Swatted Fly

I saw the wall coming toward me. It was a thousand tiny images of doom in my compound eyes. And there was nothing I could do. It was one of those nightmares where you see something terrible about to happen, but you can't move or even cry out.

WHAAAM!

It hit. I felt the massive hand press violently down on me.

I had been swatted.

I was in the crack of the hand's lifeline. And because of that tiny indentation, I had not died.

But I was shattered.

My left wing was gone, ripped away. My right wing barely moved. I was blind in my right eye.

Four of my legs were broken. But by far the worst was that my body, my green-black body, had burst open.

But there was no pain. No pain. Just terror.

<Aaaahhh! Aaaahhh! Aaaahhh!>

<Jake! What happened?> Cassie cried.

<Jake, what's the matter?>

<I . . . I got hit.>

<Are you okay?> Tobias asked.

<No. I'm busted up pretty bad. I can't fly. I can't move. I'm like, stuck. Stuck to the ceiling.>

<Oh, my God,> Cassie gasped.

<He'll be okay if he demorphs,> Marco said.

<How is he going to demorph?> Tobias demanded. <He's squished on the ceiling. He demorphs, it'll be right in front of a whole planeload of people.>

"The captain has turned on the seat belt sign. We are beginning our descent."

<Guys . . . I feel like maybe I'm getting weak,> I said. <Woozy. My guts are all over the place. I think I may be dying.>

<Demorph!> Cassie yelled.

<He can't!> Marco said. <He'll be seen. There are probably Controllers on this plane!>

<I don't care. It's Jake. I'm not going to let him die!>

My mind started wandering at that point. Like I couldn't quite focus. I heard them arguing in my head. Voices . . . voices . . .

<Jake! Are you still with us?> someone demanded. I think maybe it was Tobias.

<Yeah. Uh-huh.>

<He is dying,> Cassie snapped. <Wait! I have an idea.>

Good old Cassie, I thought. Good old Cassie. She was so pretty. She didn't think she was, but she was. Yeah. I remember back when I first met her . . . And Rachel was there. School? No, it was . . . it was . . .

Suddenly, monsters all around me. I saw them loom over me, hover in the air, then land. They had huge, bulging eyes that kind of sparkled from all the tiny facets. They had hideous faces with these long, vile tubes coming out, like tongues that could suck. Their wings were gossamer.

They grabbed me with their clawed feet.

<Oh, poor Jake,> a voice cried desperately.

<Do we . . . do we scoop up the guts or what?>

<Just hurry!>

<Jake! Hang in there, man. Hang in there, man. Don't go away on us.>

<Jake, hold on. Hold on, we'll save you.>

And then a horrible jolt.

<Ahhh! Oh, man. The leg I was holding just came off!>

<I can't hold on! Too much turbulence from everyone's wings beating at once!>

<Don't you let him go! Don't let him go!>

I floated through the air. I was kind of serene now. Kind of peaceful. Although when I realized half my body was gone, I felt concern. But it was a faraway concern. Like I was worried about something I was watching on TV. Not something that was happening to me.

<Okay, okay. It's the bathroom. Jake! Demorph!>

<Come on, Jake, back to human now.>

What were they all yelling about? Yelling and yelling and bugging me.

<Jake, this is Cassie. Listen to me. You have to demorph. You have to do it now.>

Cassie. Oh, yeah. Her. I liked her.

<Jake, do it! Do it now! Right now! Become human.>

Human?

Sure. Why not?

<There he goes!>

I began to change. And as I began to change, I became stronger. I felt life flow back into me. A human being began to form, dictated by the patterns of my DNA. Submicroscopic codes, making a human being the way words made a book.

The world swirled around me. Hazy images became clearer. I was in a tiny room. A very tiny room. An airplane bathroom.