VOLATILE (I) : peter pan ouat

When Gay Happened

When Gay Happened

Day: 9

I'm conscious.

I sit up on the table. Jared is shaking his head at me.

"Berries. Really?" He chuckles.

I look at him, puzzled.

"They are a hallucinogenic. Why did you eat them?"

Pounding erupts in my head, and my hands grip it tight to try to dull the aching. "No questions today about whether or not I have a concussion? Going off script this time? What about protocol? The scandal?"

He glares at me, before a grin spreads across his face. He hands me his canteen, which I take a huge sip from.

"Do you know how much of a pain it was to look for a counter-remedy for those berries?" Jared said. "You're lucky you didn't stumble into some dream shade."

"What are you talking about?" I ask. "I feel hungover."

"You are hungover." He answers. "Those berries were basically long-lasting cocaine."

"Cocaine was used medicinally in your time." I sigh. "You are that old, right?"

"I am that old." He chuckles. "Sure I may have taken cocaine to dull headaches back in the day, but Robert, my assistant, never did. How do you think he reacted when I suggested asking Peter to conjure up some cocaine for the first time?"

I sigh, lying back down. "Those berries were a hallucinogenic?"

"You betcha."

I groan. "What happened?"

"Well, you disappeared for two days. You came back yesterday, stumbling into camp with bloodshot eyes. Johnny saw you, then he tried to attack Peter. He got put in a cage, and Alex and Harry brought you here. Then you starting attacking us, screeching."

I gulp. "I thought I was drowning."

He hands me back the canteen, forcing me to drink more.

"That's what hallucinogens do to your brain, make you think things are happening, that are not happening."

"I was attacked by a mermaid." I explain.

"You hallucinated that." He says. "You were in my tent."

"The day I went missing, I was attacked by a mermaid." I say.

"You consumed the berries, and hallucinated the attack."

I shake my head. "Ask Pan. He saw it. I stuck out my tongue at her and she tried to drown me. And four or five days ago I was attacked by a Lost Boy during the night, and you didn't believe me."

"Medically speaking, I really shouldn't believe you." Jared says.

I close my eyes. "Did you say Johnny was put in a cage?"

"Yeah," Jared says.

I wait for him to continue speaking. He doesn't.

"Do you want to explain that to me?" I ask, bitterness seeping on to my tongue.

I wonder if it's the counter remedy. Those berries were indeed very sweet.

"No," he says. "You need to sleep off the hallucinogenic."

"Aren't you supposed to go tell Pan I'm awake?"

He exhales loudly. "I'm supposed to tell him when you are better. The remedy I made for you is a depressant, like alcohol, and it should counter-act the berries with minimal side-effects. Right now you are experiencing fatigue, and could go on to experience depression. I'm going to have to wean you off the depressant, while ensuring the berries affects are not withstanding."