The moment he stepped back through the "portal" and landed on his bedroom carpet, the honey turned into fire.
His blood felt like boiling lead. Shren tried to scream, but his throat was constricting as his vocal cords reshaped themselves. He collapsed, his body twitching as his bones began to snap and realign. The "Evolution Drink" was aggressively stripping away the layers of lethargy and weakness.
The pain was too much. His vision blurred, and the last thing he saw was the calendar on his wall—his parents were gone for their month-long luxury cruise, and school was out for the term. He was alone. Darkness claimed him.