Dear Evalynn Hansen: Be More Chill

Mountain Dew Red

When Evalynn opened her eyes, she was lying in a hospital bed. Several machines beeped as they monitored her vitals. Sat in the plastic chairs beside her bed were Connor, Zoe, her mom, Evan, Jared, Jeremy and Michael. How she was able to see the last four was beyond her. Jared was the first to notice she was awake.

"Acorn! You're up!"

Everyone looked over and her mom was by her side in seconds.

"Oh, sweetie. We were so worried."

Evalynn tried to respond, but couldn't. Everything hurt and she felt completely drained.

"The doctors didn't know what was happening to you. It was like your brain was sending signals to your body to shock yourself. And at that voltage and that amount of electricity...it was lethal. It should have killed you hours ago."

Evalynn stared at her mother, wide eyed. The SQUIP had been giving her deadly amounts of electricity when it shocked her. What had it been trying to accomplish? Seeing the distress in her daughter's eyes, Heidi quickly took her by the hand in an attempt to calm her.

"Your friends actually wanted to talk to you alone, so I'm going to step out and find a doctor, okay?"

Evalynn nodded slightly, still unable to find her voice. Squeezing her hand, Heidi exited the room to give the teens some privacy.

"Okay. Don't get mad, but I told them about the SQUIPs," Connor started.

Immediately, Evalynn's heart rate increased and the monitor next to her bed betrayed her by showing it.

"I said don't get mad! And your mom still doesn't know, by the way."

Her heart rate slowed slightly, but not much.

"Anyway, I mentioned that the last thing you were thinking about was Michael and the fact that the drink used to deactivate them was discontinued in the 90s..." here Connor looked over at Michael.

"Well, you know I collect stuff like that? So I went through my collection and it hit me: Mountain Dew Red!"

Evalynn knit her eyebrows together, confused.

"Think about it," Jeremy jumped in. "Green Mountain Dew activates it, right? So Red shuts it off!"

"Guys, try not to overwhelm her. She just woke up," Evan cut in as her heartbeat started to pick back up.

"So, anyway, after the stunt the SQUIP pulled, we had Michael grab some, and-" Jared started.

"GUYS!" Zoe and Evan shouted in unison.

Everyone fell silent, listening to Evalynn's heart rate slow back down. They all looked sheepishly between her and Evan, ashamed they hadn't listened sooner.

"Michael, do you have it?" Connor broke the silence finally.

"Yeah, and I brought a second just in case you wanted to...you know, get rid of yours, too."

Michael reached into his bag and brought out the two bottles of soda, handing them over to Connor. After setting one of the soft drinks underneath his chair, Connor stood and brought the other one over to Evalynn.

"Now, we all agree that it would be for the best if you drink this, but it is ultimately your choice," he said, placing the Mountain Dew Red on the nightstand beside her bed.

"A-are you going t-to drink y-yours?" she asked, throat burning as she spoke for the first time.

"I...yes. Yes, I am. I don't want it any more. Not since I saw what it's capable of with yours."

"Synced up."

"What?"

"M-mine synced w-with yours when I f-first got i-it. O-only one of u-us has t-to drink i-it."

"Are you sure?"

"P-pretty sure. A-and if it d-doesn't work, I-I'll drink it. I p-promise."

Her throat was screaming in protest with every word she spoke. Connor nodded his head in understanding.

"Okay. You ready?"

Evalynn nodded in agreement, eyes locked on him as he unscrewed the lid and drank from the soda. When a quarter of the drink was gone, he lowered it, waiting. A second later, he clutched his head in pain. Evalynn joined him a few moments later. After nearly two minutes of pain, it stopped. The two teens stared at each other. Evalynn felt slightly empty, like a piece of her was missing.

"Did it work? Are they both gone?" Jeremy asked.

"I think so. Evalynn?"

"I-it's gone. I d-don't feel i-it any more."

"It worked?"

"It worked."