15 for 15 Contest --- Closed

I came out here as a man of science, but what am I now? I've lost contact with my team. But it's too late to back now. Even if I wanted to. Now I have no other choice but to continue this ill fated expedition to the end.

At first we thought is was just another variation on the Bryopsida division, but on further analysis it turned out to be something more. Something much more. Initial tests revealed massive quantities of psilocybin, the same a hallucinogenic agent found in most of the mushroom in the region. This was fascinating in itself and worthy of more investigation, but there was also something else. The pscilocybin also contained traces of an unkown substance. And whatever it was it had properties very similar to the isothiocyanates found is organic vegetables. Supposedly these isothiocyanates contain healing properties but it had always been a vague claim at best.

Further testing was needed. We began working on a way to separate the hallucinogenic agents from the healing proteins, and after a long and arduous process of distillation we were successful. Or rather we believed we were.

Initial tests were highly encouraging. It seemed to clear up most minor ailments, from heartburn to the common cold. Everyone was excited. It was to be a major breakthrough.

It was then we discovered a third compound. An unkown. We attempted to separate but it resisted our distillation methods, it seemed as though it was adapting. It was incredible, I had never seen anything like it. The team urged me to return with our results, and it would be hailed as major scientific discovery. But I had no interest in accolades or accreditation. Perhaps the mysterious compound was harmless. All we needed was a test.

I can honestly say my motives were unselfish when I tainted our water supply with Asiatic cholera bacterium. I felt confident our newly discovered healing protein would be more than equal to the task of destroying the cholera bacteria. We...became ill. The antidote was administered.

And that's when shit got weird. Not only was the isothiocyanate a healing agent, bit it was also something else. Don't ask me what, it defied my understanding. It still does. I can't describe what happened next in scientific terms. I have trouble speaking about it at all.

Faces appeared in the trees, in the brush, in the moss itself. Then the voices came. At first a jumble but they became clearer with time. The team was panicked at first. I myself was terrified. The voices seemed to... beckon us deeper into the forest, and one by one we dispersed, all wandering in different directions, looking for the source of the voices. They were coming from the heart. I can't think of any other word. The voices seemed to emanate from the heart of the jungle, or perhaps it's soul. Odd I know, for a scientist, to opine on matters of the soul, but that's how it seemed to me. After a while, I don't know how long, but I found myself alone and naked. My team had dispersed, I can only assume that they too were searching for this source, this centre, this soul.

I think it's been days, maybe weeks, but the voices have finally stopped. The faces have dissipated. And I am lost. I can only conclude that the isothiocyanate's themselves were causing the voices. It pains me to admit it, that what I have discovered is no medical miracle, but rather the most powerful hallucinogen known to man. I am lost. I am cold. The forest has no heart, no soul, and I am frightened.

Unless... There that's the moss. I force a fist full into my mouth and the voices come again. The faces come again and I resume my trek. The heart, there's something familiar about it, the voices too. Recognition floats on the edge of my consciousness but elude me still. Unless... The soul I seek. I think it is my own.