Chapter Text
- ENTRY #1 - [DATE EXPUNGED]
I can see the writing on the wall. The Affini Compact has finally conquered Terra, though this was an inevitability. Their technology and battle prowess far outshines anything the Accord could produce. The orbital platforms went offline without even the slightest bit of resistance some 12 hours ago, followed soon after by megalithic ships pulsing into low orbit. Thankfully, I live remote enough that their pacification fleet will, hopefully, overlook my presence - unlike the rest of Terran-kind. I write this from my safehouse and personal bunker. The product of countless hours of my own blood and sweat, all to keep my promise to her, to stay alive and free to my last breath. This will be my tomb - a casket made of plasteel.
- ENTRY #2 - [DATE EXPUNGED]
It’s been some days since I last wrote. I’ve been doing routine check-ups and maintenance on all systems, and everything seems mostly in order. No leakages in the coolant system, air is clean, and food and water is in good supply. I haven’t been in here for very long, but it somehow feels lonelier than the hovel I spent the last couple of years in. At least there, I could hear the forest. The flowing of water against the thicket. Leaves rustling against the wind. Not metallic clanking and twisting of bolts, not the sound of my own discordant heartbeat. I need to distract myself with something other than maintenance, must be getting to me.
- ENTRY #3 - [DATE EXPUNGED]
Systems seem nominal today, no issues or part failures, and shouldn’t expect any for some time. Decided to finally start working on repairing my old world radio and antiquated telecommunications equipment. Being an engineer has taught me that disassembling and reassembling was at least enjoyable, and she had always encouraged me to explore my hobbies. I suppose this is a way to honor her. Will write again soon.
- ENTRY #4 - [DATE EXPUNGED]
Systems nominal. I’ve lost how many times I’ve taken and put back together this dial phone from my small collection. Sometimes, when I finish, I put the receiver to my ear, hoping to hear her again. It’s lonely. I just need to forget. The dial phone is time consuming and keeps me busy, although it would be faster if I still had more than one arm. Could never really find it in myself to get a new one, it belongs to her and that barren wasteland now. Feeling tense. Will write again in the coming days.
- ENTRY #5 - [DATE EXPUNGED]
Minor coolant leakage, but repaired before it could damage any electrical equipment. Systems nominal. The phone still doesn’t speak to me, doesn’t make any noise to comfort me. Moved on to the larger HAM radio system, more interesting to dissect but this one I can’t play around with like I could the dial phone, hearing the static buzz and notary click of the wheel. Can’t risk being triangulated by the Affini. I have to keep my promise.
- ENTRY #6 - [DATE EXPUNGED]
Systems nominal. The nightmares have come back. I haven’t slept well for almost a week now. The same dream, a ceaseless record of the day I lost you. I still remember your face, twisted in agony and sedation, as you sacrificed yourself to save me. It should’ve been you in that pod, not me. I’m useless and pathetic. All I can do is survive now. It’s what you wanted me to do. What I am going to do. Tired. Going to sleep now.
- ENTRY #7 - [DATE HERE]
Woke up to the air filtration system choking me with a cocktail of dirt and grime. Turns out I had forgotten to clean the filters and ventilation for a few weeks now. Should be clean and working optimally now. Systems nominal. Today felt a little easier, finally figured out the quirks of the HAM radio and can mostly do my reassembly without referencing any material. It did flicker on despite not being connected to a power source though. Was that you, I wonder? No. Likely just some static electricity. Will try to sleep.
- ENTRY #8 - [DATE EXPUNGED]
My nightmares have gotten worse. That thing who took everything away from me is whispering to me now. Taunting me. Telling me to submit and embrace the same fate as you and our detachment. To allow myself to be saved. Lies. Their so-called salvation is just another cage to put me in. I need to check the filtration system again. Wouldn’t put it past the Affini to be using bio-chemical warfare to lure hold-outs like me to the surface. Will use proper gear from now on.
- ENTRY #9 - [DATE EXPUNGED]
The air filtration system is getting worse. The more I clean, the more it gets dirty. This time, I can see spores in the deluge of material that’s now battering the ventilation. The worst part is that the bunker should be functionally sealed from the bio-contaminants of the surrounding mountain. I need to find out where it’s getting in from.
- ENTRY #10 - [DATE EXPUNGED]
Found where the spores were coming from. What I can only assume to be a tendril from either the Affini or some wild plant growth punctured through the ventilation unit. I was able to seal the hole and redirect the growth outward, hopefully concealing my location as some measure of massive rock formation. Systems nominal. I got back to working with the HAM radio again, and found some degree of relief from the process. Then it flickered to life again.
- ENTRY #11 - [DATE EXPUNGED]
Smashed the radio until my hands bled. It can’t be trusted. I have to keep my promise. I have to survive. They can’t find me. No one can find me. I can’t sleep. I have to stay awake. That monster will invade my dreams again. The mountain must continue to slumber.
- ENTRY #12 - [DATE EXPUNGED]
It spoke to me again. This time it wore her face. Told me she was safe and that I needed to join her. To be happy. To not worry. I can see the tendrils wrapped around her, marionette vines controlling her every movement. Why does it feel comforting? Why is that monster tormenting me? I’ve already suffered enough. Just let me rot. There is no future but the mountain. I am its queen and I will rule here until the stars obliterate all life. There is no future but the mountain. There is no future but the mountain.
- ENTRY #13 - [DATE EXPUNGED]
Systems nominal. The dial phone is whispering things I cannot understand. All of what I gained some amount of peace from is whispering to me. I will destroy it all. The only voice on this mountain is my own. I need to eat. I need to drink. I will feast amongst my royal court. They will know my power and fear me. They, too, will witness how I destroy all that I touch.
- ENTRY #14 - [DATE EXPUNGED]
I arise today, covered in the viscera of an era long gone by. Relics of the past poke and prod at my flesh, embracing me with a love that crushes like a mace. The mountain is mine and mine alone. I control all that lies within my domain. Now, I clutch my ultimate claim to the mountain. The sacred tool you left me with. If my domain is to be invaded, they will find naught but the invincible slain by their own hand.
- ENTRY #15 - [DATE EXPUNGED]
the mask broke. i cant remember the last time i fixed the air system. i saw a spore on the floor near a vent. theyre coming for me. they know. i cant keep my promise. im too scared. forgive me amelia.
- ENTRY #16 - [DATE EXPUNGED]
Couldn’t do it. The nightmares keep getting softer and more comforting. I hate it. I hate how soft that demon's voice is. I hate how it toys with me. Systems are entirely fucked too. I broke a lot of things over the past week, and I don’t remember any of it. If I had to guess, I have about one week before this shelter fully breaks down and I lose life support. I failed you again, Amelia. I’ll see you soon.
- ENTRY #17 - [DATE EXPUNGED]
Tried again. Whatever I inhaled over the past few days from the compromised ventilation, it has shut down my ability to hold the revolver. My brain wants it but something else is controlling my nerves. I have to find some way out before they exhume me from the bunker.
- ENTRY #18 - [DATE EXPUNGED]
The nightmares are telling me they’re close and that they took every measure to ensure my domestication. I will not be a slave. The earth roared and shook with the all too familiar power of an interstellar shock-point drive entering low orbit. I don’t have much time left. At the very least, I can feel the air getting harder to breathe. The Affini may have advanced technology for subjugation, but unfortunately they can’t control gravity with a spore. I’ll be seeing you soon, Amelia.
- ENTRY #19 - [DATE EXPUNGED]
it worked. the knife slid right into my side as i fell. it hurts. i can hear them now, ripping through my steel tomb. its too late for them now. one less drone. love you amelia
I blacked out. The last thing I saw was a single Affini ripping through my Plasteel bunker. History repeats itself, I suppose. There was never any chance in stopping them from finding me. They couldn’t even let me die in peace, and thus my suffering would continue ad nauseam. A quiet hum stirred my awakening, although my eyes were covered by some type of wrapping. Darkness absorbed me as the hum swayed into a melodious voice.
“Good morning, Petal! Did you sleep well?”
A voice. And not one of an angel or demon. An Affini. Taunting me like they always did. My limp body locks up in fear, eyes welling up with tears of sorrow.
“Just kill me already.”
See AlsoTop Kids Birthday Party Places - Romp n' RollNotes on the Rituals of InsomniacsSleep Tight Meaning: Origins, Usage, and Cultural SignificanceSleep Deprivation: Consequences of Going to Bed Late Every Night“Oh, Petal. That simply won’t do. We came to save you.”
“Save me? All you have done is torture me, take from me.”
I used what little strength I had left to raise what they had taken from my body: my right arm. It had been cut clean off during my escape that day, a malfunctioning defense system. It was meant to cut off our exit, but I thought that it was the only way I could get us both out. How wrong I was.
“You take my arm, you take the only thing that made my life worth living, and now you come pretending to be my own personal Messiah? Fuck you.”
All I could do now was let the emotions pour out in front of the very thing that I so deeply hated. I had failed to save Amelia. I had failed to keep my promise to her. Powerless. Pathetic. Screaming and pleading for it all to end was all that could be done.
“Please… Just kill me. Just make it stop. There’s too much pain, plea-”
Something jabbed my side. Instantly, all of my anxiety, pain, and anguish melted away, leaving behind only a sense of safety and comfort. I wanted desperately to be angry, to lash out and to scream, but nothing but relief surfaced.
“There, there. I just injected you with a Class-E Sedative. A Xeno-drug designed just for Terrans like you. You should already be feeling more relieved and peaceful.”
“I hate this. Let me go back to my tomb, in the mountains. I don’t want your fake salvation.”
“Poor thing. You’ve been through a lot, but you’re safe now, okay Petal? Here, this should help you rest, the spores should help too. We’ll have plenty to talk about when you wake up.”
Another jab to my side. Instantly, my body felt soft, adrift in a sea of comfort. I couldn’t fight it, or run from it. Sleep, velvety and sweet for the first time in my life, came to me with open arms. I let it take me, and hoped for it all to be another bad dream.
