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- Sep 17, 2019
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- #1
Five days.
Five days in this terrible maze. The wet patter upon my head. The musty stench of rotting giants. The slimy touch of brown ichor climbing into my boots. Every night, the only thing to preoccupy my thoughts with before the peace of restless slumber takes is the grinding, piercing cacophony of life. It surrounds me, and in time I find my mind blank as I grind my teeth to the buzzing of tiny demons. They gnash their teeth upon my flesh and leave sickening sores that drive me to pick and scratch. What will become of me once I fulfill their endless desire?
But where am I- ah yes. My team, my friends! Oh god how I wish to be among them! In the small hours of sleep I get, I dream of the warmth of the outpost. What I would give to be there again. My friends, my coworkers... Men and women of science and logic they called us! We were to be the forefront of the human species! Now look upon where I drudge- the filth and muck of this terrible forest! It was supposed to be a simple task, they said. We would go in like we always had before. We would collect plants like we always had before. We would return as we always had before. That is it, to think, that every time I would enjoy my time among this place. How foolish of me...
We were deep among the twisting paths, which lead to a dreaded cliffside. Silly me! I had the gall to see it as a beautiful vista! It was when I stared upon a rather colorful spot of magnificent shimmers that I would step on a mischievous patch of rock. What had I done to this forest to warrant such punishment? Did it think me a thief? A vandal? I am no such things! It cast me into the depths below! Down I fell, but as an act of mercy- no- punishment, it would sentence me to live among its kind. A green, wet hand would catch my form, and gently tumble me down onto the sloshing mud below.
A bruising it was, but nothing too grevious! I look up to my dear friends, and they in turn grace my ears with the sickening promise of salvation! Well I'm still here, guys! Did you forget about me? Ha ha! Like little morsels so far above me, they scurried off and away to save me. Surely, they have not forgotten me, right? I mean, what friends would leave another to the gallows? As I sat and waited, confidence had filled my heart. I had been in this prison before, and I had escaped many a time. This time was no different! They would come back and lift me from the eternal jungle, like a phoenix resurrected! Perhaps I would see this place burned? Oh what a lovely sight that would be!
As I sat and pondered my state of being, however, my thoughts did wonder. The shimmering colors! What did they mean? Was it perhaps something the forest had not wanted me to see? Was that why it would cast me down here? Pah! No- it was something more! I began to walk, for I had nothing left to do come the second day. It was then that the fever took me. Sweltering heat of mud below, followed by the chilling touch of rain above. Betwixt hell and oblivion, I walked and walked and walked. In feverish dreams I saw feverish companions coming to save me. But as they walked, I saw among them such beautiful plants... The shimmering! Among the plants! That is what I saw, and as I awoke from the peace of dreams, I faced the chaos of the forest with new purpose. Perhaps this is not a punishment, but a message! It has dragged me down for a purpose, and it won't let go until I see its secrets.
And so I walk the muddied path, sweep away the lanky green arms that wish to block my path. The demons, the giants, the mud below my feet- they don't want me to see! Like unruly children, they want to play with my mind! They pinch my skin, grab my feet, and place little spiders within my stained shirt! Ooh what disdain I have for them! They know that I wish to speak with their mother, and that if I do they will be in much trouble! But they will not stop me, the colors drive me onwards!
But alas here we are, I can feel it upon me! I am close, and yet-
Here I am.
Within all my years of botany, I had never seen something so peculiar. These plants, how they shimmer in the light, are so magnificent. Their vibrance is akin to that of a god! I could stare at them all day, and stare I will!
Another day in the presence of perfection. I gaze upon the beautiful flowers that blossom so brilliantly. The demons, the giants, the mud, they stare too, for they bother me no longer. I fear however, that I am not alone among the natives of this land. I thought it was wind at first, a possibly fatal mistake on my part. No, whispers. They are among the plants. They wish to steal them away, like... Oh gods, I?! What had driven me to do such things? To steal away the beautiful creations of the green mother? No! I shall make up for my errors! The whispers, they taunt me- they are only those I had once known, but they wish to steal away these beautiful, shimmering, creations. Once they have robbed this land, they will then steal me away! I will not have it.
Another day of admiring the great mother's work. It is truly beautiful, yes. Only now though, have I truly begun to see the fine details she has lined into the beauty before me. Spiralling red blossoms that circle into an infinite abyss of wonder and euphoria. Petals that dance gracefully among the green vines, twisting in ways that are not possible among even the greatest of humanity's creations. Fields of purple that seem to lift your sorrows away, their succulent scent clinging to my nostrils as they speak of me to protect them. And that is why I turn my attention to the invader...
Another day among the fields. The whispers have returned. It is them, my friends! They have come to take me away, take the flowers away! They have failed, I know. The great mother took them long before they reached this sacred grove. They rest beneath the mud, yet their sickly pale being has followed me here. They tell me horrible things! They tell me how they will burn this museum of perfection! They will steal away the art of the mother, and then take me away with them! They will prod and pick at the shimmering flowers until they wilt away and perish. I will not let this happen. Like a sentinel, I shall live among the colorful angels, and protect their innocence from the vile touch of those I had once known as my friends.
Another day- who has mired my mother's work? Did they think I could not see? They taunt me within the darkness, and then have the audacity to disturb the colors? What blatant disregard for what can only be known as perfection! Their whispers grow and grow, for they want me to give in and join them. Well guess what, friends, I will never give in! You will not take me!
The whispers have turned into screams. They are screaming at me. Darkness surrounds the grove, but also my heart. I can barely see the moon in the sky. It looks like a rose. I need to save them. I sit. I stare. I cannot see them, but my mind can see them. I can see the glorious curves and the complex textures upon their soft blossoms. They rest within my skull, but they want to take them away. Take them away from me. No. They won't. I will save them. All of them. I shall carry them to salvation. I shall let loose my wings and carry them like a guardian angel to the heavens above. That will please them. That will please the mother. She will smile upon me. Yes. When the sun dawns, I shall deliver them to paradise.
The sun! The sun! The screams advance. I have them now! They are within my arms! I carry them like babies in a father's clutch! The shadows among the giants peer at me as they reach out to grab me, but they cannot catch me! I am too fast for them, too pure of heart for their wicked kind! Up and up I go! The children of the mother aid my ascent among the giants. We shall be free again!
Here I am, oh great mother! Look upon my arms and witness your creation! I deliver them to you! Let them be safe from the chaos below! Let your creation carry me to you! Shall you watch as I rise above your children? Your love is oh so tender, it brings my heart to soar! Your beautiful sun beams upon me! Watch! Watch as the shimmering colors carry me to the heavens! Away I go! Away I fly! Away I-
Pain. My legs. My body. My chest. Where am I? The stench. Can't breath. Can't see. Can't move. Pain. Stench. Earthen. My face. Choking. Suffocating. Light. Shimmering. Light.
Colors. Colors-
Colors...
COMPOUND 2A AICD REPORT #72
Top Secret Classification
Lost personnel retrieved. Top Secret Classification
Status, deceased.
Initial attempts to reach the subject's corpse proved perilous to retrieval team. Area has been marked as a Cognitive Hazard and is awaiting further investigation.
Remote drone was dispatched with image filter observation systems in order to safeguard against cognitive hazard.
Subject was located and retrieved. Subject was discovered to be encased in numerous plant vines which had rooted into the subject's corpse. Subject was pulled from the vines and transported back to Compound 2A AICD Facility.
Subject appears to have suffered high-altitude impact trauma, though this does not appear to be the cause of death. Multiple fractures among the body. Spine is snapped. Subjects lungs contained copious amounts of mud. Death appears to have been caused by suffocation via drowning in mud. Body is emitting dangerous levels of radiation. Radiation poisoning is present.
Body preserved for further analysis. TFoD notified of lost personnel. Area of concern exhibits possible Xenian influence. Area quarantined and awaiting further investigation.
End Report.
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