Jason Campbell was trying not to have a mental breakdown. The group he had been leading was decidedly uncooperative. They had wandered around like lost sheep, there had already been eight people who had stepped on sticks, sharp rocks, and one snake. The snake bite victim was yet to show any signs of venom symptoms so he was grateful for that. The other seven people had badly injured their feet and had been carried back to the field.
The two former Security Officers with Jason's group were Brinsin and Jewel. They had been trying to keep people from being too stupid, but there were only two of them. Currently Brinsin, Jewel, and Jason were standing around one young caucasian man with bleach blond hair and blue eyes who stood around 5' 6". The young man, Eric Spencer, was acting defensive.
Jason's latest headache was from the young man standing in front of him, "What did the mushrooms look like, be very specific."
Eric had eaten some type of mushroom and the rest of the people nearby were convinced it was one of the psychotropic ones. The people who had seen him eat it had neglected to say anything, so Jason was trying to figure out what had happened.
"They had red caps with white spots. Chill out dude, I know my 'shrooms." the young man defended.
"How many did you eat? This is important." Jason asked, feeling his heart speed up dramatically.
"I don't know, about a dozen?" Eric said offhandedly.
Jason felt his stomach drop out, "A dozen?" he breathed.
Jason stepped back and covered his mouth with his hands. Brinsin and Jewel shared a concerned look before walking up to Jason slowly.
"What's up?" Jewel asked slowly.
"I recognized his description of the mushrooms." Jason groaned, "They're Amanita Muscaria."
Jewel's face went white as a sheet. He took a step back and turned his head to look at Eric.
Brinsin scratched his head, "Izat s'posed to mean somethin'?"
"You've heard of an antihistamine right R.J.?" Jewel asked.
"Yeah, it's what they give people who're having like, allergic reactions and stuff ain't it?" Brinsin said.
"Yeah, but a histamine by itself is not necessarily bad, now if you combine it with muscarine... bad things happen. The mushrooms Eric ate had trace amounts in them, but since he ate a dozen... " Jewel explained.
Brinsin looked pensive about his next question, "How bad exactly?" he asked slowly.
"How long does he have Jason?" Jewel asked.
"With the amount he claims to have ingested," Jason lapsed into contemplative silence, "An hour, maybe less."
R.J. leaned in close to Jason, "You mean he ain't long fo' this world." it wasn't a question, it was a request for confirmation, "He's gonna die. In an hour."
Jason nodded slowly, "Yeah. Even if we tried to induce vomiting, it wouldn't do any good."
Bobby leaned in close to R.J. and Jason,"We can't let them see this." Brinsin said soberly, "They've already seen enough with those people dyin' earlier."
Jason clenched his jaw in frustration. Was the situation not his fault? His face betrayed his internal thoughts, 'I'm the one who said we should divide up into groups. If I hadn't... '
His thoughts were interrupted by a firm hand on his shoulder, "Don't," Jewel's face was deadly serious but with a subtle undertone of compassion, "I've seen that look before when I was an F.M.F. Corpsman. Trust me, don't."
Jewel straightened up as he stood, "We should make sure his friends are with him when it happens. He's not going to take the news well and if he can't have his family here, he should at least have someone who knows him nearby for comfort."
"I'll make the announcement." Brinsin volunteered.
"No, I'll do it." Jason said firmly.
Brinsin stood up and cupped his hands over his mouth, "Yo! Gather round 'erebody!"
Jason stood up as people began forming a circle around them, "There's a reason I said not to eat anything." he gestured to Eric, "Who is friends with Eric here?"
Two young men and one young woman raised their hands, Jason continued, "Stay here with Jewel and Brinsin. Eric ate a type of mushroom commonly called 'Amanita Muscaria'. He has maybe an hour left and I think you guys should be with him for it."
"Dang dog!" a brown haired, brown eyed, young caucasian man said jokingly, "His dumb ass done ate a killer shroom! Awe man! Yo, we get to watch him keel?"
Brinsin moved like a striking snake. He took three quick steps and reached up. Before the young man could react, Brinsin reached his right hand upward and hooked three fingers into the man's collar bone, pulling him down. The young man squealed like a pig as he dropped to his knees in front of the shorter dark skinned gentleman. People backed away at the surprising display of aggression from the normally easy-going Brinsin, "What's your name?" Brinsin hissed dangerously.
"K-K-Kevin." he stuttered.
"Aiit Kevin. This' serious business." Kevin made to stand but Brinsin only ground his fingers deeper into the man's collar bone, "This dude's dyin' and he don't need nobody making jokes 'bout it. You want someone to be crakin' jokes when you dyin'? That shit's disrespectful as hell man. Now you gonna be quiet, you feel me? I don't wanna hear no more shit from you."
Kevin nodded his head emphatically and Brinsin let him go, then turned toward everyone, "This ain't no laughin' or jokin' matter! We's out here tryin' to survive! If someone gets hurt and killed, you don't fuckin' laugh! You ask what you can do to help! Since, Kevin over here thought it's so funny, he's gonna stay an' watch, then help bury Eric."
The proclamation was met with sharp gasps, "You can't make him do that!" another young man yelled.
Brinsin zeroed in on the speaker like a moth to a flame, "Aiit then, you joinin' him!" he then turned back to the crowd, "Anybody else got two cents to put in?"
Not a single person made a sound, "Good. Jason an' I'll go wit yall. Jewel, you got this bro?"
Jewel nodded solemnly, "Yeah."
Brinsin eyed Eric. Eric looked to be thinking it was all a big joke. He was laughing with his friends. Brinsin sighed and held up a hand to Jason. He spun his finger and motioned back to the North, the direction they had been heading before the 'Amanita Muscaria' debacle.
Jason held up his hand and motioned Jewel over, "The symptoms to look for are hallucinations, muscle spasms, sweating, feeling cold, drowsiness, euphoria, and difficulty breathing. In all likelihood he'll just fall asleep and not wake up, at least I hope so. Good luck. Find your way back to the field once he's been buried."
The group of young people, led by Jason, departed, heading North once more. Jewel looked around at the nearby trees, 'This ain't a bad place to go.' He turned his face back to the six, soon to be five, people near him. He turned back to Eric and his friends only to find the dying man kissing the young woman.
"Hey! Don't be doin' that!" he yelled loudly, "You wanna end up dead too?"
The young woman, a caucasian woman who stood about 5' 6" with blond hair and blue eyes let go of Eric and turned toward Jewel,
"Hey, fuck off! I'll kiss my boyfriend if I want! Eric's fine. We all know this is just a joke to make people think it's serious." she flipped her long hair with her left hand, "We all stay back here and everyone thinks it's something serious so they behave, but then a couple of hours later we all just walk back to the group like, 'Oh he's fine, it was just a close call, but it could have been bad so do what we say.'" she disrespectfully mimicked Jewel's voice in a mocking tone, "We'll play along and everything, just leave us alone."
"Wait until he starts havin' hallucinations and gets sleepy. We wanted you to be here so he wouldn't die alone. We were being serious." Jewel explained.
"Seriously bro," one of Eric's friends said, "You really need to chill out with the whole 'he's dying' thing." the speaker was a caucasian male who had dark brown hair and green eyes.
The other one, a caucasian male with bleach blond hair and brown eyes joined his friend, "Yeah, like Jeff said, take a 'chill pill' dude. I know you're like, a gnarly hard core dude, but you need to ease up."
Jewel shook his head sadly and turned to the two other boys who Brinsin had designated to stay, "O.K. you're Kevin." he said pointing to the named young man, "What's your name?" he asked pointing to the other one.
"Lucas." he said.
Lucas was an African-American young man who had long black hair in long, well kept dreadlocks, and brown eyes. He stood roughly 6' 2" tall but seemed extremely well spoken.
"Well Lucas, I applaud you for being willing to stick up for someone, but Brinsin was right. Kevin should have been more respectful." Jewel said evenly.
Kevin, who was standing nearby, widened his eyes, "Wait, you guys were serious?!" he ran his hands through his hair, voice quiet, "Holy shit!"
"Did it just get colder?" Eric asked suddenly, "It's like, freezing out here!" he turned to his girlfriend, "Amanda, aren't you cold?"
Eric wrapped his hands around himself as he began shivering. Jeff and Eric's other friend looked at each other oddly. Amanda cocked her head to one side then placed her right hand on Eric's forehead.
"Baby, you're burning up!" she turned to Jewel, "I think he's sick. We should go find the group."
"Nope, that's just one of the symptoms of the poisoning. Talk to him, try to keep him calm." Jewel instructed.
"Lay off the poisoning shit! This is serious!" Amanda said loudly.
Jeff interjected his thoughts, "Yeah, fun is fun, but Eric could really be sick!"
"I already told you." Jewel said pointedly, "He doesn't have long . . . "
"FUCK YOU HE'S FINE!" Amanda shrieked.
"Man, why does it feel like I've been up for days? I could just lay down here and sleep, jeeze." Eric said yawning.
"Eric!" Amanda yelled, "Why aren't you concerned? You could really be sick!"
"Don't worry about it babe. I feel like a million bucks, it's just that I'm cold and sleepy." Eric said as his left arm twitched sharply, "I think I'm just going to sit down for a minute or two."
"Don't sit down! We have to find everyone else," she slipped her right arm and shoulder under his armpit before he could sit down,
"Come on!" she grunted, trying to move him, "Come on! Jeff, George help me!"
The two young men in question looked at each other then back at Amanda, George spoke, "What if he's really dying after all? I don't want to touch him."
"He's not dying goddammit!" Amanda screeched, "He's going to be fine, he just has a temperature!"
Jewel could see the uncertainty and growing fear in her eyes, "Here," he said slipping his left arm and shoulder under Eric's other armpit, "Help me sit him down. He should be as comfortable as possible." he looked up at Jeff and George, "You're supposed to be his friends, how about helping? He ain't dead yet."
Jeff and George grasped Eric's hands and helped Jewel and Amanda lower him into a sitting position among the dead leaves on the ground. Amanda and Jewel eased out from under Eric's armpits and George and Jeff let go of his hands. Eric limply flopped backward limply. His head hit the soft dirt with a plopping sound.
Eric giggled, "Heheheheh. That sounded funny."
Amanda sat down next to him and laid his head on her lap, "Stay awake... "
"You're just too comfy babe. *yawn* I think I'm just going to take a little nap." Eric said.
Reality finally hit the young woman, she clenched her eyes shut, clutching his head tightly to her stomach, "No! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no-ho-ho-ho!" she began frantically rubbing her hands over Eric's face, "You're gonna be fine baby. Just stay awake. O.K.?"
Jewel saw the full understanding dawn on Jeff and George, "Get down there and be with him." Jewel ordered softly, "Amanda's going to need you two after this is over."
Jewel took a couple of steps back, keeping his distance out of respect. Amanda cycled through shaking her head in denial, and wracking sobs while holding Eric as close as possible. Jeff was kneeling just a few inches from the top of Eric's head, weeping silently as he looked at his friend. George was sitting next to Eric's right shoulder holding his hand in a comforting gesture.
Kevin and Lucas didn't say a peep as Eric's eyes seemed to grow heavy,
"We're gonna be fine Amanda." he said with a lazy smile, "Look, just let me take a short nap and we can hit the beach." he gestured with his left hand vaguely, "I can hear the waves." he seemed to notice Jeff and George for the first time, "Oh dudes," he said excitedly, "Just wait till I wake up. *yawn* We're gonna snag some killer waves." he blinked owlishly, "I know this sounds weird, but I'm glad all you guys are all here. It's nice to have someone so close for once. Kinda feels like family. Jeff, dude, is this what a family feels like? I wouldn't know."
Jeff bit his lower lip briefly and closed his eyes, "Yeah, bro. This is what family feels like." he couldn't help the tears.
"Hey George," Eric addressed, "You remember that time we went to Hawaii and surfed those wicked waves?"
"Y-yeah," George said, "You almost got killed on the reef." his reminiscent laugh became silent sobs.
"Amanda, you're the hottest, most gnarly babe I've ever known. Even if we don't work out, *yawn* which I totally hope we do, but even if we don't, you're an awesome babe. You were always too good for me but you chose to hang out anyway. Even if we don't work out, don't let a guy treat you like anything but what you deserve."
Eric's speech was slowing significantly as he shivered uncontrollably, "Dudes, just wait till I wake up. *yawn* We're gonna ride the waves till sunset. *yawn* I just hope . . . it . . . warms . . . up . . . "
Amanda shook the head in her lap, "Eric?" she shook a second time, "Eric?!"
Jewel closed his eyes and turned away as the young woman's voice rang out through the trees, "ERIC!"
* * *
Just over half a mile away, Brinsin was bringing up the rear of the main group when he heard Amanda scream. It was only just audible over the sounds of crunching foot falls in front of him. He closed his eyes and tilted his head back. Opening his eyes, he gazed at the sunlight streaming through the foliage overhead.
Lowering his head back to the group in front of him, he whispered solemnly, "He giveth, an' he taketh away. Blessed be his name."