They called it “The Mother’s Plague.”

It started quietly, almost like an urban legend. Stories circulated of women who’d been given a strange pill, only to find themselves trapped in a permanent state of pregnancy, their bodies swelling with babies that would never be born. Most brushed it off as rumor, a tale told to scare young women into caution. But soon, it was everywhere—across news channels, in the daily papers, in hushed conversations in cafes, and whispered warnings among friends and family.

Within months, it was no longer just stories. Reports of "permanent pregnancies" flooded hospitals and clinics, women arriving with bellies heavy with twins, triplets, or even up to six babies, unable to go into labor no matter how far they progressed. C-sections were attempted but failed; the moment doctors removed the babies, it was as though new ones had already taken their place. It was an endless cycle, a pregnancy that never ended.

By then, it was too late to contain. Across the country, thousands of women found themselves infected after unknowingly taking the pill, sometimes from packages that mysteriously appeared at their doorsteps or even from fake prenatal vitamins sold in stores. The CDC tried to trace the origin, but it was elusive, as though the disease itself was spreading intentionally. Doctors worked around the clock to find a cure, but every effort met a dead end. The cause was like a riddle they couldn't solve—a virus, some claimed, with cells that could mimic embryonic growth and override natural hormones, creating an unbreakable pregnancy loop.

In the early stages, some women had only two babies, but as the disease progressed and mutated, the numbers grew. Three babies. Four. By the time the infection was well-established, some women carried as many as six, their bodies stretched and exhausted, filled with lives that would never see the light of day.