Edible Essence - Part Two

"That's..." I muse, my footfalls growing faster as I approach the dumpster. As I get within reach I give it a little tap, the giant bin ringing like a hollow drum. Slowly my gaze turns to the chains, the thick metal bands that often kept these things closed, only to find them severed.

A grin spreads across my lips in a eureka moment. I drop my bag and reach up to the top of the dumpster with one hand and into my pocket to get my phone with another, eager to confirm my guess of the mysterious hiding place and to call in the tip in the hopes of some sort of reward.

However, as I look inside my grin falls away as my jaw goes slack and my eyes go wide. I slide my phone back into my pocket as I spy a full and unopened unmarked bottle of raw edible essence.

The clear plastic bottle looks more like a jar, the plump and rounded design looking more like a repurposed jar of bulk peanut butter or discount cheese puff. The white plastic lid does little to hide the terrible contents within, the clear walls emanating a bright colorful menagerie of light like a constantly shifting lantern of rainbow glows.

With my heart pounding in my cheat and my blood running cold I reach down into the dumpster, straining and even coming off my feet as I reach inside to snatch up the illicit prize. I feel as though my arm is about to pop from my socket as I grunt and struggle, the metal rim digging into my gut only making the endeavor even worse. Suddenly, I feel the cold plastic as my finger tips as I wrap them around it greedily before snatching it back.

Tumbling backwards I stumble into the street, my gaze locked to the abnormally large capsules filled with swirling colorful shimmer. Cold sweat creeps down my spine as it sink in just what I was holding, the contraband essence within seeming to move and shift about like a living creature as opposed to the docile drifting I had always seen on TV.

My thoughts turn to a blurred mess as I snatch up my grocery bag and begin to stumble home. I slide the container into my bag, barely even registering what I was doing as I make the short trek back to my cramped apartment.

The whole building seems quieter as I shamble my way up the stairs, the hallways seeming deathly quiet now that I had essence in my possession. "What did I just do..." I wheeze under my breath, the faint glow emanating from the flimsy plastic bag.

Swallowing hard as I reach my floor, I quickly snatch my keys from my pocket in the hopes of making a mad dash to the front door. For a moment feel my blood turn to ice as I hear a door bump against it's frame, the faint sound of footsteps creeping in not far behind.

I freeze, my key inches from my front door as I hear my neighbors from across the hall speak in hushed tones from inside their own apartment.

"Is... asleep?" Thomas asks, the banker in his mid-thirties sounding mildly worried.

"Yeah, he's... I was going... from... store while..." Haley coos softly, the young stay-at-home mutters as the door handle rattles. My heart seizes up for a moment, my eyes darting down to the glowing bag clasped firmly in my white-knuckled hand.

However, the door doesn't swing open to reveal my neighbor. Instead, all I'm met with is the sound of a firm thud followed by shallow gasping and subtle moaning.

Taking my chance while I had it I quickly fumble with my door. In a swift motion I push the door open, roughly, tumbling inside with little grace or decorum as I kick the door shut behind me. I feel like I'm drenched in sweat despite the frigid temperature, the panic and anxiety leaving me practically soaked to the bone.

As I trudge to the coffee table I slowly place the bag down. Shuffling around in a daze I pick out one of the cheap cup of noodles and wander into the kitchen, slowly going through the motions of getting the simple food prepared. By the time the kettle is boiled is the situation has finally set in, my gaze practically locked to the shifting colors emanating from the thin white plastic bag.

With a fork and cheap styrofoam cup of noodle and boiling water in hand I creep back to the sofa, carefully placing the food down before collapsing into the cushions myself.

"Fuck..." I whisper to myself, keeping my voice down as though someone else was around to hear me. "I can't believe that... I shouldn't have..." I groan softly before biting my bottom lip hard.

Reach out I tug the bag down, freeing it's contents as I get a closer look at the thick colorful capsules I had fished from the dumpster. Pulling my phone from my pocket I quickly look up pictures Essence-tials official product, soon bringing up advert after advert for comparison.

Flashing across my phone are images of tiny pills, no bigger than a normal ibuprofen, each one colored differently with a slight amount of shimmer inside. The silvery light appears at the center, for lack of a better word, dead as it merely bobs along with the motion of the pill itself.

Glancing up at my prize from the bin the differences are obvious. The pills are downright massive in comparison, some verging being inedible without chewing, a piece of cheap masking tape binding the center of each. Each are just as vibrantly colored as those in the commercial footage, glimmering in all the colors of the rainbow. However, the shimmering effect is far more drastic and appears to fill far more of each of the giant capsules.

Not only does the shimmering silvery effect take up far more space, the glowing strands seem more active. Not content with merely floating like the simple pills from the videos, the shimmering effect appears to writhe and thrash about against the walls of their oval prison. It's almost entrancing to watch if it wasn't so terrifying, the liveliness of the liquid held within the pills only leaving me with horrifying questions as to where it came from.

Reaching out I quickly open the large plastic bottle, taking out the top pill. Spinning it a little in my hand I watch as the dim mauve liquid inside appears to roil, coiling itself up before lashing against the sides of the gel-like container. The tape strains and flexes slightly under the assault, the cheap material appearing to be a more integral part of the construction than I had first thought.

As I slowly rotate the large pill I begin to read the tape, messy sharpie having been hastily scrawled across the length making it almost illegible.

'Smarts'

 "Huh..." I mutter, my gaze turning to the remainder of the pills and the various scrawling wrapping each of them. The handwriting is different for each, the person that made the edible essence in question having hastily scrawled whatever key information they thought would sell the product or simply based on what they think made it inside the pill.

Reaching out I grab a few more out, the thrashing of each making me worried they break open if I drop any.

'ManPixD'

'SK-DanB'

'ProS10k'

'Youth'

I blink rapidly as if to reset my brain after reading the last one, my eyes darting back to the other pills now jostling slightly on the dinged up wooden coffee table.

"The hell do..." I huff, glancing over the non-sense letters scrawled around the pill. "Is this code or..." I muse, trying to decipher the random sets of capitals and occasional number on each of the capsules. Some were simple, often with crisp and clear handwriting, while all too many both resting on the coffee table and remaining in the jar were some terrible mess of barely legible chicken scratch.

As I rotate the 'Youth' pill in my hands I feel it shift, the shell twisting slightly under some applied force. The tape thankfully keeps it closed, the adhesive holding firm and keeping the semi-soft container from separating or turning too much.

My heart leaps into my throat as I watch the shimmering moss green substance inside the capsule appear to lunge at me. Perhaps it was my overly stressed mind, but for a moment it seemed like it was desperate to get out and towards me.

I hastily place the pill down before putting my head in my hands, letting out a loud groaning breath as I try to take mental stock of just what I had sitting in front of me. As I slowly ease my gaze back up I reach out, tipping over the container gently as the thick colorful capsules begin to spill out slowly. Thankfully only a couple manage to tumble free before the bottle becomes clogged, the glowing ovals that managed to free themselves soon coming to a stop on the table, bouncing against those I had more carefully placed.

"I'm... fucked..." I wheeze, my head whipping about as I look between the edible essence and my front door. For a second I think about putting them back or maybe calling in what I found, however, the thought of the terrible repercussions I could face soon quells those ideas.

"I should... I should just get rid of..." I mutter, rocking a little in my seat as I lock my gaze to the thick and overly large pills. Slowly but surely my gaze shifts, looking at the bottom of the barrel instant noodles I had bought myself. Creeping ever so slowly into my mind I slowly find myself wondering how much these things would be worth to the right buyer, the large jug potentially being an easy out of my financial predicament.

I swallow hard as I look back the the overturned container and the various glimmering pills resting on the table, my heart race rapidly building as I like my lips.

"Should I... test one?" I whisper, slumping back in my seat and looking up at the ceiling. I had no clue what more than half the writing meant, how could a sell 'mystery pills' like that? On the other hand, even if someone else did the test would I even know?

"I mean... some of these are simple enough" I huff, looking at the mauve 'Smarts' pill again. Looking beside it a spy one of the newly freed capsules beside it, a frown spreading across my face as I stare at its pale pink neighbor.

'Sk-CosG'

"What the.... What does that even mean?" I grumble, poking at the pill before rolling it back to towards the overturned jar. As the pink pill taps the jammed opening of the container it seems to jostle the clumped up capsules just enough to let more spill out.

Lurching forward I grab the container, twisting it right side up as I try to keep the pills from spilling over the edge of the table with my knees and my remaining free hand. Once more I look over the labels, sighing to myself as I find near all of them written in the maker's shorthand.

I wasn't going to be able to do much with the majority of these things, at least not without working out what the hell they meant. However, as the frustration built inside me so did a sense of intrigue. Why shouldn't I try one?

"Might help get me out of this...funk" I chuckle nervously, trying to break the dire mood I had found myself in. Looking around I take in my cramped apartment, the cheap yet cozy home's cheap rent still being too much now that I was unemployed. "Wonder if any of these could get me my job back" I muse, laughing a little louder as I slowly sit back up.

With a deep breath I turn my attention to the contraband I had accumulated on the table. Slowly I reach out as...