Rodential Housing: Inflationary Pressure

Chapter 3 

Alex could not sleep that night. The dollhouse bed he lay in was surprisingly comfortable, and in the dark, he could almost forget everything that had happened to him over the past couple of days. For a moment, he could pretend that he was still an ordinary man, lying in his ordinary bed in his apartment. Then, he would move his legs and bump into his tail, or he would roll over and feel his huge ears slide against the pillow as the weight of his breasts shifted on his chest, reminding him again of how much he had changed. Unfortunately, there was no hiding from this body. Even with his eyes shut and total silence, he had to contend with the sensations of being a mouse girl.

Will I ever be back to normal again? Alex wondered.

The deal the wizard had made with the witch forbade him from transforming the mice into humans. That meant Alex would remain a mouse for the foreseeable future, and he would remain stuck where he was. He had been a bargaining chip in the deal. Him remaining as Esme’s pet was what saved all the rest of the villagers from extermination by the witch. That meant he would have to stay female, as Esme wished him to be. He would have to submit to being a mix of toy and pet for her.

With all of that running through his mind, it made sense that he could not sleep.

Then, beneath his many concerns was the nagging thought that he was not bothered by it all as much as he believed he should be. He knew that he should be freaking out about his transformations, but despite how weird it felt, he was gradually getting used to his body. That initial discomfort about being female had decreased as the day went on. Was he slowly coming to accept it all? Why not? What point was there in denying it or fighting it? There was no way to change what he was for now. This was his body. This was his life.

Maybe it’s time I let go of my old life, Alex thought. I am not a human. I am a mouse. I am not a man. I am…

Alex gripped his breasts and felt their weight. It had been a long while since he had touched any breasts, not since college. Girlfriends had been hard to come by when living with his parents. Then, he had failed to start a relationship even while living alone in his apartment.

He gave his breasts a nice squeeze. Certainly, they were the biggest breasts he had ever held. Well, not in actual size, but, proportionately for a mouse, they were. A brief bit of fondling demonstrated how sensitive they had become as well. It was quite pleasurable, unlike anything he had felt as a man.

I am a woman, Alex thought. “My name is Alexandra,” he said, softly, appreciating the sound of his feminine voice.

There was no denying it. For some reason, he felt at ease with being a woman. Maybe it was part of the spell, affecting his mind as well as his body. Maybe it was his decision to accept his body as it was now. Whatever the cause, he… she felt all right about being Alexandra.

She gave her breasts another squeeze, enjoying the sensation. Being a woman did have its perks, Alexandra decided. Might as well enjoy it. Her fingers slipped down to her crotch, and then…

“Alex!” whispered a squeaky voice from somewhere nearby.

Alexandra covered her bare chest and crotch with her arms. “Who is it?” she whispered back, feeling the shock of being both surprised and also caught all at once.

“It’s me, Marianne,” the voice replied.

Alexandra heard soft footfalls approach her bed. She sat up and tried to see Marianne, but there was almost no light in the dollhouse. At best, she could make out Marianne’s silhouette. “How are you?” Alexandra asked Marianne. “Is everyone safe?”

“Don’t worry about us,” Marianne replied. “We’re fine. How are you? Are you okay?”

Alexandra was not sure how to answer. “I’ve changed… a lot,” she admitted.

Marianne took a seat on the bed beside Alexandra. “What did they do to you?” she asked.

“They cast some spells on me that… sort of, changed my body.”

“Oh, Alex,” Marianne said, pulling her into a hug. Feeling some unexpected padding between them, Marianne asked, “Are those… pillows?”

“No,” Alexandra said. “They’re not pillows.”

“Oh,” Marianne said, releasing the hug. “So then…. You’re…”

“I’m Alexandra now,” she explained. “That’s who the witch girl wanted me to be, and I think that’s how I’m going to stay for now, at least while I’m living with her.”

Marianne hugged Alexandra again. “I’m so sorry that you’re stuck like this. Don’t worry. I’m always going to be here for you, no matter what happens to you or your body.”

“Thanks,” Alexandra replied, feeling some relief at still having Marianne’s support. “That means a lot to me.” They hugged a while longer, comforting each other, and when they let go, Alexandra said, “It’s not all bad. The spell that the mother cast on me made me kind of indestructible. My body just stretches like rubber instead of getting injured.”

“That’s amazing,” Marianne said. “Well, at least I won’t have to worry about you getting hurt by that girl.”

“I am a little worried,” Alexandra said. “The girl seems to be making plans to exploit that spell. I can tell she’s just dying to mess around with my body.”

“I hate that we can’t keep you safe from her.”

“It’s fine,” Alexandra said. “I can handle it. You just worry about yourselves. How are things going with you?”

“We’re getting settled in,” Marianne said, “somewhere safe. It’s a lot of work, but there’s some good news, too. This house might be exactly what we were looking for, after all. You see, The Old One has come up with a new strategy for getting us out of here and making us human. He thinks that he might be able to use his orb to collect ambient magic from all the witches in this house. If he can collect enough of it, then he might be able to get away from here and transform himself back into a human again. After that, we could escape in small groups, and he could start turning us all into humans, one by one. Collecting the magic will take some time, though.”

“Did you ask how long it might take?”

“I asked,” Marianne said. “He guessed that it could take months, or years, even. Maybe if the witches are casting spells pretty regularly, it might go more quickly. The more magic in the air, the better.”

“I see,” Alexandra said, realizing what she must do. “So, if I can get the girls casting spells, then I might be able to speed up our escape.”

“Be careful,” Marianne said. “Don’t put yourself in any more danger for our sake. You just need to be patient. We’ll find a way to get you out of here.”

“Okay,” Alexandra said, but she was already inventing ways to goad the girls to use magic.

“I promise, I’ll come by to visit you when it seems safe,” Marianne said. “You’re not alone.”

“Thanks,” Alexandra said, feeling comforted by that pledge.

Then, Marianne leaned in and kissed her, and Alexandra wished that Marianne might stay the night in her bed.

“I’ve got to go,” Marianne said. “I’ll come back later this week if I can.”

“Okay.”

Marianne stood up from the bed and crept away in near silence, leaving Alexandra alone again in the dark dollhouse.

At least I still have Marianne, she thought. There’s some hope. With memories of that kiss on her mind, Alexandra managed to sleep at last.

***

“Good morning,” Esme said, her enormous voice shaking the dollhouse and waking Alexandra.

Alexandra stretched and yawned. “Good morning, Esme,” she shouted in reply. She looked up at the relatively enormous witch girl kneeling outside of the doll house and put on her best early morning smile.

“I’m going to eat breakfast,” Esme said. “I want you to ride on my shoulder.”

“Okay,” Alexandra said. “First, though, I’m going to need a toilet break.”

“Toilet?” the witch said.

“Yes, and I’ll need some water, as well.”

The worried look on Esme’s face indicated that she had never considered the responsibilities of pet ownership before.

“It’s no big deal,” Alexandra said, formulating an idea. “I mean, you can just magic up a water bottle and some wood shavings for me to… do my business.”

“Uh,” Esme said, looking a little embarrassed. “That’s… kind of difficult to do.”

“Really?” Alexandra said. “You transformed me with no problem.”

“Yeah,” Esme said. “You see, I’m better with people and animals than objects.”

“Oh,” Alexandra said, disappointingly.

“It’s okay. I can get my mom to buy you all of that. For now, I’ll just take you to the bathroom to… you know.” Esme leaned her shoulder close to the edge of the dollhouse floor.

Seeing that Esme was offering a ride, Alexandra got out of bed and stood there a moment, trying to set aside any self-consciousness over how nude she was. When she had prepared herself to be seen in her bare fur, she walked to Esme’s shoulder and climbed up on it. When Esme stood up, Alexandra had to lay flat on the girl’s giant shoulder, holding on with her feet and hands to keep from falling off.

“Let’s go, Alexandra,” Esme said and walked out of her room with Alexandra riding her to the bathroom.

***

“What is that thing?” asked Esme’s older sister.

They had just sat down to eat breakfast at the kitchen table when Celia noticed Alexandra nibbling on the remains of a cracker while sitting on Esme’s shoulder. Again, Alexandra felt self-conscious of her nudity.

“That’s Alexandra,” Esme explained as her mother set a plate of French toast down in front of her.

“Mom,” whined Celia. “Why does Esme have a rat at the table?”

“It’s not a rat,” their mother replied, taking a seat at the table with her own plate of French toast. “Esme found a special mouse, and I have allowed her to keep it.”

“But,” Celia complained. “It’s a dirty little rodent. I don’t want to look at it while I’m eating.”

“Then, don’t look at me,” Esme said, sticking her tongue out to punctuate the sentence.

Celia rolled her eyes and turned her attention to her food. Without looking up, she said, “You’d better not let me catch that rat anywhere near my stuff, or it’ll become a flat rat.”

“Oh yeah?” Esme said. “Watch this.” She set down her fork and knife and lifted Alexandra off of her shoulder. Esme gripped Alexandra with both hands, one near the mouse’s shoulders and the other down by her hips and pulled her hands apart, stretching out Alexandra’s middle like an accordion. When, Alexandra’s abdomen and chest had become over a foot long, Esme draped the mouse’s body over the back of her neck, letting Alexandra hang from it like a scarf, her head by Esme’s right shoulder and her feet by the girl’s left shoulder.

“Gross,” Celia said. “Did mom do that to it?”

“I did,” their mother said. “To keep it safe. You leave it alone. Understand?”

“I’ll leave it alone if it leaves me alone,” Celia said. Then, she pushed her chair away from the table and stood up. “I’m done. I’ve lost my appetite.”

“You’re not hungry?” Esme asked. “That’s new.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Celia replied.

“I mean,” Esme said, “You look like you really enjoy eating.”

“Are you calling me fat?” Celia said, and Alexandra thought she saw the girl’s eyes flash with blue light.

Esme shrugged, causing Alexandra to shift to her right shoulder as her mouse body shrank back to its normal length. While it was true that Celia was showing signs of nascent puberty, particularly around her hips, she was hardly overweight.

“You listen to me, you little baby,” Celia said, pointing at Esme. “You only wish you had a body like mine.”

“I’m happy with my normal butt,” Esme said.

“Enough!” their mother said. “No fighting at the table. Just finish your breakfasts.”

“I’m done,” Celia said and began to walk away. “Excuse me.”

“Please, take your plate to the sink,” their mother ordered her.

Celia complied, but she gave Esme and Alexandra a dirty look as she walked off.

***

Upstairs, a little later, Esme got dressed for school, while Alexandra, waited on the floor beside the dollhouse. Feeling distinctly uncomfortable at being this close to a young girl without all of her clothes on, Alexandra averted her eyes until the witch girl was done getting dressed.

“Wait,” Esme said. “What do I do about you while I’m out?”

Alexandra looked up at Esme, who was now fully dressed. “I’ll be fine here by myself,” Alexandra assured her. “We can have fun together when you get home.” She was hoping to have an opportunity to see Marianne while Esme was at school.

Esme thought it over for a moment before she replied, “But, I don’t want to leave you here.”

“Well,” Alexandra countered. “Your teachers won’t let me just ride around on your shoulder all day, and you wouldn’t want to put me in your backpack. Someone might find me inside there.”

“Hmm,” Esme said, considering the problem. “Maybe I could hide you somewhere else, where nobody would ever see you.” Esme grabbed a pair of shiny black leather boots and set them down in front of Alexandra.

“What are you doing?” Alexandra asked, hoping that Esme was not planning something crazy.

“This way,” Esme said, lifting Alexandra up by her tail. “I can keep you close to me all day long.” She dangled Alexandra above the opening of her right boot.

“Please don’t,” Alexandra started to say, but she was dropped into the boot before she got to the second word. She looked up just in time to see Esme’s stocking covered foot entering the boot, toes first, heading right for her. There was no time to react. Before Alexandra could move at all, the sole of the girl’s foot had blocked out all light and was squashing her flat, spreading her elastic body out to fill the bottom of the boot like an insole. Then, she felt the pressure increase as Esme tied the boot tightly in place.

“There,” Esme said, her voice muffled through the layers of boot leather and rubber. “Let’s go to school.” She started walking. With every step on Esme’s right foot, Alexandra endured the weight of the girl’s whole body pressing down on her, flattening her even more each time.

Well, Alexandra thought, realizing that she had no choice but to ride it out. This is going to be a long day.

***

In the darkness of the boot, Alexandra had little to do that morning aside from observing the sensations she felt, and doing that was not at all interesting. There was nothing to see, and her hearing was heavily muffled by the foot and boot. Occasionally, she could make out the sound of some kid’s voice and Esme's voice, but most of the words spoken were not clear enough to understand what anyone was saying.

As Esme moved around, putting weight on her foot and removing it, Alexandra became achingly familiar with the complete shape of the girl’s foot above her. Every contour of the foot reshaped her body to fit it, the roundness of all five toes, the broad ball and heel, and the slight bit of relief in the long arch down the length of it.

If the crushing pressure was the worst sensation, Alexandra thought she might be able to get used to the discomfort, but she could smell the foot as well. For the most part, there was only the odor of the shoe leather, but also noticeable was the awful smell of the girl’s foot. Even without breathing, Alexandra’s nose picked up on it from a slight bit of moisture on the girl’s skin transferring the smell to her nose. She wished that she could cover up her nose somehow, but she was unable to move at all. Forced to just lay there and experience that stink without any way of escaping it was miserable, and it only got worse as the day wore on and Esme’s foot became sweatier and smellier.

Time dragged on. With no clock or external reference, it was nearly impossible to tell exactly how much time was passing. Hours went by, or so it seemed with no discernible change. At first, she just wondered how she had been so unlucky to end up like this, helplessly trapped in a boot, squashed flat by a little girl’s foot. Then, deprived of most stimuli and incapable of control, her mind wandered, her thoughts losing cohesion. After a while, she started to identify herself as either part of the boot or an extension of the girl’s foot. Being a human, or a mouse even, seemed unlikely, considering how inanimate she had become. All she had now was the boot, the smelly foot, and her muddled thoughts.

After what felt like days inside that boot, Alexandra sensed a change that slowly woke her from her stupor. Just beyond the warm sweatiness within the boot, she felt cooler air seeping in and heard nothing but the sound of footsteps. Dimly, Alexandra realized that Esme must have been outside. The girl was alone at last and walking somewhere, probably back home. Sure enough, the footsteps took on the additional sound of floorboards creaking, indicating that she had come indoors.

Then, with no warning, light entered the boot as the girl’s huge foot lifted out of it. The pressure that had been so ever-present was relieved. Alexandra wanted to stretch out and take a breath of fresh air, but her body did not move. She was still flattened into the bottom of the boot, her body retaining a perfect imprint of the girl’s foot. Despite being free of her entrapment, she was still stuck in place, like a squashed wad of gum.

Alexandra heard more footsteps on old wooden floorboards outside, walking away from the boot. Then, there was silence. For a long time she remained in the boot, wondering when Esme might return or when she might be able to move again.

Then, Esme called for her. “Alexandra?” the girl said. “Where are you?”

Alexandra could barely believe it. Had the girl really forgotten where she was?

She heard footsteps again, walking around the room and back into the hallway. “Alexandra?” Esme repeated, sounding increasingly worried. “Alexandra?”

Down the hall, a door opened, and Alexandra heard Celia say, “Quit crying, you little baby.”

“Do you have my Alexandra?” Esme said. “Did you take her? Where is she?”

Celia sneered back, “Why would you think I would come anywhere near your disgusting rat? I don’t know where it is.”

“Did you hurt her?” Esme asked.

“How could I hurt the rat if mom put a protection spell on it?” Celia said. “Use your head for once. It’s probably flattened somewhere in your room.”

After a moment of silence, Esme cried, “Oh my gosh! I just remembered.” Then, she ran back into the room. Celia groaned and shut her bedroom door, followed by Esme shutting the door to her own room.

The boot was lifted up and turned upside down. “There you are!” Esme cheered. Soft fingers gripped one end of Alexandra’s flattened body and peeled it from the sole of the boot. Then, she was pulled out and dangled in the air upside down in front of Esme’s huge smiling face. “Found you!”

Esme gave Alexandra a little shake and said, “When are you going back to normal?”

Both of them hoped the answer would be “soon,” but after several minutes of waiting, it became apparent that they could be in for a long wait.

***

As they waited, Esme gave Alexandra a good cleaning, due to the lingering boot odor in her fur. She left Alexandra to dry on a towel on her desk as she worked on her homework. A couple of hours passed, and Esme finished her homework, but Alexandra was still as flat as a pancake and still shaped like the sole of Esme’s foot. She propped Alexandra up at an angle so that she could talk to her.

“How much longer is this going to take?” she asked.

Alexandra wanted to say she was wondering the same thing, but she remained immobile, still.

“If only there was a way I could blow you up somehow, like a balloon,” Esme said and sat thinking quietly for a while. A look appeared on her face that indicated an idea had come to her, and she ran out of the room. Minutes later, she returned holding a manual bicycle tire pump in her hands.

Realizing what Esme intended to do Alexandra wished she could beg her not to or at least shake her head, but she had no power to do anything but watch what was about to happen.

Esme set Alexandra on the floor. Next, she took the tube of the pump and wedged the pointy end into Alexandra’s flattened mouth. The girl kept pushing it back into Alexandra’s throat until it was nearly halfway to her stomach. Esme pinched together the top and bottom of Alexandra’s mouth and held them shut while she started pumping with her other hand.

Air immediately filled up Alexandra’s stomach after the first pump, and she felt it balloon out from her otherwise flattened body. Esme, seeing what she had accomplished already, kept on pumping. With each pump, Alexandra’s belly inflated even larger. She felt her hands and feet separate from where they had been stuck to the rest of her body as her middle swelled bigger and rounder. Soon, she was the size of a melon and her body no longer felt flat. It did feel disturbingly hollow, though, despite the sensation of being filled up to the point of bursting.

Esme paused to check how Alexandra was looking now. Her head and limbs were still misshapen, but they were no longer mushed together with the rest of her body. It was an improvement, if not a perfect fix. Esme gently removed the end of the pump from Alexandra’s mouth and let go. From the intense look on her face, it was clear that she was expecting the mouse to immediately deflate like a balloon. However, the pressure from her stomach was closing up her throat, sealing it shut. She just rested there on the floor as an inflated furry ball.

Wanting to get the air out, Esme grabbed Alexandra’s swollen belly with both hands and squeezed them together. That pressure forced air out of Alexandra’s mouth at last, producing an enormous, body-shaking burp.

The rude noise made Esme pause a moment, apparently shocked at how loud it had been. She smirked and squeezed again, letting loose another sonorous burp from Alexandra’s mouth. Esme giggled, and pressed again, this time keeping the pressure on for many seconds, as Alexandra’s throat reverberated with an incredibly drawn-out belch. Meanwhile, Esme cackled in mad delight at what she discovered she could do with her new favorite toy.

Once Alexandra had been squeezed flat again, Esme set the mouse back down on her desk. Her little body was still stretched out of shape and limp, but it was back to something resembling its normal form. Again, Alexandra saw an expression on Esme’s face that said the girl had come up with a new idea. All Alexandra could do was lay there, dreading what Esme had in mind.

***

That night, Esme was sitting on the couch watching TV by herself, waiting for Celia to join her. When her sister entered the room, Esme acted naturally, not reacting at all when Celia sat down on the couch beside her. They watched TV for a while together, all the while Esme bided her time, waiting for the right opportunity.

Celia got up to find a snack, and Esme prepared to make her move. When Celia returned with a bowl of popcorn, Esme pulled something out from behind a pillow and slipped it under her sister’s butt, just as Celia sat down on the couch.

The sound that came out from beneath her backside was unmistakable. It was the rude noise of wind escaping flesh, not quite a burp or a fart, but a mixture of both as it was coming out of Alexandra’s inflated body at both ends.

Celia was so startled by it that she leapt off of the couch, spilling popcorn all over.

Then, Esme erupted in uncontrollable laughter, nearly falling off the couch.

Celia spun around to see Alexandra’s half deflated body on the couch where she had just sat down and realized that Esme had just used her pet as a Whoopie cushion.

“You stupid, immature little baby!” Celia screamed at her hysterically laughing sister. “You scared me half to death! Look at the mess I made!”

Esme just kept on laughing.

Celia groaned in frustration and stormed out of the room, yelling, “You can clean that up. I’m going to my room.” Celia stomped her way upstairs, but Esme barely noticed, as she was still giggling like mad.

Alexandra lay there on the couch cushion, mostly flattened and still immobile, trying to get over the embarrassment of being sat on. She tried not to think of how it had felt to have butt cheeks pressing down on her, squeezing out sound from her like a deflating balloon, but she could only lie there with that fresh memory and hope that she would return to being an animate living thing again sometime soon.