A Sweet Fate
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Sarah groaned deliberately audibly. Her volume had to be considerably high to compete with the whirring of the machines that surrounded her class. How was this childish "adventure" the best her highschool could do for the class of 2023? She might have been interested to see how jelly beans were made… ten years ago. She was eighteen now, with her whole life and countless potential careers ahead of her. What made the principal think that this little Willy Wonka field trip was what she or… any of the students here wanted?
 
 
The raven haired girl folded her arms under her developed breasts, compressing the graphic metal tee that restrained them, and flipped her ponytail back angstily for good measure. Her friend Mandy always teased her that the singer and bass player who ornamented her favorite black shirt always looked great stretched over her nipples like that, and Sarah was never shy about attention. The skull earrings, black tights, and spiderweb skirt she'd worn this morning were testament to that.
 
 
"Oh… quit being such a fuddyduddy." Came Mandy's contrastingly bubbly voice. "Sure it's not the big sendoff we might have wanted, but it can still be fun." The cheerful blonde had somehow become the gothic Sarah's best friend over the course of highschool hell, proving that sometimes opposites really do attract. Her own, much pinker and whiter wardrobe was like yin to Sarah's yang, especially when considered next to her golden, bobbed hair. Further, unlike Sarah's meticulously untanned, pale complexion, Mandy somehow always boasted a perfectly sun-kissed hue, even in the dregs of winter.
 
 
"Fun is being in complete control of where I go and what I do." responded Sarah in as monotone a voice as she could produce.
 
 
"No. Fun is a choice." Mandy retorted, putting her hands on her hips for a moment before then grabbing one of Sarah's, dragging her back to the tour group.
 
 
In front of everyone, the guide was making terrible candy puns like "licoricious" and "gummy bear with me" as she explained what the various devices in the factory did, none of which were landing with the crowd at all. Sarah refused to take on any of the explanations regardless, and truthfully, even Mandy was only pretending to listen. The chemistry of how pig skin was an important part of making gummies the traditional way and, how the company was pioneering a new method, wasn't exactly riveting for anyone.
 
 
In fact, Sarah probably would have found a traveling line of ants more exciting than this tour. Her eyes quickly began to wander over the facility, pointing out individual lengths of conveyor belt or what gears were clearly replaced recently. Soon enough however, they landed on something a little different. An alternate path that ran underneath the line. Above the empty hall rested a colorful sign which read "Danger! R&D Zone! Authorized Personnel Only"
 
 
Wanting to act before common sense could get ahold of her, Sarah quickly tapped Mandy on the shoulder. "Hey Mandy! You said fun was a choice right?" she asked impatiently.
 
 
"Yes!" The blonde sounded hopeful that her friend was beginning to enjoy herself. "All you have to do is…"
 
 
Sarah interrupted the girl, pulling her away and tilting her head to see the deserted path. "No! Not that… Look! We can choose to make our own fun! What do you say?"
 
 
Mandy anxiously looked back and forth, between the group that was now moving forward again, and the lonesome hallway. Truthfully, she knew Sarah would run off with or without her, and without her she'd probably end up in a lot more trouble. Maybe she could be the rebellious girl's conscience if nothing else.
 
 
"Okay! Okay! But let's be quick about it, so nobody notices we're gone."
 
 
Sarah smiled impishly. "Yeah yeah. We'll be like ninjas. In and out. Scout's honor."
 
 
Before Mandy could even blink, or bring up that Sarah had only been a girl scout for a week before dropping out, Sarah had gripped her wrist and was leading her down the forbidden road, so to speak. The path went on for a surprisingly long while, and to Sarah's annoyance, halfway down was suddenly covered with sickeningly colorful art, all over the walls, floors, and even the ceiling. Most likely it was all to "inspire" any employees that were present, though the broody girl didn't see that quite working.
 
 
Finally, after what felt like an agonizingly long trek, the hallway opened up into a massive room full of countless unknowable machines. Everything from chemistry whosits to computer whatsits, and numerous doodads in between. Much like the hallway, everything here was eye-exhaustingly bright, with gaudy graphics of the company's marshmallowy mascot, Miss Sweets, boldly exploring a cartoonish landscape populated with rock candy boulders, licorice trees, and minty shrubs. It was obvious that the company wanted to remind all of the absent employees to THINK CANDY!
 
 
Sarah couldn't help but giggle at the ludicrousness of it all. "Geez. Look at these Willy Wonka wannabes." she thought aloud.
 
 
"I think it's kinda cute." offered Mandy.
 
 
"Somehow I knew you would."
 
 
Soon enough both girls were walking up and down the rows of tables, scrutinizing every piece of equipment they could see. Curiously, many beakers and pans still seemed to be filled with various chemicals or baked goods. It was as if everyone here just up and vanished in the middle of whatever experiments were being run.
 
 
"So… Where did everybody go?" Mandy asked while staring into a round vial full of green fluid.
 
 
"How the hell should I know?" came Sarah's sharp reply. "Maybe they all went on a company brunch or something."
 
 
"I guess you're right… If it was something serious they probably would have locked this place down… No way they'd be so forgetful to just… leave the place open if it was dangerous here. Not with a school field trip going on. Right?"
 
 
"There you go. Now quit whining and help me look for something tasty. The sweet smell in here is driving me crazy."
 
 
"Tasty?!" Mandy's voice was full of frustration. "Sarah you can't eat anything here! You don't know what any of it is!"
 
 
"It's a food factory Mandy. What do you think any of it is? It's not like they'd be making artificial gasoline or something like that here. Sheesh…"
 
 
Mandy deflated slightly. Sarah was right of course. What was the worst they could find in a kitchen lab? Still, it felt… more than wrong, on a few levels. "But… none of this is ours…" She felt a strange tingle chase down her spine as she spoke. Something in the air here felt… dangerous. Ominous. That wasn't the whole of it though. She also felt as though another feeling was being injected, right at the back of her head. No matter how much she wanted to banish the carelessly curious thoughts that pumped in full her subconscious, she also felt… excited. Daring even, and she could see it on Sarah's face as well. Granted, the goth had always had more difficulty with impulse control, but that wasn't all. She looked eager, and empowered.
 
 
It was only after this realization that Mandy noticed the open vents, and the loud buzzing noises that they emitted. Yet… she felt no air blowing from them. In fact, the only light circulation seemed to be coming straight from the hallway they'd entered from.
 
 
Her thoughts were set aside when Sarah spoke again. "Damn… It's stuffy in here…" she noted, pulling her shirt down at the collar slightly.
 
 
At this Mandy was treated to the delicious sight of her friend's ample cleavage. It seems, she hadn't worn a bra today… again. Of course, the cheerleader had seen the cheerdrainer's chest many times before. They went to the same gym class after all. Something about it was different this time. She felt as though her wandering gaze was more adventurous now.
 
 
"Y-yeah. It's a little… h-hot." agreed the girl, once she'd managed to shake that image from her mind. "Should we go?"
 
 
"Are you kidding? Not until we find something juicy and flavorful." Sarah insisted. "Twenty years from now, do you want to have to say you chickened out on your last chance at highschool mischief?"
 
 
"I-I guess not… but…"
 
 
"But nothing. We keep going…"
 
 
"Oh… okay…" Mandy sighed, but continued to follow.
 
 
The two continued to travel through the lab with seemingly more reckless abandon than they'd even started with. By now the glass containers and bunsen burners had given way to ovens and dehydrators. They had to be close. This was where the real, hot new stuff was made. Surely.
 
 
"Hey! Look at those!" Sarah's volume shook Mandy slightly. Someone had to have heard them now. Moments later, the girl was rushing up to a large, treated aluminum tray that rested atop something that only… vaguely resembled a microwave or… something. Naturally, it's indescribableness only made it additionally "sciency" to the girl's, which piqued their curiosity all the more. Inside the trays were bright, gummy spheres of various colors. Cheerful looking things which Sarah would have liked nothing more than to destroy.
 
 
"Those definitely look… tempting." Mandy had to admit, they had a certain, exotic allure to them. Like a treasure from an adventure movie, in a way. "Maybe… just a bite wouldn't hurt… It's almost kinda like… we're providing free product testing, right?"
 
 
Sarah simply smiled. That same mischievous smile she always had before doing something stupid. "That's the spirit. Bottoms up!"
 
 
With that, the girl scooped up two of the little balls of candy and tossed one to her friend, who clumsily fumbled with it for a solid ten seconds before finally firmly grasping it. They were surprisingly solid, at least on the outside. Not at all as immediately squishy as they first appeared.
 
 
The moment they hit the girls' tongues, both were struck with an almost unbearable intense tartness, as though an entire bag's worth of sour candy had been compressed into one tiny piece. Both briefly considered spitting out their little quarry at first, but neither wanted to be the first to chicken out. Mercifully, the acidity of the flavor eventually subsided however, and both were able to maintain their commitment.
 
 
The next layer was… soft. Not chewy soft but certainly malleable between their tongue and teeth. Here, the flavor was a sort of… muted fruitiness. A good deal more delicate. Sarah briefly opened her mouth to show, and Mandy could see that, though it was still a rainbow of colors, it had turned her tongue a deep shade of violet. She too showed her friend what it had done and both gave a slight, childish chuckle at the sight.
 
 
Finally, as the gel-like second phase gave way, the girls were treated to a uniquely sweet, liquid taste sensation. The taste was not unlike that of a jawbreaker, that is to say almost purely sugar, but also tempered with a mild, minty coolness. In seconds every bit of it had dissolved on their tongue, and they were left with only a slight aftertaste amalgamation of it all.
 
 
"Well, that was… something, I guess." Sarah remarked.
 
 
"I liked it." replied Mandy.
 
 
"I guess… So, you wanna see what other trouble we can get into?"
 
 
"Sarah… We've been here long enough. They're gonna notice we're missing…"
 
 
The emo gave a long, frustrated sigh. "Ughh… Fine… But don't blame me if you're up all night thinking about what else we might've found."
 
 
"I won't. Now let's go."
 
 
The two then started on their way back to the group, who were no doubt learning about the fantastic world of circus peanuts or something. It didn't take long, however, for them to notice that their steps felt particularly trudging suddenly. It was as though they were wading through a slough of marshmallow cream.
 
 
"Ugh… I think those things were pretty bad for us." Mandy thought aloud.
 
 
"No shit. I feel like it's sitting in my stomach like a ton of my mom's enchiladas." replied Sarah, just before taking note of a strange, blue spot on her friend's arm. "Umm… Mandy? Looks like you got a bit on yourself."
 
 
Mandy looked down and groaned annoyedly, before trying to rub the spot out. When it stubbornly remained, she gave an exasperated sigh and lifted her skirt up to try a bit harder.
 
 
This only revealed several more spots along the girl's thigh to Sarah, each larger than the last. "M-Mandy?" she began, concern beginning to creep into her voice. "Umm… I think…" She winced. "I need you to check under my skirt…"
 
 
"What?!
 
 
"Just… do it. Okay?"
 
 
"Fine! Sheesh!" Mandy huffed, making her way to her friend with increasingly sluggish steps. When she finally arrived, which took some time, given their onset of sluggishness, the girl closed her eyes for a second. She then timidly lifted the fabric up. After taking several seconds to open her eyes again, she couldn't help but let out a loud gasp at what she saw. At least a dozen darker dots were spread evenly over Sarah's upper legs. Only then did something click in the normally cheerful teen's head. "Wh-what is this? Do I…" A quick look back answered her own question before she could even finish asking it. She could now see the brighter splotches over our own lower body. "I-I don't… What's happening?"
 
 
Sarah didn't say another word, instead reaching down to unceremoniously rip at her own tights. She had to see more for herself. Really, both girls had been feeling more than a little warm this last minute or so, but they hadn't let it get to them until this moment.
 
 
Whatever they were, they'd already spread completely down over Sarah's calves, and they seemed to be growing. It was happening slowly, for the moment, but some were clearly larger than the others. This realization seemed to throw the girl into a tizzy, and before Mandy could even comprehend what was happening enough to protest, Sarah was lunging forward to grasp the hem of her friend's more colorful shirt. Soon enough it too had been lifted up and hastily tossed to the side, much to Mandy's bewildered embarrassment.
 
 
"Sarah! Wh-what the hell?"
 
 
"Look! They're all over you!"
 
 
Looking down over her chest, Mandy was driven silent at seeing just what Sarah was talking about. It appeared that both of them had come down with a spontaneous case of something like… the rainbow pox. She could only imagine how particularly disturbing this was to the more monochrome oriented Sarah… What's more, she couldn't help but notice that the sweet scent, which had only gently permeated the room before, was becoming much more potent, very rapidly.
 
 
"Gawd! Why is it so hot! I-I feel like I'm burning up!" Sarah blurted out rather suddenly. Strangely, however, her tone was less fearful than either of them might have expected. There WAS fear there, of course, but it was blended with a slight seasoning of… euphoria, in a way. All the same, the redness in her cheeks, and the glistening of sweat on her forehead told Mandy that she wasn't exaggerating either.
 
 
Mandy looked on with guilty curiosity, as Sarah then proceeded to roll up her own shirt as well. Up, up and finally, over her perky balloons. It joined a growing pile of clothing as moment by moment both of them were inching closer to being in nothing but their birthday suit. Something was breaking their minds rapidly. Hindering their ability to think straight. Panic and sensuality both set in as the most intrusive, and forceful of feelings for the two. Beyond that, both girls were going out of their gourd with an intrusive warmth that permeated their body deeply, and proceeded to discard article after article of clothing. At this moment, little things like social norms or pride weren't exactly their first consideration.
 
 
They would soon come to regret this however, as skirts, shoes, and underwear joined the little mountain of fabric, when a muffled voice could be heard slowly approaching them. "What's all the noise in here? This place is supposed to be off limits while we vent it!"
 
 
Despite their first instinct to hide, both Sarah and Mandy could only manage to freeze in place, while the stranger, clad in a clumsy hazmat suit slowly approached them. Perhaps they hoped that this person could somehow help them, humiliating as it was to be seen.
 
 
Once he arrived, though they couldn't see his face, the girls were certain that the man behind that yellow mask was staring somewhat pervertedly at them. "Oh… Oh no… You two are from the tour group aren't you?" he asked rhetorically, already knowing the answer. "I told them those power doors needed to be fixed…" He then took several steps forward, and lifted Mandy's arm up, taking note of each and every growing, rich colored spot that had manifested. "Aaaaand, you ate the catalyst, didn't you?"
 
 
The girls simply stared blankly at each other for a moment, before turning back to face him.
 
 
"You… you mean those rainbow candies?"
 
 
He nodded grimly. "Hoo boy…" The man rubbed the back of his mask with rubber-clad hands. "Hate to break it to you little ladies, but in about fifteen minutes you'll be gone. We'll have…" He examined them, more deeply than before. "Looks like a pineapple flavored gummy girl, and a marshmallow filled mocha lady." He sighed. "That I'M gonna have to figure out how to get rid of."
 
 
"Wh-what?" Sarah's jaw dropped, while Mandy simply stared, wide eyed, at the floor.
 
 
"Wasn't candy." he said with a shrug. "We were working on a cheaper, more instant way to render ingredients into candy, chemically, but it turns out the process was a bit more… universal than we thought."
 
 
"But… isn't there anything you can do?" asked Mandy, desperation clear in her voice.
 
 
"Might've had time if the lab hadn't been filled with fumes from the manufacture." The man's voice was increasingly amused, rather than apologetic. "That no doubt helped your body achieve the ideal internal environment for the reaction." He leaned forward. "At least we'll get some interesting data from all this…"
 
 
Sarah scoffed. "D-data? Who cares about your data! W-we're being transformed!" She looked deeply into where she thought his eyes were. "While in your facility! I-it's your responsibility!"
 
 
The man shrugged once more. "We put signs up that said the place was for authorized personnel only. You two are the trespassers here…"
 
 
This earned the goth a narrow glare from her friend.
 
 
"I reckon you two only have about thirteen minutes left." continued the man. "I suggest you make the most of it."
 
 
Both girls looked at each other, a combination of fear and wordless communication in their eyes. Both knew exactly what the other was suggesting, without so much as a peep, but neither wanted to be the first to make a move. There had always been a mild, sensual tension between the two, but to cross that line would make them question things about themselves that they never had fully explored before, as well as make their friendship much more awkward.
 
 
With time suddenly being a precious commodity however, Sarah was the first to make a move after a solid minute of silent contemplation. After taking several, trudging steps forward, she wrapped her arms firmly around Mandy's shoulders and pressed her lips decisively against those of the blonde. She tasted sweet… Fruity even, and Sarah wondered just what her own flavor might have been for Mandy.
 
 
For her own part, Mandy gave a slight squeak at the sudden boldness, but did nothing to resist. This was… their last chance to be together. Soon enough her own hands, with agonizingly slow motion, encompassed Sarah's hips, to hold her rear, now even softer than ever, with intent. This pulled the two closely together, pressing their breasts and groins intimately against one another, and as the kiss continued, Mandy was struck with Sarah's mildly bittersweet flavor. It was a good form of bitterness. Not unlike dark chocolate really, and this encouraged her to hold the connection even longer.
 
 
As the reaction grew more and more pronounced for Sarah and Mandy, their bodies increasingly dark and blue respectively, their motions, as well as the sensations they felt, quickly grew increasingly more primal. More intense. Ever since they'd eaten those damn candies or… catalysts or… whatever, they'd felt an overwhelming warmth. It sounded silly to say but, they now understood. They were in heat. Whether intentionally or not those little treats were acting like an aphrodisiac to them. Within moments they'd both shifted to sitting in the floor with their legs tied tightly around one another, pressing their needy womanhoods against one another. To some degree they didn't even care about the transformation any longer. They just wanted… No… They NEEDED to feel each other more.
 
 
The next few minutes went by in a blissful, fearful blur for both of them. The world around them seemed to zoom by, with the man rapidly circling, collecting his precious data. Soon enough their minds were far too fogged, their neurons transitioning into more candy, to comprehend the finality of their situation. All they knew was that they felt, and smelled… so… good… Their bodies remained intertwined in the throes of passion even when those last vestiges of cognizant thought finally vanished. Truly they wouldn't even have been able to know for sure if they'd managed a climax or not in those last moments together. At this time they were nothing but a delicious treat, and now it was time to dispose of them.
 
 
Still, it seemed a waste to just throw the lovely, edible statues away. When a trio of additional scientists entered the lab, without the need for hazmat suits now that the place had been properly vented, they gathered what additional information they could, then proceeded to chip and tear bits of chocolate and gummy off of the girls. As expected, Sarah boasted a delightfully creamy marshmallow center, but to more of a surprise, Mandy was filled with pockets of slightly gushy blue raspberry juice that positively tickled the tongue.
 
 
Both life sized candy girls proved to be a bit much for only four people however, and in the end it was decided to do a blind taste test with the other, more well behaved students in the field trip. Using a large chocolate knife that was waiting on a nearby table, the science crew managed to carve poor Sarah and Mandy into small, bite sized pieces, then divvie them up into two large bowls. Minutes later, those same bowls found themselves on a fold-up picnic table in the factory's foyer, with bored-looking staff members handing what remained of the girls to their classmates.
 
 
As previous research about flavor and age preference had suggested to the company, Mandy's sweet, mildly tart flavor won out in popularity by some thirty percent with the class, though Sarah did have her staunch supporters. Mostly the more mild mannered in the group, or the teens who seemed desperate to prove just how mature they were. Once everyone had gotten an equal share and filled out the survey, the dozen or so pieces that remained were dumped unceremoniously into the garbage. The company was left with an interesting possibility. That of black market candy conversion. Something for the more perverted, wealthy members of society to indulge in, but that would of course be a long ways off. For now there were a lot of numbers to crunch, and safer, more efficient methods to research. Chemistry was a wonderful thing.
 
 
The class filed out, back into the bus, and one student in particular was left wondering what had happened to two of her friends. Veronica knew that Sarah was prone to dragging Mandy off to all sorts of places on occasion, and she was sure that they would turn up eventually, as were the teachers, who didn't even wait for the two before departing. Sighing annoyedly, Veronica bit into her last remaining mocha marshmallow piece. This one was whimsically shaped like a taco… Or so she thought to herself with some amusement. It was a bit bitter to her personally, but it wasn't bad at all.