Polaroid (Patreon)

Note: This is a story-prompt for Absolus.

Prompt Directory

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“What a great find,” Kylie murmured as she admired the camera she had picked up at the thrift store down the street from her apartment. It was an old, vintage Polaroid, one of the ones that printed the photo shortly after it was taken, all in black and white. “Absolutely beautiful.” She snapped a picture of her twenty-gallon aquarium, before printing the photo and fanning it. She smiled down at the finished product. The photo was perfect.

Throwing a jacket around her shoulders, Kylie left. She found herself strolling around town, snapping photos. She took a picture of an elderly couple sitting hand-in-hand by a bus stop. She snapped a photograph of a teenager walking a dog, then one of graffiti on the side of a building: an image of a family with bronze skin, each member hand in hand. She went to the park and took some nature photos, and ended up spending the whole afternoon just taking candid shots all around her neighborhood. By the time she got home, she had a whole stack of printed photographs, and was wearing a smile of satisfaction. She couldn’t wait to bring these shots to her college and get some feedback from her photography professor. Kylie loved most antiques, but this Polaroid was truly special.

Before going to bed, Kylie turned the camera around and took a picture of herself. She then placed the Polaroid camera, with the final photo, on her dresser, before getting changed and going to bed.

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Kylie gasped awake.

She could hear sirens blaring outside, the red and blues of police cars flashing behind her curtains. The sounds intensified, and as she peeked out her window, she could see emergency vehicles zipping by in various directions around her neighborhood.

“What’s going on?” Kylie wondered aloud, her feeling of dread creating a knot in her stomach. She quickly turned on her television and was surprised by the news reports on almost every channel. There was an apparent surge of spontaneous pregnancy in her neighborhood. People all over the town had reported suddenly finding themselves heavily pregnant and going into labor despite not being pregnant at all the day before. There were adults, teens, people who claimed abstinence, even an elderly woman and several animals! Reportedly, even a mural had mysteriously changed to make the woman featured in it pregnant.  It sounded like complete madness!

Kylie got up and went to her dresser to pick up her cell phone, seeking more insight about the situation on the internet. When her eyes passed over her fish tank, she froze and stared.

There were fish eggs. Big piles of them littering the bottom of the tank. How was it even possible?

“Nrgghhh…” Kylie groaned when she felt a twinge in her stomach, the knot there getting worse. But it wasn’t just stress…it was something more. Kylie grimaced as she folded her arms over her abdomen, her face reddening as pressure surged there. “Oh god,” she breathed when her stomach started to grow. She could actually feel it pushing out under her arms, steadily inflating. She clutched it, grunting. One of her hands clung to her dresser for balance as her belly surged in waves, growing larger and larger, impossibly stretching and swelling, before starting to contort as she felt…movement?

“Oh god, oh god…” This couldn’t be real. It had to be some crazy dreams! “Ohhhh!” Her belly leapt, now protruding entirely free from beneath her nightshirt, flushed and huge, making her look at term with child! Her face poured sweat as she struggled to bear the pressure.

Kylie’s panicked eyes darted around before landing on her new antique. The Polaroid. She stared at it, comprehension slowly dawning on her. Everything she had taken pictures of… “Errgggghhh!” she groaned as her belly clenched.

Her belly looked wider than her flanks on her slim frame. She swore, she looked due with twins by then. It was a struggle to stay standing, her knees trembling beneath her. She felt something shift, felt her belly lowering somewhat, before an impossible tension hit her pelvis. Her abdomen clenched again.

“Nrrrggghhhh…” Sweat and tears poured down her cheeks. No longer able to support herself, Kylie lowered herself to her knees. Something was shifting, it was—it was coming! She whined out again, hugging her midsection with one arm as her free hand fumbled to grab her cellphone. She attempted to dial 911, but her newest contraction caused the phone to slip out of her hold. She made a mad grab for it, but only managed to knock it under her dresser.

Her belly was so very low, groin burning now. “Mmgghhhh…fuhhhhhh…” She moaned, pushing.

The camera was more unique than Kylie could have ever imagined.