SIDE EFFECT

                                                 CHAPTER - 1

Jackson wakes up and regains consciousness once again. He wakes up and finds himself in a bedroom. His pistol was gone. "Hello Jackson" said a voice. The owner of the voice stood in front of him. He was pointing Jackson’s Pistol at him. “It’s time Jackson” said the man which made Jackson's Heartbeat to rise.

Jackson packs his school bag and left for school excitedly. He is a student at the A.B.V.N High school. The reason for his excitement was that it was the last day of high school. A chapter in his life was going to get over. A new chapter called college was about to start in his life. He worked hard and tried his best to somehow get into med school. His lifelong ambition was to become a doctor. It was time to attend the graduation ceremony.

(After a week)

A week after graduation, One day when Jackson was checking his smartphone to see if there were any whatsapp messages. There was none, so he kept his phone on the table and was about to begin his morning routine, when a beep sound was heard and the phone vibrated. He took his smartphone and saw a message that was sent from an unknown number. The message went like this: A BREAKTHROUGH IN SCIENCE HAS OCCURRED. NEW SCIENTIFIC TECHNOLOGY THAT CAN ENHANCE YOUR LEARNING SKILLS. THIS MESSAGE HAS BEEN SENT ONLY TO THREE OTHER PEOPLE. IF YOU ARE INTERESTED AND WANT TO USE THIS TECHNOLOGY TO BECOME A VIVID LEARNER, COME TO JAMES PARK SITUATED AT BAY ROAD AT 10:30 AM. GET THIS SCIENTIFIC TECHNOLOGY BY JUST PAYING 10 DOLLARS.

                                              CHAPTER-2

Jackson Did not know what to make of this message. He couldn't understand the head and tail of the message. The words technology and vivid learner caught his eyesight. He decided to check it out.

The next morning he left for James park which was situated about 4 kms from his home. He went to the park and found three students from his school. Their names were Cole, Joanne and Pamela. They had all received the same text.

Cole was an Avid motorcyclist, his craze for automobiles made him want to do automobile engineering at a prestigious university.

Joanne wanted to become a professor. She admired teachers from a small age. She loved explaining complicated topics to her fellow peers and to make them understand.

Pamela wanted to become a space scientist. She was considered a nerd at school. She was an introvert. She was mesmerized by space after she saw a documentary about space on Discovery Channel. She wanted to explore space.

                                              CHAPTER-3

Cole, Jackson and Joanne were having a deep conversation about the message which they had all received. Pamela stood near them and gave monosyllabic reply when someone asked her something.

A black Limo came and parked near to them. The driver stepped out of the limo and asked the students to get into the car. The Driver was a tall young man maybe about 26 years old, he had a charming smile and a scar on his forehead. "My name is Douglas. I work for Saturn Laboratories. You four are the lucky kids who are about to see and experience breathtaking scientific breakthrough. I will take you kids to the Laboratory and you will meet Dr. Harmon Matthew who is the pioneer of this technology". The driver said.

Cole, Jackson, Joanne got into the car except Pamela. Cole asked "Pam, Are you not coming?". "Guys do we know what we are getting into.?. Why are we 4 the only ones being part of this experiment? What if we get into Trouble"? asked Pamela. "Mam you will have all the answers once you meet Dr.Harmon" Said Douglas. "Yeah Pam Let's give it a try. If we don't Like it we can return home" said Joanne.

                                                      CHAPTER - 4

The Journey from the park to Saturn labs lasted for 15 minutes. The gates opened on its own as soon as the car neared the gate. The Letters Saturn Laboratory was written in front of a small room. It did not look like a big scientific lab or anything but instead it looked like a warehouse. In front of the room stood a man in a white coat who was Dr.Harmon. Dr. Harmon was a thin tall man . He was about 55 years old. He greeted the kids one by one and introduced himself. They stepped into the room which consisted of a table. On that table,4 small boxes were present.

Jackson asked “ Dr.Harmon what is inside those boxes”. Harmon said ”Why don’t you kids go ahead and open the box?”. Jackson picked up the box and opened it. Inside he found 3 orange color pills. The others also opened the remaining boxes and each of them found 3 orange pills present inside it. Harmon said “Those pills are the scientific breakthrough kids. If you consume those pills you can enhance your learning abilities. The pill contains certain combinations that develop all the areas of the brain necessary for learning. You can acquire any skill that may be useful for your career.” Cole asked “Does the pill really do all that ?Are we supposed to eat all of them together? Did u try it?”

Harmon said “Kids I know you must be having a lot of questions that needs answers, allow me to tackle your questions one by one. Coming to your questions Cole, Yes the pill really does all that I mentioned of. It can develop all the areas of the brain necessary for learning. You can acquire the skills necessary for your career. Coming to your second question, No you should not eat them all. The first pill gives you the benefit for 10 years. If I am right you guys must be 17 years old right now. Am I right?” All of them nodded in unison. “So if u consume the first pill right now it will give you the necessary skill and development up till you guys become 27 years old. Then you should consume the next pill and it will give you the benefit for next 10 years. The third pill gives you benefits for up to another 10 years.”

Joanne asked “ Why is there not a fourth pill doctor? ” Why only three”?. “The reason my dear is that by the time you consume the last pill you will be 37 years old, and then after you eat the pill it will give you benefits till the age of 47. This is what we have found via experiments. But after the age of 47 the pill just does not work for some reason which we have been unable to find out”, Answered the Doctor.

“ I can guarantee you that you will after taking these pills do well in your exams just by studying for a little time. You can learn things quickly than the average person does. But the benefits won’t be lifelong. All good things must come to an end”, We gave the pills to a student few years back, she got major benefits out of it. Have you heard about Sandy Walker?” Cole replied “ You mean the author Sandy Walker”. “Yup”. Harmon Replied. “Here I have her contact number, if you are not sure about these pills you can contact her via this number”. “She is a living example” He handed a piece of paper with a phone number to Jackson. Pamela who was listening to the Doctor asked him “Doctor what about the side effects?”. “If it really gives the benefits you mentioned it must definitely have some side effects”.

“You are right Pamela it does have some side effects. Upon consuming the pill you might get a migraine headache that will last for 2 days. The headache will disappear on its own.” They asked some more questions to the doctor, some of the questions were repetitive, but Harmon patiently answered them all. When the kids were about to leave Harmon said “Do not tell about this pill to anyone else. If the government finds out then they will not allow me to develop this and take it to the next level. This pill was developed for kids who worked hard to reach the top of the class. I Don’t what every Tom, Dick and Harry to get this pill and do no hard work and reach the top”.

                                                    CHAPTER-5

The kids took the boxes and paid 10 dollars. They waved goodbye to The Doctor and got into the Limo, which took them back to the park. They all got down and waved goodbye to Douglas. Joanne immediately said “Hey Jackson, give me the number of Sandy Walker, I don’t believe anything the guy said, Let’s find out if that author really did take these pills and get benefits out of it”. All of them agreed. Joanne took out her mobile and dialed the number. “Hello” a female voice said. “Mam are you Sandy Walker who is an author.” Joanne asked. “Yes” the voice said. Joanne put the phone in speaker and told about Dr.Harmon and his pills. Sandy conformed that what he said was true about the pills. All of them decided to consume the first pill right now.

                                                     CHAPTER-6

30 YEARS LATER

COLE’S LIFE:

Cole had started a big automobile workshop. He studied automobile engineering and passed out with flying colors. He could tell what was wrong with the vehicles that were brought to his workshop just by listening to the sound of the car or motorcycle. After taking the second pill he went on to develop a new car brand. After taking the third pill he developed his car brand even more and opened multiple dealerships and became a millionaire.

JOANNE’S LIFE:

Joanne took the first pill and got a job as a professor at Harvard. The second pill enhanced her skills to a level where her voice and explanation skills become mesmerizing, which in turn made students love her classes. After consuming the third pill her skills skyrocketed and she received the best teacher award.

PAMELA’S LIFE:

Pamela after consuming the first pill got into Cambridge University. Her mathematical skills were at the peak, which astounded her professors at Cambridge. She got a job as space scientist at NASA. After consuming the third pill her skills become top notch, which made her invent new space probing technologies and upgrade the existing ones. She was well known and was revered by her peers at NASA.

JACKSON’S LIFE:

Jackson got into Harvard medical school. After taking the second pill he became a famous neurologist. His skills were splendid, he performed surgery with ease. After taking the third pill, he became the best neurologist in the country. He was awarded the best doctor award by the medical association.

                                            CHAPTER-7

Cole was on his motorcycle, he and his team of riders were doing a 500 km ride on a pleasant Sunday morning, and the wind in his face and the joy of cornering in the twisties gave him the ultimate pleasure. They were riding on mountain roads. When Cole was approaching a corner suddenly everything in front of him became dark. All he could see was darkness, his heartbeat raced and he could not see where he was going, he could hear his motorbike engine and the sound of the motorbikes of his teammates. His eyesight was completely gone. That was the last thing he heard before he lost control of his motorbike and fell down 300 feet.

Joanne was walking back to her home from the university, her phone suddenly rang, it was her son calling to know when she will be coming home. “Adam Honey, momma’s on her way. I will reach home in 10 minutes.” She could not hear her son’s reply. The call was active but there was no answer from the other end. Joanne ended the call and walked to her home. She thought it must be a network problem and did not take much note of it. While walking to home Joanne wondered why everything around her was silent, there was no sound of cars. She wondered why the roads and streets were silent. She came across an open café where she saw many people sitting inside and chatting. She could see their mouths moving but she could not hear anything. She realized she had become deaf suddenly. She became scared and wanted to rush home to her husband and son and call a doctor immediately. She was about to cross the road, when her phone vibrated. She picked it up to see a text message from her son asking her when she was going to come home as he was hungry. She quickly tried to cross the road without looking. Blood was splattered everywhere on the road.

Pamela woke up at 6.00 am in the morning as usual. She did her yoga workout. She went into her bathroom and looked in the mirror. A chill ran down her spine at the image she saw in the mirror. Her face was covered with boils. Half of her face did not have any skin, thus revealing the skull. She looked like a monster. Not knowing what happened to her face, she was filled with anxiety. She ran down from her apartment onto the street. People who were walking on the street got alarmed on seeing her. Kids started crying. She ran back inside her apartment and closed the door. She called her friends Cole and Pam. But they did not pick up their phone. She tried calling Jackson. Jackson picked up the phone, and said Hello, but Pam couldn’t speak she started choking and she dropped her phone and fell down to the floor.

                                               CHAPTER - 8

Jackson tried calling Pam again and again. But the phone simply went ringing. Sensing some trouble he called 911 and gave them her address and asked them to check up on her. Few minutes later he gets a call. He picks up the phone. The voice on the other end said “Mr. Jackson, I am chief inspector Martin. I came to Miss Pamela’s Apartment to check on her. I found her lying down on the floor. The coroner confirmed that she passed away due to choking. I am sorry Mr. Jackson there was nothing we could do.”

Jackson ended the call with a heavy heart. He dialed Cole’s Number. A “Hello” a voice came from the other end. “Cole is that you? It’s me Jackson; I need to say something about Pam.” The nervous voice on the other end replied “Jackson I am Cole’s Brother, Cole passed away a few hours before. He lost control of his motorbike and fell to his death.”

Jackson sat down on his chair and could not make head or tail of the deaths of two of his friends. He called Joanne next. No answer. He received a text in his high school what’s app group. “The text read “Our dear friend Joanne Parker passed away today after she was hit by a bus when she was trying to cross the road.”

Tears ran down Jackson’s face.

                                                    CHAPTER-9

Jackson attended all of their funerals. He couldn’t stop crying. At night he would lay wide awake thinking about his friends. Few weeks passed after the deaths of Pam, Cole and Joanne. Jackson was wondering about coincidence. He started to suspect some foul play. He was sitting in a café reading a newspaper and having a cup of coffee. When he came across a headline in the Newspaper that shook him to the core. “AUTHOR AND WRITER SANDY WALKER NO MORE”. He immediately went to The Author’s Office. He went inside and met her assistant Tom Wheeler. “She used to complain of severe headache very often. But she never got it checked sir. Her parents suspect foul play, I do too. So her body has been sent for an autopsy.”

Jackson immediately thanked Tom and went to the hospital where the autopsy was being performed. He spoke to the Coroner who said ” some of the areas of her brain had swelled up, we found some traces of an orange color substance. We have been unable to find out what it is or where it came from.” Jackson knew what the orange substance was. It was the residue of the pill. He wanted to find that doctor and ask what was going on. He got into his car and set the location for SATURN LABORATORY. He followed the directions and came to location of the lab. He went in and knocked on the door of the Lab. But no answer. He could not find the Doctor’s Limo also.

Jackson waited for 2 hours but the doctor did not come. He reached for his phone to check the time. Suddenly the world around him started spinning and he started to get Dizzy which made him lose his balance and fell to the floor. Jackson regained Consciousness and got up. He realized that his dizziness was a side effect of the pill and that he might also die after some time. But he did not worry about that, all he wanted to do was to take revenge on the Doctor.

Jackson went back to his home. He did not want to alert the authorities because then the doctor might try to escape. The doctor must have read the news of Sandy’s Death. But he had no idea how he would find the doctor. He searched all over the internet for any info regarding the doctor. But he found nothing. He went to companies that rented limos and asked for black limos that was rented to someone within the city. Something popped up. A limo was rented by someone named Douglas. It was easy to find because private people renting Limos within the city for their personal use was very rare. He asked the company for Douglas’s phone number but the company refused to leak any customer info to private people.

Few weeks passed. Jackson had a couple of episodes of Dizziness. He took his car and went to the rental company and parked opposite to it every day to see if Douglas would come to return the Limo. But no one turned up. Standing opposite to the Limo company might raise suspicions thought Jackson. He saw a hotel opposite to the Limo rental. He luckily got a room in the hotel for a cheap rent. He monitored the Limo Company from his room. At last he caught sight of a black limo with the city number plate turning into the company gate. Douglas got out of the limo and started walking and went and stood at the bus stop adjacent to the Limo rental. Jackson got out of his room and started shadowing Douglas. Jackson saw Douglas board a bus. Jackson took his car and started to follow the bus. The road was a familiar one to Jackson. It was the road to Carter street where Saturn Lab was located. Douglas got down from the bus at the bus stop on Carter street. Jackson also stopped his car and started to follow Douglas. He followed Douglas into the compound where the lab was located. Douglas was about to open the door, when Jackson pointed the revolver at Douglas and said “Game’s up Douglas”. Douglas turned around. His face had become wrinkled due to age, he failed to recognize Jackson. The scar on forehead was still there. ” If it is money you want I can give you money “ said Douglas thinking that Jackson was a robber. “I don’t want money, I want something more than that. I want Dr.Harmon.” replied Jackson.

Douglas was shocked when he heard that name. “Who….Who are you? How do you know Him?” “Do you remember the orange pills that you gave to me and three other kids 30 years back”?. “I am Jackson, I was one of the kids who took the pills”. Jackson said. Douglas did not answer. So Jackson raised his pistol and started to move forward pointing it at Douglas. “Maybe a bullet in your knees might help you remember”. Jackson said. Douglas quickly said “ Wait Jackson,…. Wait, I remember you. What Happened to You?” . “That Pill which you gave me and my friends made us reach heights in our career that no ordinary person could have reached, but your pill gave all of them a horrible death.” Jackson said in an angry and tense voice. I am also dying a slow death. Your pill makes makes me dizzy and causes me to lose my balance and fall down.” Jackson said.

Douglas immediately replied “I am sorry Jackson. We did not expect this to happen”. “Sorry” Jackson said and laughed. “Your sorry won’t bring back my friends”. Douglas said “There is nothing I can do Jackson, put the gun down and let’s talk about this”. “I need to see Harmon right now or else I will shoot you.” Jackson said with his finger on the trigger. But suddenly everything around him started to revolve. He started to get dizzy and he fell down as usual and lost his consciousness.

When he woke up he found himself in a bedroom. It was a new room. “Hello Jackson” said Dr. Harmon. Harmon had become old, he had become very thin and bald. Jackson immediately sat up and tried to attack Harmon. But Harmon pointed Jackson’s pistol at him. “Easy there Jackson”, one more step and I will empty the pistol into your head”. “I am not afraid of dying but what you did is going to bring you some serious consequences” Said Jackson. “Who is going to bring those consequences Jackson. You?” Asked Harmon. “I never designed those pills to kill anybody. I designed it for the benefit of hundreds of students like you. But unfortunately it had side effects which I was not aware of. What I did was a mistake. As soon as I heard the news about Sandy’s Death and all the deaths of your friends I planned to take a flight ticket and escape to some corner of the world. No one is going to suspect me Jackson. You don’t have any proof to prove that it was my pill that was responsible for the deaths of your friends. Jackson knew he was right. He did not have any proof. “I am not an evil man Jackson, but I can’t let you live Jackson. You might go to the press and tell about these pills, some may believe and some might not. I don’t want to take any chances.” Harmon said and pointed the pistol at Jackson. “Just answer this one question Harmon, Did you sell those pills to any other kids?” Jackson asked. “Yes I sold it to 25 kids over the past 30 years. They have not yet died from any side effects. They will soon. They may come to realize that it was my medicine that killed them. But it will be too late. By that time I would either be dead or I would have gone to some corner of the earth where no authority will reach me.” replied the Doctor.

“Now Jackson your successful life has to come to an end. Douglas came into the room and was stood beside Harmon. Douglas said “Goodbye Jackson may your soul rest in peace”. The doctor was about to pull the trigger when Jackson Clutched his head and fell to the ground. “I think he is feeling dizzy,” Douglas said. “This is a side effect of the medicine Harmon said. “Let me try to wake him up .” said Harmon. The Doctor gave the pistol to Douglas and bent down to check on Jackson. Jackson was not unconscious, he was pretending to be. When the doctor bent down to check on Jackson, Jackson retrieved the pocket pistol he was carrying and shot The doctor right on his forehead. The doctor fell to his side. Douglas immediately shot Jackson in the stomach. Douglas kept on pulling the trigger but the pistol failed to fire. The pistol was either empty or something else went wrong with it. Jackson capitalized this opportunity by shooting Douglas in the chest. Douglas died immediately. Jackson knew the bullet had penetrated his vital organs. He started to lose a lot of blood. He thought of his friends and felt pity for the 25 kids who were using the orange pills not knowing about its side effect for one last time.