Enull Arts

Lailani adjusted one of the tripods for the third time in ten minutes. Her fingertips were trembling, not entirely from pain. A shallow film of sweat slicked her pale forehead as she leaned into the small bathroom mirror, studying her reflection under the harsh glow of LED lights. Her brown hair was pinned back in a messy knot. Wisps clung to her cheeks, damp with perspiration.

“Okay, okay… we’re good. We’re golden. This is it.”

Her voice echoed off peeling paint and plaster, thin and slightly shrill. She dropped her eyes to her phone’s screen. It was propped up on a tiny shelf, angled perfectly. The countdown to her scheduled Instagram live ticked in bright numerals: 00:02:13. She let out a sharp laugh.

“Two minutes. Two minutes till history.”

She spoke as though to an invisible audience, even though the camera wasn’t rolling yet. Habit. Or compulsion. Since she was ten years old, Lailani had lived in front of a lens. From viral dance videos filmed in her parents’ living room, to makeup tutorials, prank videos, conspiracy theories, and “relatable” rants about her haters—she’d chased the red dot of the record button like a moth to flame.

But nothing, nothing compared to this.

She turned, pausing as another contraction wrapped around her abdomen like an iron vise. She sucked in air, lips peeling back from her teeth in a silent snarl.

“Oh God. Oh—fuck—”

She staggered toward a small padded stool by her main streaming setup. She grabbed the edge of the table, white-knuckled, until the pain ebbed. Her breaths shuddered out of her chest.

“Worth it. Worth it. We’re making history.”

A fleeting look of wonder crossed her features. She pushed a piece of hair back and glanced at herself in the small monitor screen. Her brown eyes glittered with the manic sheen of adrenaline.

00:00:47

Her phone buzzed with messages. A preview popped up:

AmberLynnInfluencer: OMG are u really doing it live????

User_444911: You’re insane. Don’t do this.

FitMom_Becca: Sending prayers and love queen! This is your moment!

Lailani rolled her eyes. “Sending prayers and love. Please. You just want to see if my vagina rips in half.”

She snorted. Another contraction hit, this one sharper, stealing her words. She gasped, bending at the waist. A trickle of liquid wet her inner thighs.

“Oh… shit.”

Her voice came out a squeak. She stared down, eyes wide, as fluid pooled beneath her feet. Then she started to laugh—a high, slightly unhinged sound.

“Well. That’s my water. I was hoping it would wait for the countdown but whatever. Good content.”

She checked the screen again.

00:00:06

00:00:05

00:00:04

“Here we go,” she whispered.

***

The red LIVE icon blinked to life.

“Hi guys!” she sang, voice almost normal, though her face was pale and shiny with sweat. “Welcome to my channel. Or… welcome to my LIFE.”

She let out a nervous giggle. Comments exploded across the screen in a vertical blur.

Tasha_xx: omg girl what are you DOING

JohnBoi22: This is f’d up

MommyToBe2025: you got this babe!!! So strong!

Lailani took a shaky breath, eyes scanning the screen, feeding off the attention even while she winced with each wave of pain.

“Okay, so… for those of you who are new here, hi, my name’s Lailani. I’m 20, I live in St. Louis, Missouri, and I am—” she panted, one hand bracing her belly “—currently about thirty-five weeks pregnant. Surprise! Bet you didn’t see that coming.”

Another contraction stole her breath. She pressed a hand to her mouth, eyes squinched shut, riding it out as gasps hissed through clenched teeth. When it eased, she looked back at the camera, hair half loose around her face.

“Anyway… I know some people are gonna say this is messed up. That I shouldn’t do this. That it’s, like… personal or sacred or whatever.” She rolled her eyes theatrically. “But I’ve been thinking about this for, like, months. And I want to share it with you guys. The REAL stuff. The raw, unfiltered stuff.”

Her voice dropped, trembling.

“This is gonna make me go viral.”

***

She tried to straighten up, pacing between the bed and the streaming setup, one hand on her lower back. The apartment felt like it was shrinking around her. She could see the clutter: stacks of unopened baby products, a ring light tilted sideways, a pile of colorful swaddles still in plastic. A faint smell of old coffee and cheap candles hung in the air.

Another surge of pain rolled through her body. She staggered, grabbing at the tripod.

“Oh—oh fuck—oh, fuck that one’s worse…”

Her cries bled into sharp breaths. The chat raced by.

User_99991: You should be in a hospital wtf

ItsMeeeLauren: GIRL this is iconic

Peter_92: This is so sad

“Hospital? No. No.” Her eyes flicked up, defiant. “I don’t want some doctor telling me to shut off my phone. I don’t want to miss this. I’m gonna show EVERY second. The world deserves to see how strong I am.”

She dropped heavily onto the bed, legs spread, panting. A tear leaked from the corner of one eye. She wiped it away furiously.

“I’ve worked so hard for this. I’ve given up so much. My parents—they stopped talking to me. They said I was… crazy. Addicted. That I needed help.” She sniffed, voice wobbling. “But they don’t get it. They don’t get that this is how the world works now. You’re either online or you don’t exist.”

Another contraction. Longer. Deeper. She bit her lower lip until it bled, a dark smear on her chin. Her voice dropped to a whisper.

“I even… I even made sure I got pregnant for this.”

The chat went ballistic. Messages flashed by too fast to read. Lailani’s eyes darted across the screen. She let out a shaky laugh.

“Yeah. Animesh didn’t wanna… but I convinced him. Told him it’d make us closer. And look—” she gestured toward her belly “—now we’re closer than ever. I mean… he left. But… whatever.”

She laughed again, brittle. Another tear slipped free.

***

Time blurred as contractions came faster. She tried to keep talking, but her words came in fragments, half sobs, half performance.

“Everyone always says… don’t share too much online… privacy… boundaries… but that’s all bullshit. This is the future. People WANT to see everything.”

She doubled over, groaning. Her hair fell over her face. A gurgling sound slipped from her throat as the pain crested. When she looked up, her eyes were bloodshot. She inhaled raggedly.

“God… it hurts so bad…”

She reached for the phone again, voice shaking.

“But… this is gonna be my biggest video yet. I’m gonna trend worldwide. I’m gonna get… everything I ever wanted…”

She slumped sideways on the bed, the phone trembling in her grip. The camera caught her profile, streaked with tears and sweat. A single bright drop of blood ran down the inside of her thigh, mixing with amniotic fluid.

A notification pinged:

Instagram: 14,298 viewers

She blinked at the number. A wild smile stretched across her face, even as she sobbed.

“See? SEE?! Fourteen thousand people. Watching me. Right now. No one can say I don’t matter. No one…”

She tried to laugh but dissolved into sobs. Another contraction ripped through her, doubling her over. She screamed, sharp and raw, the sound echoing off the walls.

***

The chapter closes with Lailani trembling on the bed, gasping between contractions, one hand still gripping her phone. The camera remains fixed on her tear-streaked, contorted face as the chat explodes in a hurricane of emojis, words of horror, cheers, and pleas for her to stop.

The final line of the chapter:

“This is it… this is what I was born for…”

And as she screams again, the camera continues rolling.

***

Chapter 2 – Breaking Point

***

The red glow of the LIVE indicator blinked rhythmically, casting faint pulses of light across the room like a heartbeat.

Lailani couldn’t tell how much time had passed since she’d gone live. The edges of her vision had gone soft and gray, tunneling in and out of focus. Her whole body quivered with aftershocks of pain, like electric currents snapping beneath her skin.

Her phone screen, perched beside the bed, was still flooded with comments. She could see fragments of words between the fog and the bright white glow:

OMG this is too much

Call 911!

U got this queen!!!

Turn off the camera for god’s sake

***

Lailani tried to answer, but the words caught behind her teeth. Another contraction surged upward, sharp and overwhelming. She let out a strangled scream and arched back, fingers clawing at the bedsheets. The camera tilted slightly, capturing her profile as she writhed on the mattress.

She squeezed her eyes shut and gasped out a hoarse, almost animal sound.

“Oh… fuuuuuuck…”

The sound dissolved into a whimper as the contraction eased. She lay there panting, strands of damp brown hair stuck to her cheeks and neck.

***

She forced herself upright, moving like a puppet with tangled strings. Sweat dripped off her nose, splattering onto her chest. The neon-pink sports bra she wore was soaked through, darkened with patches of fluid. With trembling hands, she reached for the hem of the bra and peeled it upward, baring her swollen breasts. She tossed the bra aside onto a pile of unopened baby wipes.

“Gotta… gotta get comfortable,” she slurred, trying to address the camera.

She pushed down her maternity leggings. They stuck to her thighs, damp with sweat and amniotic fluid. She wriggled and fought the fabric off her hips, finally yanking it free. The garment fell to the floor in a wet heap. Now completely naked, Lailani dropped to her knees on the mattress, legs wide apart. Her belly hung heavy and taut, streaked with red stretch marks.

The camera captured every detail.

***

Her eyes rolled back as another contraction tore through her. She screamed again, loud enough to rattle the objects on the side table.

The chat exploded:

omg no no no this is too real

SOMEONE HELP HER

queen u are a warrior

why am I watching this

***

Lailani tried to speak, but no words came. Only choking gasps and guttural groans. She rocked forward and back on her hands and knees, hips swaying unconsciously as she tried to ease the pressure building low in her pelvis.

A warm gush spilled between her thighs, running down her legs onto the sheets. She glanced down and saw traces of pinkish fluid pooling around her knees. Her breath hitched in a sob.

***

Images flashed in her mind, blurring into one another:

The night she told Animesh she wanted a baby “because it would make us go viral together.”

Animesh’s face, stricken and pale, stuttering that he wasn’t ready.

The night she lied and told him she’d forgotten her birth control.

The look on her parents’ faces the day she announced the pregnancy on TikTok instead of telling them first.

Her mother screaming over the phone, begging her to come home.

Her father hanging up without saying goodbye.

***

Another contraction built in her belly like a monstrous wave. She opened her mouth and a strangled wail poured out. She clawed at the mattress, leaving crescent-shaped dents in the fabric.

She collapsed sideways, pressing her knees together, trying to hold back the baby bearing down inside her. She curled around her belly, sobbing.

“Ah—ah—ah—ahhhhhh!”

It was all sound now. No language. No performance. Just pain.

***

The room felt smaller and smaller, like the walls were pressing in on her ribs. The bright ring light glared off her sweat-slicked skin, turning her pale flesh into a patchwork of gold and shadow.

The comments kept flying past on the screen. Lailani could no longer read them, but the sound of notification dings kept coming, a relentless digital heartbeat.

***

In a brief moment of lucidity, she tried to adjust the camera. Her fingers slipped on the touchscreen, leaving smears of blood and amniotic fluid. The image wobbled violently before settling back into place.

She fell onto her back, legs bent and splayed. Her breath came in ragged pants. Her belly heaved as another contraction coiled inside her like a tightening spring.

She screamed again, voice shattering the silence.

***

Suddenly, her face twisted. Her eyes flared wide, a look of pure panic crossing her features. She grunted and panted, hips lifting off the bed.

The feeling changed. Pressure, unbearable pressure, pulsing low and deep. A sensation like her bones were splitting apart.

***

She forced out words, barely audible:

“…pushing… can’t… not yet…”

Her voice broke off into an agonized moan.

***

Tears streamed down her cheeks. She blinked hard, trying to focus on the camera. For a moment, she stared straight into the lens, pupils huge and glassy.

Her lips moved soundlessly.

***

Another surge of agony ripped through her. Lailani threw her head back and bellowed—a wild, primal sound. Her back arched off the bed. She flailed, grabbing the edge of the mattress, fingernails digging deep.

She couldn’t speak anymore. The pain stole every scrap of language from her mouth. Only screams, grunts, and sharp gasping breaths remained.

***

Flashes of memory battered her between contractions:

The ten-year-old girl dancing in front of a webcam in her parents’ basement, hoping to go viral.

Her teenage self screaming at strangers online who dared criticize her views.

Her mother sobbing, whispering: “This internet thing is eating you alive.”

The day Animesh left with a single duffel bag, saying, “I can’t do this anymore.”

***

She tried to push those memories away. Tried to stay in the moment. But the pain kept dragging her back into the past.

***

A wave of sweat washed over her. She gagged and coughed, retching toward the side of the bed. A thin ribbon of bile dripped onto the sheets. She wiped her mouth, her hand shaking violently.

The phone buzzed again. She could barely lift her eyes to look.

19,004 viewers

Lailani sobbed when she saw the number. A choked, wet laugh tore out of her chest.

***

Suddenly, her expression changed. Her hand shot between her legs, pressing hard against her vulva.

“Nnnnnnnghhh—”

Her entire body tensed. The muscles in her thighs quivered as she tried to keep from pushing.

She curled forward, hair hanging over her face like a curtain. Her breath came in shallow, trembling gasps. Tiny whimpers bubbled in her throat.

***

Still naked, still shaking, she tried to form words for her audience.

But the only sounds that came out were hoarse screams and low, guttural growls. Her eyes squeezed shut against the relentless pressure. Her chest heaved as she panted for air.

***

A bright spotlight fell across her contorted face. The ring light hummed faintly, filling the room with a sterile buzz. She writhed in its glow like an animal caught in headlights.

***

Time became elastic, stretching and folding over itself. Lailani moaned and sobbed, unable to speak, unable to think beyond the pain.

The contractions blurred together, each one sharper than the last. Her body felt split open, raw and trembling.

***

The viewers kept climbing:

22,886 viewers

She glimpsed the number through tear-filled eyes. A tiny, shattered smile cracked her lips for an instant before another contraction smashed through her.

***

She could feel it: the baby shifting downward. Bones pressing on bones. Her pelvis felt like it would break apart.

But she wasn’t fully dilated. She knew she couldn’t push yet, but her body was betraying her.

***

A strangled, animal grunt escaped her throat as she squeezed her thighs together, trying to fight the urge to bear down.

Drool spilled from her mouth. She choked on a sob.

***

She reached toward the phone one last time, fingers slippery with sweat and fluids. Her hand hovered over the touchscreen, as if she might finally shut it off.

But she couldn’t.

She couldn’t stop.

***

With a hoarse cry, she collapsed onto her side, curled around her belly. Her face was streaked with tears and snot, hair plastered to her skin.

The chapter ends with Lailani quivering on the bed, the glow of the camera illuminating her bare, trembling body as guttural sounds tear from her throat. The chat scrolls faster than ever, a river of shock, disgust, pity, and morbid fascination.

The final line of the chapter:

“She couldn’t speak. She couldn’t stop. And the whole world was still watching.”

***

Chapter 3 – Going Offline

***

The camera remained fixed—unwavering and silent—as the room blurred into a tableau of flesh, pain, and light.

Lailani lay on her side, her naked body curled around her belly like a wounded animal. The bed sheets beneath her were soaked through, dark with sweat, fluid, and thin streaks of blood. Her legs trembled violently. Her mouth hung open, lips cracked and dry, drooling and gasping between each wracking wave of pain.

She had stopped crying an hour ago. The tears had run dry.

Only groans now. Deep, broken, instinctive.

She no longer noticed the thousands of people watching. She didn’t care that her face, contorted in agony, was plastered across screens around the world. The carefully constructed fantasy she had built—of virality, of curated suffering, of control—had long since collapsed beneath the sheer, unrelenting pressure of labor.

***

She had screamed for six hours.

Her throat was raw. Her voice gone. Her body burning.

And now, finally, the moment had arrived. Not a metaphor. Not a stunt. Not a viral caption. The real, irreversible moment—when she could no longer resist what her body was doing.

The pressure low in her pelvis had become unbearable, like a steel weight being driven through her bones. She grunted, voice hoarse, and pushed instinctively, her hips lifting off the bed, legs spread wide.

A flood of warm fluid poured from her. Then she felt it—stretching, tearing, splitting. The ring of fire.

She screamed, a sound like metal scraping metal.

***

The chat feed blurred past again:

oh god it’s happening

I can’t believe she’s doing this

call someone she’s alone!!

i’m crying this is too much

she’s a f---ing legend

this isn’t okay

***

Lailani wasn’t aware of any of it. Her mind was blank, a white-hot void of pain and primal determination.

She pushed again, a growl rumbling deep in her chest.

A hand slipped between her thighs—her own, trembling and unsure—and felt it. The top of her baby’s head.

Her eyes flew open in shock.

She gasped: a half-sob, half-laugh.

“There you are…” she whispered.

It was the first thing she’d said aloud in over an hour.

***

The next contraction hit with the force of a tidal wave. She bore down, roaring, her fingers gripping the bed sheet so tightly her knuckles turned white. The pressure mounted. Her whole body shook. Her hips shifted.

With another guttural scream, she pushed again.

The baby’s head slipped lower, crowning.

She felt it. Raw, stretching pain. Her vision went black at the edges.

But she didn’t stop.

***

A strangled sob escaped her. “Come on… come on…”

Another surge. Another scream.

Then—release.

The baby’s head slipped free, slick and warm between her legs.

“Oh—God—oh my God—”

She was sobbing now, tears finally returning, coursing down her face as she reached down with trembling hands.

Another push, weaker now, and the baby’s shoulders slipped through. Then the rest of him.

***

A wet, heavy sound.

And then—for one suspended breath—silence.

***

Then: a cry.

High-pitched, desperate, alive.

***

Lailani gasped, a sound that was half relief, half devastation. She collapsed backward, utterly spent, legs sprawled, arms reaching. She fumbled to lift the slick, wriggling infant onto her chest.

He was covered in fluid and vernix, tiny limbs flailing, his cries piercing the air like bells.

Lailani held him close, rocking slightly, her tears soaking his soft scalp.

“You’re here,” she whispered. “You’re real…”

She blinked rapidly, trying to focus through the haze. “You’re… perfect. My baby. My boy.”

***

The camera continued rolling, fixed in place, capturing the moment in grainy, unflinching detail.

OMG he’s beautiful

I’m sobbing

someone please help her

this is insane

call the cops this is child abuse

she did it. she really did it.

***

Minutes passed in silence. Lailani cradled her son against her chest, rocking gently, murmuring soft, incomprehensible words. Her body trembled uncontrollably. Her breath came in broken exhales.

The pain wasn’t gone.

Another wave hit her—lower, deeper this time. She moaned, exhausted, and instinctively pushed once more.

With a wet sound, the placenta slipped free.

She barely noticed. Her focus was entirely on the tiny weight rising and falling on her chest.

***

The baby’s cries softened. He nuzzled against her, rooting with his mouth.

Lailani sniffled, guiding him to her breast with unsteady fingers. Her nipple brushed his lips. He latched, fumbling and weak, but enough.

A new flood of tears welled up in her eyes.

She looked down at him—this warm, living being—and a sharp, aching guilt exploded in her chest.

***

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

The words escaped like vapor. Then again, louder: “I’m so sorry…”

She stroked his damp hair with trembling fingers. Her voice cracked, tears streaming freely now.

“I didn’t know… I didn’t know what I was doing.”

Her shoulders shook as the weight of everything—the months of delusion, the obsession, the betrayal—crushed down on her.

“I used you. I used you before you were even born. I thought you were… a project. A moment. A chance to go viral. But you’re a person. You’re a person.”

She sobbed harder, cradling him tighter, as if trying to shield him from everything she had done.

***

“I’m sorry I brought you into this like this. I’m sorry I didn’t see you. I just wanted to be seen… so bad…”

She pressed her lips to his forehead. “You didn’t ask for any of this.”

***

The baby continued nursing, small and peaceful now. Lailani stared down at him, eyes glassy, breathing slowly. The camera caught every word, every expression, every tear. But for the first time, she didn’t seem aware of it.

She shifted slightly and reached one hand across the bed toward the phone.

The red LIVE icon still blinked.

She stared at it.

Thousands still watched.

queen you did it

that was the most intense thing I’ve ever seen

someone help her. call someone. now.

I can’t believe she’s still live

***

Lailani closed her eyes.

With a trembling thumb, she tapped the screen once.

This species is long lived, estimated to reach 200 years in age. They are tall, typically a foot or two above the average person, with thick brindled fur covering its body and a mane running down its sloped back. It lopes on all fours with long forelimbs, though it can manage a slower biped gait on its digitigrade hind legs. At the end of those forelimbs, its four fingers terminate with long, spade-like nails. Its snout is long, sloping gently down from its forehead, good for scenting out a meal or a curious human. It has teeth not unlike a badger's, though its canines are long enough to nearly resemble a pair of tusks. Its ears are small disks to the side of its head, and it has golden-brown eyes that reflect even the smallest amount of light. At last, its tail is long and shaggy.

When located, if the human is found suitable and offers a meal, the creature will bring them back to its nest. They build semi-permanent woven structures of branches, often filled with moss or some other soft bedding. Mutual grooming is highly important; it is speculated that P. gremii coevolved with humans with this as a primary social bonding method.

The biology of this animal is the most important reason why it is sought out. P. gremii are exclusively female, and only reproduce with humans. The method used to bear their young is beneficial to both parties, though poorly understood. These creatures cause a mutual pregnancy with a human that forms a temporary social bond with them. P. gremii will become pregnant with the human's offspring, while the human's womb will grow with 1-2 of the creature's cubs.

Reproductive events occur after grooming, it is important that one to two hours is spent cleaning and combing the tail, mane, and fur. Once satisfied, the P. gremii will make contented, deep rumbling noises akin to a cat's purring. A structure akin to a cloaca will be pressed against the human's opening and two hemipenal structures will be everted into them. The creature will cause sexual fertilization over the course of 30-50 minutes. A night will then be spent with the creature, typically with tail or body wrapped around the human to provide warmth.

Pregnancies last 10 months. The human will experience symptoms typical of a normal pregnancy, with the addition of a sharply heightened sense of smell, increased body hair, and increased muscular tone. The cubs within the parent's womb grow fairly large, with a singleton pregnancy appearing as human twins by the eight month, and a twin pregnancy appearing as triplets or quadruplets by the same time. Offspring are far more active that human fetuses, moving as early as the second month and by month five cause significant warping to the belly at most hours of the day. It is recommended a diet high in tubers, mushrooms, and red meat to curtail some movement. The cubs will also produce deep vibrations while inside the womb, which, while not audible to outside observers, can be felt resonating through the parent's womb.

P. gremii develops its human baby for 10 months. Its lower abdomen swelling greatly and fur thinning slightly. Its baby similarly shows higher amounts of movement, and remote observation research shows that it spends a good portion of its time grooming and humming deeply to the baby within its womb. One pairs of teats will develop on its lower chest, and analysis shows its milk is 94% similar to that of humans.

At ten months, the human parent will instinctually wish to return to the forest where they were impregnated. This journey can be challenging, and often pregnancies can be extended a few months in stasis as they navigate returning with such a large belly, though the increased musculature aids with this trek. When contact is made with the creature, both it and the human will go into labor.

Birthing the cubs inevitably has little to no risk involved. Labor takes upwards of three days, once proper contractions begin. During labor, it is most often seen that contact with the P. gremii lowers stress for both parties. In the majority of cases, P. gremii gives birth to its human offspring before the human parent begins to crown with the cub. It will then attend to the other parent, humming and providing assistance to the birthing human, often through massages. Cubs are born snout first, with the musteline-like head shape allowing for easy passage through the cervix.

Once both parents have fully birthed, they will spend some days together to recover (P. gremii will have stockpiled food prior to the birthing event). After which, the human will return to their society. Effects on the genetics of the human offspring have yet to be fully studied.

Lastly, the most vital reason this creature is sought out is due to a unique effect associated with the pregnancy. Humans who are at high risk from pregnancy, infertile, or otherwise face challenges with giving birth themselves, invariably have an easy and safe pregnancy with the creature's cubs. Carrying P. gremii in one's womb leads to a restorative effect, allowing them to healthily carry and birth their own subsequent babies.