TASTE THE ASHES

CHAPTER ONE

It was almost always safer during the day. Of course, Tracy knew that "safer" did not necessarily mean safe and that any moment in their day had the potential for disaster. So with caution on her mind, she crawled out of the narrow basement window and onto the ruined street, overgrown with all manner of thick vegetation, a sickly yellow green tinge to the grass and mosses covering the weathered concrete. She felt her boots scrape against the brickwork and follow her out onto the soft bed of grass as kept creeping through the foliage, gently parting a thick bush and looking down the street for signs of danger. Burned out cars and piles of rubble but as far as she could see, completely and utterly quiet.

"See anything?" whispered a voice behind her, from the basement.

Sophie's voice, a comfort for Tracy and soothing balm for her nerves. Just her presence was a comfort, to be near her gave her routine real purpose. Sophie hadn't been with their group long but Tracy was in love the moment she laid eyes on her. Smiling her turned her head, looked back to the dark window where Sophie's head poked up over the brickwork.

Under a cosy, frayed beanie hat her dirty blonde hair tumbled out around her slender face, her skinny body hugged by ragged layers of scavenged clothes. Tracy could never help but be drawn to her, mesmirised by those striking blue eyes and small, soft dark lips.

Tracy was quite different, dark haired, dark eyed with a leaner, taller body. She also had a large bust which did her no favours when forced to crawl about but she had never been one to complain. For a moment, looking back at Sophie, Tracy wondered if Sophie had been watching her shake her firm round behind in her tight jeans.

"Eh...nothing yet," admitted Tracy then pulling her gaze away and continuing to look down the street.

As a few more moments of quiet passed, Tracy found herself no less nervous. She clutched the hunting rifle in her hands tightly, her finger constantly rested on the trigger. Another few moments. Nothing but the wind, dust blowing over the cracks and overgrowth. It seemed safe enough but it always did before the horror.

“It sounds safe,” whispered Sophie in suggestion.

Tracy was inclined to agree, foregoing her list of bad experiences and the longer they sat waiting to find out meant less time to scavenge supplies to get them through the next few days. With a reluctant sigh she braced for the worst and accepted what had to be done.

“Okay. Tell Alice the west side street looks safe, all the way to the mall.”

Sophie nodded, through Tracy didn't see it then crept back from the window leaving Tracy alone to guard the exit. Stepping down from the box pushed against the wall, she stepped softly through the damp basement, through the gloom towards the stairs, lit by a faint lamp. On the bottom step, keeping guard was another woman, with a shotgun across her lap. Her scalp was shaved bare, a nasty scar coming down her forehead and stopping just above her right eye where dark green eyes watched cautiously. She wore only a vest and jeans, a hoodie tied round her waist and a bandoleer full of red shells over her shoulder.

“Is it safe?”

“Tracy thinks so, yeah,” Sophie replied. “I'm going to go tell Alice.”

“Fine,” said the woman, shuffling aside.

“Thanks Kara.”

Kara grunted in response as Sophie made her way up the stairs, quietly as she could, ascending towards another, brighter source of light. At the top of the stairs, in a dim boarded up room, Alice was sat hunched over a drawn out map, planning with another shorter woman.

Alice herself was tall and slender, gaunt but not horribly so. She kept her black hair tied back in a messy bun, loose strands casting shadows over her pale face and dark eyes. A long coat wrapped around her, staving off the chill.

The shorter woman beside her was dark skinned, her long hair shaved in at the sides and swept to one side, coming down past her ear and prompting attention to the scar from her jaw up the side of her face to the scalp. She was clad in hard black leathers, padded and tough. A sawn off shotgun was holstered at her hip, always at the ready. Her eyes shot to Sophie the moment she entered.

“What's Tracy say?” asked the woman.

“I'm here to talk to Alice, not you Max,” Sophie replied, arms crossed.

Max shook her head in disbelief.

“It's the end of the world, who gives a fuck about the chain of command?”

“Max...” interrupted Alice, softly.

Max scoffed.

“Whatever. This dumb bitch joins us and acts like she's the only one who knows what's going on!”

“Look who's talking!

“Enough!” blurted Alice. “We have come too far for this bullshit. Sophie, just tell us what Tracy told you?”

Sophie sighed and ignored the disgusted looks from Max.

“She says it looks safe. We should move out soon.”

Alice sighed.

“We lost two people three weeks ago...three weeks without trouble,” Alice said.

Max nodded.

“Seems too long. Our luck has to run out sooner or later.”

“Well sitting here whining won't help,” Sophie told them.

“She's right about that,” added Alice before Max could respond. “Come on. Let's get our stuff together and move out. If Tracy says it's clear, then it's clear.”

Soon enough they were all gathered in the basement, carrying their variety of rucksacks and bags, full of their scarce supplies. Max leaned out the window, shotgun in one hand.

“Pssst!” she hissed. “Still clear?”

Tracy looked back and nodded firmly. With that Max then crawled out into the overgrown street, keeping low whilst she waited for the others to follow. The sun was out but there was a faint chill on the breeze.

“Was it winter?” Tracy wondered.

She had no idea any more. Each day stretched out like a lifetime until the prospect of any future was meaningless. Whatever the season, the rules barely changed.

“Survive,” she told herself. “Just get through today. Then tomorrow.”

Once they were all huddled outside in the tall grass, Alice crept to Tracy and patted her on the shoulder.

“Kara is going to take point. Then me, then you, Sophie and Max. Got it?”

“Absolutely.”

“Good, no mistakes today, right?” Alice replied.

“You got it boss.”

Assured, Alice gestured to the others and stepped aside as Kara moved up to the front and lead them from the thick foliage and out onto the rubble strewn streets. Under the clear glare of the sun they began their march in close formation, everyone's eyes peeled, looking to every dark corner and shadow with caution. Only three of them were armed but all three knew how to use their weapons well.

Sophie was the most recent addition to their group but only Alice and Kara had been together since the start, everyone else had followed after. First Max, then Tracy, then Sophie. Others had been with them before and between but only the five remained.

Rifle in hand, eyes watchful, Tracy let the cool breeze carry her thoughts back to a time before all this. Before she had held a gun, before she had lost all her friends and family. Her old job as a waitress seemed even more pointless now, endless days and nights serving up meals for ungrateful customers. Safe and secure as all that dullness was, she had felt so alone, so apart from everyone in her old life. She faced danger at every turn now but Tracy was grateful for at least the sense that she was never truly alone.

“I wonder what happened to those customers,” she thought as they trod through the urban grasses. “I wonder if any of them are still alive or if it's just me, that waitress they couldn't have cared less about.”

Back then the thought, the very notion, might have made her smile but now it was a grim reminder that everything she'd ever known was gone forever. Even those unpleasant customers.

Before not too long they had made it down the street, passed empty cars and buildings without incident and now stood at the entrance to a once thriving mall, now covered in vines and moss, its colourful sign eroded by the weather.

Alice stepped forward and peered into the gloom beyond, the sound of dripping water echoing out but otherwise the place seemed silent. They didn't hope to find much in the way of food and supplies but here gave them a better chance than anywhere else. Everyone stood guarded, made edgy by the whistling wind, awaiting Alice's assessment.

“Okay. We all go in together, no flashlights. Understood?” she told them.

“Aye, aye,” replied Max half serious.

They all obeyed however and quietly followed Kara into the dark open interior. Their worn boots were soft on the moss covered tiles and camp concrete, vines pouring through the cracks in the tiles and walls. Eventually their eyes adjusted well enough to make out the faded advertisements of a world now practically alien to them, a time where luxury was everywhere and safety abounded. Tracy missed weekends spent on dates and at parties, carefree nights in good company. The good company persisted she thought but the carefree nights were long gone.

Kara halted them at a promising looking shop, a barely touched food market. Even in the gloom they could make out the faint sheen of tinned goods stacked on shelves, somehow forgotten or overlooked by previous looters.

“Kara, take Sophie and Max inside. Tracy and I will stand watch out here,” whispered Alice.

Kara nodded and took Sophie and Max in, both clutching empty rucksacks eager to be stuffed with food. Tracy couldn't help but think as she watched them go into the shop for supplies, that at least everyone in the new world had the same goals.

“Of course,” she added for herself. “Not everyone agrees on the same definition of what is and isn't food...”

She kept her rifle tight in her grasp, the butt pressed against her shoulder, ready to shoot at the first sign of danger. Though she knew it was better to never fire a shot. That kind of noise carried far enough to draw every threat for miles. Standing by at the other side of the door, Alice was quiet and watchful, hands in her pockets like she was waiting for a friend after work. Like there was no danger at all.

“You miss it?” Tracy whispered to her.

Alice turned, her expression blank at first before the words seemed to register.

“What, this?” she asked and Tracy nodded. “No, not me.”

“Surely you don't prefer things the way they are now?”

“Oh, hardly. But I meant, I don't miss malls. All those shops. Always hated it. Much preferred being out in the country, that sort of stuff. Travelling.”

“Ah.”

“And you? You miss shopping and all that?”

“Not exactly,” answered Tracy. “Just-”

They were interrupted by a sudden, sharp scream ringing out through the expansive mall. Immediately, on instinct, Alice and Tracy ducked into the shop, pressing themselves against the walls and shadows, peering out into the dim light of the open space. Tracy readied her rifle though hoped not to use it.

They didn't have to wait long until the source revealed itself. A young woman in rags, sprinting down the wide floor space, hard soles clattering on weathered tiles. Frantic breathing and sobbing, terror gripping her. The noise of her pursuer was unmistakable, a powerful scramble gaining on her until the predator emerged in the gloom. A taller woman, with thick, muscular thighs, moving with speed and power as it crawled forward at an alarming speed, gaining on the young woman. Shamelessly naked, the predator lunged its pale body at the tiring girl and snagged her ankles, sending her tumbling onto the ground unable to escape the clutches of the ferocious, infected woman drooling towards her. Her grip was tight, her arms powerful and the girl had no chance of escape.

Tracy raised her rifle, ready to intervene but Alice hissed and cautioned her against it. It tore her up just at the thought of doing nothing but deep down she knew Alice was right to avoid doing so. A single shot could endanger them all.

So with great disgust Tracy did nothing as the predator, afflicted by the virus that had brought about the old world's fall, wrapped its long slender fingers around the woman's flailing ankles and tugged on them, thrusting those wriggling feet towards her mouth. Now the virus mutations displayed their extent, the predator's dark lips stretching from that of a human into a wide cavern, like a ravenous snake of crocodile offering a clear view down its gullet, the intended destination of its prey. Even from some distance away in the safety of the shadows, Tracy could hear the predator's belly rumbling in anticipation of its incoming meal. In its eyes there was no empathy or remorse, only a bottomless hunger.

The girl screamed all the louder when she felt her toes slip between those moist lips, hot breath creeping up her ankles. Soon enough her squirming feet were slurped down the throat, stretching the predator's neck in an almost grotesque fashion, sliding down towards the growling belly whilst the tongue, longer than natural, wrapped around the victim's legs. Saliva ran down her legs, soaking her torn trousers and despite her flailing, between the predator's arms and tongue she could not escape its maw, devouring her inch by inch. By the time its lips were wrapping around her exposed, slender midriff Tracy could watch no longer and turned away, holding her rifle close. Alice did not flinch.

Tracy sat, eyes clenched shut, listening to the screams and slurping, struggles against the damp tiles. It went on for several minutes until the screams were suddenly muffled and after a loud, echoed “GULP”, muffled even more, leaving no doubts as to the poor woman's fate.

“Uuurp,” followed a sudden and abrupt belch from the satisfied predator.

Tracy turned to look once more, hugging the wall. The predator could barely stand, clutching a hugely distended, bloated gut dragging against the ground, a whole woman struggling and screaming within, churned up by an eager stomach. There was no mistaking the satisfied look on the predator's face, patting the sides of its big round stomach and licking its lips with relish. Tracy was horrified, sorry for the girl inside the infected human but mainly she was simply grateful it had not noticed them hiding a mere dozen paces away.

At last it put its strong, powerful legs to work, standing up and waddling away under the heft of its heavy sloshing gut. The infection had transformed this woman into a naked predator, beautiful, strong and terrifying all in one. For all their disgusting behaviour, their infection blessed them with radiant skin and gorgeous curves, a bountiful body. So long as they nourished it with human meals.

Tracy was that perfect, round behind stride away carrying a full belly. Soon it had vanished into the gloom, its footsteps heard for only a while longer till silence reclaimed the mall. Gone too was its victim, alone and helpless. Tracy wondered if anyone out there would be looking for her, if anyone cared at all. That seemed a fate as cruel as joining the infected.

None of them knew how the infection spread exactly, other by proximity. Whether it was touch, fluids or something else remained a mystery and made the prospect of being near the infected all the more terrifying.

“Is it gone?” whispered Sophie, appearing with Max and Kara behind.

Alice and Tracy turned to them, glad to find them clutching packed bags.

“Yeah, for now,” Alice answered. “Better if we don't linger. Come on.”

Together they crept out into the open once more and made their way deliberately in the opposite direction from that which the predator had gone. None of them even made an attempt to say anything. It was a dire situation every time, even when the victim was a stranger. In silence they made their way through the ruins of the once thriving mall, sticking to those spots were the grass overwhelmed the filthy tiles and kept their steps quiet. Sophie and Kara were at the heart of the group, carrying the two rucksacks packed with tinned goods they hoped had not spoiled.

They were even more on alert now, Max and Tracy twitching at every faint noise and clatter of rubble. So far their exit from the mall had gone without incident. Soon enough the light of outside reached them, pale shafts cutting through the dusty air and guiding them to fresh air and a cold breeze.

They all smiled to see it, especially Tracy who was glad to see Sophie smiling. Once they had found a safe place to lay down for the night she looked forward to a quiet moment with Sophie. Maybe tonight she would finally make her feelings known. Life was too short to not be honest, especially now.

The air was frigid as they stepped out of the mall's shade and onto the overgrown streets, a slap in the face after their time spend creeping in the dark. Caught up in watching the streets ahead, all were shocked when the thud and scream came right at their side.

All of them turned to find Sophie had tripped and fallen on some loose rubble, clattering to the ground and on instinct letting out a sharp scream that carried down the street in all directions.

“Are you okay?!” asked a worried Tracy instantly.

“Not now Tracy, keep watch!” Alice snapped marching to Sophie and helping her back onto her feet.

“I just tripped, it's nothing...” muttered Sophie, ashamed.

“We'll see if it's nothing or not...” Max added, clutching her gun.

Tracy and Kara joined Max in a circle around Sophie and Alice, clutching their weapons and awaiting trouble. Much to their dismay it did not take long to find them. The howls of hungry predators came first, then the sound of their combined feet and then soon enough the horde of desperate females approached fast, of various sizes but all strong, beautiful and hungry above all else. Dozens of them. Perhaps hundred. All eager to feed. The group saw the horde approaching in all directions, crawling out of buildings and cracks, emerging from foliage and shadows. They were everywhere. Everywhere save for an alleyway Alice spotted, cut around the mall they had just left.

“Shit, down there, quick!” Alice commanded rushed on with Sophie.

The rest knew it was always wiser to run than fight. Especially if they did not desire to end up stewing away in some predator's relentless gut. Fear and adrenaline hit them hard, sending them flying down the alleyway as the horde of naked beauties trampled through the ruins, hurling themselves onward to satisfy their appetites.

“Shit, shit, shit!” gasped Max sprinting ahead, tiring under the weight of the supply bag.

Ahead, Alice was doing fine but Sophie was beginning to slow, Kara overtaking her and then Max. Before long Tracy was closing in on her, as were the relentless horde, squeezing their dense numbers down the shady alleyway. A growling mess, pressing closer and closer, drooling at the thought of their potential meals.

Tracy kept rushing onward, keenly aware she was at the back of the group closest to their deadly pursuers.

“Come on, come!” she urged herself, forcing her legs to move faster in spite of her growing exhaustion, that burning in her lungs.

She could hear them barely a few paces behind, their bare feet stamping against rubble and dirt, not close to slowing. Tracy kept going however, finding some deeper well and soon found herself gaining on Kara in front, much to her relief. Her relief vanished quickly when she she realised Sophie was no longer in front of her and glancing back she could see her slowing, the horde gaining towards her. Then, in her exhaustion, Sophie let the weight of her heavy bag throw her to the ground with a thump.

“Sophie!” gasped Tracy stopping, turning and firing a shot into the relentless horde.

A body dropped and a dozen more pressed forward. Another shot, another body but Tracy was helpless to repel the army of predators drooling over the sight of the woman she adored. One leapt forward, crawling over Sophie, drooling over her shivering face. Out of nowhere Alice emerged suddenly and under the cover of Tracy's gunfire, reached Sophie, kicking off the predator with a swift boot to the face. She then dragged Sophie to her feet, leaving the heavy bag behind.

“GO!” Alice cried in Sophie's ear, pushing her onward and away from the horde.

Together they ran, back towards Tracy but already it was clear the horde was hopelessly close, even as Tracy gunned them down. Her gunfire was joined by Max and Kara, desperate to aid their allies. Yet, it wasn't enough. Soon enough they were close enough to reach out and the entire group gasped as Alice fell behind Sophie, dragged into the dirt by hungry hands. Before Alice could even scream her pretty pale face was smothered, an open maw sliding down around her head, belonging to a curvaceous, plump blonde predator, slurping her up with terrifying ease.

They ceased fire. To do anything else risked hitting their leader and yet doing nothing would hardly save her. They were helpless to watch as she was devoured by the naked woman, wriggling her shoulders between dark lips and sliding down a stretched throat towards a growling belly but before that predator could even finish its meal another pounced upon her, desperate to have its own feast, devouring Alice's feet and legs, fighting over their friend like a chop. One's lips slurped up her chest and waist, the other sliding over the curve of her bum. Even as those two predators' lips crept over Alice's poor squirming body, destined to meet, it did not end. A predator siezed the first from behind and began slurping her up, feet first, as its lips met with the seconds, Alice submerged. One predator after another jumped in to devour the last, desperate to feast and claim to be the one with the none infected in its belly, even if a dozen other bellies lay between. Like a horrific traffic pile up of naked flesh and mouths the predators crashed together, slurping and devouring one another so swiftly that the one who had first claimed Alice was now deep inside several other gullets. So caught up in their frenzy, the horde had forgotten the presence of four other viable meals.

“We need to go!” urged Sophie in tears.

“No, we have to...” mumbled Max, quickly realising the futility of her argument. “...But we can't...”

“Go. We need to go.” Kara muttered.

“Come on!” cried Sophie.

In anguish the group turned from the pile of bloated predators, stuffing into each other's maws and sprinted down the alleyway just in time before another segment of the naked horde arrived, more keen to the fresh meals fleeing the scene. Screeching in violent hunger the new arrivals sprinted at an incredible pace and the survivors saw their chances of escape dwindling. Too tired, too drained and now leaderless, hope seemed a distant memory. Tracy and Sophie struggled to keep up with the other, navigating the endless labyrinth of concrete and greenery.

With dread the realisation set in after another twisted corner. A dead end. High walls and windows out of reach, no hope.

“FUCK!” screamed Max, readying her shotgun.

Kara did the same in silence, her eyes red with emotion. Tracy and Sophie backed up beside them against the rough walls covered in vines and awaited the approaching horde. They readied to follow Alice into a hungry, gurgling belly. Hours of torturous digestion before they were absorbed into the predators body. Tracy wept just thinking of poor Alice in the depths of all those predators' bodies. A living, boiling prison, inescapable.

“Oh god...” she mumbled readying her rifle as the horde emerged around the corner, set to end them.

“UP HERE!”

A voice cried from above and they jerked their heads round to black haired girl leaning out the window far above, throwing an improvised ladder down to them, the rungs unfurling in a clatter.

“QUICKLY!”

“Shit!” Kara snapped, stepping aside to let Max climb. “Go!”

Max launched up the ladder, heaving her heavy bag and soon Sophie followed as Tracy and Kara fired shots into the approaching horde, mildly slowing them down.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck...” muttered Tracy, her rifle out of ammunition.

She turned to Kara who prompted her onto the ladder. Tracy did not hesitate and jumped, skipping the lower rungs and followed quickly after Sophie up towards the window. Kara fired her remaining shot into the crowd before turning and scrambling up the ladder, the infected rallying beneath her, reaching out trying to grasp her ankles. Sadly for them, Kara was far too quick and before long had followed the rest through the window and onto the building's higher floor. Poking her head back out, Kara saw the predator's following slowly, their heavy mass making their climb stress the ladder but slowly they were coming.

“We need to cut the ladder!” cried Kara drawing a knife.

“NO!” screeched the young black haired woman, barely an adult, rushing forward. “You can't! My friend is still out there!”

“Sorry but if I don't you won't be around for your friend.”

To that she offered no more protest and let Kara saw the ropes of the ladder. It didn't take much,t he combined wait of the climbing horde sterssing ti and tearing the rope apart till they all fell, tumbling into a painful heap far below. Screams of rage and discomfort followed but for now it appeared the group was safe.

Kara slumped to the floor whilst Sophie wiped the saliva from her face, a grim reminder of Alice's fate. Tracy was as breathless as the rest, her limbs shaking, her emotions raw. She studied their rescuer. A young woman, soft tanned skin and bright green eyes in a green hoodie and worn old jeans.

“...Thanks...” mumbled Tracy to her, gathering her breath.

The girl nodded in response. They were all so tired it took them a moment to realise Max had pinned Sophie down and was strangling her.

“Shit!”

Kara and Tracy leapt on her, dragging her off Sophie.

“She got her killed!” screeched Max, kicking in their grasp. “And she dropped the bag! It should've been you!”

“Enough Max!” Tracy warned restraining her with Kara.

Sophie coughed and spluttered, crawling away. Their rescuer watched nervously, worried about what trouble she had invited into her safe spot.

“I'm done with this group!” Max blurted out, wrenching free of Tracy and Kara. “Come morning, if that horde's gone, I'm going ym own way!”

“Max...”

“No Tracy, I've had enough! You people are slowing me down. Alice held it together and now she's gone, fuck this!”

Max stormed off into the next room of the building. Looking around Tracy saw it was an abandoned office building, little left in the way of furniture. A small bed had been made in this room's corner. When Max had gone far enough Tracy turned to Sophie and held her.

“Don't listen to her...” Tracy comforted. “She'll calm down soon enough.”

Kara snorted, doubtful but said nothing, instead focusing on their rescuer.

“What's your name?”

“Michelle.”

“How old are you Michelle?”

“Nineteen.”

Nineteen. She must have been a young teen when the infection broke out.

“Well Michelle, thank you for your rescue. We owe you our lives. I'm Kara, this is Tracy and Sophie. THAT was Max.”

“Right...but, what about my friend?”

Kara nodded calmly.

“I'm sure your friend is smart enough to avoid the horde. We'll find her, I promise. What's her name?”

“Diane.”

“We'll find Diane, I promise.”

That put a smile on Michelle's face and they all took a moment to rest as the noise of the horde outside began to die down.

“They've gone, for now,” Tracy told them some time later as dusk settled in. “No sign of them from any of the windows.”

They were all huddled around a table with a map rolled out, marked with dozens of notes. Max stood away from the light of the lamp, in a dark corner of the room, brooding. An hour before they had all been silent, reluctant to speak at all, mourning the loss of their friend. Sophie was still quietest of all. Out of guilt, Tracy thought. Shame, Max would have said.

“And there's no way up?” Kara asked.

Michlle shook her head.

“Nope. All the stairs collapsed. Climbing up here in the first place was tricky. Too tricky for predators I reckon.”

“Okay. Then we can rest here tonight and find a way down tomorrow. Go looking for your friend.”

“You think that's wise?” uttered Max.

“What do you care, you'll be leaving us, right?” Tracy retorted.

Max smirked.

“Thanks for reminding me.”

“People, please...” Michelle spoke.

“Let's rest. We...we need it. Clear heads,” Kara said. “It's been another bad day.”

“You can say that again,” Max added.

From there the group dispersed. Kara remained with Michelle whilst Max took off to find her own room. Tracy was going to settle into her sleeping bag when Sophie tugged on her sleeve.

“Hey...got a minute?”

“Sure.”

Tracy followed Sophie into another room, then another down a corridor, a good way away from the group. The room they arrived at was spacious but windowless and dark. Tracy had to flush her torchlight into the room a few times before she felt safe.

“Is everything okay?” Tracy asked. “I mean...right now. I mean...are you okay?”

“I'm...I'm fine,” Sophie mumbled, scratching her arm. “I just want...”

Tracy moved closer to her in the dark.

“Want what?”

“I want...you.”

Tracy was stunned, even more so when Sophie pulled off her top and flung it to the floor, brushing her body against Tracy as she unclipped her bra.

“Sophie...I...I don't...”

“Come on, I know you want this.”

With her own small chest laid bare, pressing against Tracy, Sophie began pulling off Tracy's jacket, then the vest beneath and then reached around to unhook the bra holding in her large, jiggling bosom.

Tracy did not stop her, too grateful for this closeness after the day's events. Her big bare chest squeezed against Sophie's, her skinny body rubbing closer. Their combined warmth was soothing and Tracy was swept up in the moment's heat. She leaned in and so did Sophie, then they kissed. Her small petite lips on hers, moist and hot. They moaned together, relishing the tingling sensation passing between them. Tracy wanted to say something, to say anything, just to confirm that she had indeed wanted this.

“This is it...everything I've wanted for weeks and weeks...” she thought in bliss.

Tracy didn't get to say anything.

Sophie's petite lips widened, stretched, her jaw followed and Tracy was ignorant until in a flash Sophie's kiss had become something terrifying, her maw now a dark cavern. Those lips slid around Tracy's face and muffled her screams against her tongue, reverberating down her tight throat. Sophie moaned at the taste, drooling over Tracy's head, saliva running down her naked back and chest.

“Mmmmmm!” she purred, grateful to sate the hunger that had been welling up in her since the horde ambushed them.

Tracy began kicking and punching, wrestling against deceptive Sophie who moments ago had fulfilled her one desire and who had now delivered her into her greatest nightmare. Her thrashing only pleased the infected Sophie who slurped her entire head into her mouth, her cheeks bulging before a swallow pressed the muffled screaming of Tracy down her tight throat.

“GULP!”

Sophie's belly grumbled in anticipation of her friend and eagerly she slurped up Tracy's slender shoulders, amazed at the ease with which she could consume her squirming friend. As she continued to feed, she reached down and tugged off Tracy's jeans and panties, managing to wrestle them off amidst Tracy's kicking. Soon Tracy was completely naked and helpless as her friend continued to swallow her up.

“Mmmph!” cried the voice descending her throat, protesting and screaming.

Lacking the strength to lift Tracy, Sophie had to fall on her knees to keep swallow her friend as her head was expelled into her gurgling belly, stretching it. Helping her throat work, Sophie grasped Tracy's writhing waist and thrust it into her maw alongside those flailing arms. Her belly continued to bloat and swell, filling with her struggling friend.

“GULP!”

She slurped up Tracy's big tits, fondling the nipples with her tongue and relishing their reluctant and stiff response. Her hands reached down and gripped Tracy's jiggling behind, digging her fingers into those cheeks and pushing her into her maw and down her throat, her neck thick and bulging with her form.

“Mmmmph!”

Sophie nearly climaxed in a shuddering orgasm at the satisfaction building in her swelling gut, the fullness radiating through her in waves of pleasure. Prompted by this arousal she realised her friend could do with a proper send off before being completely consumed. After all, once she was digested, she'd have no more orgasms. Moaning at the mere thought of melting down her friend, Sophie slurped down Tracy's waist and then slithered her tongue out form behind her lips and began stroking Tracy's sex.

“MMMMPH!” squealed Tracy from within her growling belly.

Tracy's sex responded in spite of her reluctance, growing wet, her clit throbbing at the rapid sensation of the tongue swishing back and forth. Sophie delighted in the torment, her friends ass and legs hanging out of her wide stretched maw whilst her swollen gut sagged and sloshed against the floor, gurgling full of Tracy.

Eventually she managed to bring Tracy to a reluctant orgasm, nectar dribbling down her tongue and chin, followed by a hard swallow, slurping up Tracy's sex and ass between the tight grasp of those lips.

“GULP!”

Only her wriggling legs remained and with ease Sophie sucked on them, pushed on her feet till those little toes slipped between her lips with a satisfying smack.

“GULP!”

The last bulge of Tracy wriggled its way down the tight throat before merging with the bloated sack of Sophie's gut, churning and groaning, painfully full for a first time predator.

“Ooooh...” moaned Sophie falling back onto her ass, cradling her massive bloated gut.

Tracy, her friend, was now inside her, being soaked in digestive juices and sloshed around by the tough stomach walls, bolstered by the infection. The fullness was uncomfortable but satisfying, fulfilling Sophie in a way nothing ever had. Her hunger was sated for now and the pleasure of Tracy's struggles inside her massive round gut was all too much.

“Mmmmph!” came the constant, muffled pleas within. “Mmmph!”

The noise pleased Sophie, who was still aware that Tracy was a friend, stewing inside her stomach but her mind was drowning in bliss, the infection feeding her pleasure in return for its nourishment. Overwhelming, the hunger overpowered her memories and feelings, so that it was all that had remained. Given over to this satisfaction, Tracy lay down and curled up around her huge bloated belly, clutching the bulge of Tracy, feeling the struggles through the skin and her fingers.

“Mmmmm...” she continued to purr, lulling herself into a deep sleep whilst her body got busy with the long act of digestion.

For Sophie it would be one quick sleep and then a boon form the infection. For Tracy, a long night of endless torture and slow digestion awaited before she would finally succumb and be broken down into fat and shit. Outside, it was impossible to comprehend the horror inside Sophie's gut and Tracy's pleas did not carry further than mere steps. Just like that Sophie fell asleep, the loud rumbling of her belly a lullaby like no other.

“Uuuuuuurrrp...!”

Inside her belly, the stifling, glistening darkness surrounded Tracy. Around her was the stomach walls, clenching tight around her struggling, naked body. Sophie's stomach.

“No, no...this...this is wrong!” she cried, knowing her cries would be too muffled by the gut to be heard by her friends too far away.

The belly groaned, sloshing about and splashing her with acids, tingling her skin.

“Please! Sophie, don't do this!”

She cried, tears streaming down her face as Sophie slept, remorseless as she let her belly get to work on her friend.

“Oh god...” Tracy mumbled realising that in a few hours time she'd be soup, pumped as fat into Sophie's tits and ass, the rest squeezed out her firm behind as shit. “No! NO!”

She wailed and punched and kicked but the stomach only got tighter and hotter around her naked body, the acids relentless.

“GLORP”

Her fate was sealed.

Tracy had thought herself safe, beyond the reach of predator's and in the company of a friend. Now she was destined for that friend's bowels in the knowledge that Sophie had become infected.

“Sophie...please!”

Were she not so preoccupied with the horror of her own demise in her friends gut, she might have feared for her friends. They were completely ignorant to the danger present in their midst.

To Be Continued...