Random - The Parade Float Incident

In an alternate world where people can volunteer to be the floats at various parades, one unusual incident is well remembered by the people.

Normally, it's a pretty straightforward affair.  You show up at the warehouse, sign up, get your costume on, get fitted with a governor, get blown up like a big balloon, and enjoy being a big squeaky parade float for most of the day.

On that particular day, a couple had shown up quite late and things had to be rushed.  She was going to be the float and her partner was going to be her spotter.  Now, as a rule, the staff was supposed to attach the governor for safety reasons, but, because they were in a hurry, her partner, who had done the job in the past, offered to help out.

For the most part, everything was fine and everyone was having a great time.  It was when the parade was at the point, furthest from the warehouse, and any equipment, that things took a turn for the unexpected.  You see, one of the floats had started to get bigger, something that shouldn't happen.  It was the woman who arrived late.  Her governor wasn't working like it was supposed to.

The governor system is a simple device attached to a volunteer's belly button.  Its job is to maintain an inflated person's size by releasing excess pressure or topping them back up as needed.  As an example, pressure gained the sun's heat and thermal expansion, or lost from leaks or the occasional toot.  For some unknown reason though, her's had switched on and not only that, but was slowly working its way up to max speed.

Bigger and bigger she ballooned.  Onlookers watched in amazement, not sure what was happening, but enjoying the sight and cheering her on.  "You can do it!", "Woohoo, show us what you can do girl!", "She's blowing up like a balloon!", "I wish that was me.", and "Show us how big you can get!" were among the things heard from the crowd.  The blimping volunteer, on the other hand, had a blissed out look on her face.  Like someone getting a much needed full body massage after a long week at work.  Meanwhile, the staff was scrambling to the warehouse to get what they needed to deal with her out of control governor.

Inexperience with this unique problem, combined with the distance traveled, and by the time the staff returned, she had gotten so big, she filled the streets.  Her body was covering the road, pressing against nearby buildings, and partially filling alleyways.  Not only was access to her governor now blocked, no one knew exactly where it was underneath all of her.  And she was still getting bigger by the second.

Rubbery squeaks and creaks could be heard for quite the distance, but she never got anywhere near tight enough to pop.  And thankfully, because a part of her was wedged between buildings she wouldn't float away.  Still, by the time the situation was resolved she had covered several large city blocks in her shadow.  No one knew what happened, and no one had ever thought it was possible for a person to inflate that big, but strangely, everyone enjoyed the show.  Who knew such an enormous, out of control, swelling balloon woman would be such a huge hit with the crowd.  Is this a sign of a new trend to come to parades?  Does the crowd want even bigger floats?

A few days later, after she was fully deflated, when asked about her experience and if she would ever volunteer to be a parade float again, the woman responded with a passionate "Hell yeah I would.  I hope that happens again!  Heck, I want to get even bigger next time!"

To this day, no one is really sure if the governor had simply malfunctioned or if her partner had tampered with it.