Red Formica

by
Nathan C. Weber

    Dr. Dawn Walters awoke awash in pain.  She cried out at the intense ache that seemed to tear her body apart.

    "I'm here, Dr. Walters," came the familiar voice of her lab assistant, a student intern who had an intense fascination with arachnids.   Walters felt a cold damp cloth being applied to her forehead.  "I'm sorry Dr. Walters, I just don't know what to do.  This is all out of my experience.  I don't know when, or even if, the mutation will stop."

    Mutation?  What had happened to her?  The last thing she remembered was the explosion in her lab.  What went wrong?  She wasn't handling any kind of volatile material that she could recall.  Dr. Walters turned her head towards Ari McKinneson.  It was a struggle to do because her body felt as if it were on fire.

    "Try to stay still," cautioned Ari.

    "W-what....happened," asked Walters with some difficulty.   It was difficult to concentrate on speech when you're racked with pain.

    Ari's face was grim.  "I think," she said hesitantly, "Dr. Nugent has done something horrible to your experiment."

    Nugent.  She should have known.  Dr. Emil Nugent's studies had paralleled Dr. Walters' for some time.  However, it was Dr. Walters' progressive theories which led to new breakthroughs in the study of insect behavior and development.   Nugent was furious when the university increased Walters' funding and reduced his.   Still, Walters had never thought Nugent would resort to attempting murder.

    "I don't think Dr. Nugent knew that the experiment would explode like that," said Ari.  "I think he just wanted to set you back a few years.  I think he also wanted to discredit you with the university.   Whatever he put in the experiment was radioactive."

    A-ha!  The use of radioactive material was strictly forbidden at Monument State University.  Anyone who examined the lab now would assume that Dr. Walters was performing unsanctioned experiments with dangerous materials.  Nugent's jealousy had obviously eaten into his rationality.  Dr. Walter's was becoming angry.   Years of work was ruined and a career as world renown entomologist was in jeopardy because of one man's lack of self confidence.

    Dr. Walters tried to get up and nearly collapsed from the pain.

    "Dr. Walters!" exclaimed Ari.  "You shouldn't be moving.  You may have internal injuries."

    The pain was excruciating, but Walters forced herself into an upright position.  She turned to Ari.

    "Get....get me home," she managed through twisted facial features.

    "We should get you to a doctor," said Ari.

    Walters shook her head slowly.  "Home," she repeated emphatically.

    Ari sighed and moved closer to provide Dr. Walters with support as she struggled to walk.  The two very slowly made their way to the faculty parking lot.

* * *

    The next morning Ari came to the lab to find it cordoned off by police, and men in lead suits were walking around with Geiger counters.   The whole scene was being watched by the Dean of the Research College and Dr. Nugent.  Ari decided to feign ignorance and find out as much as she could.

    Running up to the lab, Ari cried out, "Oh, my God!   What happened to the lab?"

    Dr. Nugent wasted no time pointing fingers.   "Your friend Dr. Walters was doing some dangerous experiments with radioactive material."

    Ari looked genuinely shocked.  "That's impossible.  Dr. Walters would never do that."

    "Listen to those counters, girl," sneered Dr. Nugent.  "That room is hot!"

    Ari took on a bewildered look.  "Where is Dr. Walters?  Is she okay?"

    "We don't know," spoke up Dean Whitaker for the first time.  "We found the lab like this.  No one was around."   The Dean searched Ari's face.  Ari hoped she was covering up well enough to fool him.  "If you see Dr. Walters or if you hear from her, tell her to contact me," said the Dean.  His face turned back to the charred and disheveled laboratory.  "There'll be a formal Board of Inquiry, but for the time being, Dr. Walters is suspended effective immediately."

    Ari looked at Nugent with barely contained anger.   He, however, took no notice of her, and his glee was apparent.  Ari didn't know how she was going to break the news to Dr. Walters, but then Dr. Walters had already predicted this turn of events.

* * *

    Dawn Walters awoke with a start.  Puzzled, she looked about her.  She was in her room at home.  Was it a dream?  The explosion?  The intense pain?  The strange look on Ari's face?  Dawn decided that a bath would help her relax, as well as clean off the sweat from her body.   She must have had a fever last night.  Her bed clothes were soaked.  With some difficulty, Dawn staggered to the bathroom.  She didn't have a hangover, so she hadn't gotten drunk last night.  Then, what would explain her lack of equilibrium this morning?

    Dawn finally entered the bathroom.  She put the lid down on the toilet and sat for a moment to rest.  Since the faucet for the bathtub was in reach from this position, Dawn reached over and flipped the drain stop.   Then, she turned on the faucet, adjusting for desired temperature.  Once she was satisfied with the water's temperature, she decided to splash some water on her face.   Maybe that would clear the cobwebs from her mind.  Dawn stood up and moved to the face basin.  She carefully turned on the water, making sure it was cold this time.  Carefully, she cupped both her hands beneath the stream of running water and threw handfuls onto her face.  Her other hand steadied her against the basin while her other hand reached for a towel...  Wait, that's four hands.  Dawn opened her eyes and looked at herself for the first time.  She screamed.

* * *

    Ari pulled up to Dr. Walters' apartment complex and flashed the electronic key card that would let her into the garage in front of the electronic card reader.  The garage door slowly heaved itself open, and Ari pulled into the garage.  After parking Dr. Walters' car into her designated parking space, Ari headed for the elevator.  She had no idea what to expect from Dr. Walters.   First, her work was destroyed by a rival, and now her career was in jeopardy.   Of course, that was all nothing compared to the changes she was going through.   Shortly after the explosion,  Ari had discovered that Dr. Walters was mutating.  Two claw-like appendages were growing from beneath her arms.  They reminded her of the arms of a Tyrannosaur; weak looking and useless.  Ari didn't know how Dr. Walters would react once she saw them.  Up to now, she had been too dazed from pain to even notice a difference.

    The elevator finally reached its destination.  As Ari stepped off, she noticed a crowd of people gathered around Dr. Walter's door.

    Now what? thought Ari.

    Ari walked up to the small group and began to push through.

    "Excuse me.  Do you mind?  What's this all about?"

    A woman turned and looked at Ari.  "Do you live here?"

    "I'm visiting with a friend," said Ari.

    "Well, we just heard a scream from in there," said the woman.  "We think someone might be in trouble."

    Ari needed to do some quick thinking.  The last thing Dr. Walters needed was a bunch of curious onlookers.

    "That's to be expected," said Ari.

    The woman blinked.

    "My friend is a recovering alcoholic, and she's suffering from the DTs," continued Ari.  "I'm here to keep her in one piece until she's through it."

    Other members of the gathering started mumbling to one another.  Ari could just make out tales being told of people who tried to quit drinking cold turkey.  Ari was pleased that the story was being accepted at face value and promised herself she'd make up the mar on Dr. Walters' reputation somehow.   Ari pushed forward without saying anything further and quickly let herself into the apartment.

    After shutting the door, Ari let out a slow breath.   She began to look about for Dr. Walters.

    "Dr. Walters?"

    It was then that Ari heard the sound of running water coming from the bathroom.  She hurried to the room only to find the bathtub near to overflowing and Dr. Walters unconscious on the floor.  Ari reached over and turned off the faucet on the tub.  Then she realized that the basin faucet was running as well.  Ari stood up and turned off the basin.  Her next task was to get Dr. Walters to awaken.  Ari lightly slapped Dr. Walters on the cheek.  After a few tries, Dawn Walters awoke with a jolt, followed by a pitiful wail.  Ari was at a loss to Dr. Walters behavior until she tried to cover her face...with four arms.

    Ari was slightly taken aback at first.   Apparently, those claw-like appendages had grown into fully developed human arms.   Exact duplicates of her normal arms and hands.  Ari chewed her bottom lip.   Dr. Walters had become something of an idol for Ari.  To see her in this state was difficult.  Ari heaved a sigh and proceeded to undress Dr. Walters.

    "What are you doing?" cried out Dr. Walters.   "Leave me be!  I've become a monster!  A freak!"

    "You're a sweaty monster," chided Ari with a smirk.  "It's obvious you were going to take a bath.  I'm gonna help you."

    Dr. Walters pushed Ari away.  Ari quickly noticed that with four arms, she was very effective.  "Leave me alone.  I don't want anyone to see me like this."

    Ari frowned a bit. "So, this is the thanks I get, huh?  All those years putting off grad school to study under you, and you just push me away?  Well, you are sorely mistaken lady.  You're going to need a tire iron to get rid of me.  Now, are you going to behave yourself?"

    Dr. Walters had obviously given in because her whole body seemed to sag.  Ari finished undressing Dr. Walters and helped her into the tub.

    "Now, you just lean back there and relax for a bit, Dr. Walters," said Ari.  She felt something of a surge of power.  This time, she was the boss, and Dr. Walters was the student.

    "Dawn," said Dr. Walters with a sigh.   It was clear that she really needed this chance to relax.

    "What did you say?" asked Ari.

    "If you're going to insist on hanging around and pestering me, you might as well drop the honorific.  I'm no longer a doctor, anyway."

    Ari smiled humorlessly.  "Alright," she said gently.  "Dawn.  I'm going to get something to eat ready for you.   You haven't eaten anything since lunch yesterday."

    "I'm not really hungry, Ari, but you're welcome to anything you can scrape out of the refrigerator," replied Dawn.

    Ari soon found out that Dawn wasn't exaggerating.   There was barely anything edible in the fridge.  Many foodstuffs were growing small civilizations of their own.  It was obvious that Dr. Walters didn't spend much time at home.  Ari decided to call out for pizza.  It wasn't original or imaginative, but it was something recent college grads were good at.  Since she didn't know what Dawn liked on her pizza, or even if she liked pizza at all, Ari ordered a large pepperoni and mushroom pizza.  Those were toppings that could be easily plucked off if disliked.  With that done, Ari turned to the next task before her; selling Dawn on a new pair of arms.  It was clear that they'd be around for a while.   Probably for the rest of her life.  Ari headed for Dawn's bedroom.   Perhaps a modified wardrobe would help smooth things along.

* * *

    Dawn sat quietly in the tub perversely studying her third and fourth arms.  She seemed to have a natural control over them as if they were meant to be there and had been all her life.  All four worked together without requiring much thought.  Dawn reached one arm across to study the musculature of the opposite arms "shoulder" joint.  Small but dense deltoid sets were present on her sides near the back.  Stretching further round to her back, at the very limit of her reach, she could make out a second set of scapula bones.  Smaller than the primary set, these new bones were shaped to fit beneath the primaries without hindering one another's movements.

    Reaching out to the towel hamper opposite the toilet, Dawn picked up a large hand mirror that had been resting there.  She studied her face closely.  Nothing seemed to be out of place, and nothing new seem to have appeared.   A tilt of the mirror revealed a sheen on her face, however.  Dawn had never recalled having oily skin before, even as a teenager.  She touch her cheek carefully.   Her skin felt smooth but not greasy.  It felt more like vinyl than anything else.  The word chitinous came to mind.

    Dawn nearly leapt out of the tub.  Of course! she thought to herself.  It makes perfect sense, now.

    Immediately, clues to a puzzle began to fall in place.  Dawn had been performing studies in the genetics of ants.  No doubt the intense input of energy from the explosion combined with the mutating properties of whatever it was Nugent had snuck into the experiment had caused her to take on certain characteristics of ants.  Extra arms and tough skin for starters.   What on Earth could possibly be next?  Dawn wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer to that question, but the scientist inside her burned with curiosity.  She would have to experiment.  No doubt she could count on Ari for assistance.  Dawn supposed it was fitting in a way.  Myrmecology had always been her favorite discipline.  Still, who would want to turn into a giant ant?

    A knock came at the door.  "Come on in, Ari," called out Dawn.

    Ari opened the door and entered bearing a towel and a bathrobe.  She placed these on the hamper and sat down on the toilet lid.  Dawn could see that she was worried about something because she was chewing her lower lip, as was her habit.

    "Alright, Ari," said Dawn somewhat bemused.   What could be worse than turning into an ant?  "What's rattling your cage?"

    Ari took a deep breath and began to relay what had happened earlier that morning at laboratory.  Dawn was not surprised in the least by Dean Whitaker's proclamation, but Nugent's obvious frame-up really caused Dawn to grind her teeth.  She never really understood why Nugent was always so adversarial toward her.  Dawn even tried to persuade Nugent to become an research partner.  He flatly refused the offer.  To go to lengths that could very well have ended in her death didn't make any sense to Dawn.  By nature, Dawn was not an antagonistic person, but Nugent had pushed her past her threshold.  Somehow, she'd pay Nugent back for what he'd done to her, in spades.

    True to her nature, Ari was willing to help in any way she possibly could.  After toweling off from her soak, Dawn was led into the dining area and presented with pizza.  This, as it turned out, was something of a dilemma.   Dawn had never in her life eaten pizza before.  It was just one of those things to do in life that was not high on her personal list.  Still the ingredients she liked individually, perhaps the combination would appeal to her.  As it turned out, Dawn discovered she liked pizza very much.  It was then that she found out just how ravenous she truly was.  Ari thought it amusing to no end when Dawn suddenly realized that she had consumed three quarters of a large pizza in less than ten minutes.

    Once Ari had settled down, Dawn began to explain her theories about the transcribed genes from the ants in her experiments.  She then pointed out her reasoning.  Ari was inclined to agree and approved of experimenting to find other ant-like abilities in Dawn.

    "What about an ant's ability to climb just about any vertical surface?" asked Ari.

    There's a scary idea, thought Dawn.   Still, she was game to test it out.

    Dawn thought that the perfect place to test the idea was the living room wall.  The living room in Dawn's apartment had an unusually high ceiling which was capped with a large skylight.  Dawn tentatively placed a hand against the wall above her head.  Then, she placed another hand on the wall.

    "Well," breathed Dawn, "here goes."

    With very little effort Dawn heaved herself up the wall.  Her secondary arms immediately took their places, palms against the wall.   Soon four arms were crawling up the wall with an alternating rhythm, carrying the rest of the body with them.  Eventually, Dawn had presence of mind to add her feet to the equation.  This sped her ascent.  She had quickly run out of wall and was proceeding carefully to ceiling.

    Ari was craning her neck to watch Dawn's progress.   "How are you doing that, anyway?" she asked.

    Dawn lifted a hand to her face and studied her palm and fingertips.  Everything seemed normal.  There were no obvious mutations to account for her new climbing ability.  In addition, her hands weren't sticky at all.   Dawn looked down at Ari.  "I have no idea.  Maybe it's some advanced form of static cling."

    Ari shrugged.  They were entomologists.  This kind of thing was a little beyond their field of study.  "How do real ants do it?"

    Dawn looked down upon her student and then, unexpectedly, dropped from the ceiling, inverting herself so that she landed rather smartly on her feet.  Ari nearly jumped out of her skin with surprise.  Dawn smoothed out her robe and grinned mischievously.

    "That's for not knowing something that should be drilled into your skull," chided Dawn.

    "S-sorry," responded Ari, still a little shaken.

    "To answer your question, ants have a tiny hook on the last tarsal joint on each foot.  I have no hooks on my hands, that I can see.   I think maybe it's a limited form of self levitation."

    "What makes you say that?"

    "Just now, when I dropped from the ceiling, I was thinking to myself how nice it would be to just drop down to the floor and scare the bejeezus out of you," chuckled Dawn.

    Ari rolled her eyes.  "Gee, thanks.  My very own coronary."

    "Now, now.  It was all in the spirit of experimentation," admonished Dawn.  "In any case, as I thought it, it happened with no conscious effort on my part.  So, that means I was able to climb the wall because I was actually expecting to do so."

    Ari nodded.  It was as good a theory as any.   "So now what?"

    Dawn was silent.  Ari studied Dawn's face and saw that she was lost in thought.  "Dawn?" prodded Ari.

    Dawn snapped her head up as if awakening from a daydream.  "I don't know, Ari," she said.  "I just don't know.   She walked slowly to the living room sofa and collapsed into it more than sat in it.  "I don't know how I'm going to survive.  I certainly can't  go out like this."

    Ari tapped her cheek with an index finger.   "We could try to cover up your new arms," she said.  "You could wear ponchos.  Something baggy that would easily hide them."

    "No," said Dawn.

    "Really, I think it would work," pressed Ari.

    "No!" snapped Dawn.  "I'm not going out in public like this.  I just can't!"

    "You haven't even tried," countered Ari hotly.

    "This is not open for discussion," growled Dawn.

    Ari folded her arms and pouted.  "Fine!" she said.  "I'm going home, then."

    "Good," said Dawn.  "There's no point in your staying here."

    Ari grabbed her jacket and headed for the door.   "Thick skin isn't the only thing you've developed, Dr. Walters," groused Ari.  She stepped out of the apartment and slammed the door shut.

    Dawn sighed.  "Yes, Ari, go home.  Your life shouldn't end just because mine has."  Dawn leaned forward and quietly began to weep.

* * *

    Dawn awoke to an unusual smell.  It was a sweet odor, much like pastries being made.  Dawn noticed that she had cried herself to sleep on the sofa.  It was morning once more.  Dawn noticed something odd about her living room.  It was more cluttered than she last recalled.  There were boxes stacked in the center of the floor.  Dawn could also hear a sizzling noise coming from the kitchen.  She decided to investigate.  As she rounded the corner, Dawn was not too surprised to find Ari in the kitchen cooking breakfast.   Boxes, jars and cans of food were stacked haphazardly everywhere.

    "Ah!  You're awake!" effused Ari cheerfully once she noticed Dawn's presence.

    "What the hell is going on here?" inquired Dawn none to happily.

    "Simple," said Ari.  "I'm moving in."

    "Like hell you are," shouted Dawn.

    "I'm afraid so," said Ari calmly.

    "Well, you can just move back out again," said Dawn.  "And you can take all of that crap out of my living room."

    "I'm afraid I can't," said Ari.   "I've already given my landlord final notice.  I can't go back."

    "Well, you're not staying here!"

    "Besides," said Ari ignoring Dawn, "you need taking care of."

    "I do not!  Certainly not from you!"

    "Oh yeah?  You refuse to go out in public?"

    "Absolutely!"

    "How are you going to get food?"

    "I could have it delivered."

    "How are you going to earn money to pay for that food?  You can't go back to work.  What about medical needs?  Or clothing?"

    "I....I....," stuttered Dawn.   "Damn it!  You're not staying."

    Ari turned out the flame from beneath the sausage she was frying.  "Look, Dawn.  You need me.  And quite frankly, I don't want to see you waste away with self loathing.  What I said earlier still stands true.  You've done a lot for me.  Now, it's my turn to do for you."

    "Ari, please," begged Dawn.  "I've done nothing for you to warrant throwing away your life."

    "Who said I'm throwing away my life?" asked Ari.  Ari walked up behind Dawn and steered her into the dinette.  She pushed Dawn down into a chair.  "Now, stay put."

    Ari returned to the kitchen and proceeded to fix a plate with scrambled eggs, sausage and French toast.  She came back to the dinette and set the plate in front of Dawn.  "Now, eat.  You haven't had anything since that pizza yesterday."

    Dawn folded all four of her arms akimbo.   "You are not my mother, and you are not my maid."

    "You're right," said Ari.  "But I am your colleague and your friend.  I was there for you when the explosion happened.   I got you home when you refused medical care.   I supported you when Nugent tried to have you crucified at the lab.  And, I was here when you started to manifest your new abilities.  As far as I'm concerned, I'm already involved in this.  So, you might as well take it as it is."

    Dawn gave in and began to eat her food.  "I hope you know what you're doing, Ari," she said between mouthfuls.

    "Don't be ridiculous," countered Ari.   "I haven't the foggiest notion of what I'm doing.  But I'll tell you this.  I never leave my friends in a bad way."

    Dawn looked hard at Ari.  "I'm your friend?"

    Ari smiled.  "Of course, you are.   Surely, you should realize that by now."

    Dawn blinked a few times.  Then, she too began to smile.  "Yes, you're right.  I guess I do realize it."

    "Good," said Ari, "because you're cooking lunch."

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