Pigs on the Wing Chapter 2

Dr. Cockroach staggered back home just before the first rays of dawn penetrated the sky. He wearily opened the door of the house he shared with Bob and Link, climbed upstairs, and slowly dragged his feet to his room, whereupon he collapsed onto his bed and fell asleep.1

He dreamt the same dream every time. He would be running down a dark alley, but at the end of the alley Susan was waiting for him. And he would see his reflection in her eyes and he was... normal, normal as the moment before he stepped into that wretched machine. And she would draw him close, and then closer, until they could feel the heat of their bodies they were so close. And for a split second he was filled with a beautiful, sweet ecstasy...2

But then her eyes filled with a disgusted terror and she screamed, running away as fast as her legs would take her. And he would look at himself in the cracked window in the brick alley and see his monstrous self. Hideous, mutated, and irreversible. He lived a cursed life. 3

While the doctor slept fitfully in his bed, Link sat with Bob over the breakfast table. The amphibious creature sat broodingly over the radio, messing with the controls, while Bob absently bounced his eye on the table.4

“Hey, what do you think is up with doc?” Link asked gruffly, lifting his head up to look at Bob. “I mean, this is the third night this week he’s been out. And he hasn’t touched the lab in days.”5

“Why?” asked the gelatinous blob. “Are you worried about him? Do you need closure because no one ever worried about you? I know! Bernice and I will take you to lunch.”6

“What? No,” answered Link. “I’m not worried about him. It’s just... boring, is all. We haven’t seen any action in months.”7

“So Bernice and I aren’t good enough for you, huh?” Bob turned away, offended.8

“Bob, Bernice is a green jello mold you’ve had in the fridge since April. It’s getting moldy.”9

“You just can’t accept that I’ve found happiness,” replied Bob, skulking out of the room with said jello mold in hand. “It’s okay, baby, he’s just a lonely old fish man.”10

Link shook his head and sighed. All of a sudden someone pounded against the door. “Hey, hold on a second!” Link yelled as he ran to get the door. He opened it to the sight of an eye and part of a nose. “Hey Susan,” he said, walking outside to get a better look at her. “What’s going on?”11

“Insectosaurus is lost in the back fields again and we don’t have any more 1000 watt bulbs left,” she said. “I thought maybe you could...”12

“Huh? Oh, yeah,” Link replied wearily as he wandered to the backyard, where the huge butterfly was confusedly meandering through fields of corn and wheat. He whistled loudly. “Hey, Insecto! Yeah, I’m over here boy. Come back!”13

The huge creature turned towards the voice, roared, and lazily began to return to the backyard of the monsters. “Thanks,” Susan said, smiling weakly.14

“Don’t mention it,” Link replied, walking back towards the door.15

“Uh, Link, one more thing?” asked Susan.16

“Yeah, what?” he answered, turning around. 17

“Could you tell the doctor that General Monger called? He wants him to draw up some blueprints for some ship they’re building, or something...” 18

“Yeah I’ll pass on the message.”19

“Where is he anyway?”20

“Dr. Cockroach?” 21

“Yeah.” There was a small, awkward silence, where Susan looked at Link concernedly and he stared at the ground.22

“He’s sleeping, probably had a late night,” Link lied convincingly. “You know how he gets with his experiments and whatever. Typical quack.”23

“He’s not a quack, Link,” Susan laughed softly.24

“I know, I know,” he replied, rolling his eyes. “He’s a ‘mad scientist.’ Whatever, big difference. I’ll see you around, Susan.”25

“See you Link,” she said as she turned back towards her home, the ground trembling slightly with every step she took. “And thanks again.”26

“Yeah, yeah,” he muttered as he walked back inside. Maybe he ought to take a nap, he really felt like the life had been sucked out of him. 27

On the way to his room Link passed by Dr. Cockroach’s lab. A clear layer of dust had settled on the door, but he turned the knob and went inside anyway. 28

A cold, metallic darkness greeted him. He flipped the light switch, and a bright, blinding light flooded the entire room and made Link shield his eyes for a moment. After blinking a few times, Link looked around the lab. It looked like somebody had raided it.29

Papers spilled over filing cabinets. Beakers and test tubes were flipped on their sides, and a sticky orange liquid had dried on one of the white tables. Wires snaked around the room in a thousand different directions, and a huge, monstrous machine sat in the middle of the room. It blinked a sickening lavender every few moments. Link looked around, confused. He was fairly sure that nobody had broken into the house, why was the laboratory so out of place? It was only after spotting a single sock in the corner that a sad realization hit him. The place didn’t look like it had been robbed. It looked like somebody had been frantically trying to complete something. 30

He carefully moved over the wires, his tail dragging behind him as he tried his hardest not to get himself tangled up in the mess. It was only after he had knocked over and shattered three test tubes and a huge sheaf of paper that he was able to get to the snake-like machine in the center of the room. It was made of a harsh, cool metal, iron or steel. A pod-like contraption, its door was resolutely closed, with a small window at eye level. Link stepped on a clipboard as he moved closer to the machine. It had a single piece of paper firmly attached to it that read: Mutation Reversal Formula, followed by an illegible muddle of numbers and figures.31

The doctor was trying to find a way out? A way back to being... human? Link suddenly realized that the doctor must have had a normal, human life for years before... well, the experiment that had gone wrong. Link, well, he had always been himself. He was a half-amphibian, scaly, green creature. And Bob had always been a gelatinous mass. But Dr. C, he... well, he was a monster made, not born. Just like Susan.32

Link frowned. Why would he want so badly to be human? So badly that he would build frantically, to the point of insanity. And if he wanted so dearly to be human, than why had he abandoned his project? Why had he been leaving the house at night and coming back the next morning, exhausted? Why was the laboratory covered with dust?33

And why, why, couldn’t he tell his only friends in the world? What was his big secret?34