for as long as kevin could remember, it was the same. he and his friends mike, will and his brother walt would squash any bug they saw. walt was reluctant, but joined in anyway through peer pressure since his older brother usually started the squishing. the reason they engaged in this cruel game was that the town they lived in, every summer, was swamped with german cockroaches, so they were the usual prey for the boys. when they were younger, they'd sought them out, but now, they generally only trod on them when they found them.

today, they had found a whole swarm in the park. the overflowing trash in the litter bins having attracted them. the boys had descended upon the scurrying creatures with the usual enthusiasm, trampling them at will.

'you shouldn't do that.' a voice said behind them. they turned.

it was a girl, from kevin's class, but he couldn't recall her name, since she never spoke much to him. and he avoided her. something seemed weird about her, even though she looked fairly normal.

'why not?' mike replied.

'because it's cruel.' she responded. this provoked laugher from the three older boys, which walt joined in with after a few seconds. the girl didn't seem disturbed by this at all.

'i don't think you'd have as much fun if it was the other way around.'

'yeah, but it isn't. they're tiny, we're huge. it's perfectly fair.' will argued. the girl shrugged.

'fine. but if you ever run into something bigger remember that it's perfectly fair.' she said, and walked off. the boys watched her leave.

'what a weirdo.' mike commented, before stepping on another hapless cockroach. soon, the whole group of the insects had been reduced to flattened smears on the path and the boys left the area as well.

***

the next morning, kevin awoke feeling cold. he realised why a second later.

'what am i doing in the park?!' he cried out. he had been lying in his pyjamas on a park bench!

he looked around. the park was empty, and the sky was still gloomy, but the sun was about to rise. the faint glow to the east heralded the start of the day.

'great. i've not got any shoes.' kevin grumbled, looking at the path. it was covered in sharp-looking stones, and also the squashed remains of a few roaches. fine to step on them with shoes on but with bare feet, kevin didn't feel so enthusiastic.

'how am i gonna get home?' he pondered as the sun began to rise. that was when he felt the odd sensation. the world seemed to get a little larger. then he felt his stomach turn over.

he cried out, falling off the bench and onto his knees. his pyjamas felt loose, and his whole body was now covered in a burning, itching feeling. he looked at his hand and was stunned to see it was turning brown, and his fingers seemed to be shrinking. he stared in shock, breifly ignoring the pain as he saw his arm become an insect leg. then the other changes began. his last words with a human mouth were another cry of pain as he felt something start painfully growing from his sides. and the world kept getting larger. he closed his eyes, the pain and the shock too much to bear.

eventually, he felt the pain fade, and opened his eyes again. the sun had risen, but for some reason it seemed really dark still. like there was a cover over him. he decided to try and move... and was surprised to find six legs moving.

what's happened to me?! he asked in his mind, frantically racing towards a spot of light he saw. he emerged, and found he was in a strange world. bare grey as far as he could see, and towering green shapes in the distance.

the path... and the trees... he thought.

i've shrunk. this is crazy!

he scurried forward, then paused as he noticed a glint. the pile of trash flowing out of the litter bin! he raced over, seeing a shiny foil wrapper, and was horrified at what he saw. he saw a roach. he had figured out something was amiss, but had been denying it. but he was staring at a cockroach, and it was his reflection.

this is impossible... but it's real! he realised. and then he felt the rumbling. he turned and saw a behemoth approach, a giant human. he felt a brief surge of panic, before he realised.

they can help me!

he tried to see if he could fly, unaware even after years crushing them that the german cockroach he had become didn't fly. the human, a woman out jogging, grew closer, and in desperation he scurried out onto some dirt and began scratching a message. he managed to spell the h out, and even the distraction of an empty pair of pyjamas didn't stop the woman for long. she dismissed it as some weird prank being played and kept jogging.

i hope this works... and i hope they think it's too crazy to be a joke!

the woman saw the roach scrabbling in the dirt. it almost seemed to be writing...

'an h? oh man, you guys are learning to write!' she said in mock surprise.

'i had better get rid of you though. if you roaches learn anything else you might take over.' she joked, before trying to step on him.

kevin was lucky to evade her, having heard her voice boom her intentions out . frantically, he scurried in the direction he hoped was home.

***

he had no idea how long it had took, but now the sun was high up in the sky. but he was sure he had managed to reach his home safe and sound. still a cockroach, but safe. he crawled under a gap in the door, entering the kitchen. there he saw mike, will, and walt in the lounge.

i need to get their attention somehow... he thought. but his dark brown body moving on the white table in the kitchen was enough.

'hey, a roach!' mike said, and grabbed a newspaper. kevin was about to run, realising his plan, when will stopped him.

'nah, i got an idea. walt, you wanna earn some cash?'

'what do i have to do?' walt sighed, guessing where this was going.

suddenly, will snatched kevin, dropping him into a glass. kevin cried out in his mind as the cold water flowed in and he floundered in it. he was a strong swimmer as a human, but as a bug he was drowning!

'drink this, roach and all.'

walt sighed, but complied.

no, wait! walt, noooo! kevin cried out as he was swallowed. he felt warmth and moisture all around, and then a painful sensation. he wasn't in the stomach yet, but he was in pain. he realised it as he blacked out, cockroaches needed to breathe. and he was in the water walt had swallowed...

***

kevin awoke. he felt like something was missing.

***

'are you okay, kevin? you seem kinda spacey...'

'heh, kevin spacey...' will snickered. but walt was right. kevin seemed to be not himself. he was slow to answer people, seemed to be staring ahead a lot. it was like his personality was gone. he didn't even bat an eyelid when will had said mike wasn't answering his phone. he took nearly ten seconds to respond to walt asking if he wanted a drink.

meanwhile, walt prepared his prank. he wanted a little revenge on will for yesterday's dare, especially since he hadn't paid... he brought through the drinks and waited...

'gross! you froze a roach in my ice cube!' will said, partly impressed. he tossed the cube away, shattering it on the wall. the frozen bug broke apart as well...


***

will thought this one one really weird dream. he'd woke up in the park, and then became something tiny. he was wondering if he'd ate something yesterday that might have made him have such a weird dream. and realise it was a dream too.

the roach in the ice cube? he pondered. as this crossed his mind, the jogger's foot landed on it and spread it across pathway and the sole of her reeboks.

***

will woke, and found apparently he had been missing yesterday. and now mike was acting weird too. he and kevin... and walt was nowhere to be seen. he'd only learned he had been missing from kevin's mother when he arrived, and had been confused enough to claim he was out of town in case she was helping kevin play a prank. but the vacant kid in the lounge wasn't looking like he was making any devious jokes.

'i don't know what's wrong with kevin and mike, but they both seem a little... weird. did they have a fight?' kevin's mother asked.

'i don't think so.' will replied, stumped as well. he'd wanted to ask where walt was, hoping maybe kevin's brother had figured it out.

'agh, another roach. will, can you get the bug spray and kill it please?'

he obliged, grabbing the can and spraying the insect. it writhed around for a few seconds, and then seemed to die. it gave a few last twitches as it faded.

***

the next day, walt was acting weird too. will felt really freaked out by this, and hoped his friends weren't ill. he worried whatever it was might be contagious as he went to sleep that night...

...he awoke in the park. like his dream from a few nights ago. the sun was rising. he felt freezing, largely because he only wore boxer shorts to bed.

'okay, now i shrink painfully...' he guessed.

'close.' a voice said. he turned and saw a girl. he blushed and tried to cover himself.

'um... you're that girl who saw us squash those roaches...' he said pitifully as he blushed.

'yeah. i am. but you said you were going to shrink. that's not quite true. you're going to become a roach.'

will stared at her.

'...what?'

'you heard me. you've had it happen already and you got lucky. your friends didn't. i cursed you all so that you'd learn what it was like to be squashed by something bigger, but your three freinds got taken out by other means. yesterday no one became a bug, but now it's all on you. see, when they got killed other ways, your friends lost the will to squash bugs. and they lost a part of themselves too.'

'what are you talking about? i don't understand...' he said, then screamed as he felt himself wracked with pain. it was like the night before, and he was thankful to have the painful change end. then he realised.

dreams didn't hurt. this was real.

then the girl picked him up. he flailed his legs as she spoke.

'you've been cursed into being a cockroach. i had cursed you and your friends differently but i made a little mistake. but you can save them. they'll be normal if you don't get crushed. but you'll wake back up as a bug, every night for as long as it takes for you to survive your friends. you'll wake in their rooms. they'll see you. or you can hope. you need to get crushed by accident about thirty times. get crushed on purpose, you crushed yourself and need to get another accidental crush. but get killed any other way... like i say, you save your friends. but it's a bug hunt on you unless you get away. and your friends are very good at squashing roaches.'

why are you doing this? will asked. but was unheard.

'but i'll show a little mercy. this is a freebie. and a reminder that even a cockroach feels pain. see you tomorrow' she said, and grasped a flailing roach leg. to his horror, she yanked it off and dropped him. he felt agony as goo leaked from the severed limb, and then she stamped on him.

***

he awoke again. and realised he was a cockroach right away thanks to the girl holding the mirror in front of him

'have fun with your new life. but if you don't, you know the way out...' the girl said, and left him behind .

wait... if i walk into somewhere dangerous, is that an accident or deliberate ? he fretted, trying to plan his way to be back to normal. the alternative was dying some other way, and everything other than crushing sounded very painful...