Luminous Lime

Grace wanted to turn around and leave. She couldn't pinpoint why her heart raced, goosebumps rose up on her arms, and she got a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. It was the kind of feeling that you might imagine having in a haunted house where your fear stems from something unseen.

Grace told herself that it was just first day jitters. She took a deep breath and walked into the main office.

“Welcome to Luminous Lime. My name is Mae,” a blonde haired woman greeted her.

Mae escorted Grace into the main work room. The sick feeling in the pit of her stomach grew more intense. Everything was so green. The walls were painted green. The floor was green linoleum. The room was lit by large green lights on the wall, which filled the room with an eerie, green glow.

Most disturbingly, the employees had glowing green hands and lips. The giant windows showed a normal world outside, which contrasted sharply with the otherworldly appearance of work room.

Mae motioned for Grace to sit down. On the table in front of her was a tray of compass dials, a small container of paint, and a paintbrush.

Mae explained, “The job is very simple, but requires precision. Our Luminous Lime paint is very expensive and can't be wasted. This is all the paint you're allowed for a day's work. Let me show you a trick,” she said, winking.

Mae put the paintbrush in her mouth to shape the tip into a fine point, then dipped it into the paint. She carefully painted the “N” on the compass dial. Next, she put the paintbrush in her mouth again, repeating the same process to paint the “E.” The letters glowed green with the paint.

“Simple as that,” she said, her lips glowing.

“Is that safe?” Grace asked, disturbed by the green glow.

Mae laughed, answering, “It's not only safe, it has amazing health benefits! Green is the color of life! Luminous Lime makes you glow with life. They're perfecting the formula for Luminous Lime Soda. Everyone will be drinking it soon. You're lucky to work here and be one of the first people to enjoy it's magic.”

Mae's enthusiasm led Grace to believe her. Why would Mae put the paintbrush in her mouth if it wasn't safe? Looking around, Grace noticed that all of the employees used this method of painting.

By the time Grace finished painting her first compass dial, her hands had a slight green glow. She tried not to let it bother her.

“I'm glowing green with life,” she told herself.

When lunchtime came, Grace got to know some of her coworkers. Irene, Katherine, and Carol were all young, single, and without children like Grace was. They were all fairly new to the job too. Irene had worked there for the longest time, having started the month before Grace did. They bonded quickly and became a close-knit group of friends.

Mae was the supervisor on site at Luminous Lime. Aside from Mae and the three young women who Grace befriended, there were only eight other employees. Grace never questioned why there were so few of them. Nobody did. In a job that paid so well, it was best not to ask too many questions.

The longer Grace worked there, the brighter the green glow of her skin became. It was just her hands and lips at first, but it slowly spread through her whole body. By the end of her first week, the glow never went away.

Grace discovered why Mae had said that Luminous Lime gave the glow of life. Grace had never felt so alive before. She felt like a super hero who could save the world. Energy buzzed through her entire body like electricity. Her new friends all had the same experience. They didn't even need to sleep anymore. After work, they partied and danced the night away, their bodies still glowing green.

There was no more tiredness, no pain, and they even looked younger than they looked before. Nobody could deny that Luminous Lime had given them the green glow of life.

In time, employees of Luminous Lime began to disappear. While Grace grew suspicious, everyone else believed what they were told. Mae said that Irene had moved, leaving no forwarding address. When Grace tried to call her, the phone number was disconnected.

Katherine blew off Grace's suspicion, “Such things happen, Grace. Don't read too much into it.”

When Carol disappeared, rumors claimed that she ran away because of problems with her boyfriend.

Katherine grew weary of Grace's suspicions.

“Stop being so paranoid, Grace. Things happen,” Katherine said, exasperated.

Katherine and Grace's friendship fizzled out. A few weeks later, Katherine fainted right in the middle of painting a compass dial. An ambulance came, rushing her away to the hospital. Katherine never came back to work.

Mae said that Katherine had just been dehydrated. Katherine had submitted her resignation because she was starting college in the fall. Katherine's phone number was disconnected too. Grace recalled that Katherine had never seemed remotely interested in attending college.

Those who left Luminous Lime were replaced by new employees. They were shining examples of good health, just as Grace and her friends had been. This was the company's proof that Luminous Lime was a miracle. They were already working on the campaign to market Luminous Lime Soda.

Grace had enjoyed nearly a year of perfect health, but one day everything changed. The electric voltage of energy that had coursed through her body was gone. She felt completely drained. Even chewing her breakfast felt exhausting. Sharp pain in the bottom of her lungs made it hurt to breathe.

Grace called in sick, but Mae insisted that she come in and let the company doctor examine her. Grace agreed, glad to be seen by a doctor so quickly.

The doctor took a blood sample, listened to her lungs, looked at her throat, and listened to her heart.

“What do you think is wrong with me?” Grace asked.

The doctor replied, with a smile, “Nothing at all. You're a picture of perfect health. Your fatigue and pain are likely stress related. Try yoga and meditation. You'll feel as good as new in no time.”

Grace was frustrated with his dismissive conclusion. She knew that something was wrong. She didn't have the energy to fight for answers, though. She needed all of her energy for work. She hoped that the Luminous Lime would cure her, as the company insisted that it had healing powers.

Grace felt like her life was slipping away. She needed twelve hours of sleep to function at all now. The paintbrush felt like it weighed a hundred pounds. She lost weight, as she barely had the energy to cook or eat. Ironically, the more Grace's green glow deepened, the less alive she felt.

For the whole year that Grace had worked at Luminous Lime, Mae had never missed a day of work. Grace knew that something was very wrong when Mae didn't show up at the office that day. The supervisor who filled in said that she was in the hospital with the flu. He sharply told Grace that Mae didn't want visitors.

Grace didn't listen, though.

When Grace walked into the hospital room, Mae whispered weakly, “Close the door, Grace. I need to tell you something.”

Grace closed the door and leaned in close to listen.

Mae whispered, “I don't have the flu. The Luminous Lime is killing me. We were all part of an experiment. Call Dale. He'll tell you everything.”

Mae pointed at a slip of paper on her bedside table with a phone number scribbled on it.

Grace stuffed the sheet of paper in her pocket, feeling startled at Mae's claims. She snapped out of it when the alarm sounded, indicating that Mae's heart had flat-lined. Grace rushed out of the room, with tears in her eyes, as medical personnel flooded in.

Still shaken up, sitting in her car, Grace called Dale.

She awkwardly explained who she was when he answered.

Dale said, “Meet me at the park on Buckeye Street. I'm wearing an orange hoodie.”

Grace had nothing to lose. She hoped that Dale had the answers to these bizarre mysteries.

When Grace met up with Dale, he had a black folder with him.

“My Aunt Mae gave this to me a while back. She told me that if she died, she would leave my phone number with the person who I was supposed to give this to. She also told me not to ever look at it, so I didn't.”

With that, Dale handed Grace the folder and turned around to leave. Grace sensed that the folder contained sensitive information. She hurried back to her car and drove home quickly, eager to see what the folder contained.

Grace opened it up to find memos and documents on Luminous Inc. letterheads. The first memo read:

"Give human test subjects two ounces of zedium paint per day. Instruct subjects to use their lips to shape the paintbrush to insure that zedium is ingested. When subjects begin to experience illness, call the chief experimenter to draw blood and test zedium levels. Upon decease, claim the subject's body and transport to Luminous Inc. laboratory for testing."

Grace was shocked as she read through the documents. She learned that zedium was a man-made element, created as a medical cure-all and anti-aging potion. The early tests were so promising. However, they discovered that the positive effects only lasted for about a year. Not only that, but it eventually killed everyone who consumed it.

The only way they could discover why, was through post mortem tests on people who had consumed zedium. Luminous Inc. would become the richest company on earth once they solved this problem. Who wouldn't drink Luminous Lime Soda that promised to give you all of the energy in the world, cure any disease, and reverse aging? Luminous Lime was never about painting compass dials. It was just a cover story for their human experiments.

Next, Grace found a list of every employee's name, past and present. Irene, Carol, and Katherine's names were all marked “deceased.” Grace sobbed at the confirmation of her suspicions. She wished that the lies had been true. Grace's own name was marked “positive” for zedium. She trembled in anger, remembering the doctor smiling, telling her that nothing was wrong with her.

Another memo said:

"Bring Luminous Lime Soda to market regardless of research findings. Deny causal link to deaths."

Grace knew that she was going to die. She was determined to fight to her death to expose Luminous Inc. For the rest of her life, Grace never stopped blowing the proverbial whistle on them. In spite of her failing health, Grace felt alive again, driven by her mission to spread the truth.

As often happens, Grace was discredited, threatened, and called a liar. In spite of the attempts to bury the truth, there were people who questioned what they were told to believe.

Grace Fry died on April 8. Her official cause of death was a heart attack. Though she didn't live to see it happen, Grace had raised enough publicity to spark an investigation of Luminous Inc. This caused Luminous Lime Soda's debut to be postponed. Luminous Inc. was found guilty of illegal experimentation on humans. Luminous Lime was categorized as a poison and banned by the FDA.

Grace Fry had been the first voice to expose them. Her body was exhumed to see if a heart attack was the real cause of her death. A small crowd gathered to watch. When the coffin was opened, they felt blinded by the green glow that lingered. Nobody believed the lie that it was the glow of life anymore. Millions of lives were saved because one person had dared to tell the truth.