I woke up last night to Antonio staring at me curiously again, unblinking. It has since become morning, and he has left the tent to go freshen up in private, suddenly refusing to even acknowledge me. The mask is sticky when I wedge it back on my face, the scent reeking but still tolerable, I'm not sure how much longer I'll be able to keep this up until she fully decays. How did Mystiko do it? Surely he had some kind of special chemical that kept them pristine.
When I exit the tent fully dressed up, I find Leon and Shushi leaving their separate tents at the same time, lovers following close behind. Together, we all head into the warehouse where the herbalists are no longer rushing frantically but are now standing and staring at us with straight postures and shaking knees. We all head up the spiral staircase, finding Antonio already here, observing the newest creation with scrutiny; it's pale red and noticeably viscous as he swirls it around in its test tube. Once we finally catch up, the presentation begins.
"How'd it go?" Leon asks, yawning wide. Perhaps he was up all night due to the heat as well.
The person in charge, a herbalist with a steel nametag that says 'Callum Von,' steps forward and speaks, "I've done it. This new drug, though girlish in colour, brings upon amazing results with little change from our original recipe."
Shushi scoffs at that, then gestures to the office, "Very well, let's talk in private."
We enter the office, cold air on full blast, and each take our respective seats beside our partners with the head herbalist at the front. He carefully sets down the test tube as he begins explaining, "This newest creation, one we've most recently dubbed PeelZ, is a branch of our most popular drug LinkP, one we've created by adjusting the temperatures and times throughout the distillation process and swapping a few ingredients as well. It's shown to take less than ten minutes to kick in, a whole three times faster than the leading product, and creates both senses of calm and motivation, putting the consumers in an absolute flow state that lasts between three to twelve hours depending on body composition and diet."
"How much does it cost to produce?" Leon asks, observant, though I occasionally catch him sneaking glances at the coffee bar.
"About one hundred hundred for two tons, we suspect that will be the ideal starting amount until we can begin growing our own ingredients rather than ordering them in."
"What's the portion you were testing with?" Antonio asks, sounding genuinely curious.
"Just fifteen grams of liquid or it can be dried down to one gram of powder." The herbalist responds with confidence, truly proud of his work.
"And the withdrawal symptoms?" Shushi chimes in, also eyeing the food.
The herbalist takes a moment to let the question settle, and when he responds, it's like he's declaring we've won something, "Absolute madness."
The remainder of the meeting goes on professionally, Callum went on to mention the scientists affected, the proportions of ingredients used, suggested suppliers, and side effects they were working on eliminating—the world one being moderate to severe dehydration.
"And finally, we'd strongly suggest distributing to Snowfall of Explosives first, where one of our most prominent clients live-" Callum gestures to the board. "-Quinn Dax."
"Why is that?" Shushi asks with genuine curiosity now.
"Just think of it-" Callum places his hands on the long table and leans forward, speaking excitedly.
So that's what it is.
He seems to be the actual mastermind behind all of this and they're just his audience. So how did Dima fit into this mess? He wouldn't be the type to let someone else take the lead and credit. Never.
"-A place like Snowfall of Explosives, with a drug that motivates yet also calms people? That war will finally be logical. And spread."
Impressed murmurs begin to rise as we all look at each other, and it dawns on me, the women haven't said a word, nor moved a muscle while the men did all the talking.
"I like that," Leon nods, his attention now zeroed in on the excited herbalist.
"Exactly. Just think about it, amidst the chaos of a nation-wide civil war, we take over the capital, take out the board that's in charge, and we take over the nation. Then, we're set, living the high life with our every order being granted."
"Looks like a treat is heading your way soon," Shushi adds with pep.
"Well then, what are we waiting for?" I finally speak, refusing to fall into the background as my fist slams on the table, gazing around, voice booming. "Let's get these fuckers into production and head straight for Snowfall of Explosives!"
The men talk excitedly amongst themselves, occasionally shooting me glances of respect, before they break with a clap of their hands, heading straight for the coffee bar.
Who the fuck drinks after the meeting? You'd think hearing vital details with an awake mind would be common sense.
Callum exits, posture exuding pride. The women still don't move, focusing ahead, covered head to toe while the men prepare their drinks and snacks in celebration, patting each others' backs as they finally take off their masks, smiling widely.
By the time we finally disperse and head elsewhere, both Leon and Shushi combined have drank eighteen cups of tea; eight ibupara, seven ephedra, three bacci spore, and a good three pounds of dried food. They leave bloated, content, and proud as they walk with their stomachs protruding, cheering on anyone still working and threatening those standing around and staring at their gluttonous selves.
All that remains is just Antonio and myself, the lovers of those two pigs following behind like obedient mutts. We sit across from each other, myself cradling an ibupara tea and him glaring with nothing; I can't see his face, but I know he's glaring.
"What the fuck was that?" He finally speaks, voice low and bone chilling.
"What was what?" I sip my tea, fending off the sour flavour and bitter aftertaste. This is definitely spoiled, probably got molded by the humidity.
"You speaking up in a meeting meant for men. Why would you risk our cover and your safety by doing that?"
"Who said it was meant for men?" I tilt my head slightly, feigning ignorance. "I saw two other women there, though soft spoken, and I knew what steps we needed to take next."
"How the hell is rushing into the very place we were told to avoid from the start possibly the next steps we need to take? Do you know how many people you're going to get killed due to your brash stupidity?"
"My brash stupidity?" I can't help but laugh, placing a hand over my mouth as I work to muffle myself from the outsiders; I may have perfected her voice, but I have no clue how she laughed. "Do you not understand what an opportunity this is?"
"Enlighten me."
"The drugs haven't been fully researched and developed yet, and if you had paid any attention, most of our suppliers needed to process the PeelZ are in Snowfall of Explosives, meaning, for your slow, smooth brain, there is more information and ingredients we can gather and deliver to the school." I rise up from my seat, suddenly disinterested in the final half of my beverage. "We'll be the first ones to travel there, I'll make sure of it, so you can come along, or don't, it doesn't matter to me."
By the time I'm out of the warehouse, cars and trucks are being ignited and stashed with the essentials. Leon and Shushi both notice me as they stand in front of a five-seater truck, their lovers by their sides, and wave happily towards me as they call me over.
Too dangerous to talk in a men only meeting.
Ridiculous.
A deep rumbling shakes my skull within my head, vibrating my eyes, staticking my lips, and numbing my face. Finally awakening, I'm perched atop a stone pillar, explosives going off in the distance—mushroom-like. A sea of thick red and green gradients rests around me, mini waves splashing against my structure like complex codes communicating with me, originating from far, warning me of a nearing threat. An owl swoops overhead, stopping midair as if frozen in time and hovers before me, wings wide and majestic.
We don't speak, nor communicate in any way. Instead, I watch as the thick air around its colourful feathers push and pull and cling to the fibers of its being. A snowy barn owl majestic in its beauty, but impossible in its region.
The Earth below me trembles, and I gaze down to find a portal to hell—red, brilliant, and glowing. Out of it climbs a creature I've seen before, but do not recognize nor remember. It possesses twenty-four eyes, twelve arms, seven legs, and a body the size of a tank. Its nose looks like the barrel of a tank as well. And as it rolls out from its hole, wings begin to sprout from its back, and soon there's a flying pig hovering before me, almost owl-like in its nature, but I know that's a tank.
It honks, a goose launching from its barrel, and the stone crumbles.