०Tonic०

०Chapter One०

It all started when they sent the big blimps that brought crates to our doorsteps. None of us knew what to think, until they started spraying the gasses and chemicals. Deadly to breathe in. So deadly, in fact, that within no time, they could turn you into a monster. A monster some would even consider to cause the end of the world, if they were unleashed. Well, unlucky for us, being caught up in this mess also, means you're apart of it now. It's terrifying, what some people do to us just to 'experiment' or 'try something new'.

This story begins right before all of this chaos happened, before any of our innocent minds knew anything. A time, when we thought something so small as chipping a nail, or getting white shoes dirty was the worst thing in the world.

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I woke up, startled, hearing my phone buzz next to me. I quickly sat up on my newish black leather couch and grabbed it. I stared at the screen, squinting slightly, and spot a message from Taliah, one of my best friends, Arden, meet the group at my place. I set my phone back down on the couch and stretched quickly before standing up. I slipped on my grey and white flats and slid my phone in my back pocket. "Ma, I'll be at Taliah's house!" I shouted up to her room, where she was most likely sleeping.

I quickly exited my house and raced down the street to Taliah's house, where there were two cars parked in the driveway. One was an old, dark, metallic blue jeep that belonged to Taliah while the other was a shiny black GMC and had belonged to Taliah's brother, Tobin. I entered their house without knocking, as I had been doing for the past few years. I spotted Taliah, Tobin, and one of my other friends, Myles, sitting on their tattered brown leather couch. I shyly sat down next to Tobin on the edge of the couch wondering why they had summoned me here.

"You're kinda late." Myles pointed out, glancing at the clock behind me.

"Oh hush Myles, she's only a few minutes late. Anyway," Taliah turned to me, "we're here today, having this meeting because I saw something strange on the news." She waited until she had our attention before continuing, "Okay so on the news they were talking about these weird blimp things that were really long. The reporter said they were dropping weird crates at like every doorstep..."

I began staring off into space, thinking about what the blimps could be dropping off, when someone tapped my shoulder. I jumped and turned to look at Tobin, who was smiling awkwardly as Taliah was glaring at me over his shoulder.

She cleared her throat and continued, "What do you guys think they're dropping? Myles?"

Myles's eyes were drooping, applying that he hadn't been sleeping well. When his name was called, he looked up and said, "Maybe they're drugging us." and yawned.

"None of you are taking this seriously!" Taliah screeched, clearly pissed off now. She crossed her arms and turned her head away when Tobin tried to comfort her.

I sighed and pulled my knees up to my chest, the most comfortable position at the moment. "It's not really any of our business, I mean there haven't been any blimps at our house..." I mumbled, mostly to myself.

I heard Taliah huff, giving up. "Whatever. You guys have gotten more... boring." She stood up and stomped up the stairs.

Tobin looks to me with an apologetic face and says quietly, "Sorry... I think she's on her period."

I chuckle slightly at the remark and smile. Tobin seems to be the only person who could cheer me up at the moment. I looked over at Myles, who was half asleep, his head jerking back as it slipped forwards a few times. I felt a little uncomfortable sitting here for some reason. I'd known these people my whole life, why was I feeling this way?

I heard something plop outside the door. I stood up with Tobin as he went to go see what it was. He opened the door, and immediately a blaring buzzing sound was heard from outside. I covered my ears with my hands and cautiously walked over to see blimps... a few black, mid 1900s looking blimps dropping crates near our driveways. 

"What the hell?" I mumbled, but nobody heard me through the buzzing sound of the few blimps. Tobin picked up the crate and brought it inside, closing the door carefully, the thick wood blocking out the sounds from outside.

He brought the crate over to the couch and called Taliah down from her room. She was proving herself by talking about the crates and stuff, but I didn't listen to her, instead, I just kept peering through the crate. I couldn't see much, but it looked like a bunch of old styled glass pop bottles. Myles, of course, was still asleep, so he obviously didn't know what was going on. Tobin was trying to open the crate using only his bare hands and no help from Taliah, so I decide to help him since Myles was asleep, and Taliah was blabbering.

We finally got it loose after a bit and ripped it open. Inside were a bundle of bottles that were arranged in a 5 by 5 area that had different colored liquids inside them. From reds, to pinks, to yellows, which were all fairly light in shade. I picked one up curiously and turned it around. A tag was attached to the cap that said, 'Stage #1'. I set that one down and picked up two more after that row, they said, 'Stage #2' and 'Stage #3'. I felt a rush of fear race through me. What are these and why do they say that? I had a few questions humming through my head while I examined most of them. I glanced at each label. The colors of the liquid changed with the tags, and the stages went all the way up to ten.

"What are these?" Taliah asked, examining and shaking the bottles.

Tobin shrugged. "No idea, but now they're our problem. We'll figure out what to do with them later..."

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Thank you for reading the first chapter of my story! I pre-write everything on a google doc and have my friends (@Masquerade_Madness and @whispering-bliss ) help with editing, so creds to them! There is more to come, I promise.