[ WP ] Your party makes camp for the night , and you 're first on watch . Unfortunately , someone foraged psychotropic mushrooms for dinner .

There ’ s really nothing quite like being in a mountain forest after dark, far away from any semblance of civilization. As soon as the sun sets and you have to break out your flashlights, there ’ s something that triggers deep inside you. It ’ s a deep, visceral feeling, that probably dates back to our evolutionary ancestors. Something inside is reminding you that you aren ’ t the top of the food chain anymore. As we crossed through the vast mountain range separating us from the other group of survivors this deep feeling of dread was slowly growing inside of all of us until it threatened to boil over. 
 
 We set up camp in an alcove we found along the sandstone cliff side we had been following along for the day before. I tend to prefer sleeping on dirt or grass, but the cliff would provide us protection from the rain that was sure to come at some point during our stay. The long trek through the rocky mountains had left us exhausted and hungry so we decided to rest for a day and ready ourselves for what surely lay ahead. That night we cooked some rabbits for dinner that Tom had caught earlier in the day. I was still hungry and scrounged up some wild mushrooms from our food stores to snack on during my watch over the camp. This was actually my second mistake, my first was ever agreeing to hike into these mountains. 
 
 I started my watch over the camp last night just after sundown, when the rest of the camp had started to settle down and get ready for sleep. I settled down on a boulder on the eastern side of the alcove that overlooked the camp and gave me a good view of the treeline. The moon was only down to a thin ribbon of light in the sky, so I had an amazing view of the milky-way extending across the sky. Soon after my watch started I felt my stomach cramp up, “ Dammit John, ” I thought to myself, “ I told you to go easy on the spices ”. I tried to ignore it, but I couldn ’ t shake this feeling that there was something in my stomach that shouldn ’ t be there. My body was obviously telling me I was going to throw up eventually, but I was trying to convince myself I could fight through it. I finally got up though, not wanting to empty my stomach all over my watch post for the night, and walked to a nearby spot along the cliff to get it over with. 
 
 I wiped my mouth clean and looked up at the stars. Each one looked like a small kaleidoscope that some unknown force was slowly turning. At this point I realized what had happened, “ The god damn mushrooms. ” I said to myself outloud before I could stop myself. As I walked back towards the alcove I looked at my footprints on the ground that were slowly dancing on the ground. I could have sworn they resembled faces, but I couldn ’ t put my finger on exactly what they were reminding me of. I sat back atop the boulder and looked out at the treeline. There was a small, quiet breeze running between the trees and I couldn ’ t help but think to myself that the forest was breathing. They were all swaying together as if they were all part of some larger being. I felt as if there was a ball of energy inside deep in my chest. I looked up at the stars and imagined other worlds. I needed to explore it all and see it for myself. A sense of euphoria rolled outwards from my chest across my whole body as I thought about how wondrous our very existence upon this planet is. Yes, we were having to fight to survive, but so did all other life on this planet. I looked back up at the stars and my entire vision was filled with geometric shapes, slowly breathing with my body. I was taken aback at how beautiful it was, “ so this is what tripping balls is like ” I thought to myself. My older brother had described it to me, but it was nothing like actually experiencing it for myself. A feeling of sadness suddenly washed over me as I realized that it would end eventually. I chuckled to myself thinking about his reaction when I told him what had happened. 
 
 “ Shit, ” I mumbled to myself, slightly coming to my senses. “ I really shouldn ’ t be the only one on watch duty tonight, I had better go wake someone else up. ” As I was climbing off the boulder, I saw something out of the corner of my eye dart in and out of the treeline. I froze in place, adrenalin rushing through my veins as my body ’ s instincts kicked in. For a few seconds I held my breath, focusing every neuron in my brain into observing the treeline for activity. After a minute or so I relaxed slightly, “ There ’ s no way they could have followed us this far. ”
