DC : Crisis of infinite hunger: Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Iris's Sweet Obsession

Iris West had always been the kind of woman who lived by order and discipline. Her quick thinking, sharp instincts, and strict work ethic made her one of Central City’s most respected reporters. But today, something was wrong. As she sat at her desk in the bustling office of the Central City Picture News, her attention wasn’t on her latest story. It was on food.

Her once-organized desk was now littered with a chaotic array of snack wrappers, empty cups, and crumbs. A box of doughnuts sat open next to her, each doughnut half-eaten or demolished completely. Iris barely registered the mess she was making, her fingers sticky with frosting and her lips powdered with sugar. She reached for another bite without a second thought, her other hand holding a sandwich she had picked up from the breakroom minutes earlier.

Iris was dressed casually in a yellow button-up shirt and green pants, but even these more relaxed clothes were becoming uncomfortable. The buttons on her shirt strained against her chest and stomach, the fabric pulling taut with each bite she took. Her stomach spilled slightly over the waistband of her pants, which now dug painfully into her sides as she sat hunched over in her chair.

It had been a steady, almost unconscious change. First, there were the small snacks between meals. But today, Iris was eating with a desperation that was starting to scare her. Each bite was filled with satisfaction, yet her hunger never waned. She wasn’t sure when it had begun, but since the night before, she had felt an insatiable need to eat constantly. The only time she had stopped was to answer a text from Barry asking how her day was going.

In a brief moment of clarity, she glanced down at her bulging midsection and realized how far she'd let herself go in just a short span of time. Her belly pressed heavily against the desk, her green pants visibly stretched to their limits, her button unable to be done up. With her free hand, she gingerly touched her soft midsection, feeling the new weight there. Her fingers sank into the plushness of her belly, and her cheeks burned with embarrassment.

"God, I can't believe this is me," she muttered to herself, yet the pang of hunger was impossible to ignore.

She leaned back in her chair, feeling the tightness of her pants as they dug into her sides. Her thighs, once toned and slim, were now thick and soft, the fabric of her pants outlining every curve. She shifted in her seat, feeling her thighs rub together as she tried to get comfortable. The sensation was unfamiliar, but she pushed the thought aside.

Her mind wandered back to food, the sweet taste still lingering on her tongue. Her hand instinctively reached for another doughnut, and before she knew it, she had devoured it in just a few bites. The rush of sugar gave her a fleeting sense of satisfaction, but it wasn’t enough. Her stomach rumbled again, louder this time, demanding more.

"Maybe just one more," she whispered.

Despite the clear evidenceof her expanding figure, Iris couldn’t seem to stop. She had ordered some fast food to be delivered to her office. The hunger was all-consuming, and the more she ate, the more her body swelled to accommodate her cravings. Her once-defined jawline was now softened by the extra weight she had packed on, and her face had taken on a rounder, fuller appearance.

Her coworkers passed by, casting curious glances in her direction, but Iris was too absorbed in her gluttony to care. The thought of writing her article was distant now, her mind clouded by thoughts of what she could eat next. She wiped her hands on a napkin, only to quickly grab another snack.

"I'll focus after this," she lied to herself, but even she wasn’t sure how long she could keep pretending everything was normal.

Iris was spiraling deeper into an overwhelming cycle of hunger and indulgence, and as the afternoon wore on, it became harder and harder to resist the pull of her cravings. She kept telling herself she'd stop, but as the day passed, it became clearer that her body was changing in ways she couldn’t control.