Day 3

Day Three. I woke up in the morning screaming. I left to sniff the fresh air and when I returned I realised I was being followed. It's a welcome change to see something that isn't trying to kill me and eat my flesh.

I spent a busy day with my carpentry skills, but whenever I looked up I saw it staring at me. It's got a creepy death stare on it that makes me want to run and hide... but it's a harmless chicken, isn't it?

I decide to name the chicken Derek. Derek is as good a name as any. I can watch him run around all day long. No, get off the ramparts, Derek, they're not for chickens. No! Bad Derek!

Because I love Derek so much I've decided to plant a tree. Make the cave a little nice, you know? Trees look beautiful. To be honest it's growing out of a square cube of dirt in the shade, and it will never get any sun, but still. Points for trying, eh?

I TOLD YOU TO GET OFF THE RAMPARTS DEREK~!

Then they came. I saw one of them... how did he get in? I drew my axe and leapt at him, the stone head cutting into his green flesh. Disgusting, and a rank smell to go with it.

I smote his ruin upon the stone floor and laughed as he gasped for his dying breath. I was the superior predator. I was king of the cave.

 Derek? I realised then that I had lost Derek. I hadn't realised before but... even though we had only been together for a single day... he was the closest thing I had to a friend. I searched for him all around, terrified he had been turned into fried chicken for the zombie's dinner.

Thank God. Derek. Get inside you little scamp. My day was just about over and the snow was beginning to set in. Time to eat.

Day 2

Nightmares haunted my sleep all through the night. I woke up screaming with my hand on my pickaxe, ready to slaughter whatever monsters awaited. There were none, only the first signs of a blizzard blowing in from the sky. I'm cold. My arm still hurts where I was bitten.

I huddle round the kiln for warmth. The body is still smouldering within, bringing with it the tantalising smell of cooked flesh. I think I would have died in the night had it gone out: the cold would have taken me and I wouldn't ever have woken up. A part of me wishes I hadn't woken. A part of me wishes I had died in my sleep.

I spend some time digging pits at the entrance to the cave. Whatever comes will have to navigate them to reach me. Hopefully the snow makes them harder to see.

I stop for a break once I have finished. As I eat the leftover meat from the day before I see that my pits have formed a face in the stone. It looks like it's screaming.

I fortify my entrance, spending the last of the afternoon building crenellations and platforms so I can stop them from getting in. As the day passes I hear them outside. Watching. Waiting for nightfall. They won't get me.

I've finished the fortifications. Night is falling. I hope that I have deterred whatever beasts might want me dead, but I can't know. All I know is that I will be sleeping with my hand on my blade, the kiln at my back, and a resolve to fight or die fighting.

Day 1, Night

First thing's first: I gotta find a way out of this cave. The damn walls are too thick so I'll have to mine my way out with my stone pickaxe.

It wasn't as bad as all that. The dirt was soft enough that I practically strolled through to the surface. I don't want to leave. I'm terrified of what awaits out there, but I don't know how long it's been since I've last eaten. My stomach rumbles and I need food.

What grows around the snow? There's fuck all plants, the only decent meal I'm going to get is meat; there's a lovely pig halfway up the mountain. Why the hell is a pig so far up on a ledge? Never mind. I need his meat.

Found you. I wish it could be some other way but I need every scrap of meat you have on you. It's you or me, piggy, and let's face it: it ain't gonna be me.

There was surprisingly little meat on the mountain pigs, but luckily there are more grazing nearby. A whole pack: I should be able to get plenty more than the two chops from the stringy mountain pigs.

I'm so ravaged I stuff the raw pork into my mouth by the fistful. The meat flies everywhere as I tear it to bits with my teeth. It makes me feel ill but it sates my devilish hunger.

Now that I'm fed I can face the main problem: I'm out in the open, it's dark, the shadows coat the mountains and I can feel the eyes on me. I run and try to find my way back to my cave: it's the only safe spot, and I need to hole up for the night.

Thank god. Torchlight. I almost cry in relief as I see the flames licking the stone walls. I run toward it, sword at the ready, just in case. I can't see anything in the wide, dark, open expanse, but I know they're out there.

NO! I see him in my cave, waiting for me; his skin is a hellish, sickly green and he wears clothes much like my own. I see no sign of recognition or, indeed, humanity in his ghoulish eyes. He moves forward quickly and his teeth rip into my arm. I push him back, raise my sword and, screaming in rage and fear, swing it at his body.

I hit his green limbs and the stone isn't sharp enough to cut anything off: instead he goes flying in the air, and falls back down to the ground unmoving, his bones surely broken. He pants on the floor, wheezing, and I stand over him and swing my sword one last, final time. Silence at last. The laughter rises in my throat. HAHahahaha! I'm finally alive!

The adrenaline courses through my veins as I build a kiln. The stone surrounds the hot flame, magnifying the heat, and I pull the corpse and burn it. A foul smoke rises in the air. The peaceful day has turned to hellish night, and it is time for hellish deeds. The flesh burns and I toss the pork aside. I need pork no more.

I rip off enormous flanks of the dead man's flesh and nearly burn my hands as the succulent flesh sizzles and drips hot fluid over me. I stand and survey my domain as I begin to tear into the meat, my teeth ripping it to shreds, juice trickling down my chin. It tastes infinitely better than raw pork.

As I chew the meat I stop suddenly and realise what I'm doing. I drop the flesh in horror and step back, the bile rising in my throat. Whatever that creature was, it had been human once, and now it was slowly burning in the fire. My mind reels and I nearly fall over as a dizzy spell hits me. But it passes. The guilt, the fear, the pain passes with it. I pick up my meat again and, uncaring of the dirt and grime that now coats it, I tuck in once more.

I look up at the sky. A full moon. Another wave of guilt hits me. I push it aside and continue with my meal.

Day 1, Afternoon

As I enter the cave I fear what may lie within. My sword is nothing but flimsy wood and it's one of the only things I have in the whole world, besides the clothes on my back.

The inside is pitch black and darker than sin. I can barely see my hands in front of my face, but I manage to find some coal in the stone next to me. My pickaxe makes short work of it.

I fashion a crude torch with coal and sticks and hook it to the wall. The light casts thick shadows but it's welcome in the cold, dark cave. The shadows are beginning to frighten me, but whenever I think of what may lurk within I am assured by the sight of the sun far behind me. It is still day. I still have time.

I decide to begin mining the stone on the wall, cutting it into crude blocks for crafting purposes. I brought my little crafting box down the cave with me so I can make what I need to survive. The stone is hard and workable, and I know it will make good weapons and tools.

Shit. The roof fell in on me, a nice stack of gravel from above. Someone up there hates me. The back of my neck aches and I've lost a lot of skin, but I'm alive. I welcome the pain as I craft more tools. It's proof I'm alive.

 I get the feeling I'm being watched. I build a choke point in the cave: force anyone... or anything... to come in the one entrance, to make it easier to guard.

The wall is thick and the door narrow. It took a bit of time but the dirt and stone blocks stacked nicely.

I stand and watch as the sun slowly sets. The day is over and the night is come. As the darkness falls my sense of unease grows, and I can almost smell the evil out there, watching, waiting.

It's as the stars rise and the pink glow fades from the sky that my stomach begins to rumble and my legs turn to jelly. I need food. The only thing to eat in the cave is dirt and rocks: I almost fall over as I realise what I must do.
I must go into the dark. I must find something to eat.

Day 1, Morning

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I woke up this morning next to a tree. The snow is cold on my feet and my head hurts, but I have no recollection as to who I am or where I am. All I know is that I'm wearing blue pants, a teal shirt, and I seem to have lost my shoes.






When I looked around I saw a strange world with mountains shaped like stepped Mayan (or maybe Aztec?) pyramids. Here's hoping there's no sacrificial altar at the top. I smelled blueberries but couldn't see any blueberry bushes.

 After wandering around I found this strange-looking mountain in the middle of the snowy plains. The outcrop at the top seemed to defy gravity in the most peculiar way, and the snaking waterfall diminished even as I watched. I noticed a cave set into the cliff face and decided to make for it. There is precious little else to do in this wasteland, and I must find a way to escape the cold.

On the way to the cave I saw a small tree and decided to make a few tools to help me out before I explored the depths of the cave I saw. I have nothing but my fists but I feel like my life has been a hard one, and I know I am resourceful.

I managed to make a few plank boxes and sticks, and a little table. It turns out I'm pretty handy. I just punched the wood and somehow it all came out okay.

After my brilliant crafting of a sword and a pickaxe I've decided to approach the cave. I can see it is a cavernous expanse, far greater than I had expected. As I write this I must note, for any who happen to hear my tale, that I am frightened. I don't know what awaits me in this dark hellhole but I know that I must explore it. I must find answers, and I must survive the cold. God help me I must enter.