Zack pulled the tab and brought the cold drink up to his lips. He crinkled his nose. It smelled rancid and
rotten. He recalled an earlier conversation with BJ. Dang, it was probably the last conversation they had had
before he vanished. He had phoned BJ on his cell. BJ had told him that the new improved Monster energy drink
sure smelled rank, but tasted great and he felt more energized than ever. So Zack shrugged and took a deep
drink. It tingled in his mouth in a good way, as it went down smoothly.
Zack usually got Red Bull anyway, but he grabbed the Monster because it was on sale, and partly because he was
thinking of BJ who always drank Monsters. He finished the drink in 3 gulps. He did feel energized - super
energized. He ran upstairs and changed into his old yellow nylon running shorts, t-shirt, socks and tennis
shoes.
He ran into the backyard and started doing calisthenics. Two hundred jumping jacks, three hundred sit ups,
three hundred crunches, three hundred push ups, then more jumping jacks. He whipped off his sweat drenched t-
shirt, and rung it out. He must have sweated out a gallon of water. Zack sniffed his pit, and crinkled his
nose. His body odor had the same stench as the monster drink. He definitely needed a shower. He went upstairs
and into his bedroom and started to strip. He noticed his shoes seemed tight like his feet were swollen. He saw
small holes on the front sides of his sneakers where his toes had worn through. He shrugged, and wrung out his
soaked socks. He reached for his waistband. Yawned, stretched, and lay down on his bed for a moment. He was
out like a light.