The October Music - Day 21

Dr. Feelgood
If one were so inclined to say something nice about Jimmy, and that was often difficult to do, it could at least be said that he was good at using his words. He never thought of himself as a dealer. Rather, he was a procurer of and merchant of pharmaceutical products. He was also very good at it. Whatever a person wanted, Jimmy would be able to get it. Maybe not right away, but sooner than most.

If he were asked about how he managed to lay his annoyingly-manicured hands on the rarest of medicinal supplements, he would laugh and demure and never reveal a single thing about his distribution network. If asked about how he managed to escape arrest and prosecution, he would simply change the subject, since it was fairly common knowledge that his hands were so deep in the pockets of the local law enforcement that he could tell them to turn their heads and cough.

All of that changed, however, when he came into possession of a certain batch of fentanyl. See, this batch had experimental properties and had been designed to help curb drug abuse by any means necessary. This set of the drug, in particular, had been chemically altered to induce vomiting, with the intended effect being a sort of conditioning to avoid drugs. In theory, it was a brilliant move.

In theory.

The reality was more dire than intended, however. What those in the lab did not take into consideration was the effect that other consumed drugs could have in conjunction with the tainted material. As a result, the expected side effect shifted from unpleasant to deadly as the effect was amplified. In other words, those who took it did throw up. They just happened to do so with the entirety of their organs.

Jimmy went on the run, as he had several furious families hunting for his head after their afflicted loved ones deposited lungs and kidneys and intestines on the floor. He hid where he could and never stayed in the same place for long. Without intending to do so, the authorities had managed to destroy his business, an irony given that they had been trying for years with no success.

Nowhere seemed to be safe for him until he came across a former customer. She had been his lover once and they had shared some hazy times together before she decided to get clean and disappear. He never found out why, but she offered him a safe haven for the night, which he took willingly.

That night, he ate a real meal with gusto. Finally things were turning around for him! It was when his stomach started to rumble that he looked at her in panic. She stared at him, coldness etched on her face, as she told him that she needed to ensure their daughter’s future would be safe. Without him.

On hearing that, he felt his heart leap in his chest.
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And then it leapt out of it.