Day 6 : "Nightmares"

I awoke with a cold sweat, my body feeling numb and painful, from both sleep against the cold stone floor, and a strange sensation throughout my body. My vision was blurry, and I could not remember what happened the night before. A deadly choice for my brain to make, as I could not afford it again in the future. One thought burned in my mind, that I must not sleep, no matter the cost.

It was still dark overhead, and my nerves kept me awake. Even laying in my bed could not calm me, and I spent most of my morning pacing, aching, and starving. But the worst part was I could not hear anything beyond the walls of my home here. There were no footsteps, rustling, or even insects in the distance. All was quite and welcoming, but I dare not go out before dawn. They must be watching me. They must be growing smarter. I know they're out there. And so I wait.


When the sun finally glowed through the walls and the ceiling, I made my way numbly to my garden. Depression tugged me gently, as the sprouts were gone, and the dirt was patched and uneven. Clearly something had gotten into it, and the only fault lay on my own shoulders, for having left the garden unguarded through the night. I knew that I must fortify the walls and entrance, but I first needed more stone, as I had run out.

Killing a pig for some meat was my meal for the morning. It tasted bitter and undesirable, only serving to make me feel ill, and unwilling. The thought lingered in my mind that I need cook it better in the future, but my tools were primitive, and I was without stone nonetheless.


With the minor boost in energy, I dug out stone from my mine, digging farther from the entrance. As luck would have it, I hit a pocket ditch from the hill above, and this let light in, as to not waste a torch. Soon afterward my pick had broken, but my supply of stone was grand now, and I went to work on fortifying my garden.

I build the boundary higher around the moat and moistened ground, and I fenced off the front so even I could not enter. The sun was setting, and I could see the same moon peak its head from the distance. I headed home drained of all strength. Tomorrow I would grow new plants. For now, I would sleep. While my memories remained unclear, my fear had dissolved, and I knew only one thing to come. I would sleep, and the morning would come.

Perhaps they would have mercy, and kill me in my sleep?


there was darkness here, and i could not see. all around me was water, and i could not see. i could not swim, and the inky darkness closed in, and the fear struck me hard as i could not breath. was i under the water or above it? i could not see the sky, and the darkness swallowed deeply. my skin was burning and below me lay ashes. was this from the other night before? had death decided to bring me back here?






i turned around reveiling to me a path lit by flame. the trees were ablaze just as i was. had the fire spread in my absence? i did not know. i did not care. the numbness returned, and i could not breath. fear hit me hard, and i could not breath. i heard voices all around me, deafening me with their call, and i could not breath. i could only run. i did not care what lay ahead. i knew behind me was darkness, and it would consume me. it would hold me down until i could not breath. it would kill me, and i could not breath.





i ran far and fast, and i could not breath. i could not see. i could not hear. the voices stopped and let me think. but i could not. my mind was blurred by the darkness around me. had it tainted me too? had it burned into this land, and deep into my mind? was i still ablaze with flame? i could not see it. i could not hear it.

i saw them, then, the evil ones. they were lurking all the time in the darkness all around me. they wanted me dead. they shot arrows of pure darkness at me, and it hurt me, but i did not bleed. i screamed, but i did not sound. instead oil poured from my mouth, and the wounds caught fire. i could not stop it. it hurt. it burned. the pain continued through me. why wouldn't i just end now? why won't the darkness consume me finally? why was i still here?


the darkness left as i looked to the sky. the moon. all i could see was its light against me. it hated me. why? what had i done to deserve such torture? why was i here in the darkened hell? would the light not come for me?

the fire consumed me and i could not hear. my mind drifted to darkness and fear, and i could not see. death finally embraced me, and even then, i could not breath.

Day 5 : "Foreboding"

The morning was filled with a drowsing moisture, suffocating my nose with its own fluid. Insects crawled along the walls of the room, and the bad taste in my mouth yielded angering thoughts of their actions throughout the night.

They would be the least of my worries, today.

It was foggy, and warmer than usual here. I could hardly see beyond the nearby trees from my front door. This made hunting hard, and I refused to go a day without a meal. I needed the strength. It was time to put my hoe to use.



Using some stone and my shovel, I fenced off the water from the shore, and dug out a small garden of sorts, with a moat around its cornering border. Digging and slashing at the various plantlife around the place between my house and this garden had given seeds, and in great earnest and hopefullness, I planted them along the outside, nearest the water. My previous work had shown successful, for once, as the dirt had moistened, and the seeds quickly showed signs of growing.

I left it as it was, and wandered back into the fog toward the mine.


It was moist within the walls, but much easier to see here, as the fog did not seem to dwell in darkness. Through my mining, I found a pool of water, and suspicion rose that this had been the source of thwarting my mineral progression from the day before.

The water was deep and cool, and without a chilling despair to it. I lowered myself into it, to see if I could find the bottom, but panic had struck, and I slipped into the murky abyss, below.



Instinctively, I had shut my eyes upon falling in. I could swim, just barely, but I usually wore goggles to help me see. The water had stung my eyes in the past, and I did not wish for it again... But now, I need find my way out of this inked blackness, or I would suffocate, as with its first attempts.

I opened my eyes.

From what little I could see, it was astounding what depth there was. A tantalizing maze in total darkness, and I could only hope to drain it, some day. Looking up I saw light, and realized I had sunk to the bottom, already. It was deep, but not deep enough to kill me. I kicked off the floor and surfaced, pulling my soaked husk from the water, and laying to catch my breath. The cavern had grown cold, and I assumed night had fallen. Scooping up my burning torch, I made my way out, dripping all the while. Perhaps I could dry myself with wool back home.

The moon was indeed rising from the shore, with its evil, spiteful gaze. It was still full, after all my days here. Still daunting. Still hateful. My one nemesis.

Amidst my poetic thought, something caught my eye from the corner of the room. A flower had bloomed there, from dirt under the cracks of the floor. Had it been there before? Had it grown within a mere day? I could not recall any other instance of its existence. And yet... A glowing aura around it seemed to call out to me. Drawing me closer. Soothing me. Calling to me. Wishing for my embrace. A flower like any other I had seen, but this one... It looked like a vile rose, with an artistic mesh between its body and its petals. It drew me close, and I reached out to touch it...



it burns fire all around me it hurts the pain whispering demon hate kill the moon daunting overhead i wish to end it all the fire the pain it hurts cant move cant breath my limbs wont move why am i here what am i to become my bones are not but worthless tools i cannot see i cannot breath i wish to die but i cannot i have things i need to places i must go time is against me life itself hates me i do not wish to die but i have nothing to live for please let it end let the fire consume me all else is suffering but pain lets me sleep

Day 4 : "Stone"

The night was kind. I had lived another day.

Tossing in my sleep the night before, I realized the next step up from wooden tools would have to be stone, until I found another mineral deposit like before. Before, I had been lucky. Water was my only nemesis then, and it would run out. What if the ceiling over top had collapsed? Clearly I should not fathom such things.



If I was going to mine, I needed to find a better place. Down the hill next to my house, I saw a small alcove. Perhaps I would start there, for now. The walls were thick there, and I could only hope their structure overhead, while still soft, would prevent any cave-ins.

I snatched up my torches, in hopes of ease through light. Placing one outside my house would be the best bet to keep monsters away, should they come out during my vacancy. Perhaps it was light they feared, and not merely the sun. Even so, I need be more cautious than ever, if I am to venture into the darkness.

Carving away at the soft stone was painful labor, that which I was not used to from my past life before here. Clearly luck was on my side if all else was lacking, as I was still alive and healthy, despite injures of the past.


In a deep, natural carving of the cave, I had found a pool of clean, clear water. Perhaps it was just thirst of hard work, but it tasted much sweeter than the water from the shore had. I scooped some into a pair of bowls, clamping it shut with some string.

Time had flowed quickly, as with the day before, however all was not for naught. I brought with me stones from the mine, and headed back to my shack, and got to work. Carving was delicate and difficult work, but I had fashioned new tools out of stone; hopefully these would do better to defend myself than mere wood.


I stored my old friends in the chest beside my bed, and drifted off to sleep from a hard days work. Tomorrow would be different. I now had the advantage over the beasts of this land -- just as my tools were stronger, so was I.

And yet the biggest enemy of the day was the attempts to sleep, with anticipation of the following morning. And the deafening buzz of insects in the distance.

Day 3 : "Useless"

A day. I had lost a day.

A full day of nothing but grogged numbness in my arm and my stomach. For a full day I had not moved from the wooden room, and therefore I had not eaten. Three days now, and I had hardly eaten.

My arm had bled profusely the night before. Had I not snapped out of the dizziness, I may very well be dead now. Working quickly, I bandaged myself with a mixture of cloth from my coat, some remaining leather, and some wool. It stung, but it would keep it cleaner than the open air. I could only hope that the monster from two nights ago was not about to spread infection from its seeping pores.


I lay awake in the heap of wool, and look through the open roof. Stars faded into sky as I made my way cautiously through the door. No signs of spiders or zombies this morning, but I needed something to do to survive.

For now, while admiring the cliff sides that surround my new home, I cut down a tree for some more wood, and planted oen of the fallen saplings in its place. Perhaps a new tree would grow in this environment, without my aid. There were plenty of other trees up on the cliff side, and along the shore, but it was better effort out of pity than no effort at all.


I walked back inside with the new wood, and got to work on some more tools. With all the rock around, I needed a pick -- the rock was soft, and hopefully something as pitiful as wood would do well to break it, if not with a little added effort. I had also put together a hoe for future use; clearly I could not survive on animal flesh alone. Strange, though, how pigs and sheep were the only wildlife I had seen. Perhaps over the cliff behind me were other varieties of wildlife. Hopefully nothing wanting of my death.



With some leftover wood I made a small container for materials, so I didn't need to lug it all around with me. Clearly I needed to save my strength for my own body, and not unneeded material ownership. I stored what I could, and took my pick along with me, to see if I could mine something better to defend myself with than just wood and leather. Maybe copper or tin.


Looking around small cave near my house, I found a small deposit of something that seemed to gleam with what little light there was. it was grainy in texture, and light brown in color... copper, perhaps? Testing the water's depth, I brought myself closer, and swung my pick with all the strength that I had.


The wall cracked, and water gushed through. It obscured the light from the mineral I had seen, and quickly went to work in its attempts to drown me. I fought with all the might I had, until finally I found my way out. the cavern was flooded, and my findings were lost.

The sun set quickly. Even time was against me here. I noticed a pattern in the few days I was here; during the day I was safe, and at night footsteps echoed. It was clear to me, when the sun set I need head home. I needed my rest more than anything. I could only hope that I could sleep through the noises at night.


I got to work with some leather and fashioned myself a helmet. With some wood, I made bowls. With sticks and string, I made a bow.


But what good were these things? As useful as I was, and clearly without any value.

Day 2 : "Pain"

I awoke with a start, knowing all too well that this dream was a reality. The feeling of morning dew had seeped through my open roof, forcing the wool bed to clamp around me in a strangling tangle; had I not awoken now, I may have strangled myself to death by my own shoddy craftsmanship. It took some effort, but I had managed to rip apart the wool around me, leaving it in a matted heap against the corner. I would need to do better, next time, or it may be the last time.



I stared up through my sun roof to see the stars dissolve into the new morning sky overhead. I needed to think of a plan. Clearly this reality was very real. I felt the pain of a poor nights sleep in my chest and back, accompanied by the realization of thirst and hunger in the pit of my stomach. I needed to think of a plan, today. If this was to be the rest of my life, then I may as well make the very best of it.

I went to work with the wood from the charred tree, and through some trial and error, fashioned myself a makeshift shovel out of wood, along with a sad-looking axe of the same material. I would build a bon-fire as best I could today, and much against my preferred nature, I would need to kill to survive.


Testing my new shovel against the hardened doorway, something hissed at me at a startling noise, and I was knocked back by a projectile of some form. It had felt like liquid against my right shoulder, and soon it began to eat away at my coat and shirt, scalding my exposed arm in a searing pain unlike any I had ever felt. Looking up at the exposed entrance to my new home, a gigantic spider stared angrily toward me, its jaw open and bleeding from where my shovel must have struck.

I scrambled behind my work bench in pain, gripping my arm with nothing else to suffice. I had realized that this island was far from ordinary, and I would need to make the most of everything I had; material, brain and brawn. Quickly, I put together a sharp wooden sword, and stabbed the creature in its exposed head as hard and as swiftly as I could. In response, it gave a short, loud shriek of pain, and its writhing body came to a dead, limp halt.


I waited for a moment before drawing my sword from its soft, oozing head, to assure the spider-like creature had surely drawn its last breath. Relieved, I continued to open my front door with full alertness, circling the wooden room from its outside to ensure my safety. For now I was safe... Safe to prepare for another attack.

As I wander the island in careful alertness, I bring myself to kill some sheep, in hopes of at least a single meal to the day. Carefully I skinned and shaved them; setting the bodies aflame afterward, and covering them with dirt to put it out. Using my axe, I cut into the charred flesh, and salvaged what I could from the beasts. It was dry, chewy meat, but it was to be my only meal.


I had left the sheep's skin out in the warm, dry air in hopes of using it to defend myself. As the sun set, I headed inside and got to work with the leather, sewing it together with a pointed stick, and some wool. It was a shoddy job, but the best I could muster now, without any skill of my own; but it would do. It fit loosely over my shoulders, and under its weight I felt safer; ready for this accursed place to do its very worst.

Night fell quickly.



I was awake and alert to the sound of footsteps outside my small room. There was a bang against the wall outside, echoing throughout the room, causing me to jump to my feet. Whatever it was, it continued to walk and wander around. It sounded like there was several. Pacing. Marching. And altogether it suddenly stopped, only worsening the feeling of growing fear within my gut. I held my sword tightly, and waited.

Suddenly, the dirt of my front door gave way, and a humanoid figure began toward me at an alarming speed. It slashed at me, and I slashed back. I was on the verge of death. And it stared at me blankly and frothing. It was already dead.

In deep fear, I let out a cry; slashing wildly without thought, against my earlier pledge for survival. And yet, this worked well. My thrashing had slit its throat open, and it fell backward against my floor. Its blood seemed to consume itself wondrously, pooling around the very outline of its existence. Had I blinked, it would have merely vanished into thin air; and yet its very blood seemed to dissolve its body and itself, leaving the floor perfectly intact, as if it had never existed to begin with. But I had known otherwise. My left arm was cut and bleeding profusely from the wound the monster had left.


My vision blurred, and soon all I could feel was pain. A searing pain throughout my arm. I could not see. All I could sense was pain. An endless, deafening pain.

Day 1 : "Cold"

Cold. I feel cold. I awaken groggily to this realization, and reach for a blanket, only to find I am without one. Had I fallen from my bed? No. The cold beneath me was hard, not soft. It was not carpet, as my bedroom floor was. It did not resemble the structured tiles of a bathroom floor. It was cold. Cold, dark gray stone, cracked and rough. I brought myself to wake up, wondering if I had somehow ended up within my basement. No, the breeze was fresh, cool air like a park in the afternoon, with a slight, choking hint of sand and musky rock. I could hear the sound of distant waves and wind, muffled by the cries and calls of birds overhead, and insects in the distance. Closer still was the crackling of something burning; a scent I hadn't noticed, lying stiff against the ground.

Picking myself up off the cold, cracked floor, I bring myself to full alertness, rubbing the sleep from the corners of my eyes. It appeared I was in a small, wooden room, closed in from all sides, save a small door roughly the same height as I. Two torches on either side of the room lit all angles, giving the warm, alluring scent of flame, accompanied by its gentle crackles and pops.


In earnest wonder of what awaited, I brought myself to walk outside -- Was this a dream? I had no memory of coming here, and there certainly was no sign of civilized sound. Only the sounds of nature accompanied me here; soothing any sign of fear with its calm scents and wonders.

Outside the small, vacant room was a gathering of trees - a forest perhaps? To the left I had seen some flowers growing; but they were not in my immediate interest, nor was this the time to stop and smell the... whatever flower their yellow petals presented them as.


My legs brought me closer to the trees for inspection - they were natural trees, with no sign of human tampering or markings. The leaves overhead hung low enough that I may jump to reach them... but I left them alone for now, as beyond them I could see sky.


Sky. Yes, sky. A bright blue, glorious sky spread before me. So much sky -- too much sky. The sun hung aglow above me, warming the chills of emotion that ran through me, a feeling of happiness and exploration I hadn't felt since I was a mere child. Sky... and water. More water than I had ever seen before. All I could see was bright, beautiful blues before me, and in such untouched clarity that this could only be a fantasy, dreamed by glorious painters and artists, with the utmost respect for nature and its beauty. A dream I hoped I would not soon wake up from, as I feared this was the very happiest I had ever been, and refused it to end. A dream I wanted to live for now, and possibly forever -- and already it all felt so real...!


I would play along with this dream, then, until it ended on its own accord.

I wandered in this paradise, finding scattered caverns carved out naturally under rock and rushing water. In this particular cavern, however, I noticed a strange mushroom, and decided to take it with me.

Wandering still, I found a large carving behind the wooden building I had began in, and beyond it I spotted an animal resembling that of a pig, albeit much more energetic than the stereotypical ones I had seen on TV in the waking world. I decided to lure it toward me for a closer look with the mushroom I had picked -- with very saddening effect. Soon after this pig-like creature took a bite, it seemed to choke and fall to its side in pain. I could do nothing but watch, realizing I had killed a living being... momentarily. With its final gasp for air, the creature coughed up a strange tool -- but this meant nothing, as it seemed the pig was dead.


I wandered for a bit, after cleaning the tool with my coat. Saddening, this dream had become. Was it turning to nightmares in retaliation to my happiness? I would not know. Perhaps the realism of the dream had worked both ways, and I was being taught what life really is, in both beauty and vile ugliness.

Soon I found out I could make small flames with the tool, rubbing the metal piece against the dark, smooth rock. A flint, and a piece of steel? I wondered how the animal got a hold of this, but lingering meant nothing if this was a dream. It would end soon, I was sure. But for now, I toyed with the primitive device for my own amusement. I had lit a small fire out of twigs and grass, and watched it burn for a while, quickly consuming the materials. Pressing my luck, I wondered if I could burn the leaves from a tree -- but this ended in disaster.


I panicked for a moment. If this wasn't a dream, what trouble would I be placed in? An excuse quickly formed in my mind - it was a signal for help, should someone arrive. I was bad with verbal speech, but I had hoped this would suffice.

The tree quickly burned to the ground and gone out. Surly this was a dream - I was quite sure fire wasn't this fast-acting, unless something was wrong with the tree in itself. It was then that I noticed some hefty sticks were intact, so I decided to grab them while I was around, perhaps for my own entertainment.


The day went by quickly, however. At a point, I was deeply hungry, and had killed a sheep in my makeshift swordsmanship. The wool seemed to pull from its skin easily without debris - some of it light, some of it dark, and some of it knotted and tangled into strings of white hair.

As I headed back to the room I woke up in, I had found a strong feather, and another piece of flint. As I got up from the ground and dusted off my legs, I looked up at the sky overhead to see the sun setting, and I watched it in its beauty.

Darkness fell quickly. A portion of the ceiling had fallen, but I put it to use as a small bench in the corner of the room. I patched up the doorway with some dirt to keep animals out, and laid down some wool to sleep on, opposite the skylight and workbench.

And as I look up at the glowing moon overhead, I cannot help but reflect on the day I had had. Peaceful. Quiet. Free. Happy. I lay in my bed of wool in wonder of the morning after -- I would awaken back home in bed, and feel this dream's happiness throughout the day.

Cold. I was still cold.