The rain was getting harder. It was now precisely 11:51 PM, and Mark

was into his fifth beer. He was feeling pretty invincible but the

night was young, and he intended to get wasted before it was all over.

He had put in a rough week at work and he deserved it.

He lit another cigarette. He and his drinkin' buddies sat in their

Traditional circle, in Ian's apartment. The talk wandered from sex

to work, back to sex, to basketball, finally settling on sex. Mark

had eaten lunch at Taco Bell, and had drunk four cups of coffee between lunchtime and quitting. In addition, the beers were beginning to settle

in. And now, at 11:51 PM, Mark had to take a shit. He stood up. "Shit

break," he announced. It was customary among this group to make such an announcement.

Mark walked to the bathroom. As he locked the door behind him, thunder

boomed. It was storming out there.

He pulled his pants down and sat on the toilet. Ian's bathroom was a

mess. He counted five empty toilet paper rolls, two paperbacks, and

yesterday's newspaper. His friends laughed about something. The

lights flickered for a moment, and the pre-shit growl came from within.

He could feel the product lined up inside him for disposal. Then, he

began to push.

Plop. The first piece fell to the water. Then some movement, and Mark

felt the main feature inside him, the mother lode. He grunted softly as

he squeezed it out. It crackled past his sphincter, and splashed neatly

into the bowl.

Then another one queued up, and came out. It was almost as big as its

predecessor. Mark would have well-purged bowels tonight, he realized

with a smirk. He heard thunder again, closer this time.

Another one? Jeez, he thought. When was my last shit? It ventured

forth, Mark's muscles helping it out. It was the biggest one so far.

The shit's passage through his anus, that rarest mix of pain and

pleasure, was longer than any he could remember. Ahhhh...the stout

log advanced with conviction. This was definitely going to be his finest creation; this was a huge one. Still grinning, he wondered if Ian had

a camera.

He pushed. Peering between his legs, past his genitals, he saw that

it had reached the water. This was like seeing the longest freight

train ever. Damn, it was a wide one. And it was still attached! And

there was more! He pushed more, harder. It kept coming. He couldn't

even feel the end of this one yet; soon it was bending, folding on

itself like a sundae topping. Mark stopped pushing and caught his breath. He was sweating; he realized that however long this piece of shit was, it

wasn't nearly all the way out yet. He still couldn't feel the end.

He pushed, he strained, it kept coming. His intestines couldn't be that

Damn long, but this shit just wouldn't quit. In fact, he was feeling the diarrhoeal urgency of *having* to shit. He dutifully answered nature's

call, and pushed harder. His efforts were rewarded with more shit.

His sphincter was too strained to even pinch the loaf off. It was whole

and complete.

He couldn't feel the end.

Fear now came to Mark. He flushed the toilet to make room for more.

Even as the bowl refilled, the cramps rose up, and he pushed. Within

seconds, the shit extended from his anus to bottom of the bowl. The

harder he pushed, the more he had to shit. And it was getting worse.

He scarcely had time to catch his breath; his face was quite red as he

grunted and struggled to keep up. The shit seemed endless. He looked

between his legs again, and gasped as he saw that the bowl was fully a

quarter filled with his product, the water dangerously high. The tank

wasn't even done filling, but he flushed again. Unfortunately, the

plumbing was unable to handle the volume of feces, and the toilet backed

up. Mark jumped when the cold water touched his buttocks.

It was now 11:57. Thunder roared outside as water and shit particles

Flowed onto the tile.

Mark's pants were bunched about his ankles, and he was in pain. The

Shit advanced relentlessly as he stumbled into the bathtub. He was

almost panicking now, and didn't notice the trail of solid feces he

had left. Gripping the tub for support, he squatted and kept pushing.

The conversation in the front room had stopped. Eddie smelled it first,

And blamed a fart on Ian, but this was no fart. This was pure and

concentrated; this was the smell that only the freshest shit can make.

The four looked at each other, puzzled. Then they heard Mark's groaning

from the bathroom.

"Mark, are you beating off again?" Doug asked. No answer.

The smell was worse. Brian sniffed deeply and gagged. "Jesus H. ...".

Ian grimaced. "Goddamn...". They all went for the bathroom door at the

same time. Ian jiggled the locked doorknob. Brian pounded on the door.

"Dude, what the FUCK did you eat today?" No answer. Mark groaned.

"You all right in there,

Mark?"

They looked at each other again. Eddie sniffed and winced. There was

no answer from inside. Brian knocked again. "Hey man, you OK?" No

answer. A short scream came from within the bathroom.

Brian kicked the door open. Nobody spoke.

The odor was intense, feces was piled on the floor and in the bathtub.

Mark was squatting next to the wall, his face impossibly red, his eyes

helpless and terrified. Firm stool thrust forward from his anus like meat

from a grinder. It landed in his pants bunched about his ankles, spilling

over and piling up. He gritted his teeth and strained; all he could do

was keep pushing. There was a sound like a ripping sheet and Mark's colon

came loose from his now shapeless sphincter, oozing to the floor. His

friends watched as the slimy organ descended, with shit still flowing

from it. Mark screamed again, and somebody's watch beeped.

Brian got the worst of it, since he was closest to the door. He would

Later tell the police that he thought he had seen Mark's abdomen expand

for an instant before it happened. None of the others had reported this. But they had all described the sound as a "dull thud", they had all been

splattered with innards and feces as Mark's torso separated from the

rest of his body.

"Massive gastrointestinal rupture/trauma secondary to indeterminate

blockage" was noted in the medical examiner's report. An "unusually

large amount of fecal matter" is also recorded, though the amount was

not measured.

The funeral was closed-casket. Brian and Eddie seem to have recovered

Pretty well, though they never talk about Mark. Doug moved away, and

nobody has heard from him lately. Sometimes, when he has to shit, Ian

waits until the rain stops.