Molly awoke, a scream leaving her beak. She gasped, her wings shaking. It took her a minute to realize it had been a dream.
Molly let out a shuddering breath and rocked back and forth. She didn't move for a long time.
In her dream, Molly had watched the doctors perform the Operation on Liam. He kept begging for help, even though he was supposed to be anesthetized, but Molly couldn't move her feet. His screams had been reduced to painful whimpers and the occasional please. When he had sat up, Molly took one glimpse of his face; a patchwork of fur and feathers and skin; a beak, hooves, fangs, and a long tail. Then she had awoken.
Finally, Molly stood up. She shook herself. On three, you stop being a wuss. One, two, three.
Molly did her usual daily routine of preparing her breakfast and playing a quick tune on the violin. She then went outside, surprised to see everyone awake.
"Hey!" Pippy called cheerfully, bouncing over to Molly. "You've been asleep all day! Someone new moved in! I gotta introduce you."
Pippy dragged Molly into a quaint house, Molly still blinking sleep from her eyes.
Inside was a red-and-black dog, busily opening packages and moving furniture.
"Oh! Hey, what what!" She grinned and shook Molly's wing.
"I'm Cherry!"
"Helllo. I'm Molly."
"The town is great, what what! I haven't seen the mayor around, though."
"Oh, he's out doing mayoral business or something at another town," Pippy replied. Molly tensed. "Really?"
"Yup," Pippy said happily. "It's so nice that he's working so hard to fix up the town. I asked him to build an illuminated heart, and he said he'd think about it." Pippy's face turned a shade red. "I mean…Jacques is…a really cool guy. I think I'd like to…take him…I dunno." Molly was stunned. For the first time, Pippy was actually out of words.
"Ooh, looks like freckle-bunny has a crush!" Cherry sang.
"Eeek! I, like, totally do not!"
Molly carefully exited the building, leaving the two spunky girls to argue. Molly ventured to Main Street and, to her surprise, noticed a large building called "Club LOL". Closer inspection showed that the club was closed, however.
Molly strolled to the side of the town and sat on the bench and stared at the rolling clouds.
Why should you believe Liam? You're a duck. You've always been a duck. How could doctors turn a human into a duck? It's simply impossible.
Molly shook her head. "No. You're just the medicine talking to me."
Medicine can't talk, you dumb duck. It's called logic.
Molly pondered this. "Why would Liam lie to me? And it explained all the…stuff."
Not really. It seems way too bogus.
"Well…maybe…" Molly murmured. When she thought about it, it DID sound rather farfetched.
"Who're you talking to?"
Molly turned and did a double take. There was Liam, but in a straw hat and an aloha shirt and shorts, with sunglasses to top off the look.
"Uh, I'm not crazy," Molly said quickly. Liam's face split into a grin, probably remembering the same thing happening a million years ago.
"Pippy told me you were out on mayoral business, not plopping your lazy butt onto the beach."
"Hey, the old mayor works at the island. I talked to him. While bashing a machine with a hammer."
"What?"
"Nothing." Liam smiled. "Wanna hear the best part?"
"What, about the beach?"
"Nah, something cooler. Y'know, breaking reality and opening portals in new dimensions. The thing I forgot to tell you yesterday."
"That sounds even phonier than me being a human with medicine in my brain fighting my memories."
"Mhm. Wanna hear it?"
"Hit me with your best shot." Molly folded her wings and listened.
"This is gonna be real complicated. I hope your duck-brain can handle it." Liam ruffled the feathers on her head with his hand. "Okay, so, have you ever heard the saying 'the fabric of reality'?" Liam began.
"Mhm."
"Well, that's true. Realities are blankets. What happens after you use a blanket for a while? It gets holes in it. Dimensions are cloths, stacked on top of each other. When the top blanket gets a hole, it's a portal to the dimension underneath. If you beat up a blanket, you can punch holes into it. Thats what the train was doing. So basically, we aren't super far away…we're in an entire different realm."
"That's fake," Molly finished. "I was willing to believe I used to be a human, and that the entire race is dead, and there's evil stuff in my brain, but that's a step too far. Universes aren't literally blankets."
To her surprise, Liam just shrugged. "I don't get it either. I'm just reciting what I read. If you go real fast, you can make a portal." Liam's eyes shone like they did when he got an idea. "I want to find a portal back home."
Molly looked at him. "I think you're totally crazy."
Liam smiled tiredly. "Couldn't I say the same to you?"
Molly paused for a second.
"I'm gonna go change. I smell like fish." Liam stood up and stretched. "So, uh, I guess it's time."
"Time for what?"
"I've explained everything. We can start bringing back your memories."
"Right." Molly felt uncomfortable for some reason. "But Liam…aren't I supposed to, I dunno, FEEL like a human?"
"What?" Liam asked.
"I just feel like a duck. It's not like, 'oh, I was a human, that makes sense'; or 'hey! now that I think about it, I totally feel like a human!' I just feel like…a duck," she repeated.
Liam laughed. His laugh was so familiar. Short, loud, and cheerful. "Thats because being a human isn't a feeling, Molly. Being a duck probably isn't a feeling either. You don't feel any different because all along you've been you. A human or duck isn't what you are; you're Molly." he leaned down and hugged her, his next words soft. "And I'd like it to stay that way."
The wind whistled softly, crossing through the trees.
"You really do smell like fish," Molly said after a while. It wasn't exactly true, but she needed to break the tension or awkwardness or whatever was crackling in the non- existent space between them.
"Right." Liam stood up, his face a shade red. "Stay cool." he gave a thumbs-up, attempted to wink, then gave an exaggerated yell when a leaf slapped him in the face.
Molly grinned and giggled as he took the leaf off, a mock look of horror and confusion on his face. He laughed, too, then took off. Molly sat on the bench for a while, still smiling. The sky was a beautiful shade of blue.
"You!"
Molly whirled around, stunned to see two alligators dressed up in suits. Last thing she remembered, no alligator lived in Solaris, let alone two.
The first one, a green-scaled one, grabbed one of her wings. The other, a black, shining reptile, grabbed the other.
"Hey!" Molly yelped. "Whats this about?!"
"You're corrupt," the black one said gruffly, his grip tightening. He gave no further explanation. They began dragging her.
"Ow! Hey! Stop!" Molly yelled, fighting to escape.
"You're a duck, kid. We're government-trained gators. Quit resisting," the green one snapped.
"Geez, Don. Be easy on her. Her species ain't that smart." the two gators guffawed.
"Shut UP!" Molly screamed. Don, the black alligator, smacked his scaly claws over her beak. She let out muffled shrieks.
"She's a squealer, ain't she?"
"Got that right, Terry."
Molly wrenched her beak free for a second, and put all the air in her lungs into one scream.
"LIAM!" Terry clocked her on the head and Don jammed his fist into her throat. Molly choked, gasping and dizzy. The world swooped.
"Can't believe it took us this long," Don puffed. "Imagine what woulda happened if the runt's plan worked!"
"Oh, yeah. Better grab him, too, huh?"
"We have our orders, bud. Don't get ahead of yourself."
"Let me go," Molly whimpered. She had no energy to struggle, her head hammering.
"We can't, kid. You're a slippery one, gotta give it to you," Terry said with a chuckle.
The alligators dragged her towards the train station. Molly closed her eyes.
Think, think, think… This was difficult, as she could feel the lump rising on her head from the generous head-bump, courtesy of Terry. There…has to be a way…
The only plan she could formulate was to get help, which was already painfully obvious. She struggled to look around, and noticed not a soul was outside. Strange.
"Hey, kid, it's the annual Stay-Inside-Your-House festival," Terry said in a mocking voice, pointing to the billboard. In very alligator-looking handwriting, it said the above message.
"These animals do anything we tell em to!" Don exclaimed. "Except this one, 'course."
"Hey! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
A shriek of fury came from behind her. Molly didn't have to look. Liam.
She felt the alligator's grip on her falter. She wrenched free, struggling to turn, the world dipping below her. She rubbed her head. Darnit…darnit…concussion…
One thing jolted her awake. Liam was wrestling the alligators. Don whipped out an evil-looking black stick and pointed it to Liam. Electricity shot from it, and Liam suddenly jerked, his eyes rolling back. Molly let out a strangled shriek, reaching for him.
"Don't touch him! Don't…he's my…friend…"
Liam's body convulsed and curled up on the ground. Don pointed the item towards her, a deadly glow in his eyes.
"I'm feeling like havin' some roasted chicken, Don, how about you?" Terry chuckled.
"Aw, don't be so racist, man. She's a duck." Don's alligator lips curled into a cruel smile.
And he pulled the trigger.
Molly paused to scream, but something entered her body. It felt like a monster, a raging beast, instantly taking her nerves and playing with them like toys. She jerked, every function going haywire, all thoughts leaving her mind. She crumpled to the ground, spasms going through her wings, breathing suddenly becoming as impressive a feat as walking on water.
And then everything went black.
…Whats this? Something actually happened? There are actually VILLAINS in this story?! O_o Who would've thought!