Salvation in a bottle

Will had been the owner of a small but successful store, located centrally on the town's Main Street, but he was eager to expand the premises to cope with the growing demands of the business, so when the opportunity to acquire the building next door arose, he quickly bought it up. After applying for the necessary permits, he broke through the walls to joint the two buildings together.  In the process of doing so, he came across a tiny storeroom in the void between the walls that looked like it had not seen the light of day for decades, and within it he found some old papers, some rags and what looked like an old medicine bottle The label was a bit tatty, no surprise given how old the bottle was, but it appeared to be from a pharmacist, but that wasn't what the previous stores use was. Doing some research, Will found out that the second to last owner was indeed a Dr, one who had mysteriously vanished without trace, and after which the building had been sold, and over time split into two.

Lifting the bottle, Will found that it still almost 2/3 full of liquid, but given the warning label, he hesitated on taking any of it. Then he thought, well there doesn't appear to be a poison label, and it does indicate there is an antidote, even if I can't fully read it, so what the hell, and just as he was about to take some he had second thoughts and put it back down again, and got on with the renovations.  Over the course of the next few days his mind drifted to what was in the bottle, this time he got as far as popping the cork, and taking a sniff, and discovered it was a sickly sweet smell, which added further to his belief that the contents were probably not poisonous, but before he got any further he was interrupted, and put the bottle back in its new hiding place. It remained in his there for several days, until finally he got the courage and he cautiously poured out a teaspoon of it. It was a thick liquid with a pale pink colour, and reminded him of the antibiotics he had as a kid, which were made that colour to help persuade kids to take their medicine. He quickly swallowed it before he changed his mind. What he didn't know then, was the contents were an early form of what is now referred to as elixir and that there isn't any antidote.

As the elixir started to take hold and cause changes to his body, Will doubled over in pain as bones cracked and his body reshaped and passed out. He awoke around an hour later, in an unfamiliar form. Taking a look at himself in the mirror, he noticed he was now female, still geeky but female none the less.

Will was shocked, and wondered how long this change may last, hoping and praying it was not permanent, a couple of nervy hours spent hiding in the back of the store later, he returned to his former self. Relieved he took the bottle and put it out of harm's way, and vowed not to take any again.

Over the next weeks Will concentrated on his new store, and promoting the business, and forgot about the bottle, for a few weeks at least. Then one day curiosity got the better of him and he decided to see what would happen if he increased the dose. Business had been slow that day so closing up early, he pulled the store's blinds down and took a generous tablespoon amount and waited

                           

He felt the surge again, and passed out, coming to he was disappointed that the results were not much better, ok so he wasn't as geeky as before, but still he had hoped to be hotter than this, he contemplated taking another dose on top of this, but held back. This time though it wasn't until late that night before the effects wore off, causing no end of anxiety to Will,  just as well he had nowhere to be, and no-one was going to be dropping in unexpectedly.

Will surmised whatever was in this bottle, could cause physical changes to an individual, based on the size of dose taken, and in small enough doses well no antidote is required as the effects wear off, and so far with the amounts he has taken he can still remember everything. It got him thinking then, did the Dr actually disappear, or did he take too large a dose, change permanently into female form and forgot who he originally was, either by accident or on purpose.

Over the next two months Will was very busy with his shop, and most nights was too flaked out to do anything. With the holiday weekend approaching, Will put up a notice in his shop window, advising that the shop would be closed all weekend due to a combination of stock taking and personal time off. This gave three full days to experiment with doses of the liquid. After shutting up shop on the Thursday night, he stepped into the backroom, took the bottle from its hiding place in the wall, and poured out a shot glass sized measure and quickly knocked it back.

This time when he came around, he was shocked at the results, he was stunning, but not only that he was almost even thinking like she would. He wanted to go out into the world, and experience it like this, there were only two problems with that. Firstly he had nothing suitable to wear, and Secondly he did not know how long this transformation would last. So this weekend would in essence be a fact finding one. He was delighted to realise on Sunday when he changed back, that this dose lasted for 48 hours, which meant , if he wanted to , he could change on a Friday after work, and have changed back in time to open his shop again on Monday, and getting clothes would be easy via online stores.

The following weekend, Billie took her first tentative steps in public by stepping out of the stores back entrance and went in search of some nightlife and a good time. Will had never been one for going out and getting drunk or the like, he was too bookish, but this persona change let him experience all that he had been missing the last few years, and was liking it very much, so much so that this soon became a regular pattern, Will during the week and Billie at weekends. However Billie was spending faster than Will was earning, and when a global giant opened a rival store on the edge of town, business really fell away. Will took to opening longer hours and seven days a week in order to try and compete, but it was no use. After several months of trying to compete, he was broke, and faced having to go to court over his mounting debts. 

Will pondered what to do, he only had a tiny bit of savings no-one knew about, however with the debts he had he knew he could never borrow again, and was likely to face a life of destitution, he figured his only option would be to end it all. Then a thought struck him, yes he could end it all as Will, but he didn't have to actually die, supposing he took a large enough dose of the bottle, just like the Doctor did. But how much should he take, well he figured that perhaps the Doctor had taken about 1/4, allowing for how much was in it when he found it and the fact that he too probably experimented. Pouring himself a similar sized measure into a glass, Will carefully put the bottle back in its hiding place, tidied up the shop for the last time, put the glass to his mouth, and made sure to drink ever last drop.

This time around the changes took s bit longer to work through, and were a vast deal more painful, eventually the pain subsided, and she groaned coming to terms with her hot new body. All traces of Will almost faded, but just enough to help grab the few meagre possessions left, she also grabbed the keys, and walked out the back entrance pulling the door behind her, Will had as far as anyone could tell simply vanished off the face of the earth, a second mysterious disappearance from an owner of that particular building. 

As she neared the top of the alley that lead from the back of the shop to the main road, a figure hunched over in old age, that could almost be taken for an older version of her lurked in the shadows across the street, a knowing smile on her face .

The shop would eventually be put up for sale to clear Will's debts, and the bottle now only around 1/3 full would remain hidden away until the next person who needed it comes across it.