Amy held the tiny vial up to her large eye and read the label.
"Multiple Gestation"
Amy was still young and naive. She knew that multiplying things made them bigger, and that gestation had something to do with pregnancy. In her childlike mind she thought that multiplying her gestation would make the baby grow big enough to be born. She quickly downed the contents of the vial.
Okay, Mara, she thought happily. I will see you real soon.
She lay down on the ground, waiting for the changes to take effect.
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Mary opened her eyes, confused by her surroundings. Her eyes were not fully formed, so her vision was limited. But she could see that she was confined in some kind of membranous sac. She pushed weakly on the sac, and felt a hard shell just outside the membrane.
What is going on? thought Mary. What happened to me?
She looked down at her abdomen, and saw a large mass pulsing just above it. It was a bulbous oval blob, and she could feel it nourishing and feeding her with each pulse. She held her hand close to her eye, and saw that it was still a reptilian claw.
Did we get caught or something? thought Mary dully. Where is Amy?
Mary looked around, saw that she was alone. In a an oval shell. Being feed by something that resembled yolk, and looking like a lizard.
Amy, you little weasel, thought Mary angrily. You used one of the vials to regress me to an egg.
Mary wondered if Amy was now an egg, too. She had a scary thought that Amy might still be a part of her, just not fully developed. And that as time progressed Amy's head would pop out of her neck like some alien creature. But then she remembered the resistance the girl had to authority. It was obvious that Amy wanted to be in charge, to be the adult. And that required Mary to be the child.
Mary sighed. She wasn't that worried. She just had to use the vials and fix herself after she hatched. She tried to break out of the egg, but while the shell was kind of soft, she was much too weak to break through. She looked at her arms, which seemed misshapen and not fully developed.
Just how young did you make me, Amy? thought Mary. And how long have I been in here?
Mary began to panic, overwhelmed with a feeling of claustrophobia. There was still plenty of space in the egg, but she felt confined, trapped.
Suddenly, she saw a strange liquid dripping through the pores of her egg shell and collecting between the shell and the membranous sac covering her. The liquid pooled, then began to filter through her yolk and into her body.
She didn't like the look of the liquid, and she sure didn't want it entering her. She struggled, but she could not free herself from the yolk that feed her. The yolk pulsed, pushing the strange liquid into her developing body.
The liquid spread out across her body. She felt a rush of energy, as her cells began to rapidly divide. But instead of growing, her body seemed to be dividing, splitting into two parts. Her head ached and her vision blurred, as a fissure split her head into two. Her lost eye was quickly replaced, as new tissue grew beside her head to replace what was lost. The split half of her head quickly grew its own new eye, and filled out until it reached a similar size. Mary groaned as the fissure continued down her chest, splitting her body in two. The process was incredibly painful, and the new head moaned, too. Finally, their bodies were separate, and Mary relaxed a little. She stared at her identical twin in shock.
"Now there are two of me!" said both of the twins simultaneously.
Mary stared at the creature in shock. "I am the real Mary. You are just a clone!"
Her twin stared at her angrily. "No, I am the real Mary. You split off from me!"
Mary didn't have long to argue, as the yolk sac split. A new membrane formed, dividing the two growing embryos. It was soon followed by a soft white shell, and Mary was left alone again.
I am the real Mary, aren't I? thought Mary.
She felt confused, and her head hurt. She didn't have long to ponder, as the yolk sac pulsed again, and her head began to split for a second time.
Not again, please God, not again, thought Mary, as she began to feel the pain of her dividing body.
But Mary's prayers were not answered. She continued to divide, over and over. The duplications were not always identical. Some of the copies had different colored skin, different colored eyes, or longer necks. A few did not form correctly and ended up with birth defects. Some had a single long tail like a snake instead of legs. A few did not properly divide and ended their separation with two heads. More than a few switched genders and became male. But they all shared one characteristic - they were all sure that they were the real Mary.
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Amy grumbled as her belly swelled. She thought Mara was just growing. She had no idea that she had just developed a large clutch of eggs.
"C'mon, Mara, come out, " said Amy angrily. She slapped her growing belly in frustration, trying to push the egg out.
Her body responded with an even greater hunger. Her body was ravenous, and the new multitude of eggs demanded nourishment.
Amy rolled on her belly. It sagged to the ground, making it difficult to walk.
"Okay, Mara, I'll feed you. But just one more time Then you have to come out. I can't take much more of this, " said Amy.
She looked at her massive belly. It was huge, and the egg inside had to be enormous. She fearfully wondered how she would pass it. But she remembered that all mothers could do it, and calmed down a little. For now she was more concerned with her ravenous hunger.
It was daylight, but her baby demanded to be feed now. She could not wait for the cover of darkness. She trudged towards the farms, and hoped that the ranchers had left it unguarded.