"Is... is everything supposed to go black?" The fizzy taste of the beverage was still on her tongue. Ginger and... something.

"Yup," said Linsey. It lasts about five minutes per sip."

"Five minutes! You didn't say—" Her heart rate leaped upward, she began to sweat, and she sat up with jerk.

Linsey's hand caught her shoulder and gently pushed her back down into the seat. "Relax, this is normal. You can stop it at any time. Well, any five minutes or so. Just don't take another sip. See how you feel like this."

She gulped, thick and hard, leaving an ache in her throat. "I don't like it."

"I know. Give it a minute."

She did.

"Am I supposed to be seeing things?"

"Yeah, the brain starts making stuff up after a while."

"Woahhh..."

"Yeah." She could hear Linsey's grin. "Kinda neat, right?"

"Kinda... yeah, it's neat. Where..." She groped for the can.

"Here." Linsey put it in her hand and she took another sip. Ginger and something filled her mouth, fizzed down her throat. Tamarind. Was that a taste she knew?

"You'll stay with me, right?"

"Yeah," Linsey said.

A grin crept onto her face, and it stayed there.