The buzz around From the Dirt was no longer a whisper.
Graffiti tags had started popping up around the borough—spray-painted crowns made of roots, sometimes under bridges, sometimes across cracked brick walls with just three words beneath them:
"Empire Poison Coming."
Darius didn't post. Didn't shout it online. But the streets?The streets always talk.
🚧 Final Prep
The plants were almost done—just ten days in, but under Darius's touch, they were exploding. Deep green leaves. Thick stems. Buds swelling with early trichomes, giving off that signature Durban sweetness—lemon, licorice, diesel, danger.
Maya was already deep in launch mode.
"I'm thinking a pop-up," she said, scribbling on a notepad. "Not a storefront. Not yet. But something real. Word-of-mouth only. Invite-only."
"Where?" Darius asked.
"Art gallery in Crown Heights. My cousin owes me a favor. One-night event. Low lights. Music. Weed jars in glass cases like art."
He nodded slowly, puffing on a test roll of Empire Poison.
"Let's do it."
🎨 The Drop Plan – Volume Two: Rise from Ruin
Event Name: FROM THE DIRT: VOLUME TWOTheme: "Power Grows in Silence."Product: Empire Poison – 3.5g jars, pre-roll 2-packs, limited merch dropPrice Point: $60 eighths, $25 pre-rollsVibe: Art + fire + movement. No weedhead chaos—just respect.
Maya brought in two friends from the art school to help with setup and design. Flyers were handed out—no digital trail, no IG. Just word on the block, in barber chairs, at laundromats and corner stores.
"Yo, you heard about that Empire Poison? Supposed to hit like lightning and clarity at the same time."
"I heard it's invite only. They ain't tryna sell, they tryna build a movement."
And just like that, Volume Two had a heartbeat.
🕶️ But the Streets Ain't Quiet
That Friday night, while Darius loaded labeled jars into a duffel at the laundromat grow, the buzzer rang.
Maya looked up from her laptop.
"You expecting someone?"
"No."
He opened the slot in the door.
No one there.
Just an envelope on the ground, taped to a brick.
He picked it up.
Inside:A photo of the grow space—taken from a distance through the back window.And a note:
"You forgot to pay your rent."
No name.
No threat.
Just weight.
Tone's signature move: a quiet warning before the storm.
Darius stared at the photo, his jaw locked.
Maya stepped beside him, reading it over his shoulder.
"You think it's him?"
"I know it is."
"So what now?"
He set the photo on fire with his lighter, watching the flames eat it alive.
"Now? We throw the biggest drop this city's seen… and make it clear:
We don't fold. We flourish."
And as the last ember fell to the floor, the Empire Poison plants glowed under their lights—waiting to be harvested.
Waiting to change the game.