• “Wooo!” I screamed, jumping up and down as Slipknot’s set finished. They were the last band of the day, and the evening drew its curtains shut on the light, becoming solitary in the darkness, as my friend Kriss and I stumbled back to our tent, surrounded by a sea of colour, and a crowd of people, laughing into the night. We were at Download Festival 2009, drinking, listening to music, and having fun. Ecstatic, we reached our large tent, and practically fell through the flap, giggling loudly, after a long walk in the pitch black from the main arena, and neither of us had much sense of direction – or balance (it was extremely muddy). We sat heavily down in the circle of our friends, leaning against the side of the blue tent. In the middle of the circle of people was a lamp, with eight cups in a larger circle around that (one for each person in the circle). My brother, Aiden was filling each cup from a pitcher of what looked like Herbal Tea. A beaker was passé to Kriss and I, subsequently, Kriss took a long swig and gulped it down, then grinned at me, expecting me to do the same.

    “Come on, Jack, just drink it!” he teased, impatient, a bit of spit running down his chin. Sighing, I looked into its murky contents. I drank the drink, not enjoying the taste. It was foul! Earthy and metallic, it tingled, and was thick and syrupy in texture. Kriss chuckled at me, and I realised my face was twisted into an ugly grimace due to the taste of the mysterious concoction.

    Soon after, the alcohol in my blood caught up with me, and I passed out, the last few seconds going in slow motion as my head sank towards the floor, hitting the ground with a thump. A short time later… my eyes shot open as quick as a gun firing a bullet into still air, and were greeted by a scene similar to the one they had recently left. I couldn’t have been out for more than an hour, yet the colours were brighter, and the shapes somehow distorted. Pushing this thought out of my mind, I rejoined the group, head spinning