Stage two: Evasion
#2 of New beginnings
The cab rolled to a halt in front of the casino. The rear passenger window rolled down slightly and a pair of eyes appeared.
"The ancients hoard." A voice from inside read aloud. "This is the place."
"That'll be 44.50" the Bull in the front seat said as he turned to face his two fares. One of them, a jackal, patted his jacket pockets innocently. The other, a Raccoon, rolled his eyes and pulled out his wallet and handed the cabbie a fifty.
"Keep the change." He said and stepped out of the cab.
"Thanks buddy." The cabbie replied and pulled away. The two furs looked up at the large neon sign depicting a huge ancient vault being opened to reveal a pile of gold and silver. Both furs were wearing suits and jackets. However while they did look like businessmen; they looked like the kind that carried around blunt objects in their coats and carried around suspicious looking briefcases.
"So what's he doing here?" The jackal asked his partner as they walked towards the entrance.
"How should I know Henry?" The raccoon replied. "All I know is that this guy was last spotted in Las Vegas. You'd know that to if you ever bothered to read the mission briefing."
"Oh but that's why I have you Eric." Henry winked. "You take care of all the paper work and technical stuff. I'm more of a "hands on" kind of guy."
"I wish you were more hands on when it came time to pay for things." Eric responded. The jackal pulled out a pained expression as if he'd been shot.
"you really know how to hurt a guy you know that?"
"Look just shut up and let's go." Eric said as they entered the casino. A vixen wearing a slave girl outfit greeted them.
"Welcome to the Ancients hoard." She said in a bubbly voice. "My name is Veronica. I hope you have a lucky day."
"I think I already have." Henry said as he looked her over. The vixen smiled at him was about to say something else when Eric pulled at his arm.
"Let's get back to work here please?"
"Awww man your killing me! Did you see her?" Henry said as the raccoon pulled him through the doors and into the casino floor, all the while trying to turn and look at the vixen who winked at him before she fell out of view.
"Could you focus please? This guy is apparently very important." Eric went on. "And I'd like if you could try and focus on something more than ogling pretty girls."
"Fine, fine no more goofing off. Scouts honor." Henry replied, saluting. "Now then what's this guy look like."
"I don't know." Eric replied.
"How can you not know what he looks like?"
"No one has a photograph of him. Any picture of him turns out blank for some reason. The only information we got is that we'll know him when we see him. And his name is Moon."
"That's it?" Henry blinked.
"Oh and he hangs around with umm...larger women."
"Say what?"
The raccoon blushed slightly. "He prefers to hang around plus sized women. Oh and he's very skinny. Every incidence he's been involved with has deal with some sort of rapid expansion of a woman."
"Sounds about right I think." Henry said, nodding his head knowingly.
"What do you mean?" Eric asked.
"Well it's pretty standard really. Small guy likes to be around larger women. Pretty common. Some sort of mother connection or something."
"Well he's not exactly small." Eric went on. "He's something like six and a half feet tall or about that."
"So a tall thin guy then. I'll just look for the number ten." This last remark caused Henry to laugh out loud. Eric gave him a puzzled look.
"Ya get it?" Henry said wiping away a tear. "Cause he'll be really skinny and the woman will be...Aww forget it. My humor is wasted on you."
"Anyway..." Eric finally said after a few seconds. "If we split up we'll find him faster."
"How do we know he's even in here tonight?" Henry asked.
"He's in here every night apparently." Eric replied. With that Henry began to walk towards the card tables.
"No goofing off!" Eric shouted to his partner. The jackal turned around and opened his arms out to his sides. "When have I ever goofed off?"
"And no gambling." Eric added.
"Fine yes alright, whatever mom." Henry replied and moved quickly out of view of his partner. The raccoon stood there for a few seconds before heading towards the bar and slot machines. He was sure his partner would be working. Although he'd make sure he would look like he was goofing off while doing it. That was the thing about Henry. He was a good partner in a tight spot but he knew every way to grind Eric's gears.
"Oh well." Eric said to himself. "Better get busy."
Henry looked around him at the various card tables and roulette wheels that he had deposited himself in the centre of. Which would he try first? He rubbed his hands together in anticipation. By now he had gotten his hands on a large stack of poker chips and the numbers of 3 very attractive ladies, two leopards and that vixen from before. The night was going to be very good indeed after this mission he thought to himself. He felt a little guilty for shirking off the job. But what were the odds of him finding this Moon character in a crowded place like this. He moved towards a roulette table, smiled at the tigress that ran the table and was about to place a bet when a voice blared into his ear.
"What did I say about goofing off!?" The jackal yelped, jumped into the air and clawed at his earpiece. After the other casino patrons shot him looks he picked up his chips and rubbed his ear.
"I was just checking to see if he might be around here." Henry replied.
"Well, keep your damn eyes open. I don't want to have to baby sit you."
"Yeah yeah yeah...wait, how did you see me?" The jackal said, trying to find where his partner was. After meeting silence he shrugged and moved reluctantly away from the table. He reluctantly passed the tables filled with other furs. This was a busy night for the casino. Suddenly his ears pricked at the sound of loud laughter coming from the poker tables. Henry weeded his way through the throws of furs until he found the source of the laughter. He looked at a table and saw a slim figure sitting at a poker table; on each side stood two rather heavy looking lionesses.
"Looks like I found the number 010 instead." Henry said to himself and smiled at what he thought was a great joke. Oddly enough at the same time Erick had a strange urge to groan aloud. Henry slowly made his way towards the table and another bout of laughter came from the figure in between the two furs. Henry crept up behind the figure and laid a hand on his shoulder.
"Excuse me Moon?" Henry said in a tone of voice which suggested a friendly face that could soon become very unfriendly. The figure turned to reveal a rather angry looking lion.
"Can I help you buddy?" He said in a heavy Texan accent.
"Oh sorry I thought you were someone else." Henry apologized.
"Well get yer eyes checked then. Now buzz off I'm in the middle of a hot streak." Henry was about to leave quietly when a voice came from the other side of the table.
"Did you say Moon sir?" The voice asked. It sounded like something a British gentleman would have said. The jackal turned slowly to see who asked the question. It was the dealer. He looked about six and a half feet tall and looked incredibly thin. Oddly though, Henry though, he couldn't quite make out the dealer's features. Every time he thought he had them down they seemed to blur again.
"Yes as a matter of fact I did." Henry replied. The dealer looked down at his cards.
"Oh dear it seems you win again sir. Congratulations." This elicited a whoop from the lion who he was playing against as well as two kisses from the lionesses at his side. He wrapped his paws around there ample hips and smiled at the dealer. This brought a disgusted look onto Henry's face.
"Ya know son I've been coming to this casino fer years and I ain't never had luck like this."
"I think you may owe it to your good luck charms there." The dealer gestured to the two women at the lion's side.
"Yer probably right Moony." The lion laughed again.
"Moony?" Henry asked.
"Well Moon actually sir." Moon answered.
"Interesting, a dealer eh? Makes sense." Henry said to himself.
"Is there anything I can do for you sir?" Moon asked Henry.
"Why yes as a matter of fact there is." The jackal replied. "I'd like to talk to you."
"No problem sir. I have a break coming up in an hour. If you would be so kind as to wait until then-"
"No" Henry replied, a little more forcefully. "Right now works for me." Somehow, Henry witnessed Moon's features darken for a second before becoming unreadable once more.
"Very well then sir." He replied in the same helpful tone of voice.
"Hey now." the lion said. "I came here to play cards and that's what I aim ta' do!"
"I'm sorry Mr. Peterson." Moon said to the lion. "This gentleman would like to speak with me; if you would be so kind as to collect your chips and move to another table. Or perhaps you could take your two lovely ladies out for a drink?"
The lions eyes glazed over for a moment. "Well I reckon yer probably right. Don't wanna lose all my luck in one night. Come on ladies. Let me but ya a drink." Henry watched as the three lion's left the table laughing. Once they had gone Henry sat down across from Moon.
"What can I do for you sir?" Moon asked as he collected up the cards and placed them back into their holder.
"Well." Henry began. "My employer has asked me to come and collect you."
"Collect me? May I ask why sir?"
"No you may not." Henry said angrily. "Now just come with me."
Moon shuffled a deck of cards for a few seconds until Henry broke the silence.
"Did you hear me? I said you're coming with me."
"It seems a shame sir." Moon said finally.
"What seems a shame?" The jackal replied suspiciously.
"Well that you've come all this way to this fine town and haven't been able to do any gambling."
"How do you know that?"
"Let's just say had you done some gambling you might not be so high strung sir."
Normally Henry would have just told Moon to shut up. But somehow it seemed easy to talk to him.
"You may have a point there." Henry said as he placed his chips down in front of him. "I mean my partner won't even let me have a little fun."
"Disgraceful sir." Moon replied in an indignant tone. "Imagine coming to this fine city and not doing any gambling. It's appalling sir."
"Tell me about it." Henry said. He looked around at the casino. At all the furs having fun and enjoying themselves.
"Well since you'll be coming with me anyway." Henry started to say.
"A few hands?" Moon replied automatically. "No one has to know sir. And afterwards you can just tell your partner you never found me."
"yeah what he doesn't know won't...Wait what?" Henry asked, not sure if he heard the last part.
"A few hands of cards sir is what I said." Moon replied.
"No not that. That part about me saying I didn't find you. I did find you. And you're coming with me."
"Well sir I find that hard to believe. I sort of go where I like."
"Well you'd better learn to like coming with me real soon." Henry began to stand up and reach into his breast pocket.
"Wait wait sir." Moon said raising a hand. "There is no need to get over excited. I think we may be able to work something out."
"There's nothing to work out." Henry said. "You're coming with me and that's final."
"Yes yes I understand that sir. But you're a betting man aren't you?" Moon said slyly.
"What are getting at?" Henry asked.
"Well sir how do you feel about a friendly game of poker. Highest hand wins? We play until we run out of chips? If you win then I go with you no questions asked. Plus you get all the winnings to do with however you wish."
"And if you win?"
"Well I thought that would have been obvious sir." Moon replied. "Then you tell your partner you didn't find me and of course the winnings are mine to use as I see fit."
Henry thought about this deal. He did want to do some gambling on this trip. Plus it would be a while until Eric checked in on him again. And anyway he could just force Moon to come along anyway even if the he managed to somehow win.
"Alright then." Henry said. "Lets play."
"Wonderful sir." Moon replied and snapped his fingers. With that all noise within the casino stopped. Henry looked around and found that everyone seemed to be frozen in place.
"What the hell?" He said as he snapped his fingers in front of a fur standing at a blackjack table.
"I've just taken precautions to ensure that we aren't disturbed." Moon replied. Henry looked back at him and was startled to see that Moon had changed. He was no longer wearing the normal red vest and black pants of a dealer. Now he looked like a gangster from the 1920's. He was wearing a fedora and slacks. He wore a white shirt with a black tie. A pair of suspenders kept his pants up on his slim frame. Henry now saw why Moon was said to be so thin. He was a skeleton. And a strange skeleton at that. He didn't resemble any fur that Henry had seen before. There didn't seem to be a snout on the skull. Just a toothy grin with a set of teeth that looked like a combination of herbivore and carnivore teeth.
"What the hell are you?" Henry asked.
"Oh I'm sorry sir. I thought this was how card players dressed?"
Henry regained his composure and sat down at the table. "No. No one wears those kinds of clothes anymore." He said, feeling more himself. For some reason the prospect of playing poker against a mobile skeleton didn't bother him very much.
"Well I like it." Moon said, defending his choice in clothes. "So I think I'll keep it. Now let's play." With blurring speed Moon dealt out the cards. Henry picked up his cards and looked them over.
"So I hear you don't like larger women?" Moon asked. Henry almost fell off his stool.
"What? How the hell did you know that?" He asked.
"Oh if only you'd bothered to read your mission briefing you'd have understood a bit more about me." Moon said and looked down at his cards.
"Now how the hell did you know about that?" Henry asked.
Moon shook his head. "No one tells the muscle anything do they? It's a pity really."
Henry began to get a little nervous. This wasn't the kind of thing he normally dealt with.
"Your opening bid?" Moon asked, looking over his cards.
"Oh right. I bid...50 bucks." Henry threw the chips down in front of him.
"I see your fifty and raise you...Fifty." Moon tossed down the chips. Henry eyed moon. He was letting this nervousness get to him. He scolded himself for being scared. It was just a pile of bones he was going against. He'd rarely lost a game of cards to anyone.
"Alright I bid one hundred dollars. Let's see your cards." Moon looked down at his cards and to Henry it looked like his grin became larger.
"As you wish." Moon said and tossed his cards down in front of him. Henry looked down at his cards and tossed them down wordlessly. Moon had a full house; Henry had a pair of kings.
"Damnit." Henry said and watched as Moon pulled the chips towards himself.
"Let's see that's...one hundred and fifty from you right?"
"Yeah yeah that's right." Henry said.
"Very good." Moon replied and waved a hand under the table. Henry leaned back in his chair and folded his arms. Suddenly he felt something strange going on in his body. It felt like he had just eaten a huge meal. He looked down and saw his arms slowly rise from his chest. He then realized that his chest was rising two. He was getting fatter! He watched in shocked silence as his muscular body inflated before his eyes. His stomach grew and spilled onto his lap. He rose up on his stool slightly as his ass swelled. He watched his paws fill out with fat. When it had finished he explored his pudgy body. He must have been at least one hundred and fifty pounds heavier now. His clothes were straining to contain this new addition of flesh. His jacket was stretched taught across his chest. Suddenly a thought shot across his mind and twisted his pudgy face into a look of horror. What was it Eric had said? Moon tended to hang around heavier furs?
"Oh I forgot to mention something." Moon said. "The money you lose turns into weight that will be added onto your body."
"You bastard!" Henry shouted. He felt his body jiggle as he shouted.
"Do not point that claw at me sir." Moon said in a stern voice. "I know why you are here and you agreed to the bet. You get your money to spend any way you like. And I get to spend my winnings anyway I like. You've got 2000 dollars there so I'd bet carefully. And do not look so terrified. If you win it back the weight will drop away." Henry looked down at the cards that had been suddenly dealt to him.
"shall we play?" Moon asked.
The betting continued and at the end of the next hand Henry had won 200 dollars. He watched in relief as his body shrank back down to its original size. Moon explained that anything extra he won would have no affect on his normal weight. The next hand did not go so well for Henry. He bet 500 dollars on a full house and groaned as Moon dropped a flush e in front of him.
"Too bad really" Moon said as he pointed at Henrys stomach. The weigh seemed to pour onto Henry's frame. His stomach shot out in front of him again, this time ripping trough his shirt and snapping all the buttons on it. His stomach folded and formed several love handles that wrested on his lap. There was a ripping sound as his pants could not contain the enormous load of blubber being poured into them. He whimpered as the seat of his pants exploded and his ass filled out and drooped down around the sides of the stool. His face was now ringed with fat and his grey fur was stretched around his body.
"Seems I win again." Moon said smiling.
"Just deal." Henry grumbled. He weighed close to 670 pounds now. He reached forward for the cards and felt his entire body jiggle with excess fat. He brought the cards up and stopped when he heard the sound of groaning metal. Moon looked up from his cards and watched as the stool, unable to take anymore, snapped under Henry's new weight. Henry felt himself fall a few inches then was surprised to find himself sitting in a reinforced chair.
"I can't have my opponent sitting on the floor can I?" Moons commented. Henry said nothing.
The hand went slowly. Moon's opening bid was 10 dollars. Henry automatically folded. Moon shook his head and tossed down a high card hand and Henry reluctantly dropped his two pair. He felt his body pulse slightly as fat expanded his dimensions further.
"You'll never win like that." Moon said. "Just folding all the time will mean I'll win eventually. You've got to be bolder."
"That's easy for you to say." Henry said. "Your not getting any bigger." He emphasized this by putting a pudgy paw on his stomach and shaking it.
"True enough." Moon said. "But still fortune favors the bold."
The next few hands went moderately. Henry's weight grew and shrank slowly. He always stayed around the six hundred pounds mark. After the 15th hand Henry wasn't any better off. He had in fact gained a bit more weight since he broke the stool. His ass was filling out the chair nicely and his tail was beginning to swell with fat as well. He had to do something to end this as soon as possible. Moon dealt the cards again and Henry picked them up. A royal flush! Henry managed to keep his poker face and looked up at Moon who gestured to him.
"Your turn." He said. Henry looked at his chips; then over at Moon. If he bet it all and won then he'd have Moon down to just 50 dollars. After that he could just outbid Moon and win no problem when Moon couldn't cover the bet. He pushed his remaining chips into the centre of the table and gave what he thought was a sly smile but ended up looking like the smile of a ripe pumpkin.
"You're all in?" Moon asked, somehow raising an eyebrow.
"Yup." Henry replied.
"Alright then," Moon said and pushed his pile into the table as well. "Looks like I'm all in as well. But I raise you 50 ."
"So?" Henry asked.
"Well it doesn't seem fair for me to put up more than you."
"Well deal with it."
"I'm afraid house rules say that you have to meet my bet."
"But I'm all in!" Henry shouted, causing his body to quiver.
"Well deal with it." Moon replied in the same tone of voice Henry used. "But I can see you need a break so I'll do something for you." Moon said.
"I'll wave your lack of funds if you accept that if I win the accumulated 4050 pound will be added onto your frame."
"And if I win?" Henry asked.
"Well then obviously the weight you have accumulated will drop off and you will win." Moon said in a tone that suggested the painfully obvious was being stated.
"Fine I agree." Henry said. He thought of the risk but he had a royal flush! He couldn't lose.
"Alright then. I call." Moon said.
"Hah royal flush!" Henry shouted in triumph as he dropped the cards down and began to pull the chips towards him. A bony hand wrapped around his chubby wrist and stopped him.
"Hey what's the big idea?" Henry demanded.
"Correct me if I'm wrong sir." Moon said. "But doesn't a royal flush have to be all the same suit?"
With a speed that would have made the continents look like an F1 racer Henry looked down at his cards. He had a ten of spades, a jack of spades, a queen of spades, a king of spades, and an ace...Of clubs. In his joy at seeing a natural royal flush he must have not realized the problem.
"I...ugh." Was Henry could say.
"And let me see. Does a high card beat my...Pair of 2's?" Moon asked.
"Grrk."
"I didn't think so." Moon replied and waved his hands around them. Suddenly time restarted. It took a few seconds for people to suddenly see the bloated, naked jackal sitting at the table. Moon was back in his dealer's uniform and his features had obscured once again.
"Have fun." He said and snapped his fingers and walked away from the table. Henry looked down and watched as his body became ruined.
Eric heard the screams and shouts coming from the card tables and pushed through the crowd that was rushing away from a rising ball of fur that had pushed over several card tables. When he made it to the side of the mass of flab and blubber he realized who it was.
"Henry?" He asked. His partner had become almost unrecognizable now. His bloated head sat atop a body that would make any other large fur jealous. His stomach stretched out in front of him, pushing his bloated legs apart. His rear pushed his body higher and higher into the air. His arms sat out at his sides, not too covered in fat to move even his fingers. Mobility was no longer a factor for Henry now. He would be stuck like this for a long time. When the growing finally stopped Eric thought that Henry must have weighed around 2000 pounds.
"My god Henry." Eric said as he poked his partner's stomach which rippled like an ocean at the slightest touch.
"Who did this to you?"
There was a shudder that rippled down from the obese Jackals head and moved through his entire body.
"m...Moon." Henry managed to say.
"What where did he do?" Erick demanded.
"D...Don't know." Henry replied and then added. "Feed me."
Eric ignored his partner's request and looked to see a figure moving through the back of the curious onlookers that were now taking pictures of the bloated ball that had once been Henry.
Eric rushed through the crowd after the tall thin figure. It was heading for a back entrance. Eric pushed his way to the back of the crowd and burst through the back exit which led into an alley behind the casino.
"Stop!" Eric shouted and drew his sidearm. Moon stopped and slowly turned to face Eric. Moon was back in his slacks and fedora. The same grin sitting on his face, only now a cigarette was sitting in his mouth.
"Can I help you?"
"What the hell did you do to Henry?!"
"He did that to himself sir." Moon replied. "He accepted the bet."
"Alright shut up!" Eric shouted. "You're coming with me. I don't care what you can do. You're coming...with...Me?" Eric was stopped as he felt a strange sensation in his stomach.
"What the hell?" He said as he felt his stomach slowly pushing out against his shirt.
"Oh my." Moon said. "It seems that some of the money Henry used must have been yours."
"What?" Eric said. Then a thought struck him. Didn't Henry have Eric's paycheck? He'd asked him to deposit it at the bank.
"Well it looks like you'll be getting some of what he got. That's luck I guess." Moon turned and walked away as Eric watched; dumbfounded as his stomach snapped his belt and the other parts of his body began to fill out.
Moon left the alley just as he heard the sound of fat flesh slapping against pavement. He took a deep drag on his cigarette. Gambling was an interesting vice held by mortals. He only wished he had done it to a woman instead of two males. Women seemed to enjoy it more and Moon preferred to please mortals instead of punishing them. Although both of them would now only require food in order to be happy. It was a simple life but it should be pleasant.
Eric watched as his chest rose up to obscure his view. He tried to move his arms but they were too heavy to move. He could only manage to jiggle and shake his body now. He could feel his mind clouding. It was becoming harder and harder to think clearly. His stomach rumbled and then there was the overpowering feeling of hunger.
He needed to fill his fat belly. He needed to eat.