23-second Scream

Funny how the shittiest night of your life can end up being the best.

Well, I'd been trying to procure mushrooms for my second trip for a long time. On two separate occasions we went to meet someone to get mushrooms and the dealer thought we wanted weed. Anyway, after a few more phone calls and some luck, I found myself in possession of a half ounce of dried mushrooms. And lots of weed.

Since it's my buddy's last weekend before moving out to BC, we planned that we'd take a quarter oz and split it between the three of us . We'd use my friend's pretty much empty house for the trip. My name is Dante and my friend's names are Ryan and Jason. Ryan's little brother (14 years) was also present but he's cool with us tripping. We smoke joints and drink around him all the time, and he agreed to be something of a sitter. He was definately the most responsible and level-headed of all of us.

We ate 2.33 grams each with some half-melted caramilk (It was very hot last night) at about 7:30, then commenced to play some Playstation until they kicked in.

As happened last time, Ryan was first. (Read 'First Trip in Detail' under level 2 for our previous encounter with the mushroom. Nine minutes into it, he says he's tripping out. Ok. Then after another 20, Jason says he's feeling them. But not me. I smoked some cigs and tried to be patient. Jason and Ryan were laughing like hyenas and I was feeling uptight and left out.

30 minutes more... nothing. Just a stoney feeling and minor irregularities in the wall (slight flowing and brighter color.) So I have a bong hoot. It gets me stoned, and overpowers any shroom-ness I was experiencing. I kept thinking "Ok, NOW it's starting..." but it just wasn't. So after some careful deliberation, I stood up and announced: "I am going to go eat some more mushrooms now." I pulled out the bag and took another fat cap and another fat stem. Just after I ate them I realized that If I do indeed trip out after all, my friends will be down already and I'll be having some terrible trip (because I was still feeling shitty but I was determined to trip anyway). So I went upstairs and had more.

By now I knew I had seven grams in me on an empty stomach, but I was convinced they wouldn't do much. WRONG. I just kept having circular thoughts about how I was in a no-win situation; either I'll trip by myself, or I won't trip at all, and that I have no control over which one happens. Well, then Ryan asks if he can have more mushrooms. I was so happy he wanted to take more, so I wouldn't be alone. So he and Jason finished the bag and we decided to walk to 7-11 and smoke a joint on the way.

We got slurpees and suddenly they hit me. My god I never realized how much color can be in a single room. I somehow paid for my slurpee correctly and we left. Then after the greatest cigarette of my life we headed back. We walked down a few sidestreets to get back home but it seemed like miles. Ryan's brother said we were gone an hour but he might have been fucking with us. Anyway I lay down on the couch and looked at Ryan's mother's artwork. She paints these crazy pictures with elves and faeries and generally fucked up psychedelic imagery. The four of us talked and laughed about shit and suddenly I realized I was having a good time. We got sillier and sillier, laughing until we cried. I had never felt so good in my life. Then I had a bong hoot to coincide with the third dose of mushrooms kicking in. I sat back in the couch and hit my head against the wall and it felt exactly like a piece of metal was in my skull and had been knocked loose.

Then the art came alive. The faeries were all breathing and hugging each other. I marvelled at this for a while and we went back to Ryan's bedroom, I presume to roll a joint or something. Anyway, we were having a great time, all tripping and laughing like rabid clowns, and I was feeling tremendously happy. I put on Tool's Lateralus and chilled on the bed. I did not move for an hour. The music was totally amazing. I just stared at the ceiling lamp. The bulb itself was all the colors at once, and it had these multicolored eyeballs bulgin out fo the ceiling in a circle around the light.

Then I suddenly noticed the music again when it went quiet, then AAAAAARRRRRRRGRGRGGRGRHHRHHH!!! The most monumental scream I have ever heard blasted from the speakers and instantly I started melting into the bed. It was the song called The Grudge. The scream lasted for 23 seconds (I had already timed it once) and throughout it my body was disappearing. I smoked a cig that somehow was lit and burning in my hand and it felt like the smoke was numbingly cold. It was like the smoke carved a path of total vaccuum within my body. I tripped to Lateralus while my friend's brother told me these stories about all sorts of things; kids getting hit by cars, etc., and amazingly I was able to offer coherent responses to his stories. I felt very solidly bonded with the young lad. Meanwhile, Ryan and Jason are smoking a joint my the window, looking about a hundred feet tall.

The shrooms kept getting more intense but I was remarkably collected and generally unworried about everything; how much mushrooms I took, how much money I blew.. it all didn't matter. Then Ryan almost stepped on my leg and I withdrew it with catlike grace to my chest, and held my legs in this position with perfect control for a while. Then as the muchrooms were at the absolute peak, I closed my eyes and saw kaliedescopic arrangements of multicolored mushrooms exploding everywhere, and, in the single most amazing moment of my life, I heard myself say to Ryan's brother, "Do you do yoga?"

I felt like God.

"No, do you do yoga?" He answered.

"No."

Then the eternally-silent Jason suddenly yelped at somebody out the window and Ryan and Jason collapsed on top of me in hysterical laughter. We all laughed for years, it seemed. Ryan's brother told me stories as the walls behind him were madly expanding to the size of a gymnasium and panels on them unfolded and flipped over to reveal crazy inlay patterns. It was sooo itense but I just kept telling myself that I've taken a drug and it will wear off. Amazingly I kept it together, and by the time I got up I knew nothing could ruin this trip.

When I wasn't peaking as hard, I went with Ryan's Bro to show him the Shroomery, and I posted a message on the Forums saying how hard I was tripping. Mysteriously, my hands worked automatically and I was able to articulate my thoughts with minimal confusion, even though I was totally gone.

But the mushrooms weren't don't yet. Later I went down to the art room again and lay on the couch. The art was insane, and the ceiling was getting huuuuge and coming down on me until it met the floor and I was in the middle. But I felt totally safe.

Later we got more stoned, which made the artwork come alive again, and we watched Galaxy Quest. It was mildly entertaining but really not that great. I don't much like movies when on mush because I only see actors, not characters. Unless the movie is particularly enthralling. This one wasn't. I did scream out loud when those cute aliens turned evil and attacked them.

Conclusion:
I guess the mushrooms just weren't the most potent mushrooms, but seven grams and some bong hoots was just perfect. It also opened me up to the positive, uplifting effects of mushrooms. The time before the effects seemed more hostile and twisted, but this time I learned to enjoy it. In the first half of the trip I was thinking I'd never do mushrooms again because they just make me confused and shitty, but now I'd love to take them again. I just wish it was easier to gauge dosage. I took enough mushrooms to make either of my friends to level five, but I peaked out at level 3-4. Anyway, I WILL trip again. Perhaps by myself even.

-oOo-WhiskeyClone-oOo-