Shroom Stories

A Trip to A & E

Dave said good night to Amy, who smiled back at him. “Have a good trip” she said. “Let me know all about it in the morning”. Adrian, who was being led away by Amy, also wished them luck. And like that that they were on their own in the kitchen.

Dave picked a few of the shrivelled dry mushrooms out of the box. They were really small little things, almost insignificant. Most of them still had their shrivelled dry stem attached. Dave was usually so meticulous when counting out shrooms. He knew that a good dose for him on this mushroom amounted to between 120 to 170 mushrooms. After counting ten out, he found the process tedious. For someone who was of sober mind, it wouldn’t have taken that long to count out three hundred mushrooms, but for Dave, eight pints later, it was just a job too far. He grabbed a handful of the shrooms guesstimating an approximate figure. Judging shroom amounts when pissed is never advisable, but Dave swelled by a false sense of his own judgement under the alcohol was undaunted.

He looked at the bowl that he had separated for John, and then measured himself up a similar amount. He got up and grabbed a saucepan from the drainging board, and took out a couple of mugs from the cupboard. He filled one up from the tap, pouring it into the pan before repeating the process and doing it again. He then sparked the hob on and left the water to boil, returning to the table to finish his wine.

Soon the water in the pan was boiling. Dave took the bowls emptying the contents into the saucepan. Immediately some of the mushrooms began to hydrate. Dave always enjoyed this moment. It was like opening up a time capsule. The mushrooms began to swell, and much of their original colour returned. For a moment they looked exactly as Dave remembered when he picked them from fresh all those years ago in the field. 2001 – “What a year” he thought to himself. He could clearly see the nipple that most of them possessed, and their lovely olive colour.

Then the smell hit him. It was not something Dave could admit he enjoyed. He always likened it to the smell of swamp water, which pretty much wasn’t too far from the truth. The colour of the water was changing to tea brown now. He stirred the mushrooms to ensure that they were all well saturated and un-clumped, and then lowered the dial of the electric hob, leaving it to simmer.

He and John passed the time chatting about the forthcoming festivities and sipping their wine. Fifteen minutes soon passed, and Dave did the duty of preparing the tea. He found a sieve that had conveniently been washed and was lying in the draining rack, and carefully poured the pan’s contents through it until each mug had an equal amount.

For most novices this would have been it. But Dave still had one last thing to do. He grabbed a handful of kitchen towel from the sideboard, and then poured the wet mushrooms in the seive into it. He then wrapped up the shrooms and squeezed gently. This was the most powerful contents of the tea – the true eye of the hurricane – the liquid from the mushrooms themselves. He squeezed every last drop from them, just as he would if squeezing an orange dripping it out equally between the mugs until not a single drop was left.

“Got any Honey” he asked John.
“In the cupboard” John said pointing with his finger. Dave got it down putting a big spoonful into each mug and stirring it well. That was it. The tea was finished.
He put John’s in front of him, and then sat down at the other end of the table with his own. “Cheers” he said to Dave raising his mug to him.

“Cheers” John said, then grimaced as he got a whiff of the tea. It smelt awful. John raised the mugs to his lips and sipped it a little cautiously – it tasted pretty bad too. The honey lightly disguised the dank and complex taste. Swamp water, was pretty much the only description that fitted.

Down the other end of the table, Dave wasn’t fairing much better. The taste always set off an involuntary spasm in him, setting his hair stand on end. “Just take big gulps” he said “and try and get it down within 15 minutes”. Dave always liked to give himself a time limit to drink the shrooms in. If you took too long, there was the danger the come up would put you off finishing the tea, thereby limiting its effectiveness. Drinking a mushroom tea was just something you had to commit to and get the job done as soon as you could, (obviously without throwing it back up – a problem he knew a few people had. Some people just simply couldn’t stomach it at all).

They drank in silence between them, moving up to bigger and bigger gulps. Eventually they were both reaching the last dregs. This was always a honey sweet, sediment filled experience which was pretty unpleasant. Dave took one last mouthful, putting the empty mug back down on the table. There was no going back now. John finished soon afterwards still grimacing slightly with disgust. “That was f@*k’n awful”. Dave nodded in agreement. Still they had managed to do it.

Already Dave was starting to feel light-headedness about him. He recognised this as different to his normal drunk state – he knew the mushroom’s power was starting to work. He felt his face flush a bit. He never liked to mention what he was feeling at the start in case the other people couldn’t feel anything and felt alienated. The mushroom was coming on fast, taking him a little by surprise. Dave was used to waiting half an hour to 45 minutes before any of the effects made themselves apparent.

John got up from the table. “Let’s go to my room where we can chill out” he said. Dave followed. His light headedness was quite acute now. He could almost feel his head lolling on his neck. John switched on his TV then got onto his double bed, getting comfortable. Dave dropped into a large inflatable armchair. Already the light was dancing in the corners of his eyes, creating a distraction for him. He closed his eyes, straight away realising that the phantogasma in his mind was already kicking off. Colours were flashing in his mind, and distracting swirly shapes seemed to reach out of his consciousness. He opened his eyes. Shit this was coming on fast. He looked over at John. John widened his eyes, indicating that he also was feeling the effects now.

The come up on shrooms can be many things. It can be a little intimidating at first. If not accustomed to how the trip unfolds, user’s can feel as if they are rapidly losing control in ways they don’t understand. The feeling is so intangible, yet overwhelming. Like you are being pulled into another world far removed from you normal every day experience. The feeling wasn’t just 3 dimensional it was four.

The power swept through Dave’s body, alien and strong. He had done shrooms many times before but the power he was experiencing now was astonishing, taking him by surprise. He was feeling overcome by it, and out of control. He felt a pang of fear strike through him, as his mind raced away. “What had he done” he thought to himself? Had he put too many shrooms into the tea? He got up trying to keep calm. The feeling accelerated, pulsating huge waves of energy through him. The lights began to dazzle and everything became pulsating with colour.

“Water” Dave thought. Water was a critical part of taking shrooms. Water was something that fuelled the buzz, and his body was crying out for it. He needed it to calm down. Without saying anything he opened the door walking out into the hallway, heading for the toilet on the landing. He turned the taps on splashing the water into his mouth. The movements his hands made felt weird as it smacked against his lips, like he was removed from the whole process. The water wasn’t helping. The power pulsating through him was phenomenal.

Dave moved from the toilet into the lounge next to John’s bedroom. It was empty with large white couches and a large TV. Dave tried to lie down, but couldn’t settle. He couldn’t keep his hand still. He felt terrible, and a little panicky. “Keep calm he said to himself”, but barely able to concentrate. He got up pacing around the room. He walked out, finding another spare room.

An ironing board with a iron caught his attention. It became alive, full of personality, and animation, like a cartoon character. Dave felt in awe of it. It pulsated beautifully in front of him, as if crafted from the finest ivory and jewels. The whole thing was a spectacular sight. Now everywhere Dave looked, was a glittering, sparkling, pulsating, bejewelled dreamscape, where every surface became an extravagant work of neon’s and solid colours. It pulsated and swirled across his mind a bedazzling sight. It was like one of those deep sea jelly fish that ripple spectrum colours along their edge. If Dave wasn’t so overwhelmed he would’ve stopped to appreciate how beautiful it was – it was awe inspiring. But the alcohol that was also coursing through Dave’s veins was fueling the high to even stronger, more intense levels. He’d never seen power on a scale like this.

In a moment, making a mockery of Dave’s experience his first thought was that he needed to get help. Every rule about mushroom tripping he’d ever learnt he abandoned. Whenever someone reaches a level that scares them on shrooms, the best thing you can do, is not to panic. To stay calm and lie down. Dave used to use the 15 minute rule technique whenever this had happened in the past, and it always worked perfectly. The rule involved looking at the time and fixing it. This act alone helped him attempt to gain control, but it also meant he could fix the experience to a known point. Then he would simply fall back, allowing the experience to wash over and through him. Often he would talk aloud to himself “Use it, use the experience. Go with it. Let it show you what you need to see.” This mindset was also helpful in allowing the experience to be appreciated differently. Often this simple act alone was enough to transform a trip and put it on the positive path. When this point was reached on shrooms it was almost impossible not to have an amazing fun time.

Tripping on shrooms was all about your state of mind. Often the best way to appreciate it, is to submit yourself fully to its spell and let go. This was the drug equivalent of a leap of faith. It was exciting and scary at the same time. Also the point about the fifteen minute rule was that eventually when you looked at your watch later, you’d often see 15 minutes had past and now you were enjoying yourself. The time just gave you something tangible to hold onto, whilst the top edge of the experience burnt off, and your body got accustomed to it.

But at that time, the alcohol just clouded Dave’s judgment. The combined affect gave the experience and added intensity. Nine pints had been a reckless amount to drink before such a strong trip. What would otherwise have been bearable was appearing intolerable to Dave. It wasn’t so much what he could see, but how he felt. The power coursing through him was like electricity. He felt as if he was like one of those 20,000 volt cables you always see sparking, and flashing around in James Bond movies that the baddies always get themselves electrocuted with – that’s what he felt like – as if he was being electrocuted – like he was a live wire, pure energy coursing through him. It was an indescribable feeling. He’d never felt like this before.

However had Dave at this time thought rationally and adopted the 15 minute rule everything would probably turned out differently. But he didn’t, and now the events of the mushroom pushed him onto another path.

In a rash of judgement, Dave decided he had to get help. He went down the stairs to the lower of the two floors in John’s apartment, and opened the door. Before him was the main staircase of the building. Dave moved down the stairs fast, reaching the lobby. He didn’t even notice at this time that he wasn’t wearing shoes or socks. He opened the large solid door, stepping out into the street. The door clicked shut behind him, locking him out. It was late now, well into the early hours of the morning, and the City had settled down into sleep. Dave crumpled into a pile on the doorstep, trying to gain a modicum of control back. Due to the experience washing over him Dave found his mind difficult to process. The kaleidoscopic, cinematic visions he could see simply commanded his attention. He stood up. He had to get someone to help him.

Had anyone seen Dave at this point, he would’ve looked a sight. Barefoot and almost staggering down the street in his work clothes it would have been easy to correctly assume he was high on drugs. A shape of a person walked in Dave’s direction shadowy and silhouetted before him. A street light sparkled around the figure like a halo.

“Excuse me, can you help me” Dave pleaded. He’d reached the junction of the Euston road. At any time of night it was a busy road, 3 lanes deep, and packed with traffic. Whoever was in front of Dave simply arced round him and carried on going completely confused by what to make of him. Dave feeling disorientated and panicky almost had the idea that he needed to run into the road and stop the traffic, an incredibly reckless and dangerous thing to do. Despite how he felt at the time, he still had enough sense to ignore this. Instead, the feeling simply overtook Dave now.

He collapsed to the ground face down on the pavement. He was simply not aware of anything now – not even the buzz. Time had simply ceased. Even the drum of cars that passed by not more then six feet to Dave’s right could be heard. Dave had gone well past Ego Loss. He simply ceased to be.

Quite how long Dave had lay by that road he would never know. Nor how many cars drove by, and people walked past. Eventually the lights dancing behind his eyes jogged Dave into awareness. The sounds his ears heard were distorted and confused. Through his eyelids he could see colours dancing in a pulsating rhythm, cool and blue. But there was sound - no voices – people talking. People talking to him. Dave opened his eyes.

Staring down at Dave were at least five faces, but his eyes were drawn to a girl – a blonde girl with a pretty smile. They were all looking at Dave. Above their heads the night flashed blue in a pulsating rhythm. Dave blinked not sure where he was.

“What’s your name” the girl said. Dave’s eyes were focussing now taking in the scene before him. He was lying on his back, and tried to move his head up. He was still in the street and could see the traffic driving by. The people in the cars peered to see what the commotion was. A police car was stopped in the left lane, forcing traffic to go round it. The blue and white lights on top of it were spinning, but there was no alarm.

“What’s your name” the lady said. Dave focussed on her. His thoughts were still spinning and confused.
“Dave” he said. The girl smiled. It was progress to her. Dave realised that she was wearing a black uniform. The others that also looked down on Dave were also in uniform. The others were all men. Around Dave, looking down on him were five uniformed police officers.
“What’s up mate” said one, a young male, sounding distinctly Australian.
“Can you get me an Ambulance” Dave said. “Why do you need an ambulance” the policeman continued “have you been taking any drugs”?
Dave looked at him. “Yeah, I took some magic mushrooms” he said coming clean straight away. “Can you get me an ambulance now please”? Dave could still feel the intense power coursing through him, but now the feeling was calmer, almost ebbing in and out with its intensity.

“So where did you do the mushrooms” the girl asked?
“With my friend” Dave replied.
“Where’s your friend live” the girl responded.
Dave was singing like a canary now. “In the flat in this street” he said.
“Which flat” said the younger male police man?

“The top floor flat – number 69” Dave said completely selling his mate out. He couldn’t help but be truthful. He heard one of the officers say “Go check it out” and noticed a couple of the police officers drifted away. A powerful wave swept over Dave, causing him to close his eyes. The mushroom trip was only just beginning now. His mind had become a vista stretching as far as the eye could see. Hieroglyphic symbols and laser lights burst like fireworks in his thoughts. Vivid, amazingly vivid shapes drifted into his thoughts, and he felt like he was on rails, on some kind of theme park ride. Dave did not hear the policeman talking to him now. He’d drifted to another place. The thoughts were sucking him deeper into a magical dreamland. A beautiful dragon trailed across the distant far reaches of his inner vision. It turned banking towards him trailing glittering star like trails behind it. It was a marvellous Chinese looking dragon. Dave could see the scales glinting on its skin. He almost went wow. It was fantastic. A smile creased his lips.

The policeman woman distracted him back from his vision. “Dave, open your eyes” she said. Dave obliged opening his eyes.

“The ambulance is on its way” the woman said. “It should be here soon”. Dave smiled at her, thinking she was pretty. His eyes then moved to the other officer looking down at him. Dave could just imagine what he must’ve looked like to them.
“I bet you’ve seen it all now” Dave said to him. He looked like he had been doing this for years.

“Don’t know about that mate, it’s my first week on the job” he said laughing at Dave. Dave found this hilarious, bursting into laughter too. His laugh was different on shrooms. It was an infectious sound that seemed to transmit happiness. It was innocent and joyful. The officers all exchanged looks, and Dave was aware they were talking about him. He couldn’t hear what though as again the inner mind overcame him, blocking them out. But he could hear them laughing at him.

The intensity of the lights got stronger behind his eyelids. The pulsating blue rhythm changed increasing and flashing, distracting Dave’s eyes to open. The ambulance had arrived now and its lights also flashing. And that was the moment Dave hit the plateau. He sighed, happiness flooding through him. He’d reached the place - the beautiful place – the greatest place in the world. He’d reached the magic land. Dave could always tell. He sighed again, relieved. He knew no-bad would befall him now. The trip was going to be amazing now. It was already sensational. He wanted to laugh out loud. If only they could see what he could, feel what he could, be like he was, right then. This was the greatest feeling alive. Nothing and no-one one could dent Dave now. Dave could’ve happily got up then shook everybody’s hands, apologised for all the inconvenience he’d caused, and that everything was going to be all right now, and then disappear into the night to gaze in wonder at anything and everything that took his fancy. The ambulance was quite un-necessary now. Dave was feeling great. All he wanted to do was get out, away from this madness he suddenly found himself in.

A wheel chair was wheeled to Dave, and he was helped to his feet by a couple of the male officers. “Oh there’s quite no need for the chair” Dave said in prim and proper English. He was in his element now, with sheer ecstasy buzzing through him.
“I’m afraid you have to” said the ambulance attendant, a pleasant looking fellow with a gentle smile “we wouldn’t want you hurting yourself on the journey to the hospital”.

Hospital!! Dave thought. That’s the last place he needed to be now. However he had the good sense not to complain, as he appreciated the delicacy of his situation. The police officers were still standing around watching Dave’s every move. Dave sat in the wheelchair.

“I’m just going to have to strap you in” said the man behind him. “It’s regulations, I’m afraid.” Dave felt a bit embarrassed, like an invalid as he was strapped into the chair. The attendant then wheeled him to the ambulance whose doors were opened. Dave was spun round in the chair and then pushed onto a silver platform just big enough to fit the chair. The attendant pushed a button at the side of the ambulance, and Dave was then lifting, moving up in the air. He felt really embarrassed now, but also was overcome with a greatfulness to everybody that had helped him. The wheelchair lift clicked at the top, and Dave was then pushed into the side annex of the vehicle. “Please tell everyone thank you very much” Dave said. “They were all really nice to me, and did a great job.”

The driver of the ambulance had come round to see how he could help, not sure what to expect from their new passenger. They’d been radioed in shortly before to attend the scene of someone suspected of a magic mushroom overdose. Dave obviously wasn’t what they were expecting to find, being so genial to everybody, polite and charming with an infectious grin on his face.

Dave clearly heard the driver say to his colleague “This is all very neat and tidy” as they seemed relieved Dave wasn’t going to be giving them any trouble whatsoever. The attendant got in closing the double doors behind them, taking a seat on the bench on the other side next to Dave. The driver got in the front, starting the engines. They were soon moving on their way to the hospital.

The trip was now in full swing, and Dave was now at last able to appreciate it. It was something to behold. His head leaned back so that he was looking at the ambulance’s white roof. It was a shimmering through a neon spectrum of colours, an unforgettable sight. Rather then be an alien thing, it felt the most natural thing in the world. Dave’s senses were alive. He was appreciating now, truly what the human body, and mushrooms were capable of. Now they were talking he thought to himself. The feeling reminded Dave why he took shrooms. They simply could not be beat.

The attendant picked up the clipboard and began asking Dave some questions – about his medical history. Dave did his best to help, and the man made movements with his hand ticking boxes on the sheet.

“

Do you know” the attendant said to Dave “the police weren’t actually sure what to do with you, and couldn’t decide between sending you to hospital or letting you sleep it off in the cells. We talked them into allowing us to take you with us. Dave smiled at the attendant.

“Thank you, everyone has been so kind to me. Thank you.” He said. Dave really was one of life’s good guys, and it was clear that they’d made the right decision. However the reality of spending a night in a police cell tripping his head off seemed an unpalatable suggestion. Instead he was getting VIP treatment and being rushed off to the nearest hospital. Dave really did have to laugh.

“My daughter did magic mushrooms once” the attendant said. “She said they were very enjoyable. What are they like, now? What can you see?” The attendant seemed genuinely interested, almost fascinated what Dave was going through. Dave really wanted to tell them. However, it is not always easy to be descriptive at the peak of a level four mushroom trip. His attempts to portray what was going on in his mind, just couldn’t be put in words. “It’s amazing” was all he could manage. “Just simply amazing”. The attendant pressed for more, but Dave just couldn’t pay attention. The visual cascade before him could not be ignored. He just sat staring at it a wondrous look on his face.

The attendant picked up that Dave needed his own space, and began talking to the driver. Dave’s head leaned back, taking in the psychedelic extravaganza. This is what he was talking about Dave thought to himself. This was the best part of the trip now. The experience had gelled, filling Dave with a feeling of absolute contentedness and happiness. At the same time, his mind bedazzled him with a spectacular light show, where light glinted off everything in a fractural magnificence. If you have never taken magic mushrooms, then whatever you are imagining this experience to be like, you are probably so far short of its true beauty. This state that Dave now found himself was the reason every shroomer did it. And whilst Dave was only sitting in the back of a London ambulance, right there and then, it was the most beautiful and special place in the world. It was something that he could only sit back and appreciate. If only the two guys whose company Dave now shared could see this, if only the police who had helped him earlier could be his witness, or the politicians that so frivolously attempted to prohibit Dave’s current experience, could just simply understand, just what it was that Dave now could. This moment, right here, right now, was the reason Dave took magic mushrooms – sure the beginning part could get a little hairy, but once it got into the swing of things, the experience was out of this world.

The ambulance ground to a stop having swung into the hospital car park. The ambulance attendant fussed over Dave as he unlocked the seatbelt and positioned the wheel chair back onto the lift ramp at the back. Dave felt he should really be walking and protested a little, but the attendant assisted. Next Dave was being pushed across the car park and into the brightly lit corridors of Accident and Emergency. He felt really sheepish. Before he new it, Dave was greeted by a man in white overalls, with a stethoscope around his neck. He was like the Doctors Dave always saw on telly. Around him were at least five nurses kitted in light purple outfits.

The Doctor gave Dave a big smile leaning in towards him. “How are you” he asked? Dave’s smiled back happy to be around anyone. Nothing could bring him down now. He was aware of the nurses circling round him too. They seemed to all be smiling for some reason. Dave found the whole situation funny, and burst out into infectious giggles. A couple of the nurses giggled back.

“So what have you been up to” asked the Doctor, meaning what drug was Dave on.
“Just some magic mushrooms” Dave giggled back. Dave couldn’t help laughing now. And once he started it, it was difficult to stop. It was infectious though, and seemed to put every one in a light hearted mood. He didn’t notice as the Doctor reached into Dave’s pockets.
“Who’s Bro” the doctor asked.
Dave’s ears pricked up at the question, and his head nodded up to the doctor in surprise. The Doctor was holding Dave’s mobile phone and had gone through his address book, obviously looking for next of kin details.

“He’s my brother” Dave replied. “He’s a really good guy – really funny”, Dave managed to gurgle out, on the verge of another bought of hilarity.

“What’s your brother’s name” the Doctor asked? Dave told them, and then stared wide eyed in horror, strapped in his chair as the Doctor pressed a button and raised it to his ear.
A few moments later he began to speak “Is that Jake” the Doctor asked pausing to listen to the response. “Hello, this is Dr Richards at the Royal Imperial Hospital in London. We’ve just had your brother Dave admitted to us”.

Dave could just sense what a shock this must’ve been for Jake. He must think that Dave had been in a car accident or something horrible. It was funny; Dave’s senses were so alive he could almost here his brother’s response in the mobile phone pressed up to the doctor’s ear.

“It’s ok”, the Doctor continued. “He was brought in suffering from the effects of magic mushroom intoxication…. – yes he’s ok now, we’ve got him under observation, but would it be ok if you came and picked him up?”
“What” thought Dave. Last time he checked his brother was living in Portsmouth a good two hour drive away. There’d be no way he would want to come up at 3 am in the morning to bail Dave out.
But Dave’s bro was a top guesser who’d always helped him out in the past. “Great, we’ll see you soon then” the Doctor thanked him. He hung up and then passed the phone back to Dave.

“Your brother is going to come and collect you once we’ve made sure you’re fit again to leave” he said. “He should be here in an hour or so. Until then we’ll stick you in a cubicle and you can work the drug out of your system. Unfortunately with magic mushrooms there’s just no cure that we can administer. However the effects shouldn’t last more then a few more hours”.

Dave was at the peak of the experience now – the moment he referred to as the Golden hour – the most special and amazing time to spend with the shrooms. The fact that he was in a hospital was immaterial. The buzz dazzled and worked its magic. He felt utterly and indescribably amazing.

A young orderly male nurse came and wheeled Dave away to a small cubicle enclosed by a curtain on a rail that could be swung open and closed. It had a narrow bed that Dave was asked to get on and lie down. The male nurse immediately cracked some jokes at Dave, setting Dave off into a fit of laughter.

As he lay back on the bed the ceiling continued to dazzle an electric spectacle of colour and fireworks. His mind drifted as if on a gentle breeze, and his thoughts taking on a startlingly realistic 3D quality. It was like he could see a film of his of life, and as if he was actually living in the moment of his thoughts. He could look around, and see everything his thoughts allowed, the people, the texture of the wall, the conversations, the sounds, smells – everything. It was superb. Dave’s mind now entertained him, and he succumbed to cinematic experience it displayed behind his eyelids.

Even with his eyes open his imagination transfixed itself to his visions almost projected onto the walls and ceiling. But it was the laughter that predominated. Dave just couldn’t stop, and was totally oblivious to the noise he must’ve been making at such an early time in the morning, or who he might be disturbing. Every now and then the orderly would pop back to check up on Dave, and crack a joke, which was usually enough to set Dave back off on one. He’d left the curtain open and Dave could see the people in the corridor as they walked past, mainly nurses, who smiled at Dave – he seemed to have transmitted a light joviality to the hospital amongst its entire staff, who would otherwise be working in probably quite sombre and serious conditions. Some of the nurses even giggled as they walked past. Dave was definitely not the usual type of in-patient they got – laughter like this was not something they were accustomed to coming from someone suffering from a drug over-dose.

Then as if by magic, Jake walked in. He looked serious – completely the opposite from Jake who was grinning like a Cheshire cat at some thought that had just popped into his head.
“Alright Bro” Dave said, as Jake came in and sat on the small stool next to the bed. Jake seemed to relax straight away, clearly seeing that Dave was in good spirits. “Hello Dave – what the hell happened to you then” he asked?

Dave wasn’t even sure he had the ability to explain, but became aware that the experience was starting to ease, losing a fraction of its intensity. He could stay in the moment with greater ease now. Dave filled his brother in as best he could, stopping every now and then as a giggle fit hit him.

Jake was aware they were in a hospital. “Listen mate, I don’t want to spoil your party, but there are a lot of people in here who have pretty bad problems, so you might want to try and keep it down for them”, Jake said. He was always considerate like that.

Dave nodded, trying his best. “But I thought you were in Portsmouth” Dave asked. “Did you drive up here all the way from there”?
“No – just by chance I was at a function in London tonight and was staying at a hotel nearby, otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to do it. You just got lucky”.
That was something Dave had always been aware of – amazing things always seemed to happen to him on shrooms, and he couldn’t believe how things seemed to work themselves out – as if by magic. They were special, unfathomable things. Dave loved them.

They talked for a few more minutes, and then Jake said he was tired and wanted to sleep, leaning back into the chair and closing his eyes. Dave took the cue from this to lean back into the bed also and closed his eyes too. He watched as dragons flew around his vision, and cities constructed themselves before his eyes. A feeling of peace and tranquillity washed over him, interspersed with overriding warmth – a glow. It was a beautiful feeling – a feeling of true wellbeing. Dave always got this when he did libs. It was one of the reasons he did them – he believed they were positively good for you. He was glowing with healthiness and vitality – this was what feeling alive was all about. However, unless you had felt it, Dave knew you could never really understand it. You’d just have to take his word for it. But it was truly special.

An hour or so later, the visions faded, and the dazzling effects that had entertained him through the night had gone. The chemicals that make magic mushrooms so potent and ‘intoxicating’ have a very predictable life span in the body. After 4 – 5 hours, most of the chemicals have been worked through the system and the body soon returns itself to an even keel. Unlike other drugs where there is a noticeable comedown, the magic mushroom experience just fades away, as if getting into a lift and descending to the ground floor. The organic nature of the experience leaves no lasting ill effects or negative experiences. It is as if you are just gently lowered back onto the ground having sat on a magic carpet for the last four hours. Dave was sorry to see the experience dwindle away, but glad also that he’d got his act together. He still felt the buzzing warmness throughout his being – (that was something that often persisted long after the trip had finished Dave found), and his mind felt like it had been put through a car wash and come out clean. Whilst feeling a little groggy (most likely from the effects of the alcohol he’d consumed, his thoughts were crystal clear and razor sharp. It was time to get out of here. He sat up. Jake was asleep in his chair. He reflected on what had been a memorable evening, smiling to himself.

Then he remembered John. S*!t – he’d forgotten all about him. Dave wondered how he’d got on. Dave knew that John must’ve had just a strong a trip – also the psychological torment of Dave’s disappearance would have had must’ve added to John’s own experience. Not to mention the fact Dave had just given a load of coppers his flat and address as someone else who was shrooming. “Ha ha – poor bastard” Dave thought. One thing was for sure, it was certainly a night both would never forget. Dave swung his feet out of bed and stood up. He bent down to Jake, gently nudging his arm to wake him.

“Come on mate, let’s get out of here” he said. Jake rubbed his eyes blinking a few times, and then agreed. The Doctor who had caused Jake to come and get Dave walked past at just that moment. He looked across and Dave said “Thank you, I’m feeling much better now”. The Doctor smiled

“You were funny” he said, smiling at Dave who just smiled back. The doctor turned away chuckling and continued walking on his way. Dave smiled after him. He was certainly a memorable character. Jake appeared next to him and they made their way out of the hospital into the car park. A taxi was available and Dave and Jake got in. Moments later the car pulled out of the car park disappearing into the early morning dark.