Erin got off the treadmill. Like she always did after doing exercise, she went to a mirror to look at herself. Her jaw dropped. Her stomach had a distinct bulge to it.
“What the…” she muttered. “I look like I’m pregnant.”
“That’s because you are, sweetie,” said the middle-aged woman who had spoken to her earlier. “I tried to warn you. That treadmill makes you pregnant and speeds up your pregnancy.”
“…Great.”
“Let me see what the settings were on.” The middle-aged woman looked at the treadmill. “Looks like quadruplets. Two boys and two girls.”
“What?!” Erin shrieked.
“Honey, it’s on you for not reading the fine print and just going with the hardest setting you could,” the middle-aged woman said impatiently.
“But- but I don’t want to be pregnant!”
“Sorry, but that ship has sailed.” The middle-aged woman sighed. “But if you want to adjust the number of babies, or the sexes, you can do that in the treadmill settings.”
“Awesome, I’ll do that,” Erin said.
“But you have to run on the treadmill again after adjusting the settings, and it will speed up your pregnancy,” the middle-aged woman warned. “You might wind up in labor by the time the change in settings takes effect.”
Erin chewed her lip. She didn’t want to be pregnant with quadruplets, but she also didn’t want to have no time to prepare for anything. After a moment, she came to a decision.