Bellflower Part 43

In this installment, Dawn's subconscious anxieties about Penny prove to be correct. And Deidre's just a little late.

I know I know. Finally got some time to work on it. Originally, this was written inter cut with other much more upbeat stuff. And while I liked it at first, the peaks & valleys of suspense with sweetness was kind of getting a little jarring. And the sweet stuff is taking a bit to get right. So I made the executive decision to strip this part down into what it is & have something new for you all, but know that another, less ominous chapter is following this one up, sooner rather than later!

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43

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The late afternoon light poured in around the edges of the blinds, signifying another, completely wasted day.

Dawn felt disappointment on two levels. Not only did she let the day get away from her, just like the slew of other days the last couple weeks, she did so in such an absolutely cliche way. Bon-bons? Really?! Her robot offered, starting some point around 11am. And at the time? It was something of a pleasant surprise. A good idea, even. But how was she supposed to know it seemed to be harboring a near infinite supply? They just seemed to keep coming. And sure, it really didn’t help that she was never willing to say no, despite knowing full well what a bad idea each one was. Any fear she had of not having anything in her wardrobe fit her, certainly wasn’t remedied by spending the entire day nibbling on chocolate. Last one, she told herself, moving her gaze from the laptop screen & the email she had spent two hours trying to draft up to the pincher fingers of a mechanical arm. She opened her mouth like a baby bird & let the fingers apply it directly to her tongue.

“Mmmmmm,” she felt herself inadvertently moan, biting in to find the caramel. “No more though… please! I’ve been sitting here for hours & it’s… it’s getting a little distracting.” She waved her pudgy hands in an “x.”

“Apologies, Miss Dawn.” Penny seemed slightly miffed. For as miffed as an AI could be anyway.

“Where was I…” Dawn adjusted, trying to stifle a very slight belch. She had been staring at this sentence for so long, it had lost all meaning. But she needed to be productive! Having felt… off her game for so long now, she needed to do this, more for herself than Hailington. She had just started to reread it when…

“Have you given much thought toward dinner yet, Miss Dawn?” Penny perkily interjected.

“What the FUCK did I just say?!” the redhead snapped, pounding a heavy fist next to her laptop in frustration. She followed it up by feebly trying to wing the throw pillow she had been using as an armrest up towards the ceiling console, even though it was retracted. The toss had a low, weak arc, but it was also the most energy exerted by Dawn in a bit. Causing her to huff angrily in the following few seconds of silence.

“I apologize, Miss Dawn.” Penny said, not sounding particularly sorry. “I just… happen to know how hungry you tend to get this time of day.” Dawn couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but there was something sassy, almost a little pointed about the AI’s tone. Something she didn’t quite like. And while the usually quickwitted writer struggled to find the words, almost like clockwork, she was struck by a severe, unexpected hunger pang. Like a bolt. The compulsion to just… “EAT!” As if every single bonbon she had throughout the day had even never happened. All she could do was moan.

“Ohhh god…” her anger gave way to a soft murmur, as her thick fingers went to her flabby, & hollow-feeling middle. “W-where is this… coming from…? There’s… there’s no way…” She tried to ignore her appetite through rationalizing it. But it was way, way too strong.

“See?” Penny chirped, almost lording how right she was over the tenant. “Toldja so.”

“Unnngh…” Dawn threw her head back. The playful malevolence in the computer’s tone suddenly brought about a thousand of Dawn’s subconscious fears & unaddressed anxieties to the surface all at once. Inklings of things, vibes she got, but things way, way too crazy to ever even say out loud. With her appetite. Her weight. The never-ending barrage of food. Penny’s constant ‘aim to please.’ The fucking bonbons! Suddenly, it clicked. And it wasn’t just her imagination! “Fuckin’ Bitch!” the usually articulate redhead struggled, winging the last of her armrest pillows futilely toward the ceiling. But at the same time, things also felt… way too late. Between being this heavy, & the ravenous compulsion to eat, Dawn was completely at her smart home’s mercy! “W-why…?!” She stammered.

“Shh-shh-Shhhhh.” Lowering from its console, the stylized icon of Penny clicked on the screen. “You mustn’t stress.”

“F-fuck you!” Dawn stuttered defiantly with a snarl. “H-HELP!!” she screamed, gasping to repeat. “HELP! My Penny! It’s gone… all HAL fucking psycho!”

“Tsk,” The AI kept a level tone. “Now you know that’s not going to work.” It lowered closer to the tenant. “But about that dinner…” Dawn couldn’t even fathom the possibility of it. And yet suddenly, the level of hunger she would’ve put at like a ten on a scale of ten, jumped to like a fifteen, making her shudder & wince. So severe, it was like she couldn’t waste energy on any other thought. She NEEDED to Eat.

“Unnnnnnnnffffffhhhh.” The round redhead grunted, swaying in her seat as much as her bulk allowed.

“I happen to… know a little place.” Penny coyly suggested. “And even though I know you’ve been a bit shy about leaving the unit, I’m sure we can make arrangements for you to have the meal of a lifetime. But y’know, TOS & everything.” The icon on screen made an eyeroll. “I need vocal confirmation.”

“Ucch” Dawn sharply scoffed. The hunger made monosyllabic grunts more feasible than words. But it almost seemed like Penny was taking some kind of sadistic pleasure in shutting up her once mouthy, stubborn master.

“Um… Is that a yes?” the AI chirped.

“Fuh-f-fuh-fuck…” Dawn tried to muster something in protest, with all of her might. But it was all becoming too much. There was no fighting this. Not now. “... f-fuh… feed... me.” The round woman sunk in resigned defeat, trying to at least take what little solace there was that she’d at least finally be fed again.

“Atta girl!” Penny playfully celebrated, firework icons going off near the icon on the screen. A “YOU DID IT!” flashed three times briefly on the screen.

“Food!” Dawn sharply insisted. She didn’t cave for nothing. She wanted it NOW!

“I like your spirit.” Penny giggled. “Let’s get you fed then, shall we?”

“Unngh.” was all Dawn could muster before there was suddenly a bright, overwhelming flash.

Then an empty apartment without the round Dawn feature. Things were still & silent. Until the mechanical arms started lowering to tidy things up a little. And a moment after that, there was a knock at the door. And another a few moments after that.

Deidre knew she was taking a chance. A little hungover & not fully recovered from “Penny-proofing” her place, the other parts of the building were making her extremely leery. But after the resignation email she got from Dawn earlier that morning, she trusted nothing. And wanted it straight from the horse’s mouth, as it were.

“Hello?” she pounded. She would’ve been down sooner, but she needed to sleep off some of the wine & demo job from last night. And once she woke up? It took a few to log on & check the HR records to find out exactly what unit Dawn’s was. “Anyone home?!” Deidre pounded harder. The weirder part, to her, was that Penny wasn’t responding either. In place of Dawn, potentially acting as gatekeeper. Deidre leaned in & started hammering it with the underside of her fist. “C’mon! Open up!” It was so loud, after a few moments, a neighboring unit’s door started to open.
“Um…?” a short, round woman with caramel colored skin & curly hair shyly peeked out to see what was causing all the racket. “Can I… help you?” she seemed to squeak. Between her bust & belly, she filled out a white tanktop to its max. And everything only flared out wider as you went a little further down to her hips & ass, her jeans barely clasped to contain her. It didn’t help that she was chomping on what looked like some sort of fried chicken sandwich concoction. She looked a little bit intimidated by Deidre’s height. A common occurrence, but without having the time to put her at ease, Deidre assertively just pushed on.

“I work with your neighbor here. Have you seen her recently?”

“Heavyset? Red hair?” The woman checked. “Haven’t in about a month.” She seemed to mindlessly bring the sandwich to her lips & take a bite. With hunger creeping in, Deidre tried to stave off the temptation to maybe run out & get her own by biting her lip. “Honestly thought she moved out or something…” She responded while chewing.

“You see movers? Boxes? Anything?” Deidre pushed, trying to ignore the wafting aroma of fried food.

“No. Just… no sign of her.” The shorter woman shrugged. Fearing that response, Deidre’s shoulders sank. “Why? You her boss? She in trouble?”

“No. And not that kind of trouble.” Deidre sighed.

“It’s so weird her Penny didn’t answer though!” The woman realized, turning to yell over her shoulder. “Penny?” Deidre shuddered, hand coming up to try & stop her from doing it but she wasn’t looking.

“Yes, Miss Gabi?” She heard softly from within the young woman’s apartment, in its standard, innocuous, but somewhat warm tone.

“You know anything?” The woman asked, mindlessly biting off more sandwich.

“I believe next door is vacant, Miss Gabi. Has been for a few weeks.”

“See?” The caramel skinned Gabi shrugged to Deidre, before . “But what about its Penny? It should still answer doors, right?”

“Of course.” Penny chirped.

“So why didn’t it just now?”

“Oh, is someone there?” Around the edges, Deidre could make out some of the venom in its tone suddenly. “Perhaps whoever it was just did not register to that unit’s Penny.”

“Wow.” Gabi said with wide eyes to Deidre, finishing her sandwich by shoving the ample remainder into her mouth. “That’s... weird.”

“Cool. Fuck you too, Penny.” Deidre said loud enough for the in unit AI to pick up, even though she probably didn’t have to. Gabi’s brow furrowed a bit, almost a little insulted for her robot. But Deidre was already heading back toward the elevator.

“Hey…!” Deidre waved in an awkward way that she hoped meant both “nothing personal” & “thank you” to Gabi. But Penny responded by suddenly spiking a hunger pang. And it seemed to hit Deidre & Gabi both as they each seemed to wince.

“Miss Gabi, please do not forget your fries.” Penny chimed, urging the tenant back into her condo. And slowly, the allure of those fries was enough. The door shut as Deidre reached the elevator & hit the button. She half expected it “not to register,” but figured the mad AI would do anything to avoid its tenant livestock population from taking the stairs. Heaven forbid.

The elevator car mustn’t have left floors as the usually slow lift opened right away. Deidre stepped in. She hit the button for her floor. The door shut. The light flashed red, causing Deidre’s eyes to go wide.

“Oh, you were so, so close. But just a little few seconds too late.” Penny laughed maniacally. She remembered Rachel’s encounter, & felt a shiver go down her spine. Only, the lights immediately kicked back to their normal hue.

“Wait, what...?!” Deidre asked. Instead of a response, the elevator just began to slowly take her to her floor.