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Poisoned Apples (9) - Did you think it would be safe to get a sweet treat? Wrong. A nearby orchard, popular for their sweet and crispy apples, had no idea they were sending contaminated fruit into the city. Organic, healthy, and delicious, no one could have anticipated the issues that were going to arise this year. It wasn't caught quickly enough, and now many apple based fall treats are having surprising side effects. You'll know something is wrong by the first bite, the first sip; the apple tastes almost like a lemon and no matter what you do, the flavor won't leave. It lingers for a few minutes or a few hours. People are walking around town with watery eyes and puckered lips. Some have described symptoms like an allergic reaction, but most people compare it to eating sour candy. There doesn't appear to be any long term health issues, and Destiny City has come up with several online challenges and dares trying to make the best of the very sour apples. Many local establishments are using them in contests and promotions, so it seems like people are determined to have fun with it. But...should you really be eating an apple with juice so sour it can brown the grass it spills on?
There were times when Lenora wished that she trusted her gut feeling more. Or her feelings about hating other people, one of the two would have kept her out of this situation but nooo, instead she just had to try one of the apple cider drinks that had been advertised by a popular orchard. It was a combination of reasons, but the main one was it had been ridiculously cold the past few days and she had yet to get her winter clothing out. It didn’t help that her apartment was still a mess trying to clean it up from… forever.
She couldn’t say that she disliked sour flavors. Some of her favorite candy were sour-based and one of the gum flavors that she mourned had been sour as well, but it was now discontinued. Shame, she went crazy over that. But this was just plain lemon and it tainted everything no matter how much she tried to get rid of it. Hot cocoa? Nope! Bitter drinks? Nada. Other sour things? Didn’t even taste them.
And that was why she had gone out tonight. She wasn’t going to let the orchard and it’s owners get away with this disgusting taste coming from their apples. She wasn’t sure if she could ever eat another apple again! Unless it was Granny Smith. Those were usually sour anyway.
Before she had decided to go out and seek her revenge, she had wanted to make sure that it wasn’t just her. Not that it would stop her in any way, but this way they had many many more people to possibly pin as the culprit besides her. And her hunch had been right. There were many complaints on the city’s reddit and other places about the horrible taste that had assaulted everyone’s tastebuds from these apples.
Good. It would be harder to cast suspicion on her person then. She still had to be careful though, as even if she wasn’t going to drain energy tonight, she had to make sure that no one could recognize her.
Which is why she had covered her face more with a black cloth mask, thanks being sick! That she had bought before she went out and about the town. She snaked her way through the alleys and around the docks, finding any crates that had come from the same orchard and contained apples in them.
When she did find them, they were very quick to find themselves thrown into the sewers or otherwise smashed onto the front doors of any of the establishments that had been selling them. Sending a very clear message that these apples were not to be eaten! And that they were smelly! And that only Granny Smith apples could be sour!
It had taken her most of the night, but she could say with satisfaction that at least everyone would be spared from eating the tainted apples for at least a day, maybe two if they were going to get more shipments of them, she doubted all of them could be stopped anyway.
Still, she was quite glad that her uniform could be dismissed without having to clean it in the laundry, lest she would have been smelling like sour apple for quite a while. She couldn’t help but smile to herself when she saw the positive response to the apple deaths on the forums she frequented when she was able to get back online.
