deeper than he already is in his worries or fears. There will be time for that later, for now we have to stay together.

So, I add -“Regardless of what happens, we are getting to the end of this together ok?.”

“Ok Will, thanks” -he says with a smile.

We get both plates back to the chow hall where the group is now seeing who can make the loudest belch or something like that. We squirm out and go to the barracks, in the way there Connors middle grumbles. He signs and tells me his appetite has been on overdrive lately but every time he sees everyone else going to town during meals he tries to contain himself even more.

I try to console him and let him know that maybe it’s because of everyone eating around us all the time, that a hearty meal tomorrow will fix him up.

A couple of days pass and Connor mentions how the food in the chow hall seems to be improving in taste, like the machine is adding more seasoning. I don’t feel that much of a difference but agree with him just to keep the conversation lighthearted.

At this point Connor and I are the only ones not taking part in the team activities that have extended out of the meals for the day. Now you can see cadets eating full meals around the base while pulling their shirts down to cover their bellies. Others have food stains as the new badges of honor.

And for the biggest guys like Salazar and Bradely putting their size on display is more a power move than anything. They will belly clash as a greeting, compete on who can belch the loudest and even after getting bigger uniforms they start to go around base with open shirts to show their torsos. They go in groups shoulder to shoulder or resting their weight on others. They used to be teasy and playful but everyone seems to be more touchy nowadays.

One day while I get out of the waste disposal unit I catch Bradley and Salazar rough housing surrounded by some of their friends, after some laughs and pushes they start resting against one another. They bask in each other’s size and stay like that for a while. I think I saw Salazar getting excited at the moment so I decided to move on, whatever happens I don’t have to be a witness. They seem to be growing closer by the day and while Im happy to see them get along Im a bit worried they enable one another in their less stellar tendencies.

The field and gym feel like ghost towns while Connor and I train, and dust has started to gather in some places people have stopped showing up. We kept some hopes that Carlos, Hill or the twins would come back to train but as time passed the idea abandoned our heads.

To add insult to injury, a few days later I got assigned another shift in the watchtower. When I got to the top I found Carlos sleeping on the floor, his uniform was upgraded not too long ago to match his ever growing body. And yet it looked like it needed another upgrade now, his belly was resting all the way out, his shirt rolling all the way to his moobs. There were bar wrappers and other pieces of food all over the place.

Some cadets have started to ignore their tasks or do them half ass. Carlos sleeping on the floor covered in wrappers is a new mark. I helped him wake up. As soon as he is up he yawns and finishes blasting a belch on my face and asks me what time it is.

I immediately recoil, he starts to laugh like he just told the best joke in the last year. I told him the hour and that I came to continue with the patrol.

Before he can reply, Hill comes from the elevator with his arms filled to the brim with food, and half a hot dog hanging from his mouth with a chilled face.

“Hey Will, want some grub?” -Hill barely asks between munches

They explained the shift was for Hill and Carlos just tagged along, once they ran out of food Hill went for more and Carlos fell asleep waiting.

He started to stand up and his new pants ripped in the effort, he started to laugh and slapped his gut “I guess this big boy is ready for a new upgrade haha, If you excuse me Will I need some pants and to fill the tank”

Before I can argue they are getting in the elevator down.

Not too long after that Connor showed up to accompany me. Apparently he tried to play a movie in the recreation room to ignore his stomach begging for sustenance. But he got surprised by Salazar and Bradley while setting the player.

“They told me they wanted to watch the movie along with me and sit on the couch, I didn’t want to look mean so I agreed. Before I could get a stool they grabbed me by the arm and pulled me in with them on the couch.”

I wince just thinking about it .

“I couldn’t tell where my body started and where their bodies ended, Will those couches are supposed to be for 4 people and I was struggling for air between the two of them. I needed a shower after that movie. They were both sweating bullets just sitting there besides me, and of course I smelled like hell afterwards”

“That sucks dude, sorry to hear that”

“Even during the movie they started to eat the food from a snack box while I was fighting not to break the diet. Their bellies gurgle and vibrate with every piece of food and then belch like I wasn’t even there. By the end of it all I had bits of food everywhere”

I was shocked by the description of the situation but I was trying to be nice so I tried to focus on something good from the situation -“Well at least you all hang out! Did you end up having anything to eat?”

“Apparently someone is filling the snack boxes with more than protein bars, they had pizza, fries and such. I tried Wil really but I was so hungry, so I caved in and had some.”

“Its ok Connor you also need to eat, this is no zombie movie you wont turn by having a pizza”

“Well I hope so, the gym at least looks like a zombie town haha”

He told me they watched some Scifi movie, when the movie was over he excused himself to have some food but instead went for a shower and then here.

We spent the rest of the night talking, around midnight one of the monitors in the watchtower started to blink. Apparently someone was walking around base.

When I looked through the visors I saw a figure entering the chow hall. I told Connor and we both went there as quietly as we could in the dead of night.

Once inside the hall we saw the light of the kitchen on, what we saw was a massive figure bent down on one of the fridges eating everything on sight.

“Who do you think it is? For that size it has to be one of the biggest cadets around even Salazar himself” -whisper Connor in my ear while we watched.

the man would grunt and moan while licking his finger and taking huge bites of everything. a can of cheese falled from the fridge and rolled and when the man moved to pick it up we saw it was Commander Parish.

Connor gasped and the commander looked in our direction like a praying beast. I covered Connors mouth and duck behind the wall that divides the kitchen and the hall.

We could hear the thuds of his steps as he moved toward us, he was just in the door frame, in the dark of the hall he didn’t notice us a few meters to his right. I could see the same amber colored eyes that screamed at us on the first days of the experiment now wild looking for the source of the sound. But before he could notice us his belly roared and he mumbled “Ugh It must be my imagination”

We raised out of the chow hall and back to the tower.

“Well that explains why he doesn’t go out of his office”-I say trying to make sense of what just happened.

“Oh sure it will be hard to teach by example when you are the size of fort knox!” -Connor shouts and tries to compose himself.

“Jokes aside, at least we know why he hasn’t intervened lately, he would be a laughing stock if he tries to put us to training in his current state” -I add while I pace around the room.

“Yes but that doesn’t explain how he left himself go so badly”

“He is human Connor, stuff like that happens.” -I reply not knowing if I’m saying that to convince him or myself.

“It’s still weird that everyone has gone the same way in such a short time” -he looks to the ground and he holds his stomach.

I notice his middle is starting to look fuller but I don’t think it is the kind of information he needs right now.

“Still hungry?” -I ask

“Is it too obvious?”- he said, looking at me with sadness in his eyes.

“Noo” -I get cut by his stomach that roars so loud there is no way to ignore. “ok maybe just a little”

He sits down on the floor and covers his face, I know he must be stressed by this so the empty stomach won’t help. I’m not sure if what I’m doing is adding fire to the flames but I open the snack box and try to give him a protein bar.

He looks at it with anger but eventually subsides and he starts to eat it with a defeated look on his face, it doesn’t last long though, once food has passed his lips he looks more calm. I sit beside him and we stay quietly for a while just making each other company.

At some point we both fall asleep.

I have a nightmare where everyone in the team is a zombie and I go up to the watchtower to take refuge. when I hear Connor screaming running toward the tower followed by a horde of zombies and asking for help.

Then I woke up. Connor is sleeping beside me with his head resting on my shoulder, and I feel something wet. This idiot is drooling all over me, before I could knock him out of his sleep I notice he is talking in his sleep.

“Yes mom I can have more stuffed potatoes, It’s only been a few of them.”

This man was hungry for real, he was dreaming of food for gods sake.

For a second I’m taken back by him. His black hair has grown a bit since we got here,it’s a little messy brushing on my side. His muscular body now covered with a thin layer of fat, the relaxed face on top of me. Resting like this together, makes me feel like the world has stopped moving and there is nothing to worry about.

I let him sleep for a few minutes, and then I got tired of his drooling ass and shake him into the land of the living. He wakes up a bit shocked that the stuffed potatoes are gone and I can only laugh.

We decided to cut the training for the day after the long night we had, once we got down the tower we went to have breakfast. I’m feeling rather hungry as well so we both get plentiful plates and sit down.

The food today tastes divine and Connor looks so pleased to have a full plate of food after days of abstinence. Once we are out of the chow hall we get started on our assignments. Since most of the base has gone laze mode we run over all the facilities and divide cleaning for the week.

Even while we try to ignore the situation for the time being, we agree to continue our runs and weight training. I can’t deny that during the runs Connor takes a few more pauses than before. He shrugs it off like nothing happens and I choose not to make too much of it. But I can’t deny the shine of sweat saturating his shirt makes it stick to his body, showing how it has grown.

During our weight training he opened the snack boxes and takes protein bars here and there. I was happy to see him less stressed but I also felt like telling him about his increased intake in those wasn’t a good move. But I decided to stay quiet.

During Lunch we saw the casual shenanigans of the now rest of the cadets, a full display of gluttony. People ripping through their clothes, belching like there is no tomorrow and eating everything on sight.

We got our food and sat. Connor had a rather big plate but an even bigger smile while taking forkfuls of pasta and chicken. I was a bit spooked by the idea of him also gaining weight and getting punished like everyone else when this experiment was over.

But I couldn’t bear to see him scared and stressed like the last few days. So I sipped it.

Besides, the food had a great quality improvement. I don’t know what they have been doing with the ingredients but it tastes way better.

The days pass and for the first time in a while I wake up first than anyone in our barracks. At this point waking up earlier than most is expected. Most of them are a happy snoring mess during the mornings. But I woke up earlier than Connor who is soundly sleeping in his bed besides mine.

It’s weird to see him not being the first to run out of the barracks for training, but besides a more relaxed outlook I tried to convince myself he is still himself and nothing is going on. Then I get interrupted by my own gut gurgling for sustenance.

After waking up Connor and I go to have breakfast, we start to eat and slowly but surely the cadets start to fill the chow hall and the rowdiness of the day starts. The size difference of some of our team members is more than obvious. Open shirts, oversized pants and missing buttons are the standard of the group. Some of the cadets are having a waddle while they find their seats and others are starting to get used to their thighs rubbing together while they walk.

“Well its official we are the only two cadets not eating with Salazar and the rest of the team” -Connor point out while he drinks some orange juice.

I look towards the table again and I see everyone laughing and shouting while they eat and a part of me craves the company, my stomach grumbles and I continue to eat ignoring the inherent loneliness of the situation. Then Connor punches me in the arm and smiles

“Hey mate, cheer up. we don’t need them. We have each other” -he said.

I can feel my face warm up a bit in part because he read right through, and I must have those sad puppy eyes I get at times. And secondly because he is right, I’m ok as long as I’m with him but I didn’t realize how much I needed to hear it from him.

“Yes, we do. I’m still thinking about what’s going on though. I’ve been thinking about something but I don’t know if its a good idea”

“Sure tell me what’s on your mind?”

“You remember when I went to see the doctor a while back? I saw he has our records, If anything weird is going on he would be writing it down there don’t you think?"

“Yes it’s possible, Most people here have gone to the infirmary at least once or twice. But we can’t ask Dr. Donovan for everyone’s records, that’s kind of illegal”

“I know, but if what I’m thinking is right then I have a way to distract the doctor. One of us could get into his office with the files and see if there is anything wrong going on”

“I dont think thats the best idea Will, if we get caught it could be career ending” -he says while licking his fingers from the garlic bread he was eating.

I see the rest of the cadets rowdy eating at Salazar’s table and Connor in front of me licking his fingers like nobody’s business. All I can think of is I need to find out what’s going on and If there is a way to stop it before it’s too long. Of course I have to downplay it as much as I can to convince Connor to help me, I can trust anybody else to join me on this.

“It’s ok, the doctor is pretty chill. Even if he find us I don’t think he would report us”

Connor thinks for a second about it and signs “Ok What’s the plan, but if this gets out of hand you won’t hear the end of it from me Will” -he says looking worried

“Come on Connor we are the best team in this base, we will do just great!”

His expression softens and the memory of our drills makes him smile again.

“You know what, you are right. Let’s show whoever is behind this what we can do”

The next day we get our plan in action.

I wait outside the infirmary, the cubicles that surround the main space of the building have windows looking toward the main field. I crouch under an open window in the cubicle closest to his office.

Connor enters the building and knocks on the doctors office, he is supposed to pretend to be feeling bad and start to faint. Connor has grown a bit and the doctor would move him to the nearest cubicle. Once I’m sure the coast is clear I will move to his office and pick at the archive lock. Read the reports of Salazar or one of his group and get out.

They take longer than I expect but since Connor is bigger I Imagine the doctor is struggling to carry him to the cubicle. I can hear through the window when they manage to get there.

“Come on connor just a few steps there, Jesus you are heavier than I remember”

I know Connor won’t be happy about the remark but it’s not a lie.

Connor hits the bed and the doctor starts looking for equipment to evaluate what’s going on. I get started and enter the building as quietly as I can. Once I’m in the corner of their cubicle I take out a mirror to see what’s going on inside the room without entering.

What I see is a massive doctor, No wonder he was having issues carrying Connor. His hips have grown to great tree trunks rubbing against one another. His robe is open and his scrub underneath is busting on the sides as he checks Connors airways.

I realize he has his back facing me and I run for it. I enter the office and get to the archive.

The storage at the base has a lot of things useful for training sessions and individual skill development but the one thing I wanted was a key picking kit. I swiftly open the lock in the archive and open it slowly not to make noise.

The files of all bases are here and I start looking for Salazar. With his file at my hands I start to get ideas running in my head, what if we have a weird disease, or if they are trying to test chemicals in the protein bars or a super additive in the food. Any discovery could be recorded here.

Once I open it, It’s mostly blank after our check up. Salazar came for an antacid at the first days of bootcamp and gained some weight but aside from that nothing.

I put his file back in place and looked for Bradley, he came looking for a pain killer after overexerting at the gym early on but nothing afterwards.

Connor, Carlos, Hill, Neil, the twins, and nothing. I look through my file and there’s nothing I didn’t know about by this point.

I’m getting angry and the weight of my stupid idea weighs on me. I’m putting my best friends and my livelihood in danger for the sake of a random sense of fear, in god knows what conspiracy theory.

I put everything back in order. I get out of the doctor’s office and rest in the corner of the door to the cubicle where he is attending Connor. With the mirror in place to see inside, the first thing I see is the doctor reading his record walking directly towards the door and Connor looks at me with shock in his eyes.

I start to think where to run and Connor shouts “Wait!”

We both look at him and he starts to look for his bag “I brought some treats from the chow hall, take one as a thanks you gift”

While the doctor looks at Connor with delight I run for the chance and get out the building. As I get behind the window outside their cubicle I can hear the doctor ravenously eating the food Connor brough, not even waiting for him to leave.

“Thanks for the snack Connor, that really hit the spot” he said accentuated with a belch

“You seem to be in perfect condition, maybe you were just weak. Did you have a good lunch today? Not that you seem to be on a diet haha”

I could already imagine the barrating Connor will give me once he realizes this was for nothing. Putting him through this for empty papers is such a shame.

Once we reunite outside I Tell him what I found and instead of ripping my head off like I deserve he looks at me with a tender smile and says

“I’m happy in a sense that we found nothing Will. It means we are ok”

My chest heart sinks and goes all the way back to my neck in an instant, first I think how could I deserve so much understanding and then I realize I’m lucky to have him as a friend.

“Thanks for understanding Connor, I won’t get us in a situation like that again”

We continue our day as usual and try to forget what happened.

Another week passes and most of the cadets have stopped doing their assignments, we first noticed when dust gathered in places we didn’t clean ourselves during the day. After some consideration we both agreed to try and cover the most tasks per day, to make sure everything runned smoothly. But we start to get stretched thin so we decide to split up to cover the full camp each day.

At times I see Connor cleaning around in his side of camp and see him sneakily having protein bars and other snacks and throwing the evidence so nobody notices but the tightness in his pants is the biggest red flag so far. His belly has grown in the past few days and his uniform is not fitting as well. Everytime his shirt climbs up his belly he gets red as a tomato and he pulls it back down.

While I do my part of the work I have also noticed that people are being more than affective, I catch some cadets kissing or groping one another in the storage, people uniting beds during the day and cuddling, and during one of my cleaning sessions I saw a stain that made me realize I was cleaning a previous sex scene.

Bradley and Salazar are definitely doing something more romantic, while cleaning one of the hallways I see them entering the barracks while everyone is in the recreation room. I try to pick inside and see what they are doing and what I found is them eating each other’s faces for dear life, discarding items of clothing as they continue. I get back into the hall and go as far away from them as I can.

When I tell Connor about it he is appalled by the notion of someone doing that in the barracks and wondering if they cleaned after they finished, but I was surprised that he didn’t complain about sex in the middle of a military camp.

The days pass and Connor is eating more and more during meals with the excuse of training extra hard in our sessions. But we are slowly struggling with them; Connor keeps asking for a minute to catch his breath. He is obviously embarrassed, and I try to reassure him I’m also tired, at the start I was just trying to keep him comfortable but now I’m also struggling to keep my breath while running.

I start to notice that Connor is also becoming more physical, he puts his arm around me when we walk around base, puts his leg on top of mine when we sit around and over all gets closer to me wherever the opportunity arises. It’s a bit uncharacteristic of him and whenever I ask he rubs it off as just being friendly. To be honest I won’t complain of the extra attention, and if it helps him feel comfortable I won’t make a big deal out of it.

Being so close to him has made obvious just how often he gets hungry. If I don’t hear his belly rumbling, I will feel it when I’m under his arm walking around. He gets embarrassed by it but he continues to do it every other time.

I’m not faring much better myself in the food department. At the start I was trying to fight my increasing hunger like Connor, by cutting on meals but it’s not showing much progress either. I’m noticing my belly also expanding and it’s getting in my head. The one consolation I have is that Connor and I are still the same as always, the weight is only expected with so much food around. Or I tell myself as much to keep the anxiety to a minimum.

At the end of the week I’m finishing doing some maintenance in the energy generator, when I get out of the building I catch a glimpse of some cadets walking towards the gym. They are talking and originally I didn’t pay too much attention till one of them said.

“I’m sure this week will be great. Everyone’s been working for this”

I think for a moment that they are planning something that could explain what’s going on and for a moment special agent William Kent is back in the case. I follow them at a safe distance till they get in the gym. I look inside and everyone is in a massive group forming a semi circle around the gym’s scale. Leaving an opening in the center where I can see what’s going on.

I wait for them to take action, and suddenly the lights turn off. Some of them light candles around the circle and Salazar and Bradley show up. They get to the center of the circle and say

“Welcome everyone, we thank you for coming for our little celebration today” -Says Salazar with so much bravado in his voice

“Today we see who is the greatest of us all. I know some of you have things to do, games to play and food to eat so, let’s get this party started! ”- adds Bradley

People cheer and shout as they get ready to start what I can only assume is a ritual of some sorts. My ideas of satanic rituals go out the f*cking window as soon as Salazar steps in the scale and everyone gets quiet.

After a few seconds the scale beeps and it says “Error”

Everyone goes crazy shouting error error like they found el dorado. The scales in the base have a weight limit of 400 pounds, so that means Salazar managed to gain over that mark. I’m speechless with the oddness of this situation, but before I can process what’s going on Bradley gets in front of the scale.

Salazar looks at him with hungry eyes and kisses him in front of everyone, the crowd howlers while they go and with a little bite on the lips Salazar tells Bradley “Try to pass that fat boy”

He slaps his gut and moves away so Bradley can enjoy the stage. He stands on the scale and waits for a few seconds and the scale beeps. What it says is “Error”

The cadets go even louder screaming Error. They all laugh and applaud Salazar and Bradley as heroes.

“Ok everyone, let’s celebrate we crashed that stupid scale, and get everyone to the same weight and beyond” -Says Bradley while I run out of there.

When I find Connor and tell him what happened his face loses all color but quickly, he looks puzzle and asks.

“Ok that means they are actively encouraging one another?” -he asks.

“I guess, it doesn’t explain the speed in which everyone has tag along. I can imagine some of them been into the idea but all camp?”-I reply looking lost for words.

“It begins to explain how those who have . . .grown, or at least ignore the issue. Salazar and his team just encourage them to keep going but it doesn’t explain how the twins or Carlos and Hill got into it”

“I guess we could say we have a part into that right?"

"Yeah, but even so. None of them were into this mindset before Camp Celsus, so what’s making them act like this?”

We ponder ideas for hours, from hypnosis to subliminal messages to chemicals in the food but nothing sounded . . . reasonable. So we cut our losses and went back to the original plan, trying to remain strong till this was over. Just hoping we can fit through the door before that happens.

Chapter 6: Facing Reality

Chapter Text

One night we are getting started to have dinner and the guys in the chow hall are going crazy picking as much food as they can to bring to their table. While we eat Carlos approaches us and tries to convince us to join the rest of the team in a food competition.

“Yeah, guys we miss you during meals let’s just tag long, today we will see who can eat the most in the whole group and I can feel today is my day”

“It’s ok Carlos, we enjoy the time to be on our own” -I try to explain without sounding hurtful.

"Is ok I understand, you both seem to be having a lot of time together” -he says in a teasy way, I can tell I’m blushing from his reaction.

“Yeah we want to enjoy each other company for as long as the experiment lasts” -Connor tells Carlos with confidence in his voice.

At that moment if I was red before now I’m melting, most likely he just said that to scrap Carlos from us but the comment still lifts me off the ground.

“That’s the spirit mate lets enjoy this for while it last, at least i’m enjoying all the food I can have before we go back to training” - he says accentuating the comment slapping his gut.

“Also, we can go to the recreation room afterwards. Some guys and I managed to move one of the soda fountains there and its bottomless pop for everyone!”

After that he walked back to the massive table and his new friend started to cheer him up, apparently he is competing with somebody, and they were waiting on him.

“Wow Carlos has really gained a lot of weight, and he is now in the same shirt size as Bradley from the looks of it” -I said.

Connor wasn’t paying much attention while eating his food with a big grin on his face. I remained looking at him, waiting for a reaction and in two solid minutes he moaned, grunted with a piece of meat and licked his fingers from the sauce.

I try to remain cool when he noticed me staring and asked.

“Oh you said something sorry; the food today is just really good. Have you tried the new sweet buns they are to die for” -he said while biting one and putting one of his in my tray.

I saw it and a feeling of desperate hunger filled my mind, as if I hadn’t eaten half a plate of food at that point. I look back at Connor and see his shirt straining for dear life, his pants with some open seams on the sides and his belly resetting on the table. First, all I can think is how cute he looks, all happy and full. How I want to cuddle next to him and share the meal.

Secondly, I think . . . What is going on? This is affecting him as well.

My heart sank for a second and I can feel myself getting anxious, all the ideas of what’s going on get in my head. Is this hypnosis, an additive on the food maybe a virus spreading?. Before I can think too much about it, the table with the cadets gets louder and puts my attention back on the chow hall for a second.

In the table the cadets are cheering over Salazar, Bradley and Carlos, the last ones standing.

They look about ready to pop with taunted bellies on top of the tables, in a split second Bradley’s pants split open and he holds his belly; with one last moan he gives up. Salazar looks upon Carlos and tries to speed up for a last effort and Carlos keeps going strong. For a second they both stop and everyone can hear the gurgling of their stuffed bellies till Carlos leans back and belches and keeps going like nothing happened. Salazar is surprised but proud in a weird way and he gives up.

I excuse myself from Connor “I’m going to the bathroom I don’t feel so well” -I lie and stand up towards the door.

“Oh do you need me to get you something from the infirmary?”

I feel a bit better knowing he is more attentive when it comes to me, but my calmness doesn’t last long.

While they cheer and shout, the chair holding Carlos snaps and everyone bursts into laughter. The thing that gets me cold is that Carlos sits down, he gets the scraps of the chair off of him and starts to grab more food from the table in front of him and continues with his own personal challenge.

“Oh no I just need to go, be right back in a second” -after replying I hurry for the door and get in the nearest bathroom

Water splashes my face and I look towards the mirror in front of me. I need to figure out what’s going on. My belly rumbles protesting over the unfinished meal and with this clarity I can see I have grown. I’ve also gained some weight in the last days, I was so focused on helping Connor deal with this I ignored the effect this is having on me.

My clothes are hugging my body as well, I can grab my sides and feel love handles forming. even my face looks fuller. I grind my teeth in anger, I can’t allow this to happen. My family needs this to work, I need this to work!

I will just seclude myself, stay away from the rest of the team as planned and wait for the storm to pass. But in the blur of the past few days I have lost track of time, it’s been a month maybe two? I’m not too sure. We haven’t received news from the scientist, we don’t know how long thighs will take.

And after thinking of how desperate this whole thing truly is, the idea of pushing Connor aside for the sake of keeping myself out of the reach of whatever this is makes me want to push the mirror in front of me into pieces.

He has been with me this whole time; I care for him and deep down I know I want him by my side. And even if he doesn’t feel the same way about me, just having him with me would be enough. I don’t know what to do.

I get one last splash of water and get out of the bathroom; I don’t get too far till I see Connor walking around looking for something. My first instinct is to go towards him, but I stop myself, maybe the best would be to go in the opposite direction. My hesitation is my downfall in a way because he sees me and walks toward me.

“Hey Will, how are you feeling? you were taking a second and got worried about you”- he looks legit worried, and I can feel my resolve trembling.

His blue eyes are focused on me, they can see right through my worries, just the way mine could see through his fears days ago.

“I know what you are going through. Will, I was also worried about it. And it’s just like you said, we will beat this together”

“Connor!, you saw Carlos there. He was thinner than me when we got here and looked at us. We are not beating this!”

“I know what you mean but there . . .”

“Don’t even try to pretend it’s not happening Connor! I don’t know what’s happening but whatever it is, it’s getting to us as well. Look at me, look at you! We are just eating more every day, allowing everyone else to sink further in and trying not thinking about it”

He looks down with a pained expression as a kid that gets caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

“We can’t ignore it, it’s true. Whatever is going on is affecting us as well” -he said looking straight into my eyes.

“I was trying to protect myself as much as I could, hoping the military would never do something against their own, hoping this was not the end of our dream, hoping we could all go back to the way things were. But the more we remained stuck here the farthest it felt, I was so worried about keeping a sense of normalcy I forgot to keep an eye on you”

“You’ve been worried about me all this time haven’t you Will?”

He got closer to me, and he is now right in front of me.

I’m trembling from the anxiety, the fear of what’s going to happen to us, but also from the anguish I get from hearing these words from Connor. He knows I’ve been putting my all for him, to keep him smiling regardless of all, but after all this posturing and fight we are doomed. And what do I have to show for it?

“I was scared and confused of what to do, but having you by my side has made this easier to deal with. All of it” -he point out while putting a hand on his belly

I look at him with tears fighting to roll my cheeks, but I keep a strong front. For the two of us I try to convince myself still, and he continues.

“There are days where I forget we are in this mess, where it’s only you and me against the world and everything is fine. I just have fun with you, nothing worries me or makes me feel self conscious. You are my best friend, with you I feel like I am fully open and understood” - after finishing that line he holds my hand.

I feel my heart racing and brace for whatever he will say. Before that point I was worried about how I’m responsible for enabling some of the things that happened in this experiment, even with Connor. But at that point all I think is “I would do it again if it means keeping you happy and safe”. But a wall in my head keeps me from admitting a life of buffet lines and Hawaiian shirts is a fair share to keep him for myself.

I want to say so many things like “I want more than being by your side” or “I’m not only your best friend” but instead I blur out

“I saw you all growing, I allowed it all to get worse. And a part of me wanted to give in and just be by your side but I’m scared”

He looks at me and he is about to say something but I cut him.

“I’ve felt the same way you did ok . . . just living the days not thinking about the details. I needed to get shocked by the group today to realize how far we have gone in all of this. We are too far gone and I don’t know if we will all just wake up one day and think, why did we allow this to get so out of hand”

At that point the tears fill my eyes and I feel my face get hot

“I can withstand everyone else’s scrutiny but what if after all of this is said and done, you blame me for this, or you don’t want the version of me that I become?”

Im full on crying and Connor puts his hand on my face and wipes the tears from my eyes and says

“Nobody has the right to blame you for this Connor, especially not me. And most importantly, I will always be by your side Will, I like you the way you are and the way you will be. Because no matter, it will be you”

After that my walls are crumbling and the last glimpses of courage I have, come to my chest. I will bite the bullet, my plan for the rest of this experiment will depend on how he responds to this. I take a step back and say.

“You must know by now I like you Connor. No, I don’t just like you, I love you. And even with the changes I love you still”

I look at him with a stern look in my face I must look crazy with red cheeks and teary eyes, I braces for impact but instead he gets closer to me again and said

“I was hoping you would say that, cause I’ve been feeling that way for a long time now”

And that all it took me to forget the worries and danger, I kissed him deeply and hugged him hoping the moment lasted forever.

Our heavier bodies clashed with one another in a way I never imagined and to be honest I liked it. It feels like the final piece of the puzzle landed in its place. We looked into each other’s eyes and we had a soft laugh while we got our composure back.

“You don’t know for how long I’ve been waiting for this” -Connor said with the widest smile, his face looking as red as mine.

“Since when?”

“You had me with the hi at the bus on bootcamp”

“Shut up!” -I reply feeling my head about to explode

“I’ve been waiting for you to see me the same way I see you, you got me scared for a second thinking it wouldn’t happen. But you have better taste than to leave happiness escape your grasp” -he winks my way with a cheeky look

“Oh so you will keep me happy then?”

I lean more against him and instinctively press his side. he struggles to hold what I can only assume is a moan and he compose himself to reply

“I will keep you happy till your last day”

He then pressed himself more against me and gently rubbed my sides, I felt the heat spread around me and I know why he was holding up.

We exchange passionate looks and kiss again. When our kiss is over, we can feel each other’s excitement but decide to leave it for a more private place.

“We’ll have a conversation about this later but if we are going to allow this situation on bootcamp to continue and date at the same time then you deserve to know”

I see him looking at the floor and then gathering strength to explain.

“There is another reason I remain quiet about what’s going on, a little after the situation with the commander I started to gain some weight and I couldn’t deny something was up. And after the infirmary I realized there was nothing we could do about it. Adding to that . . . I was having some new feelings toward my figure. It wasn’t fear but I actually liked how the extra weight felt on me”

He paused to look at me and in an anxious tone and he continued.

“I know it sounds weird! but I started to enjoy the weight, it made me feel. . . Comfortable? strong? It’s hard to describe really”

“Its ok Connor I’m happy to hear you are not uncomfortable with it”

I can hear my own voice saying “Coward ‘’, I’ve been digging his bigger look the more time we spent here but I’m scared of him getting weirded out by it. and the perfect opening comes and I say that?

“There is also something else, I think you look good with the added weight and I don’t mind . . . to indulge more if you are ok with that” -he said and my brain melted into nothing, but my inner voice finally came back to say.

Speak up you fool!

“Well we are doing this then. I’ve been also struggling in the past few days”

He looks at my puzzle and it dawns on him what I mean.

“While I didnt notice my own weight, I did notice I find you all the more attractive with the new size. I didn’t want to bring it up in fears of well everything bursting in my face”

Connor looked at me and an idea came to him, he put his hand in my belly and started to rub it.

“Oh so you haven’t thought about your own weight at all?”

Between the shock of Connor being this forward and the embarrassment of someone pointing out my growing middle there was something else. My pants are tenting and the warm tingle of excitement invades my body.

He looks at me as if he discovered El Dorado and I feel myself melt in his embrace as he goes from my belly to my sides and then my thighs. I remind him we agreed not to do more in the open, but I also said

“Ok even if I wasn’t thinking about iit before I do now. So, What do we do about it?”

“Well it’s like you said, we are too far gone to start losing the weight, not to mention I don’t think we can anymore”

Both our middle grumbles like clockwork and my resolve is set.

“Ok then, Would you mind coming with me to the chow hall? I have a meal to finish” -I say with a cheeky grin

“Oh look at who has a quick recovery haha, of course Will, lets go”

When we got to the chow hall we continued our food, we stayed at our table away from the group to talk in private. We left our new attraction as a future topic and agreed to try to bond again with the rest of the team.

We ate to our hearts content for the first time in ages and laughed the rest of the night, we got to the barracks and moved our beds to be beside each other and went to sleep looking in each other direction and for that moment the world was ok.

The next morning we both woke up and moved to the chow hall, where we saw the twins and Neil getting things ready for the meal ahead. We got closer to then and Connor asked

“Hey guys, would you mind if we join you for breakfast?”

Neil looked pleased but the twins were bursting in excitement.

“Of course, dudes come on! we’ve been waiting for you all to join at last” -said Jones.

“Yeah, took you all enough, you were looking a bit famish till now” -Said Daniel.

We look at him in disbelief and he started to laugh

“Ok ok I know, I didn’t make the option of joining any easier”

He then slapped his gutt and looked as confident as I remember him from before the experiment, if not even more.

“Butt you will see how some extra meat is good for us all”

Connor and I were in shock to see Daniel acknowledge his weight so openly but it encouraged us to keep with our choice.

We got our portions and sat on the table, Connor and I joked all the way about how our mothers would scream if they saw us eating this much.

Once we got seated people started to enter the chow hall and join us for breakfast. Having the whole team eating together felt different than eating on our table alone but also it’s not the same as what we did at base before the experiment.

The joy from everyone is palpable, the excuse of eating to one’s fullest allowed the most introverted members of the team to open up. The more competitive to test their limits with the food challenges and people like Bradley and Salazar with a talent for leadership to just take reign and lead everyone into more food.

When Bradley and salazar showed up they noticed us and immediately seated besides us

“Hey Will, I knew you would get the benefits of some bulk sooner or later hehe”

Salazar said while putting his arm around me and squishing me in a massive hug

Bradley was assaulting Connor with the same affection and I asked

“Thanks for the warm welcome Sal, I’m sorry if I was acting a bit stuck up before. It was just weird to see . . . how”

“How have we all fattened up?”

I must have looked like a weird tomato cause he started to laugh and continued

“Dont worry Will, we all have made our peace about it”

“Wait, what do you mean, all of us?”

“It’s hard to gain over 300 pounds and not notice some changes you know, Bradley and I noticed there was something going on but no way to explain it or to stop it. After some time we just started to enjoy the changes and well we rode the high till now”

he noticed I was about to ask for more and he continued

“Besides that everyday cadets would come to us to complain of the tardiness during meals or others feeling anxious about their weights so we decided to help then easy up on their fears and feel more comfortable with themselves”

“Don’t you think you made the situation worse then?”

“You think so?” -he said looking at me legitimately unsure but with a hint of easiness on his face

“I think if there was no way to stop our weight we might as well enjoy it while we can, besides we can always diet once this is over, besides from what I heard you recommended Daniel to tag along with Neil and Jones. If I did things worse for everyone then you also pushed Daniel right?” -he said while eating some pork chops.

I was about to reply feeling the anger and doubt cloud my head, but he started to laugh

“hahaha it’s ok Will, none of us was forced to do this. You didn’t force feed Daniel and I certainly haven’t forced you to eat here today”

My head got clear again and I added

“I guess you are right, so you’ve been helping everyone feel more at ease with these then?”

I see some of myself in Salazar after that, while he was trying to protect everyone from their own fears I was doing the same with Connor and my close circle.

“Yeah and well I can’t deny I like the food, the company and the added benefits!” -he said holding his belly and jiggling it.

I’m flabbergasted and he looks at me with a grin that shines with charisma.

“Come on tell me you haven’t enjoyed a bit how it feels” -he says poking my belly.

When I’m about to fight against the comment I see how everyone else is enjoying their meals to the fullest. How Connor is enjoying the conversation with Bradley like old times, the twins are making a ruckus on the other side of the table while Neil cheers them on and I realize that I’ve been denying myself the chance to share with them due to my own walls.

“Yes I did noticed, Me and Connor for that matter”

he looks at me in the eyes and smiles.

“Well then don’t just stay there, enjoy it to the fullest. Eat, laugh and make all the memories you can. Once this is over we can think of changes but for now there is food and friends” -he adds while patting my back and going back to his own feast.

When Bradley refocuses on his food I nudge Connor and we exchange details from our conversations. Bradley was more than happy to share with Connor that he’s been dating Salazar for a while now. They also touched on the new found appreciation of their increasing waist lines and unlike me Connor was more open to share his opinions on the matter with him. Or more his questions on how they came to terms with it.

I added my part of the story and we both looked towards Salazar and Bradley in a different light, they basked in each other’s company, supported if not encouraged the change between them and took the time to support the rest of the camp.

After a massive breakfast we moved to try and help with some tasks and did some exercise, not out of a desire to evade what’s going on but out of our own natural wishes. Not a worry in sight.

After lunch we got to the recreation room and Carlos clashes with us in the entrance

“Hi dude we are going to make the line to play, so get ready for us”

“Will! Connor! nonsense come on you haven’t played here in ages!” -he replied while hugging us and pulling us into the room, cutting through the packed room. I hold Connor’s hand to keep him close.

Once fully inside there was Hill directing the activities and munching on some fries.

“Hey guys, what brings you here? Also Carlos you own me a fortune once we get out”

“Yeah yeah I know”

We look puzzled and they add.

“I bet you would join in before the end of the experiment and added that you would booth end up together” -Hill said with confidence in his words.

Since we got inside the room, we’ve remained with our hands entangled.

We realize and blush a bit, but we do confirm that we are together.

They both cheer for us and Hill teases Carlos over how much he will pay him with the extras.

They seem so close and playful I ask “Since when you two are together then?”

They look at us and Carlos laughs while Hill just has a comprehensive smile.

“I told you it was a matter of time for someone to ask dude” -Said Carlos

“I guess, I’m just happy it was them and not the twins” -Hill added.

They started to explore the possibility of being more than friends for a while, but it became more concrete after they joined Salazar’s table.

Hill was more relaxed than ever and Carlos had free reign to do as he pleased including sending his advances to his oldest friend. So they made it official and started to fool around.

“It wasn’t a mayor secret, we just don’t want people being nosey” -said Hill with a mean look.

“Sorry” -I said nervously.

“No don’t worry, I mean more then twins or Bradley haha” -Hill replayed.

We spent most of the day playing and talking with the cadets that came in and out of the room as the controller rotated, Hill looked in his element directing people around for the rotations and Carlos kept the energy of the room up to the max. Whenever people were busy playing or debating over a move in a game, they would softly rub each other’s side, trade a quick kiss or tease one another like in the good old times. They really look happier than ever.

We smacked during the whole evening and by the end of it I was stuffed to the brim. But at the mention of dinner my stomach gurgles all the same.

One in the chow hall the food competition started and the loud cheer of people took hold of the room. Connor and I decided it was a bit much for us now but at the comment of Neil we decided we could try and see which of us could eat the fastest. I think Connor was full from the snacks since I beat him with flying colors. We laughed and enjoyed the energy of the room till the night was over.

Once in the barracks we decided to move our beds together like some other couples have done and we spent our first night sharing the bed.

We traded glances and smiled while we whispered what we wanted to do the next day.

In the infatuation we explored each other’s bodies, while the warmth of the moment swept through us Connor pulled out a protein bar from his bag beside the bed looking at me with a wicked grin he started to eat, rubbing his belly in the process.

All the blood from my brain went to my dick at that moment but I realized I could allow him to just melt me into nothingness without a fair fight so I leaned against him pressing my body against his, and bit the other end of the bar.

He looked at me impressed and we continued to munch as we allowed our hands to play with the other’s expanding body. When we were done we were both covered in crumbs and sharing a kiss.

After that we settle in bed and fall asleep in our sweet embrace.

We spent the rest of our days at the camp hanging out with the rest of the team and indulging in the free time, a few weeks later we got a letter from the scientific team saying the experiment would end and they are sending a support team to review the facility and bring us some extra supplements before going out of base.

We all secretly wondered what would happen once they saw our new sizes but before the fear could get the best of me I felt Connors presence beside me, and I knew we would be ok.

Journal of Dr. Vincent Belmore

The testing of the new Biochemical compound “Sagina01” was a complete success. This virus will be of great use by the military as a bioweapon to subside enemy camps and in extreme cases full communities.

Our expectations of the speed of action of the compound were in line with the simulations done by our team. After the controlled infection of a single cadet, it took 2 month for the whole base to be infected and less than 4 weeks after that for the whole base to be in the last phase of the infection.

The virus multiples and takes strength in the fatty cells of the host, taking several routes to ensure the increase of those cells. It gets into the host’s brain and enhances the dopamine release while resting, eating and overall gaining weight. boosting the signals received from the taste receptors making everything have a stronger taste than before. But most importantly exponentially increasing the production of Ghrelin, the hunger hormone. driving the patient into eating frenzies.

By providing the patients with unlimited resources they all consumed as much as they could handle. A notable discovery is the secondary effects of elasticity in the stomach and overall health benefits. The patients seem to show better blood pressure, lung capacity, muscle strength and elasticity than the average man of their sizes. This could be due to the virus trying to optimize its survival, by improving its host likelihood of survival. This symbiotic relationship will be studied in future cases.

It spreads via body fluid and is highly contagious, a single droplet of saliva or sweat with enough time will be enough to start a contagion. The virus rewires the patients towards physical contact and intimate encounters. During the experiment several of our patients engage into physical display of affection even those who were documented as straight before the experiment.

This has sparked interest with our higher ups to study in more detail the behavioral effects of the virus.

With the end of the experiment, we gave every cadet a dose of the cure and a discharge notice from the military since they are no longer fit for the job. Of course, to keep our experiment and its dubious methods under wraps we provided every subject a substantial payment as a parting gift for their good service. Hopefully after enough money for them to retire in their 20’s they won’t have too many questions. After seeing the checks none of them seem to care about military life.

To justify the price of the experiment we will continue to check the patients in hopes of finding new data of relevance once they have been cured.

I will be continuing my experiments until further notice.

End of entry.

Chapter 7: Epilogue

Chapter Text

When the scientific team came to the base they found us all eating in the chow hall, from me and Connor to the Commander and Doctor Donovan. Truly a testament to our priorities. Nobody received them on the main gate or stopped them to verify their credentials, they just needed to waltz their way inside.

The only one that got into the chow hall to fetch us was Dr. Vincent, he told us his team was doing a thorough review of the facilities and that we all should get a proper shower and change of clothes. Once we were done, we would regroup on the infirmary for them to explain the results of the experiment.

When we got to the infirmary we stood in formation and Vincent Belmore with a surgical mask stood in front of us. We all got congratulations on the excellent data the scientist team could gather with our help. A part of me was skeptical on the matter and wanted to ask what he meant. but my belly rumbled begging for more food and the idea flew away from my head. I just wanted to get back to the chow and continue breakfast. . . lunch?. . . meals were blurring into one another.

Anyways, we got assigned into the different cubicles of the infirmary for a checkup and we all got a shot, apparently as a reinforcement of some type. We should pay more attention but none of us is really too worried about anything besides making this a fast endeavor.

When the health check up is done the doctors and scientific team didn’t make a bug fuzz of a whole team gaining weight like their lives depended on it, the messy state of the base when they arrived or even the amount of food we have obviously over consumed.

They did explain to us that because of our weight we won’t be accepted to continue in the military, but because the success of the experiment will help in future bootcamp and we passed with stellar colors we are getting a severance package that will cover for most of our needs moving forwards.

We got dismissed and we continued our meal at the chow hall, after that we started to gather our things to go back home the next day but as the day passed I managed to think more of what happened.

For an optimization experiment we did little optimization and lots of eating. Not like I can judge anyone now. My appetite came like a crashing wave on the coast once I stopped resisting my hunger. So much so I catched up to Connor’s weight and some extra.

Most of my fears of the future got erased after the fat check we got. Even if it makes me doubt even more their reason for the experiment, I wasn’t about to debate the solution to my family’s money issues.

Connor is back to his cheerful positive self and now he boasts about how he was right in trusting the military’s choice at the beginning. And that our fears could have been an effect of anxiety or stress. I know he is saying that not only to ease himself from the situation but also to keep me calm.

Once we all got discharged, life went back to normal, everyone was sent home. We said our goodbyes and exchanged numbers with the rest of the team. We all wanted to meet up every now and then to see how much we have grown and bond like always.

Connor and I come from different cities, so we had to continue our relationship from afar, but we promised to move together with the money we got as soon as possible.

Like us some of the cadets wanted to stay together. Bradley and Salazar moved into Bradley’s farm, they both helped to improve the place and of course ate a lot of what they worked. Carlos and Hill bought an apartment in the city to start a new business with the money of the discharge, Hill helped Carlos rework a previous idea and it seems to flourish by the day.

The twins decided to say their goodbyes so Jones could have some privacy with Neil and Daniel could find himself with more freedom, and not too long after that he started to date a guy that appreciated his new body.

Our families were worried sick after months of no letters or messages. When we got back to them, explaining the radio silence was suddenly their second biggest concern. They were shocked to see me coming back from bootcamp 300+ pounds heavier. My dad joked saying we all spent the last few months at a buffet.

Then came the point of being discharged. I explained to them everything was ok and that the military dismissed us with a care package to cover for our needs. They seemed suspicious at first but after a few days with the money still being there and me still being well. . .me. They came around it. I also told them Connor and I are dating; they were happy for me, and they asked for all the details of how it came to be.

Of course, I skipped some of the more dramatic elements of our stay in Fort Celsus like the constant paranoia or the fact that after confessing to Connor, everyone in camp was also as big if not bigger than me.

Connor told me his family also took it well, and that his brother was so happy to know he is safe and happy. We continued to talk and visit each other but the distance was not for us so we moved together as planned and we enjoyed the perks of our newfound riches.

As the days passed, we settled into a routine. We wake up and go out on a walk, maybe go to the store or the local fruit market, come back home and cook. Then it’s a matter of eating, passing time playing with one another or being fools in love, checking our investments on the stock market and continuing lazing around the house. Rinse and repeat and you have two fat guys having the best time of their lives.

The best part is that we have learned to enjoy the little pleasures in life, after Fort Celsus food tastes better, every kiss and grope feels more fulfilling, and any moment together is a rush.

Before the experiment neither of us had a specific taste for fatness, but now we find the extra heft of our bodies as a massive turn on. It’s a bit weird in my eyes but Connor reassures me that discovery is a part of development as a person.

I won’t complain on the matter though. Ever since we got out of base we both have been enjoying it to the fullest. Every meal starts in the kitchen and ends in bed, every rendezvous night starts in bed and ends with a visit to the kitchen. No wonder the growth of our bellies and appetites hasn’t slowed down.

One example of our constant desire for more of everything was this morning. I wake up, the sunrays enter through the blinds in our room. Getting used to the light I turn and see a couple of beautiful blue eyes, deep like the sea itself looking at me with so much love and tenderness. Connor was up and looking at me.

“You know I’m always happy to see your gray eyes in the morning” - he says

I lean forward, moving the locks of hair away from his face and kiss him, then pulling back I add

“I love yours babe, if I can wake up like this for the rest of my days I will be the happiest man alive”

We get close and enjoy each other’s embrace. I love the way our bodies clash for space, the heat we share and then we hear each other’s bellies rumble for food.

We laugh it off and I get off the bed. We have split most chores, cooking being no exception and today is my turn to cook for the day. Connor stays on bed lazing off while I get food ready. In the kitchen I put on an apron and get started on the mountain of food we usually have for breakfast. To keep us satiated for the day we have lots of everything, so it takes me a hot minute to have everything ready.

I’m almost done when Connor gets downstairs. He looks at me while getting the last pieces of our feast ready. I imagine he will sit down and wait for me, but I should know better by now. Instead he gets behind me, I can feel his body pressing against me.

His belly and chest pushed against my back, smooching me as he put his arms around me. He started to rub my belly under the apron and to pinch the softness in my handles. We stay like that for a second, indulging in the moment. He rested his head on my shoulder and kissed my neck.

“Naked apron? you tease. You know I can’t resist you like this” -he whispers in my ear

We both sleep naked and we have a similar combo every morning, it should get old by now but alas I can’t get enough of his embrace.

I turn off the stove and kiss him back “You could never be able to resist all of this” -I reply shaking my hips and pressing back against him.

I can feel him getting railed up, he will be all over me on the kitchen floor if I don’t do something. But we are both hungry and we have to get the food while it’s hot, so I decide to have my cake and eat it too.

“Ok loverboy, lets have breakfast”- I say while moving the last few dishes to the table

I take the apron off and tease him by shaking my hips again while he is looking.

We have a reinforced table in the center of the kitchen where we generally eat. Using mostly the living room table for family and friend gatherings. We eat in the kitchen for easy access to extras while we have our meals, there seems to be always something more to add from the fridge once we sit down.

Connor sits across the table, he has the same hungry look on his face I have seen a hundred times now. The look that signals his craving to fill the void in his middle, but mostly the pure desire of tasting a good homemade meal.

My gut reminds me I’m hungry as well if not more than Connor. So we wish each other a good meal and get started on the task at hand.

We start the meal with care and delight in our eyes, I get some toast and stack them with eggs bacon and some cheese slices. The eggs are buttery and decadent with the now gooey cheese melting in the bread; and the crisp of the bacon contrasts everything making me feel like heaven.

Connor lets out a little moan as he is eating some waffles with fresh strawberries we got from the market and syrup. We cross glances and feel the joy of being able to enjoy a small moment like this in the calm first hours of the day.

We continue to eat, the flavor of the food and the cheer size of everything gets us going. Getting worked up we speed up. It’s a weird thing to describe, the desire to taste and have more of everything in front of you. The pleasure of packing our guts with the food as if it’s the last morsel on earth. Only slowing down to mesmerize ourselves in the other’s gluttony.

I grab the grilled jam slices and stuff them in my mouth alongside the rest of the eggs, when I’m moving to grab some of the waffles. I see Connor taking sausages and covering them in the syrup of his pate and eating them alongside toast going from one to the next as a well oiled machine.

While he goes in full speed his rolls get pressed as he leans forward to grab more food, his chest gets splash with sausage juice and syrup, his belly resting on his lap and his whole body jiggles with excitement from every movement he makes.

I can feel my heart racing and the heat getting to my lower half, he looks at me and notices my predicament and grabs some french toast and stuffing them in his mouth and moaning, never losing focus on my eyes. His cheeky smile makes me go feral with desire.

Taking some sausage as well I bring them to my face and lick them before eating them with gusto. At that point I can see his dick poking under his belly as we continue to entice each other in the obvious display of gluttony.

“This is some goooood food” -he says after swallowing a chunk of french toast.

“But I’m still so hungry babe, look at what your cooking is doing to me” -he adds while rubbing his belly.

I can’t hold on any more and stand up.

“You know what we need?” -I say while standing up and moving to the fridge.

I grab the can of whipped cream and bring it to the table.

“Some extra cream” - I say adding some on top of Connors food.

Connor pulls me closer. He looks at me and grabs my junk that’s out and in the open, with a pleased look he starts to tease my head that’s already saturated in pre. I start to moan, my dick throbs in his touch and he takes his hand away from me leaving a trail of precum, licking his fingers clean.

“I think You can’t resist all of this” -he says, grabbing his belly and jiggling it.

I took the french toast from his plate with my bare hands and brought it to his face, he opened his mouth and tried to ate it. I keep pulling it away making a mess of him with syrup and whipped cream as he struggles for more.

“Come on big guy, I’m going hungry here” -he says almost pleading with me.

I shove the toast on his lips and he ate them with a haze of lust in his eyes. More of the syrup and whipped cream are falling on top of him as I gently press the toast against him.

He looks so pleased I could melt right here but when he is done with the toast in my hand I get closer to his face and kiss him, I can taste the sweetness of the cream and the saltiness of the sausage while we go wild.

I break the kiss “You have some food on you big guy, do you mind if I have some?”

“Of course, I’m a snack” -he adds with a wink.

I lean on him and lick the whipped cream on his chest, his face exudes the anticipation of me going to the main attraction but I love to play slow.

I bite some crumps of toast on top of his nipple and attack it afterwards. I bite his nipple and suck them while he moans, I get my hand to tease his other nipple and he wriggles under my touch.

I continue my assault and move down, liking his belly and stopping in his navel; where I get my tongue into it and start to lick around it, tease him knowing it’s an erogenous zone for him.

He is huffing from the excitement looking down at me with needing eyes, before moving further down I get hypnotized by his size. The sheer softness of his belly, the stretch marks that crown his sides. All of his body begged me to crash against him, my face got to it and immersed in his expanding soft glory. My arms wrap around him or as far as I can reach, grabbing his sides and shaking it for all its worth. He laughs for a second and releases a belch from the motion.

“Well thanks I still have some room for more but that helped to make some extra space”

“Good I want you to keep going till you are ready to pop” - I say looking back at him with a cheeky look.

I continue my descent, biting his underbelly on the way down. Lifting his belly and letting it rest in my face and basking in his smell and taste. Finally I reached his co*ck, throbbing for attention and leaving a train of pre that shows he’s been ready to have action for a while.

I lick the tip of his dick and see him shudder in pleasure, Connor is always in the mood to go but I love to tease and edge him till he is so bothered he can’t think straight.

I slowly lick his dick around while he continues to demolish what’s on the table. He is going slower now not for a lack of appetite but because his brain is drowning in the pleasure of me playing under the table.

I let his dick rub around my face sloppily licking it every now and then, and whenever he tries to reach down to guide it into my mouth I snap his hand. I hear him get agitated and looking up say.

“Keep those hands busy eating babe, if you keep eating I promise to finish you off”

He immediately goes feral, eating scraps of eggs and pieces of french toast like they are going out of stock. Making every moan and grunt as audible as possible just to make sure I know he is enjoying the feast. His desperate need for release turns me on to no end, and I start to get his dick in my mouth.

My dick is hard and pre is pooling under me as I work on Connor, and while I could jerk myself now the pleasure I feel is so big while sucking his rod I know that if I touch my dick it will be over soon.

My tongue makes circles around his head and I bask in the taste. I have grown addicted to this as much as the food, the smell of his body, the salty taste of him, the small reactions with every lick and suction and his moans of delight with a mouth full of food, it’s really to die for.

I feel him leaning back and I pop his dick out of my mouth covered in pre and drool. He looks at me, with a desperate look about ready to whine and beg for release.

“What’s the matter, babe are you full?”

He belches and adds “Not even close, but you deserve some flavor down there you know”

He then took the syrup from the table and drizzled it on top of his dick. I thank him for his gesture and got back to work with redouble efforts. He grabs my head and moans louder than before, drool comes out in the corner of his mouth and a twisted smile takes over his face as his brain is shutting down due to overheating. He is getting close, so I stop. Flicking his hands away I look at his messy face and comment slowly.

“Keep going babe, I need my man to keep his tank full” - say slapping his gut and teasingly breathing on his dick

He leans forward pressing his fat in my face and eating with reckless abandon.

I continue to pleasure him till I hear his belly gurgle. I pop his boner out and he releases a deafening belch.

“Oh yeees, thats good” -he mumbles with a delirious joy.

With that I decide it is time to finish him off. I kiss his dick and dig in, focusing my effort on sucking as sloppily as I can. Driving him over the edge he moans one last time and c*ms a river.

I drink all I can and some of it escapes between the sides of my lips.

I climb back up to see the state of my boyfriend. He looks pleased, smiling like the winner of the lottery leaning on top of the table caressing his belly. His smile is the sunshine that covers my world, and I feel a pride overtake my chest. I can’t get over how lucky I am to have him for me and me alone. I get close to him and I kiss him tenderly.

He opens his eyes and smiles at me with a pleased expression that says thank you as much as it says I want more.

The table is a mess with the remaining food resting mostly on my end, we see each other and we know we cant let this go to waste. Besides Connor looks stuffed to his gills but I could do with some extra love.

He stands up and crashes at me in another passionate kiss.

“You have some cum on there” -pointing to the dribbles of cum on the corner of my lips.

He leans in and licks the residual cum and looks proud of himself.

“Tastes good but yours is way better, do you mind if I get some straight from the tap?” - he says looking down.

He moves the empty plates and utensils off the table and signals me to lay down. The cloth over the table is soft and makes me comfortable when it makes contact with my sweating back. A perk of having so much natural cushion back there.

The first time we tried to do this the table collapsed under our shared weight so we got the reinforced table for our regular encounters.

He leans on top of me and lets the weight press against me knowing it drives me crazy, he kisses me some more. When we break the kiss he goes down my body rubbing every crevice and every fold, playing with the softness on the way to my lower half.

When he is facing my dick, he stands up letting his belly press against my crotch

“Hi dude we see each other again”- he says to my dick while rubbing his belly against it

The pre runs around his belly as he continues to tease me. I feel his packed to the brim belly against me, and I can’t wait for him to start so I try to hump his belly. He puts his hands on my legs and stops me.

“Hey we have to finish the food big guy, so get going” - he says while bringing a hashbrown to my face

I noticed he moved the food to be easily on my reach while laying on the table. I get to it right away and grab everything on sight, the hunger I had coming redouble mixing with my lust into a tidal wave I know too well. Sausages, strawberries and pieces of hashbrown fill my view while Connor makes me melt with his belly and fat rolls. He starts rubbing my dick on his belly button and I moan with a piece of waffle in my mouth

Connor starts to go down and I can feel his breath in my dick. I’m brimming with anticipation but I keep my focus on all the food.

“I need to hear you going big guy, It’s the same deal you had with me but I think neither of us is ready to hold back for much longer. So, let’s see”

He licks my dick and rubs it with his hand, keeping me at full mast while pretending to think long and hard.

“If you finish the rest of the food before I make you cum, I will invite you to dinner out today at your favorite restaurant, aaand you can do anything you want to me tonight. No buts or rebuttals, just free reign to your slow simmering. But if I make you cum first, we will have dinner on the local buffet to show everyone how is done and you will let me f*ck you till sunrise”

“I don’t think you understand how a bet works. It sounds like I get a price in either case” -I say looking down to him playing with my dick all this time.

“Maybe but if you win you can edge and play with all my body for as long as you want, if I get my way it will be fast and loose for as long as I want”

I like the sound of that so I start to cram everything around me like there is no tomorrow.

“Hey no cheating” -he says while I glut myself

He gets started on my co*ck and I see stars, he is as voracious with me as he was with his food. Sucking for dear life. While I enjoy extending the fun, Connor loves to go as fast and strong as he can. Feeling his head bobble on my dick with so much strength I could swear he was trying to actually swallow my life force.

I feel myself getting close but my competitive side doesn’t want to let him win so easily. I get hashbrowns by the pair and eat them in two to three bites, grabbing the waffles and french toast double fisting them, covering them in syrup so they go down easily. crumbs cover my chest and face, drips of grease fall on my cheeks and syrup runs down my neck as I go.

My stomach is getting full, Connor is getting me so close my feet curl and my brain gets fogged in ecstasy. And when the last piece of food hits my gut I let loose a final belch and cum in his mouth a bucket of seed.

He comes with his mouth full of my seed and drinks it in front of me making an exaggerated look of delight.

“Mmmm you taste so nice love, thanks for dessert”

We both stand up and see our mess, both bellies filled to the brim, balls empty and the table a disaster. Another good morning in my book.

Since I came after the last thing hit my gut I won, but we decided to do both ideas. At lunch we will go to my restaurant and, at dinner we can glut at the buffet. And when we come back home we can do everything under the heavens. There is no rush though, we have all the time in the world to explore our options.

After cleaning the kitchen we get to the shower and we play with our bodies while we help to clean each other. But we stop before having another session in the shower, we have to save some energy for later.

With a full stomach and both clean we set ourselves in the coach in front of the tv. He leaned against me like that night in the watchtower and we took turns rubbing each other’s belly to settle the food we just ate.

“I love you Will”

“I love you too Connor”

“I hope you are ready to have more to love, cause we are not slowing down anytime soon”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way”-I reply and kiss him

I may not know what happened during our stay in Fort Celsus that caused everyone’s changes. But if it leads to me having this moment with my best friend and now partner then I’m happy I got my name called in that list at bootcamp.