[ WP ] Humans have discovered that weekly injections can enable the body to give their sweat certain smells . You are part of a focus group sampling holiday flavors when you begin to notice side effects a while after the injection .

“ All I can taste is peppermint. ” 
 
 
 “ Interesting. I ’ ll make a note of it, Andy. Anything else happening besides that? ” 
 
 
 “ Well, I kind of think that ’ s pretty significant. ” His assistant has always been apathetic. I think if I came in having turned into Santa Claus himself, she ’ d react in the same bored manner. If they were paying me more to be a test subject, I wouldn ’ t take her indifference so personally. 
 
 
 “ I ’ ll let him know. He ’ ll be in shortly. ” 
 
 
 This place is set up like a doctor ’ s office, but it ’ s anything but. SmellSwell was the newest up and coming company that had captured the public ’ s imagination. No more body odor! No more stinky pit stains! Make yourself ( join in, everyone, you know the tagline ) SMELLSWELL! It was the weirdest trend, but I had to admit, it was nice going to the gym and smelling cinnamon, vanilla, and whatever “ Ocean Breeze ” was supposed to be. I saw an advertisement on Craigslist that they were looking for people willing to test out their holiday scents. They ’ ve had great success with their core smells and wanted to expand. The pay was better than the zero dollar paycheck I was receiving after walking off my last job, but I just couldn ’ t overlook the rude assistant. Pam. Her name is Pam and she gets under my skin every time I come in here. 
 
 
 Brian was the test engineer who was in charge of my testing protocol. Nice enough kid. When I say “ kid ”, I mean, he looks 15. This company is a start up full of young people who look like they are still in high school. At 32, I feel like the old codger they have to slow down and explain things to. He came in wearing his signature bow tie, skinny jeans, and carrying his clipboard. 
 
 
 “ Hi Andy! Nice to see you! Pam tells me you are tasting peppermint. ” 
 
 
 “ Yeah, started last night and seems like it is getting stronger. I didn ’ t mind it so much with my coffee this morning, but eggs and peppermint suck, I got ta tell you. ” 
 
 
 He chuckled but didn ’ t seem overly concerned. He jotted down a few notes and got the syringe ready for my next injection. 
 
 
 “ Well, at least you smell like candy canes and Christmas, Andy. Things could be worse. You ready? ” 
 
 
 I pulled up my sleeve and he wrapped the tourniquet around my arm. The needle slid in and he pulled back on the syringe plunger so make sure he was in my vein. 
 
 
 “ Here we go. ” He slowly pushed the plunger in and the peppermint smell was overwhelming. 
 
 
 “ Brian, the peppermint, man. It ’ s pretty bad. ” I started to feel nauseous. It ’ s all I could smell or taste. 
 
 
 “ It ’ s okay, it ’ ll pass. ” He started to remove the needle from my arm but it seemed stuck. He pulled harder, but it wasn ’ t coming out of my arm. 
 
 
 “ That ’ s strange. Andy, you mind extending your arm out straight? The needle seems to want to stay stuck. ” 
 
 
 I tried to straighten my arm, but it felt so heavy and thick, I could barely move it. He helped pull it straight and I could see the alarm on his face. 
 
 
 “ I ’ m going to get some help here, Andy, I ’ ll be right back. ” 
 
 
 As he let go of my arm, his fingers stuck to my skin. It was as if my skin turned to fly paper and he was the clueless insect who got stuck on it. 
 
 
 “ PAM! COME IN HERE! ” I was too busy trying not to vomit to help Brian get unstuck from my arm. 
 
 
 Pam entered the room with the same nonchalance she had entered it upon my arrival. Her lifeless eyes opened wide as she took in the scene. “ What happened? Brian? What did you do? ” 
 
 
 “ Get help, Pam! Something is wrong! I can ’ t let go of his arm! ” Pam left the room and I heard her calling for help as she jogged down the hall, her footfalls echoing around us. 
 
 
 “ Andy? Are you okay? ” His voice sounded panicked and I felt a bit of a pull on the skin on my arm. I looked down to see that he was trying to yank himself off arm with all his might. It didn ’ t feel like that but I could see it. His face grimaced as he held his wrist with his free hand and pulled with all his weight. His bow tie now looking like it was too tight around his strained neck muscles and red face. 
 
 
 “ Andy! Come on, Andy, talk to me! ” 
 
 
 I was overcome with a tingling feeling all over my body. It felt like it started in my veins and slowly wrapped around all of my organs and muscles. Kind of cool, but a strangely pleasant sensation despite what was happening to me. I had never felt so heavy or stiff before in my life. Ironically, I was calm. I could see Brian pulling at his hand, still trying to release himself from my arm, but I felt nothing. It was as if I was dreaming and watching what was happening from the comfort of my bed, my head on my cool pillow. There was a scream. Brian had managed to escape my skin ’ s sticky grip, but not without leaving several layers of his own skin behind. He held his bloody hand and looked at me in horror. 
 
 
 “ Andy! Oh my God! ” Brian ran out of the room and suddenly the room started changing color. Red. A crimson filter had washed over my eyes and everything now had a bright red glow. I tried to open my mouth to call for Brian, but my lips were stuck together. My arm was still stuck straight out like a petrified branch of a long forgotten tree with a hypodermic needle sticking out of it. I tried to stand but my body was too heavy to move. All I could see was red, all I could smell was peppermint and all I could taste was sickeningly sweet candy cane. 
 
 
 “ Here! He ’ s in here! ” Brian ran back in followed by Pam, that cow, and a few other young men who all looked at me with shock. 
 
 
 “ Andy? Can you hear me? Don ’ t touch him! You ’ ll get stuck to him! ” 
 
 
 They moved slowly towards me and around me, seemingly not sure what to do with this reaction I was having. 
 
 
 “ He needs to go to the hospital. Is there an in case of emergency contact for him? ” I could hear the urgency in Brian ’ s voice. 
 
 
 “ And tell them what, Brian? That we turned him into a candy cane? We need to fix this here and quick. He signed the release, right? ” It was one of the young men who came into the room with Brian. No bow tie, but he had on suspenders and skinny jeans. 
 
 
 “ He did sign the release. ” Pam, that bitch. She almost sounds bored again. 
 
 
 “ Well, I say we DV-8 him. ” Suspenders guy came around the side of me and looked at me straight on. “ He signed the release. He knew there was the possibility of side effects. ” If I could move my outstretched arm, I would ’ ve punched him. 
 
 
 “ What? DV-8 him? No, no, that ’ s not even a real option. That ’ s just some shit rumor that ’ s gone around this place. ” Brian came around to look at my face alongside Suspenders. “ We need to call 911. ” 
 
 
 Suspenders guy nodded his head no and grabbed Brian. The other guys who came in joined Suspenders and jumped on Brian, knocking him down and held him to the floor. 
 
 
 “ The hell are you guys doing? Let me up! Pam, help me! ” 
 
 
 Pam came around to where Brian was being held down and had a syringe in her hand. Suspenders held out Brian ’ s arm and another guy griped his fist around Brian ’ s bicep. 
 
 
 “ Stop! No! ” 
 
 
 Pam, ever-reticent and moving like she ’ s done this hundreds of times before, plunged the syringe into Brian ’ s arm. He tried to squirm and kick away but they had overpowered him. Suddenly, he froze. They all stood up and wiped the floor dust off of their skinny jeans and button-down shirts. 
 
 
 “ Pam, DV-8 the both of them. ” 
 
 
 The guys stepped over Brian ’ s stiff body and walked out. His eyes were fixed in panic. Pam picked up his clipboard that had fallen to the floor earlier and made a few notes. She opened a cabinet door that hid a panel of buttons and switches, which she expertly began to press and flip up and down. She closed the cabinet door and started to leave the room. She looked down and Brian and then up at me. A wide smile spread across her face as she turned to leave. 

