CHAPTER 99: THE SECOND DOSE.

Mira woke at five in the morning, two hours before Raquel and Liam would typically stir. She lay in bed for a moment, staring at the ceiling, knowing that today would change everything. There would be no going back after this.

She got up and moved quietly to her desk, pulling out the two vials of purple potion. In the dim pre-dawn light, they looked almost black, the liquid inside thick and viscous. She tucked them into her pocket and headed to the kitchen.

Breakfast needed to be special today. Elaborate enough to distract from any strange taste, appealing enough that they wouldn’t question eating it despite their confusion. She pulled out ingredients and started cooking.

Pancakes with butter and syrup. Scrambled eggs with cheese. Fresh fruit arranged on a plate. Toast with jam. It was more food than they usually ate for breakfast, but Mira needed them focused on the meal, not on what they were drinking.

She filled the kettle and set it to boil, then arranged three mugs on the counter. Her hands were shaking slightly as she dropped tea bags into each one. She’d barely slept, and the weight of what she was about to do pressed down on her chest like a stone.

The kettle whistled. Mira poured hot water into all three mugs, then added sugar and milk to make them identical. She let the tea steep for exactly three minutes, just like she had with the first dose.

Then she pulled out the vials.

The purple liquid seemed darker in the morning light, almost sinister. Mira uncorked the first vial and held it over Raquel’s mug. Her hand hesitated.

This dose was stronger. More concentrated. The effects would be severe, possibly dangerous. The journal had warned about seizures, hallucinations, permanent damage.

But Liam had asked too many questions last night. Raquel was reading her old journal entries and feeling disconnected. They were starting to realize something was wrong. If she doesn’t move now, they might figure it out completely.

She poured the first vial into Raquel’s mug and stirred it carefully. The purple mixed with the brown tea, creating a strange dark color. She added more milk to lighten it, making it look normal.

Then she did the same with Liam’s mug, emptying the second vial and stirring thoroughly.

She arranged everything on a tray and carried it to the living room just as she heard movement from the couch.

Raquel was sitting up, her hair messy, her eyes unfocused. "What time is it?"

"Morning," Mira said brightly, setting the tray down on the coffee table. "I made us breakfast. Thought we could all use a good meal."

Liam emerged from the hallway, looking even worse than Raquel. His eyes were bloodshot and he moved like he wasn’t sure where his limbs were. "What day is it?"

"Tuesday," Mira said, though she honestly wasn’t completely sure herself anymore. "Come on, eat. You’ll feel better with some food in you."

They both sat down slowly, staring at the food like they weren’t sure what to do with it. The first dose had done its work perfectly. They were confused, disoriented, vulnerable.

Mira picked up her own mug and took a sip, showing them it was safe. "The tea’s really good this morning. I found a new blend."

Raquel reached for her mug with trembling hands. "I can’t remember what we’re doing here," she said quietly. "In Mumbai. I know you told me, but it’s gone."

"We talked about this yesterday," Mira said gently. "The stress is making you forget things. But it’s temporary. Once you rest and recover, everything will come back."

"Will it?" Raquel’s eyes were filling with tears. "Because it feels like I’m disappearing."

"You’re not disappearing. You’re just tired. Now drink your tea and eat something."

Raquel lifted the mug to her lips and drank. Mira watched carefully, her heart pounding. The liquid was slightly darker than usual, slightly thicker. Would they notice?

But Raquel just drank it without comment, too exhausted and confused to pay attention.

Liam picked up his mug next. "Why does everything feel wrong?" he asked. Then he drank before Mira could answer.

Mira forced herself to eat breakfast normally, making conversation, acting like everything was fine. She checked her watch discreetly. According to the journal, the second dose would take effect within thirty minutes.

Twenty minutes in, Raquel set down her fork. "I feel weird."

"Weird how?" Mira asked.

"Dizzy. And there are spots in my vision. Like little lights floating around."

"That’s probably just low blood sugar. Eat some more."

But Raquel pushed her plate away. "No, it’s getting worse. The room is spinning."

Liam grabbed the edge of the coffee table. "Me too. Everything’s moving."

"Just lie back on the couch," Mira said, her voice steady even though panic was starting to build in her chest. "It’s the exhaustion catching up with you. Your bodies need to rest."

They both lay back, but instead of calming down, they got worse.

By the one hour mark, Raquel was crying. Not about anything specific, just tears streaming down her face while she stared at the ceiling. "I don’t understand what’s happening to me," she whispered.

Liam kept asking the same questions over and over. "Where am I? Who are you? Why can’t I remember?" Each time Mira answered, he would nod and then ask again thirty seconds later, completely forgetting.

Mira pulled out her grandmother’s journal with shaking hands, flipping to the section on the second dose. The symptoms matched what the book described, but they were more intense than she’d expected.

"Memory fragmentation occurring in real time," she read. "Subject may experience severe disorientation, emotional instability, and loss of identity. Symptoms peak at two hours, then gradually stabilize as new memories implant."

Two hours. She just had to get them through two hours.

But at the ninety minute mark, everything went wrong.

Raquel’s crying suddenly stopped. Her body went rigid, her back arching off the couch. Her eyes rolled back and her limbs started jerking violently.

"Raquel!" Mira jumped up, the journal falling from her hands.

A seizure. The journal had warned about seizures.

Liam tried to sit up, saw what was happening to Raquel, and started screaming. Not words, just raw terror pouring out of his throat. He tried to stand but his legs gave out and he collapsed onto the floor.

Mira’s hands were shaking so badly she could barely hold them steady. This was worse than the journal described. Much worse.

Raquel’s seizure continued, her body convulsing on the couch while foam appeared at the corners of her mouth. Liam had curled into a ball on the floor, mumbling incoherently. Words that didn’t make sense strung together in random order.

Mira ran back to her room and grabbed the black box. Inside, nestled beside the calabash, was a small syringe and a vial of clear liquid. Her grandmother’s journal had mentioned it as an emergency measure.

"If subject experiences severe adverse reaction, administer sleep serum. Two drops per injection. Will induce immediate unconsciousness for twelve hours, allowing brain to process changes without additional trauma."

Mira’s hands shook as she filled the syringe with the clear liquid. She had to do this. She had to stop the seizure before Raquel hurt herself.

She knelt beside the couch and grabbed Raquel’s arm, trying to hold it steady enough to inject. Raquel’s body was thrashing so violently that Mira could barely keep hold.

"I’m sorry," Mira whispered, then pushed the needle into Raquel’s arm and pressed the plunger.

The effect was almost immediate. Raquel’s body went limp, the seizure stopping as quickly as it had started. Her breathing evened out and her eyes closed.

Mira checked her pulse. Strong and steady. She was just sleeping now.

Then she turned to Liam, who was still curled on the floor, mumbling nonsense. His eyes were open but he wasn’t seeing anything, lost in whatever hallucination the potion had created.

Mira refilled the syringe and knelt beside him. He didn’t even react when she took his arm, too lost in his own mind to notice.

The needle went in and within seconds, Liam’s mumbling stopped. His body relaxed and his eyes drifted closed.

Mira sat back against the wall, breathing hard. Both of them were unconscious now, their chests rising and falling in steady rhythm. The worst was over.

But the apartment was a disaster. The breakfast tray knocked over, food scattered across the floor. The journal lying open with its pages crumpled. Evidence everywhere of what had just happened.

Mira stood on shaking legs and started cleaning. She gathered the scattered food, wiped up spills, straightened furniture. She picked up the journal and tucked it back in her room. She threw away the empty vials.

By the time she was done, the apartment looked normal again. Just two people sleeping peacefully on the couch and floor.

Except they weren’t sleeping peacefully. They were unconscious from a drug that was forcing their brains to forget everything they were and accept false memories in its place.

Mira sat in the chair across from them and pulled out her notebook of prepared memories. She had twelve hours while they slept. Twelve hours to finalize every detail of the false histories she would feed them when they woke up.

She started reviewing the stories she’d written. The childhood they never had. The school they never attended. The reasons they came to Mumbai that never existed.

Every lie had to be perfect. Every detail had to align.

Because when Raquel and Liam woke up in twelve hours, they wouldn’t be the same people anymore. The second dose would have done its work, erasing large portions of their real memories and leaving gaps that Mira would fill with fiction.

She looked at her phone. Messages from Everett asking for updates. She texted back: "Extraction still on schedule for 48 hours."

His response came immediately: "Be careful. The people watching you are getting more active. I saw three vehicles circling your block this morning."

Mira walked to the window and looked out carefully. The street looked normal, but that didn’t mean anything. They could be watching from anywhere.

She closed the curtains and returned to her chair, the notebook in her lap.

Twelve hours until they woke up.

Forty-eight hours until extraction.

But she’d come too far to stop now. Raquel and Liam were already changing, their real identities dissolving under the influence of the potion. In twelve hours, they would wake up as different people.

Mira looked at them sleeping and felt something twist in her chest. Guilt, maybe. Or regret.

But she pushed it down, just like she always did.