Closeted high-school jock Troy Allstar needs the last lake-weekend of summer to be perfect because it sets the tone for the school year to come. Instead, he grapples with his non-binary sibling's out-and-proud lip syncs, an inability to shake off hi...
The concoction of stimulants hits Kate's central nervous system like a circus strongman smashing a carnival strength machine with a mallet, sending metal cylinder flying up to ring a round bell. Her central nervous system ding, ding, dings!
She suddenly feels like she can do anything; surely that includes finding a cure for Carlie in the time it will take her to get them pizza from the grubby canteen servicing the cottage area.
"Let's do this," she orders herself with the intensity of a cyborg gladiatrix.
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She jerks opens the lid of an orange refrigeration unit labelled with both the biohazard and radiation symbol, releasing a blast of cold vapor into the air.
Using a pair of tongs, she carefully removes a vial with a pulsing green liquid that screams mad genius. She slides the glass tube into an injection device, and turns to Carl(Carlie's favorite frog) strapped to a board. It croaks and looks about nervously.
A dark shadow forms behind her, growing demonic bat wings. She doesn't see, stepping toward her next subject.
"OK, Carl, don't let me or Carlie down," she says. With a practiced hand, she slides the needle into its wet skin and injects the helpless amphibian with the green goo.
"Please work. We're running out of ..."
The shadow swirls excitedly. Kate feels a rush of cold air. Her eyes dart to the revolver hidden under a clipboard. She grabs the weapon and turns about, gun pointed. Her arm shakes.
"I'm not afraid to shoot!" she yells at no one. The shadow's gone. The various test creatures in their tanks blink at her; the cobra hisses.
Kate lowers the gun and puts it in her lab coat pocket, wanting to keep it close; she gives it a reassuring squeeze. Her jaw clenches as she turns her attention back to Carl. The injected frog develops glowing bands of blue.
"So far so good," Kate says.
She unstraps the frog and uses the tongs to place the creature into a tank with a mouse happily munching on some dried food pellets.
Kate presses the red button on her phone's recording app and tries to ignore the music blasting in from the party next door.
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