The Shrinking Bodybuilder (3rd Part)

[JP71]

[COLOR=gray][COLOR=gray]The Shrinking Bodybuilder[/COLOR][/COLOR]

[COLOR=gray][COLOR=gray]ByJP71[/COLOR][/COLOR]

[COLOR=gray][COLOR=gray]A re-imagining of ?The Shrinking Man? by[/COLOR][/COLOR]

[COLOR=gray][COLOR=gray]Richard Matheson[/COLOR]

[/COLOR]

[COLOR=yellow]Part 1:[/COLOR]
[COLOR=yellow]Part 2:[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#808080]4.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=gray]The great space now below him and the entrance to his pill-bottle refuge yawned with an almost menacing gape that seemed to beckon him to become one with its mock-infinity, as though it were a sentient tempter. It was a vast ocean of apparent nothingness, stretching endlessly in all directions, utterly absolute. ?I have conquered Everest,? Will mused allowed, silently chiding himself for expressing anything close to humour at this time, ?But Everest will never conquer me!? [/COLOR]

[COLOR=gray]He stood just inside the neck of the bottle, completely naked since he?d lost his loin-cloth. Somehow being naked at this time made him feel more masculine, that his genitalia was on show for all the world to see, although, at this time in his beleaguered existence, a really powerful magnifying glass would be required to see it. William Grant was in a lot of trouble. He looked directly upwards, trying to gauge the distance between the top of his head and the curved roof of his bottleneck ceiling. The top of the neck seemed further away to him, now, at least in comparison with the last time he looked up at it. ?As I get smaller, so the world around me becomes harder to exist in,? he lamented. His stomach growled for nourishment. If he didn?t eat soon, hunger alone might shrink him down to nothing before he was ready to face that time. Would he ever be ready? He couldn?t answer that. Hunger became a driving force in him. He had to get back to the shelf, and there was really only one conceivable way of doing it.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=gray]The knotted thread-rope was his only chance. It was tied to the outside of the bottleneck, lassoed around the gape of the bottle, between two screw-threads, back when Will had been bigger and barely able to squeeze himself inside. He had tied it tight having spent a small age carefully creating the periodic knots along its length. He knew that he would eventually need it to climb out, when the inner incline of the bottle?s shoulder became too steep for him to manage without assistance. He held the free end of the rope in his hands, hoping that it would be long enough for him to swing from. He would only get one chance at this. He was so hungry and determined to escape that he didn?t waste further time preparing himself. He just held the end of the thread-rope ? using the lowest knot for utmost grip ? and launched himself forwards.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=gray]The strangest thing happened at this point. Will didn?t go plummeting downward at high speed, as he imagined he should have. Instead, still holding on to the rope for dear life, he seemed to gradually descend, as though physics was starting to bend in his favour. But how? As he held on to the rope, finally dangling from it a fair distance below the neck of the bottle, with nothing but seemingly endless space below him, it suddenly dawned on him that he had shrunk down so much, gotten so light in weight, that gravity?s pull on him had diminished considerably. If a bug were to fall from a ceiling and land on a linoleum floor, the distance between ceiling and floor would barely stun it, much less kill it. Right now Will Grant was a lot smaller than a lot of bugs.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=gray]He was almost overjoyed upon arriving at this realisation. He suddenly felt more powerful than he?d ever felt since this nightmare began. Up until this point in his shrinking life, gravity had been a real danger to Will. Now he was beyond its power to harm or even kill him. Would he survive a drop to the attic floor then? He thought about it as he continued to dangle far below the bottleneck, the shelf above looking so much like a great promontory of rock that mocked him, taunting him to tame it and conquer it utterly. Even if he did make it down there in one piece, his food and water was still on the shelf. There would be no way to make it back there. Besides, it was up he needed to go ? to the web of certain doom and the hole in the extractor fan ? certainly not down. Even if he made it down to the door to the attic, finding himself small enough to fit underneath the crack of space between door and saddle-board, he would never make it further than the stairs. He would be at Zero Height before making the vast exodus across the attic floor, in relation to his size, a distance of many miles. ?Food for silverfish, surely,? he muttered, although he wasn?t sure if silverfish lived in attics, or ate meat, for that matter.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=gray]He began to swing back and forth on the length of thread, generating all the momentum his taut little bodybuilder?s body could muster. He was aiming to reach the edge of the shelf directly adjacent to the bottleneck, which meant he not only had to swing forwards, but slightly to the left as well. ?Swing to the left, heh,? he chuckled, suddenly amazed at how his mood seemed to brighten slightly, ?I?ve been swinging that way since I was fifteen.? Over and over, back and forth and to the left he swung, mustering all the power he could muster. Hunger ravaged his insides and weakness was never far away. To get weak now meant that failure would ensue. And failure was something William Grant did not believe in. On what seemed like the thirtieth swing, he found that the edge of the shelf was within reach, but he would have to be careful not to let go of the rope as he made a frantic scramble for the edge. He closed his eyes and imagined himself back in the gym, beating his 510 lbs bench press personal best, his eyes closed tight, teeth gritted, a powerful stamina-generating scream about to explode from him like a volcanic eruption, carried on a powerful current of expelled breath.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=gray]?C?mon you fucker!!!!!!!!!?[/COLOR]

[COLOR=gray]He did not breathe as he made a grab for the edge, thankful that there were no rogue air currents around to slam him against the edge of the shelf and shatter every minute bone in his minute body. He had timed and aimed his swing well. He latched on to the edge of the shelf with both hands, one still holding the end of the rope. But he felt his strength draining out of him due to his efforts, and he barely managed to pull himself upwards onto the safety of what to him was solid ground. Panting profusely, he lay down at the edge of the shelf, naked and laved in the sweat from his effort, and listened to the world?s smallest human heartbeat pounding like a percussion orchestra in his head. Hunger and fatigue claimed him for a time... and blackness befell him. And in the blackness, as with times before, there were things for his mind to latch on to and play with... things from before... a bigger before...[/COLOR]

[COLOR=gray]6'0?[/COLOR]

[COLOR=gray]Will had never been nervous about going into a doctor?s office in the past. And why should he be nervous now, especially when he had his beloved fianc? right by his side? He?d been too upset to drive them both there, that bleak Wednesday morning in mid-Autumn, and so Randy had taken the wheel. They didn?t talk for the duration of the ten minute drive, although William?s agitated finger-drumming on the dashboard really got on Randy?s nerves. He quietly chewed his bottom lip and said nothing, although his temper was beginning to fray. All that week Will had been tetchy and unpleasant to be around. Hopefully the doctor?s visit would result in them both hearing something of worth that would reassure Will that what he was going through could be stopped dead in its tracks.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=gray]?I... don?t want to go in there,? he said sombrely, with a monotone stripped of much emotion, save for the tremble in every second word. The dashboard-drumming continued. Randy released a long, exasperated breath, squeezing the wheel tightly before him so that thick, ropy veins bulged forth across his meaty forearms. ?It?s the best place for you, Will. Something has to be done about this. For Christ?s sake, it?s been so tough living with you these past few weeks.? Randy looked across to Will, their eyes meeting across a small space, which for that moment, became the extent of their world. His gaze had to drop slightly in order to meet Will?s, and despite that Will was still a huge, monster-muscleman at six feet in height ? with thickness and definition that would surely put most of the pros to shame ? the fact that he?d lost one inch in height per week for the last six weeks was reason enough to seek medical advice. He?d meant to see the doctor weeks before now, when he could still stand head and shoulders above men of average height, but a fear he?d never known before: fear of the unknown, had caused his procrastination. Finally, after a month and a half, Randy Scott couldn?t take it anymore. [/COLOR]

[COLOR=gray]?I?ll be right by your side... honey,? said Randy as tears, the worried kind, welled up in his beautiful brown eyes and he swallowed back some of his nerves in order to bolster enough strength to get them both through this day. They both got out of the jeep at the same time, Randy?s head and shoulders easily clearing the level of the roof on his side. Will was barely to be seen on the other side, the crown of his head and his forehead just about clearing the top of the roof. Despite this difference between them, people on the street still slowed down their pace in order to gawp at these bodybuilding ?freaks?, two men with muscles like no other, although one of them, the ostensibly taller one, obviously had more overall mass, even if the shorter one seemed to be more thickly fleshed-out. They both dressed somewhat conservatively, considering it was a doctor?s appointment: Randy wore a simple but muscle-hugging pink Henley over a tailored pair of black corduroy pants, whilst Will, as if to pad himself out more, opted for a light-brown woollen sweater over baggy jeans. The jeans had once fitted him like a second skin, and the sweater had been a gift from his mother, although when he tried it on not three months ago, it had been way too small. Now it was a perfect fit... for the time being, at least. [/COLOR]

[COLOR=gray]But no matter how many layers of clothing concealed their muscles, they could never hide the fact that they were huge bodybuilders. Randy had never looked bigger, so Will thought. Maybe it was because everything... everything in the fucking world... now looked a little bigger than before. He joined Randy outside the scant grounds to the office of Doctor Samuel Rothman MD. He paused, looking up with scared eyes into those of the man he loved like no other. Randy held him tightly and kissed him hard for a long moment, neither of them concerned whether or not they were being stared at, which they obviously were. ?Here,? said Randy, holding Will?s left hand firmly, and gently pulling his ring-finger away from the others. He slipped a solid gold band onto the finger, past the lower knuckle. It fit snugly. ?Consider it insurance, that I?m never going to leave you,? Randy added, once more kissing Will with so much love. Will?s eyes widened in surprise and his cheeks became flushed as the quickening of his heart began to pump blood wildly around his body. ?Buh...but...we...,? he was lost for words, overwhelmed by the surprise suddenly sprung on him.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=gray]?We?re getting married... today, right after we finish here. It?s just Vegas, but fuck it... whether it?s legal or not... we?re doing it anyway...okay?? Randy hugged Will more tightly than ever, surprised that he could get so much of his huge embrace around his upper body. It seemed obvious that Will had not only lost vertical inches, but inches in muscle mass too. And so it was time for Will?s examination.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=gray]They filled out forms, sorted out the insurance etc, clearing up all the formal stuff, after which Dr. Rothman, somewhat bemused by the sheer size of these musclemen, asked Will to get undressed behind a screen. After that Rothman did everything he could in his power as a medical practitioner. He recorded Will?s height and weight, logging the former at exactly six feet in height, and the latter at a whopping 337 lbs. On a man other than a bodybuilder, this weight would be extremely unhealthy, but Rothman examined Will?s heart-rate, and also his blood-pressure, and found him to be in exceptional cardiovascular health. He took blood and urine samples, examined him rectally, felt inside for anomalous growths, as well as checked his testicles for abnormalities. The examination took all of twenty minutes. Finally, as Will got dressed, it was time for Rothman to conclude the visit.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=gray]?I can?t find a single thing wrong with you, Mr. Grant. However, I will know more in about a week, when I get back the toxicology report on your blood work. With your consent I?d also like to send a phial of your blood to a colleague of mine. Actually...,? and Rothman paused to remove his spectacles so that he could pinch the tender flesh on the bridge of his nose, ?... I met Cyrus Redfern only a couple of times at different medical symposiums, but I am somewhat intrigued by the breakthroughs he?s made in stem cell research.?[/COLOR]

[COLOR=gray]?Stem cells? What have they got to do with Will?s condition,? Randy interjected sharply, his tone sounding more belligerent than he?d intended it to.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=gray]?Allow me to explain, Mr. Scott,? said Rothman, briefly rehearsing the right words in his mind. ?Will, if I may call you that... you?ve lost an unprecedented percentage of your body?s height, in an alarmingly short period of time, as well as twenty pounds of weight, but it?s the loss in height that interests me more. You said you noticed this about six weeks ago? You are six inches shorter now than you were then. Quite frankly this is a medical mystery, something I?ve never heard of before, certainly not observed firsthand.?[/COLOR]

[COLOR=gray]?You sound like you can?t explain this, Doctor, and that you?re pawning me off to some crackpot you barely know.? Now it was Will?s turn to sound angry, although feeling this way would not help his predicament whatsoever. Rothman, like the professional he was, completely ignored the remark, but donned his spectacles again as if to hide behind them. He was in the company of two huge and obviously extremely strong men. He didn?t want his office smashed up in some uncontrollable rage.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=gray]?My personal relationship with Redfern is inconsequential, however... I am quite familiar with the several papers he?s published relative to his research. He was once affiliated with the Mayo Clinic research facility in Rochester, but due to some outspoken and rather unorthodox opinions with regards to the controversy surrounding the ethicality of his research, resigned his post of fifteen years in order to found his very own research institute, not fifty miles from where we?re standing now, as a matter of fact.?[/COLOR]

[COLOR=gray]?Then we wait for the blood test results. That?s all we can do, right?? There was something about the tone of Rothman?s voice ? call it an air of resignation ? that told William Grant he couldn?t be helped here. Maybe Cyrus Redfern would be better facilitated to stop him losing weight and height. A week seemed like an eternity away.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=gray]Less than two hours later the couple were on a flight bound for Las Vegas ? destination: a chapel whose rules on the validity of same sex marriage laughed in the face of State policy. They found a place after a couple of hours searching. By the end of that morbid day, a day that should have been filled with so much joy and faith in the happiness a joined future would bring, William Grant sat down on the side of a motel bed and stripped off to his underwear whilst Randy took a shower in the en suite bathroom. On the dresser a glass of complimentary champagne courtesy of The Eternal Bliss Wedding Chapel stood, its bubbles gradually diminishing as it lost its fizz. He didn?t feel like celebrating, and worried about his future. [/COLOR]

[COLOR=gray]He looked down at himself, flexing his mammoth pecs, enjoying how the striations seemed to cut into the over-developed flesh. He bunched his fists tightly, and his forearms thickened mightily. He stood up and caught sight of himself in the mirror on the wall, gasping at how huge he looked. His muscles looked thicker than ever, despite he hadn?t been to the gym in three days due to mild depression. He flexed powerfully, alternating between a full-lat-spread and a most muscular, crabbing for all of his worth, awed by how hugely his massive muscles bulged. He was shredded to the max, bulbous muscles seeming to stack one on top of the other, but his imagination was running riot, now, as his muscle-lust increased. Had this been an ordinary day, William Grant would have been ecstatic about his muscle gain. But the grim reality of this day was simply this: he looked thicker because he was shrinking. He was a shrinking man... a bodybuilder getting inextricably smaller every day, inextricable, that is to say, unless a cure could be found for his...[/COLOR]

[COLOR=gray]?...disease. I have a disease.? [/COLOR]

[COLOR=gray]It was the first time he regarded his ?condition? as one akin to a disease. It seemed apt. He relaxed his posing and his muscles trembled with his worry. Randy stepped into the room, his body massively muscular, for he was now the bigger of the two, although less-ripped than Will?s current condition. He saw his new husband wearing only his underpants, and gawped at the beauty of his bodybuilder?s physique. Will was smaller now, by six whole inches, but it was like these inches had been redistributed across the rest of him, creating an effect that was awe-inspiring. Randy couldn?t help but get strongly aroused. He immediately went to Will and the two embraced, although Randy couldn?t help but feel the tension in Will, something that marred the moment with an acidic tinge that would leave a lingering aftertaste. He kissed Will, having to bend his head forward to do so. For the first time in their relationship, Will found himself standing tiptoed in order for the kiss to better connect them. As soon as he became aware of this he pulled away and began to sob in a way a man of his size should never be seen to.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=gray]?What if this can?t be stopped.... this... this... cancer... eating away at me inch by inch?? He began to get worked into an uncontrollable fit. Randy, now the bigger man, had to take charge. He rushed towards Will and held him more forcibly than ever. Will, almost shrieking with anguish, struggled to break free, but Randy persisted, holding him so tightly that getting him to calm down was inevitable. Six weeks ago Will had surpassed his own and Randy?s bench press personal best: 510 lbs for fifteen reps. He?d been stronger than Randy, that day, the Monday after they?d returned from their vacation in Canada. ?Hey, hey... getting into a state won?t solve anything. C?mon, sweetie, calm down. I?m not going to leave you, no matter what.? Not that this seemed to reassure Will whatsoever.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=gray]?What if I continue to shrink, Randy.... what will happen to me?? William couldn?t keep back the tears. Randy had to be strong for the both of them right now. However, he would be lying if he admitted that he was doing a good job of it.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=gray]?Look at me,? he demanded of Will, forcing the smaller bodybuilder to once again stare him in the eye. Time now seemed to slow between them. Will became calm, thankfully. He was besotted by Randy?s size and beauty, as much awed by him now as he was back when they met two years ago. ?You see that ring I slipped on your finger today, the one identical to that which I?m holding in front of you?? Randy flashed his own wedding band, the one Will had put there less than two hours ago in the presence of a two-bit Vegas minister, the light it reflected also glinting in William?s tear-filled eyes. ?Well... my love for you is the eternal kind, Will. And as long as we both wear these rings, I will never leave your side, and we will be together... always.?[/COLOR]

[COLOR=gray]Beautiful words for any man so deeply in love to hear from his newlywed spouse. And Will knew that Randy Scott meant every word he said. It was reassuring to hear, and Will felt better, now, than he had in days. But the mood was a short-lived one. He decided he could also use a shower. But he didn?t get more than two feet from the bathroom when the ring, the one that had fit snugly on his ring finger only that morning outside the office of Dr. Rothman, slipped off Will?s finger and rolled across the floor, only to disappear beneath the modestly dressed bed. Neither Will nor Randy spoke for a long moment after that. There was nothing either of them could have thought to say. But this was a moment that would remain etched into their minds forever.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=gray]To be continued....[/COLOR][COLOR=yellow]4th Part[/COLOR]

[rogsats]

It's very good story

[shrink_meister]

I love the gradual shrinkage scenario and the way you describe in such detail what he and his partner are thinking and feeling.

I hope you continue to take him down slowly as he descends to average- sized, short, and then very short. It'll be quite an adjustment for a guy who's used to being 6'6 to have to adapt to looking up to more and more men.

Can't wait for the next installment!

[rogsats]

Yes give as more