A white limousine drove around the circular driveway and up to the front door. Four young women filed out and were greeted by the awaiting staff. The front man, a well-dressed older gentleman gestured without a word for the women to enter the manor.

The women walked close together for security. Though they were all strangers to each other, the eerie formality of their unseen host was enough to force them to become a singular, cautious entity with eight eyes and ears.

The house was magnificent. High ceilings and grandiose artwork gave an air of royalty. The speechless ladies took it in as they made their way across the marble floor, heel-steps echoing off the walls for small eternities.

They found themselves led to a modern-looking waiting room. The glass table in the center was ornamented with the latest editions of popular women's magazines, like Redbook, Vogue, and Cosmo. A vending machine was available dispensing only bottled water, but at least they were free, so the little sign said. Next to the machine was a single restroom clearly labeled "Ladies".

The staff who had accompanied them quietly retreated and closed the door behind them. The door clicked noticeably.

"Hey!" Nikki said. She rushed to the door and tried it: locked. Her apprehension became anger and she pounded on the metal. "Mother fuckers! You'd better unlock the god damn door!"

Melody went to the door and tried it. She wasn't scared like Nikki was. Curiosity was her thing, sprinkled with excitement. "Chill out, Nik," she said. She blew a bubble and popped it. Crack! "Let's sit back and see what happens. I don't think we're here to get killed or anything. Relax."

"Yeah, don't freak out," Susan said. "Let's be patient. I'm curious to see what our host has in mind."

Allison sat down on the big, comfortable leather couch and propped her feet up. "What do you think that is?"

Susan shrugged. "Hell if I know. Probably wants us to model freaky lingerer, do cheers with pompoms. Who knows?"

Melody got a bottle of water from the machine and sat down. "I could do that. Even if he doesn't pay up the other half, we still got two grand out of our day."

"What if it's something sexual? Would you do that, too?" Nikki said.

"Maybe. Four thousand bucks for a fuck," Melody snickered. "Why not?"

"I wouldn't be here if I thought this would involve something sexual," quickly said Susan. "They said it wouldn't be anything like that."

"As long as we stay together, we'll be alright," Allison said.

Before anyone could say another word, the door opened. The well-dressed man who had just left came in with a sheet of paper in his hand. He looked at it and read the name formally. "Melody Hardison. Please come with me."

Melody popped up, ready to go but Nikki grabbed her arm. "Wait a minute! You can't split us up!"

"Don't worry about it," Melody said. "I'll tell you what's going on when I get back." She looked at the man and winked. "Lead on, Jeeves."

"You don't have to lock the door this time," Nikki said. The man stopped only long enough to lock the door behind them as they left. Melody kept up with his fast pace as they went into another part of the mansion. He led her to a door and gestured for her to enter.

"What is going on here, Jeeves?" she said smacking her gum. The man didn't reply but she was bored with him anyway. He was too stiff for her tastes. "OK, see you on the other side."

The room was a study. A fine leather chair was positioned in from of a big screen television. A football game was on and the man in the chair was watching it as if she were not there. Another vending machine against the wall, this one adorned with a Coke-a-Cola logo.

She took her time to look at everything-the shelves of books, the antique furniture, and the oriental rugs-everything, but she didn't see anything unusual. The place was nice, if conservative. She wondered what it was like to be so rich.

"Hel-lo?" She slowly approached the man with his back to her, but he didn't respond.

She allowed some distance from him as she walked around to get a look. He was a young man, mid-30's, clean cut and proper-looking. When she entered his peripheral vision, he finally looked at her.

"Hello Melody," he said. He smiled and reached to shake her hand. "Please, have a seat."

"Thanks." Despite her cool attitude, she was relieved. He was attractive and well-groomed, not to mention wealthy. If he as a pervert, she thought she could handle it. "Wow, am I glad you're good looking. I was getting worried there."

He looked at her with surprise. He didn't know what she meant by that and her candor seemed to make him uncomfortable. She realized how she must have sounded and felt embarrassed for being so unsophisticated.

Melody's true, insecure nature was shaken by her own faux pas. This guy was probably used to people of a higher caliber than she was.

"I just mean I'm glad you're not a creep-are you?" she finally managed.

The man ignored her apology. "Please, try to relax. Get a soft drink, if you like."

She followed his recommendation and went to the machine. None of the big buttons were labeled so she just pressed one on the top row. She could hear the machine processing her order, then the drink tumbled down the chute and slammed into the receptacle tray. It was a can of Coke. She got her drink and sat on a separate loveseat in front of the television. He watched the game and she watched him, tried to figure him out. He was preoccupied with more than the ritualistic violence on the flickering screen, but he seemed harmless enough. She popped open the can and took a drink.

"You like football, huh? Who's your favorite team?"

She hadn't noticed the remote in his hand, but he used it to turn down the volume until it was muted. He shifted in his chair to face her, giving her the attention she required. He looked her over and made no attempt to hide that fact.

She was a brunette. Her medium-length hair was not formally styled; it was pulled back into a stubby ponytail with a simple elastic cruller.

Her make-up was just as simple, only a bit of eyeliner and a tinge of color on her lips. Her lips were full and supple. She was beautiful, but so were they all. That alone was the common factor among the women waiting in the other room.

"What do you do?" she asked the man. She sipped her drink taking extra care not to slurp.

"Whatever I want," was his answer.

"I'll bet. It must be nice." She felt it coming and tucked her chin in an effort to hide it. It was hard to pretend it hadn't come when it did because the CO2 rising from her stomach burned her nose. "Excuse me."

"Just let it go," he said.

She hesitated for a second before taking another, bigger gulp of fresh soda. After only a few seconds, a more forceful burp escaped through her slightly parted lips. She thought it was rude and almost said something, but somehow, she didn't think that was necessary. She didn't quite know what to do so she only giggled. "Is that better?"

He was giving her his undivided attention. Only the slightest trace of a smile could be seen on his face as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"Better, yes, but I know you can do better still."

"Sure," she said. She turned the drink up and swallowed mouthful after mouthful of frothy soda until the can was nearly empty. She put the can down on the coffee table and sat up straight. Her eyes were watering from the illustrious feat she had just accomplished.

The foamy liquid took longer to get to her stomach than did the little sips before. Nearly a minute had passed before the carbon dioxide had formed a sufficiently large bubble and was ready to be expelled. Her belly rumbled, then the gas exploded from her wide-open mouth in a roaring belch that lasted several seconds.

Melody sat back and patted her chest. She had surprised even herself. "Wow! That was a big one," she said. She would have giggled again but she had to allow time to recover from the gigantic burp.

"I knew you could do it," he said. "Didn't it feel good?"

"Hell yeah it did! I didn't think I had it in me, no pun intended."

"Of course."

Finally, she caught her breath and laughed at herself. She couldn't believe how willing she was to do something to absurd. She was beginning to feel strangely relaxed and open. The total abandonment of normal social protocols in the presence of a complete stranger was somehow liberating.

She picked up the can and shook it, indicating that it was nearly empty. She had to stop herself from giggling. "Looks like I'm out of gas. Maybe I should. wait a minute. Here comes another one." She strained a little and produced small, bubbly-sounding burp. "There. Now I'm out."

Her smile faded slowly, like the diminishing ring of a chimed bell. The man's expression hadn't changed much. He looked slightly amused, but only slightly.

"I'm sorry. That's disgusting, isn't it?"

"It's perfect," he told her. "You're very good at it."

"Thanks, I guess. It's not like I practice a lot, or anything."

"Of course not. You're a lady."

"I try to be." She contradicted herself by sticking her spent chewing gum on the rim of the soda can. "I'm not a bad girl. I was when I was younger, but I've matured since then.

"I like to be adventurous. I like to do different things. I guess that's why I'm here, out of curiosity. And, well, the money helps, too. By the way, what am I supposed to be doing here? How do I get the other half of the money I was promised?"

"You've earned what you already have. You will receive the rest if you agree to my terms."

She got a little concerned about how that sounded. It wasn't his tone, rather the words themselves. "That sounds kinda scary. What's that mean?"

The man reached into the side pocket of his chair and withdrew a sheet of paper. He handed it to her and gave her time to read it. She started shaking her head as she read, as much from disbelief as from apprehension.

"Is this for real? You really want me to do this?"

He answered only with a slight nod.

"This is crazy. I don't know if I can." She thought about it for a while. The money was good and if this was all she had to do, it was probably worth it. Before she could change her mind she decided to go along with it, even as crazy as it was. "Sure, what the hell."

"You must adhere to the rules," he said firmly.

"OK, I will."

The door opened and Allison came in. She looked as disoriented as Melody had a short time before when she first joined the stranger. She saw Melody sitting on the couch and approached with relief.

"Thank god you're here, Melody. What's going on."

Melody put the paper face-down on the table and went to the vending machine. She got another Coke and opened it. Standing beside Allison, she downed the entire contents of the can.

"What are you doing?" Allison said.

Melody didn't answer as she lowered her head to force the soda all the way down. She put her hands on Allison's shoulders and moved toward her as if she meant to kiss her. Allison recoiled but Melody was forceful. Melody pressed her lips to Allison's and forced the huge burp down Allison's throat before she could stop it. Some of it came out through Allison's nose or through the imperfect seal of their lips, but most of it went down.

Allison jerked away with a string of saliva connecting her lower lip to Melody's. She wiped her mouth and started to speak, but she suddenly looked sick. Her body convulsed as if she was going to vomit but a loud, forced burp of twice-recycled CO2 came out instead. Melody covered her own mouth in disbelief that she had actually done it.

"What the hell," Allison said trying not to get sick, "did you do that for?"

Melody was too stunned at herself to speak for a minute. Like before, she had to recover from the effort and keep the suds in check. She blinked and let out the last of the air through clenched teeth. She looked at the man in the chair and he nodded in approval.

"I can speak now? I'm sorry, sweetie. I get paid the rest now, right?" she asked the man.

"Of course."

"That was the most disgusting thing that's ever happened to me," Allison said. "How could you do something like that?"

"I'm sorry, honey." Melody straightened a few loose strands of Allison's hair and put a hand on her cheek. "I'll make it up to you."

Allison addressed the man in the chair. "You're sick. Is this how you get your kicks? Do you think you can buy anything with money? Make people do anything you want?"

He nodded and handed her a sheet of paper similar to the one he'd given Melody. Allison snatched it from him.

"What's this?" She read on without waiting for an explanation. After a few seconds, she cringed, then she seemed to get excited. At the bottom of the paper was a figure with six digits. Dollar signs flashed in her eyes. "Oh, god! Are you kidding?"

"What is it?" Melody tried to look at the paper but Allison jerked it away.

"No!" the man said raising his voice slightly. That was the first time he had shown any kind of disapproval. He clearly didn't want Melody

to know what was on the paper. "You must adhere to the rules."

"OK, fine. I got my four grand. You do whatever you have to for yours, and I'll buy you a drink later to make up for burping in your mouth."

"I'll offer you an additional six-thousand dollars to stay for a while, for a total of ten-thousand dollars."

"But-" Allison started speaking but Melody cut her off.

"Hell yeah, I'll stay! For ten grand, you can count me in!"

"Good," the man said. He produced a capsule and gave it to Allison. "This will help. It's all natural."

"You're giving out drugs?"

"It's more like a vitamin tablet. It's harmless," the man said.

Allison got her own Coke and took the pill. After the pill was down, she guzzled most of the soda. She leaned close to Melody to tell her a secret. Melody was anxious to hear what she had to say, but all she heard was a sudsy burp in her ear. Allison laughed at her.

"Well, I guess I deserved that," Melody said.

"Have a seat, won't you?"

They sat next to each other across from the man in the chair. He turned up the volume on the television and resumed watching the game as he was doing before his guests arrived. They all watched for a while before the servant brought the women a pitcher of beer and snacks. The man hardly looked away from the screen as they drank and munched junk food.

Pretty soon, they were both feeling the alcohol and giggling at inaudible whispers to each other like school girls. Without further encouragement from the quiet, offbeat man, they engaged in a contest to see which one could burp the loudest. Allison showed remarkable talent, but she couldn't out do Melody. Melody had learned to swallow extra air before belting out the loudest, longest and chunkiest belches anyone had ever heard.

The football game was nearing its end and the man looked as alert yet, as detached as ever. Despite their strange meeting in the limo several hours before and the bizarre deed Melody had done to Allison, they were sitting close to each other and acting like life-long friends.

Allison's gut began to rumble and she knew it was almost time for her to perform her task. She had almost forgotten about the pill she took, but the feeling reminded her in a matter of seconds. She suddenly had second thoughts about the whole affair and she wondered why she had even stayed. She wasn't sure if the money was worth it, especially since she and Melody had become friends.

She began to double over from a cramp and started to get worried. After all, she didn't know what that pill really was or what it could do. The growing bloat in her belly started to get very uncomfortable.

"Hey, whatever your name is, it's starting to hurt. Is that supposed to happen?"

"What are you talking about?" Melody said.

The man turned down the television and looked at the women. He could see that Allison was in pain but he remained casual. "I assure you, you will be alright. When it begins, you'll feel better."

"When what begins?" Melody insisted. Her answer came immediately and most unexpectedly.

Allison leaned away from her and let out what must have been half a liter of intestinal gas. The fart sounded like a kind of trumpet, the flatulent note sustaining for more than five seconds. It ended with a slightly wet closure. "Oh, god that felt good!" she said.

"Oh my god, that's awful!" Melody said, waving her hand in front of her face. "What the hell have you been eating?"

Allison smiled from the relief; she couldn't help it. She didn't care what anybody thought because she felt like she would have exploded if it didn't get out. For a few seconds, she felt remarkably empty, but the feeling of pressure began to return surprisingly fast.

"Now it's time for you to earn the grand prize, Melody," the man said. The servant entered as if on cue and approached Melody. She was still shocked at Allison's horrible fart, but she took the snorkel when it was handed to her.

"What's this for?"

She received no answer as the servant eased a blindfold over her eyes. She thought about the money and practiced restraint over the situation. By then, she knew the man in the chair was odd, to say the least, but she focused on the money she would get when it was over. Ten-thousand dollars.

The servant guided the snorkel to Melody's mouth and she bit down on the mouthpiece. He then slipped a small, plastic nose clip over her nose. He left the room without a word.

The man in the chair nodded to Allison and she got up. She hesitated for a second, but she didn't have much time if she was to complete her bizarre task. She unbuttoned her shorts and let them slide to the floor, her panties followed. She wasn't terribly shy because the pressure in her gut was becoming unbearable again.

"Ooo," Melody said around the mouthpiece, "I heard a zipper."

Allison climbed onto the back of the couch. She assumed an awkward position, but one that allowed the end of the snorkel to be easily inserted into her rectum. By then, Allison didn't care if it worked like it was supposed to, she just wanted to feel that wonderful relief again.

She held the snorkel slightly inside her anus and relaxed her anal muscles. The hot, rotten gas exploded through the tube and into Melody's mouth. Melody's cheeks puffed out and in an involuntary action, the huge volume of gas went into her stomach.

Melody jumped up and threw the snorkel down. She tore off the blindfold and tried to catch her breath. She could taste the gas in her mouth; it tasted like shit. It was hot going down. It had tried to force its way out her nose. She thought she had inhaled hot air from a hair drier or something.

Allison fell over onto the couch trying to hold the small amount of shit that had managed it's way out. She scooped her hand around it and held it, not sure of what to do with it. Even as she watched Melody turn green, she felt the pressure building again.

"God damn it," Melody said. "How could you." She put her hand over her mouth as her mind processed what had just happened. The odor seemed to have been burned into her nose and mouth. Even her lungs were stained with the foulness and she tasted it with every breath. "Oh, god."

She heaved but only the horrible gas formally in Allison's colon erupted in a chunky belch. She heaved again, but there was no more gas. She tried to cover her mouth but beer-laden vomit spewed around her hands despite the effort.

Allison tried to get away from the deluge, but she could hardly move. With her shorts and panties off, she could see that her lower abdomen was bulging considerably. The pressure was again at full intensity. Suddenly, a gigantic fart that sprayed diarrhea exploded from her ass. It made a puddle of brown next to the puddles of vomit Melody was still producing.

The man in the chair finally looked fully amused. "Now, that's entertainment!"

--end