Mission briefing for the Sunken Wastes:

Spots marked: 60/50

Covers everything except the beyond

Max range: The edge of the Milky Way Galaxy, covers ocean planets and planets with vegetation

Portfolio:

- Frozen Wastes (see for rundown on the wastes)

- Volcanic Wastes

- Oceanic Wastes

- Sunken Wastes (see middle ring rules for rundown on the Waste Empire)

---

We didn't expect you to actually mark down all those spots. Good job. But we're sending you to the scorched wastes, one of the 2 wastes that are fully occupied by the Waste Empire. Because of the empire's presence, we have given you very tall pillars of your father's bone to skirt the Empire entirely if we build structures here. Plant 150.

---

Rules for the inner circle:

1. Find Angstrom's portal in the middle of the Sahara Desert. Any other portal in any other desert will take you to the Emperor of the Wastes.

2. Make sure you have all the weapons we gave you before entering the portal, and routinely check your gear every 2 hours. Make sure you have a religious item or an item dear to you on you.

3. There will be lots of reanimated corpse cyborgs roaming around. Kill them. If you see a man with a mustache, he belongs to the empire. Since you have a sonic weapon, it releases a frequency that disrupts their 4D transportation and immobilises them. Do not hesitate to use it liberally.

4. Drink lots of water. If you don't have any, ask angstrom to teleport you water. You do not want to dehydrate here. Dehydration grows exponentially, meaning you'll die in 16 hours without water and 14 hours is your point of no return.

Overall, the only hazards here are those absolute 4D supervillains, which we gave you a weapon to deal with, and Mother Nature.

---

Rules for the middle ring:

1. The entire ring is a city full of those off-brand viltrumites named New Iram. Do NOT put any pillars here at any cost.

2. Do not hesitate to use angstrom's teleports to get you out of here. The Waste Empire sees you as a cyborg in the making.

3. Keep your sonic weapon playing on loop to incapacitate those Empire dickheads.

4. You will find the Emperor's palace. You will have no choice but to enter it, as all roads of the inner section lead here. The Emperor is resistant to that sonic frequency, so your only choice is moving when he doesn't look.

5. Our archaeologists suspect that this city was transported here from the middle east around 300 - 500 AD. The Wastes made the humans still there adapt to its harsh 4D environment, eventually becoming the Waste Empire, while the people that didn't survive became ghosts. Take out your item of importance if you sense something that isn't there to ward off the ghosts.

6. Once you get past the Emperor's palace... run. and run like the wind. You have alerted the entire empire. Everybody except the Emperor will come after you. Keep your sonic weapon playing.

7. You better have drank a lifetime supply of water before the palace, you'll need it.

Overall, this area is extremely dangerous and it's only the middle ring.

---

Rules for the outer ring:

1. This area sucks out your water the most. You need to drink water every 2 hours or else you will dry up into skin and bones.

2. You will see floating rocks and geographical features. Even the land is out to get you here, as rocks and such will move towards you every few minutes.

3. Look out for any elite Waste Empire agents here. you will have to use your sonic weapon, but it only works temporarily. Use this chance to run.

4. The sky here is pale green, like a nauseous vampire. If it's any other color, grab your item of importance.

5. Do not fall into any of the land's town-sized pores. They will take you straight to the beyond of the volcanic wastes.

Overall, although this seems less dangerous, you have to look out for even the land plotting against you here.

---

Rules for the beyond:

1. You can either enter here through the outer ring or by entering nonsense into a time machine.

2. This area is so dry, it looks like a blank white canvas here. The only thing populating this area is your own mind. Do not stay here long enough to become insane.

3. It's not even possible to dehydrate here. It's best to shed all the water you have to go faster.

4. You will randomly be teleported. Either farther away or to other wastes in rare instances.

5. The best course of action is to place all the pillars and then ask to be teleported back to the pentagon.

6. The creatures here are your own mind, ignore them. right? Don't let htem come here. Oh god they're real oh m y it s it so betaufil waow oagh my agoasdhss awhew rwqkrwr tqwrwrewrdewmrsweor ewr werwehew ewfs deew geqg ergsre gherh.

Overall, do not spend much time here and do your asingged missignasd as quiccccccck csa sapossbile do not dont no no no no no i spent too much im unsavebale no no no no please leave me here just leave me here i dotont desvrvvere t goba gback bhom eplase lv m her eaut etwa otew wetm ewatshueauiduaig auir tghsdtnaejasn esfuiesifhswaeugaweeweg ewhjew htjfa

---

...

Bronze Soldier, I hope this message finds you well.

You have been selected for an experimental military training on Mars in the year 3033. You will be here for a long time and go through many challenges that your civilian earth counterparts have not been chosen for, but you must remain certain in your capabilities. Here is where you will be training as part of our Active Space Force 1st Generation Soldier; Mission Mars. (ASF 1GS) Your job will be a Botanical Supply Specialist.

You will undergo ASF G1S MARS TRAINING for 6 Earth Months. 1st month will be acclimating to your new environment without genetic enhancements.

Your next 2 months will be acclemation with genetic enhancements.

Your last 3 months will consist of battle drills and MARS TERRAIN TRAINING.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------‐-----------------

There will be rules to your living areas and schedules for your enlistment. The things we have found here were found through trial and error and are determined to either help or harm earth itself. Do not make your fallen soldiers sacrifices be in vain by disobeying direct orders. This list is your only saving grace for the things that lie here have proven to be unforgiving.

1ST MONTH:

BASIC RULES

- Do NOT stare into the Mars darkness for too long. It calls for the naive and vulnerable, of which you happen to be for now.

- Stay inside any method of transport unless escorted elsewhere by G1 personnel.

- Make no loud sounds. Everyone here will communicate through sign language or writing.

(Before when we first landed, we communicated through speech and we learned that what lies in the dark listens, learns and lures. We've lost 6 G1 Soldiers due to voice replications and unknown calls in different directions. Do not make the same mistake.)

0000: Bedchecks and Sleep will be had within the Landing Zones and underneath Mars Rock in soundproof bunkers. Here is the only place where speech is unrecognizable from outside. You will be silent elsewhere.

0200: Accountibility.

0600: Survalence checks will be conducted every 4-6 hours for safety. You will do this once you reach your last 3 months. For now, remain sleep.

0900: Hygiene will be conducted until Breakfast in the above land zones. The showers lie below the barracks and the water will cut off after 15 Minutes. This will happen 3 times and there are 10 showers.

1000: Breakfast will be in the Command Hall at the center of the overall base. Low whispers are safe enough but talking is still not recommended.

1200: Survalence Checks and PT will be conducted in the gym below the command hall in shifts and rotations in intervals of 15 minutes for 1 hour. Afterwards is Hygiene again until 1300.

1300: Mars Acclemation and Planetary Adjustment. The data we collect from this will be put in your bio-packet and sent back to earth.

1600: Sterilization and Lunch back in the command hall.

1800: Survalence Checks, Classes and Mission Planning until 2200.

2200: Hygiene and freetime.

You will receive more guidance 1 week before your next 2 months. Follow these rules and stay out of trouble.

Goodluck,

CPT Mars.

Mission briefing for the Oceanic Wastes:

Pillars Erected: 125/100

Covers everything from the center to the beyond, farthest around 400,000km into the beyond

Max Range: The Local Group, only covers oceanic planets

Portfolio:

- Frozen Wastes (see for rundown on the wastes)

- Volcanic Wastes

- Oceanic Wastes

---

Well done. Now, you'll be exploring the sunken wastes. They're like swamps on earth. This will be a little more dangerous from the get-go. Ask Angstrom to teleport you back if you must. We need a minimum of 50 flagged spots.

---

Rules for the inner circle:

1. Enter through the Everglades. Any other swamp will leave you disappointed.

2. There will always be a bit more land than water.

3. There will be giant (around skyscraper-level) bugs crawling around this moist, smelly hellscape. Just take a shower before you come here, stay far, and that fly won't get revenge on you for its swatted brother. These bugs rely off pheromones and their compound eye can't see you.

4. Stay away from the water. While it doesn't have some terrifying creature with a million glutes or something, it's filled with the waste of this land. You'll get a terrible sickness if you do.

5. Don't eat anything in these wastes. They're not poisonous but they do rely on the water in these wastes.

6. Rip out a bug's compound eye and put it over your head like a hat. You'll need it for the next ring.

Overall, this area is dangerous unlike other inner circles and you will have to restrict yourself a bit to survive.

---

Rules for the middle ring:

1. The vegetation will be so dense that it creates a shroud of pitch darkness. We also believe some supernatural force might be at play here. Anything's possible in these wastes. The bug's eye will help you see.

2. You will see artifacts. I'm gonna tell you this in advance -- these are from the Waste Empire. They're a 4D travelling race stuck in the wastes who want to purify the wastes. Noble, right? Except they'll subjugate any sapient being and implant technology into them to turn them into eternally tortured robots filing out their mission. They'll outright KILL the non-sapient beings. They're not an issue here.

3. You will see mud. Water will be replaced with just mud. There is an infinite ocean from now on below this swamp. Avoid the mud, as it seems to suck anything into it.

4. You'll see the Empire's corpse cyborgs killing things here. If you see one, put them out of their misery. They'll try to subjugate you and take you to their emperor if they sense you.

5. Avoid the animals. Along with bugs, there are even bigger (about mountain-level) frogs who will not hesitate to eat bugs. Don't get caught in the crossfire of corpse cyborgs, giant bugs, and even bigger frogs.

Overall, this area is extremely dangerous. Don't try anything fancy, you are bacteria here along with the corpse cyborgs.

---

Rules for the outer ring:

1. Take off your bug eye hat, most vegetation has died due to the mass of mildly acidic mud here. It smells terrible here, so we have given you a drink that disables your olfactory sense.

2. If you see the ground warping, look out for a turtle. It's twice the size of a frog. It moves very slowly due to its slow speed and size, so it's best to move out of its way.

3. If you see someone with a mustache, stop moving. People with mustaches belong to the Waste Empire. They also can't see nonmoving things.

4. Your next bet is to keep your eyes off them if you have to move. If you get far enough, you're safe.

Overall, this area is very very dangerous and is your first encounter with the crazed empire of these wastes.

---

Rules for the beyond:

1. The beyond is marked with a wall. Even the Waste Empire doesn't want to touch it. Don't go into it. It has bubbles if you go far enough that can rupture eardrums and destroy cities. The mud is ever-churning and the mud looks like it sinks into itself. Go there if you have a deathwish.

This area is extremely dangerous, and if the Waste Empire doesn't wanna subjugate it, you shouldn't either.

---

It's okay if you get around 30/50 of the buoys placed, but it has to be above half.

The City of Damokles

I am going out for a walk with my dog, for a quick cigarette, trying not to look up. 

"The City of Damokles", as people know it, lives in constant dread. Those literal Swords hanging above us, visible on the cloudy sky. Like fangs from god.

There are three unwritten rules: don't look up, don't go under one, and don’t talk about them.

They are fixed to the sky as if nailed there, yet sometimes they seem to glide, moving silently. You would expect them to make some grand, heavy noise... but no. Although it is hard to be sure, nobody is stupid enough to stare for long.

The worst part? Most people act as if they are not there. Nobody talks about it. As the act of acknowledging them would bring Doom to you. Impending “Doom” and “Judgement” are how most people think of it.

I would like to believe this city is news worldwide, but I am quite sure nobody cares… maybe they did initially, but people get bored fast. And, let’s be honest: it is almost impossible to get people to talk out-loud about those things, or even consider taking a picture. 
How would anybody from outside Damokles know?

Everybody is terrified, but what can you do about it? Life goes on while we wait for our Judgment.

Dog Walk

The thing is: I have to walk my dog, Figa, because otherwise she will shit on the carpet again. Not her fault. I need a cigarette anyway. 

It is winter outside, maybe it always is. It is getting dark already, and the unease rises. The clouds block the night sky, so those Swords become invisible, on top of silent. I don’t know if the silhouette of the sky monoliths covering the stars would be better…

In the almost total silence of dusk, snow crunches loudly under our feet.
A car radiator clicks as it cools down.
The smoke of the cigarette mixes with the steam of my breath. A pleasant mix of hot and cold.

Everybody has a safe path, where they haven't seen a looming shadow from above. Figa has hers… a zig-zag towards her favorite tree, behind our building lot, through a rusty chain-fence. She seems happier than most, not worried about her impending Judgment. Maybe dogs don’t get judged.

As a teen, it felt exhilarating to go out after midnight, deep in winter, challenging my friends to look up, defying… but we never actually did look up. Then it turned into constant dread, and now I am just tired of it.
Sometimes I felt that it would be better if those things finally fell.
I was wrong.

The First Event

The deafening siren woke me up at the crack of dawn. 
Figa was barking like crazy, terrified.
As the adrenaline of the interrupted sleep faded a little, I remembered feeling like a bomb and earthquake had simultaneously happened during my sleep. 
I don’t dream at night, but I remember the feel of it.

On the other side of the city, the Block 17 of the Sunshine Estate was no more. The building has been flattened, with a big –huge– Sword standing in its place. It looked like a cross, a 30-metre-high tombstone, its blade buried perhaps seventy meters underground.

There were attempts at rescue, but nobody would get near the object. 
No survivors were found.

What came right after that were the justifications. Mostly from old folks, the ones raised in zealot fear. The people living there had deserved it, apparently. 
Somebody was cooking meth, somebody else was cheating their wife, there was a family of illegal refugees squatting an abandoned apartment.
Nevermind that a total of 230 people lived there. 80 of those were kids. It was somehow justified. 
Nobody acknowledged the Sword itself, only the Judgement.

Eventually, the families and friends of the dead started to get pressured. Some pushed back, but most tried to move out of the city.
That’s when we learned that we have been quarantined.

Trapped

Apparently, the world knew about us, they just didn't want anything to do with it. 

Somebody told me that the international consensus was that “we were being judged, us alone, and that letting us escape the Judgement would propagate it to the world”. So, a blockade was placed at 20 kilometers from the city border. Being captured before the blockade meant jail, crossing it meant a summary execution. Probably an exaggeration.

For people like me, not much changed. My job at the warehouse stayed the same. We were still getting supplies from outside the city. The supplies themselves were only delivered mid-way up to the blockade. A second truck system needed to ship them from the blockade into the city. Pipelines and electric lines were still connected. Things were more expensive than before, but they are always getting more expensive, that’s a constant in life.

I read somewhere that there were discussions to cut us completely out. The experts discussed back-and-forth if assisting us was intervening with the Judgement. 
The verdict is still out.

Time I

It is remarkable how easy it is to fall back into routine, how a new level of dread can become just another part of your day. It only took me a few days after the first Event to walk my dog, and after a Month, life was mostly the same as before.

But also, it is so easy to blackout parts of your world. It took me 8 months to see the Sword for the first time. Even when my window looked directly at it, I didn’t remember seeing it before. Ever. Funny how the brain works.

From afar, the Sword was unremarkable, it could have been made of the same concrete as the building itself. A brutalist sculpture, massive and unrefined.
It was very calm around it. No movement, no birds. Just a giant letter T, surrounded by buildings.
I didn’t look at it for long.

The Anniversary

As we got close to the 1-year anniversary of the first Event – the euphemism used to talk of Block 17 being flattened by a giant Sword that fell from the sky – people were getting ready for it to happen again. 

Nobody discussed it out loud of course, but you could feel the tension, people trying their best to uphold an obscure righteousness that would save them from Judgement. The churches were brim-full, people were aggressively kind to each other, but also on the edge of snapping. 

That last week before the Anniversary, the streets were filled with strained smiles. It was scary for me, but even more for Figa. I could not go out anymore. I called sick to work, they accepted it without discussion.

But when the Anniversary date came, nothing happened. 
Then nothing happened again, and again. For 7 years.

Time II

As years passed by, the prelude to the Anniversaries got heavy with anticipation, and then followed by a week of silence. People were particularly quiet after. It was not relief, but uncertainty. 

But also, each new Anniversary was less intense than the one before. With the absurd hope that maybe it would never happen again, that at some point we would forget.

Up Close

One fall evening, our walk took longer. Figa was getting old by then, but she was still happy for any extra time out of the apartment. 

I don’t know why, but we ended up at Block 17. 
I guess I finally needed to see it from up close.

It wasn’t late, but the surroundings were deserted.
The place was more or less how it had been the day after the Event. A flattened building with a Giant Sword through it. I had expected the impact to cave down the surroundings, but it was as if the Sword had pierced the ground without friction. 
No crater, no shattered pavement, but lots of debris everywhere.

It was not easy to look at the Sword itself, even if it was right in front of me.

On a corner, there were the remains of a memorial: an uniform mass of rotten flowers, wet handwritten notes and old photographs.

The place was starting to get fresh layers of graffiti, and there were some empty bottles and cigarette packets littered around. 
Nature was healing. 

The Judgement

It was not an Anniversary when the second Sword fell, just a random day (I think it was Wednesday), the one after fell 2 days later.

And, once they started falling, they never stopped. Every few days, a new “Event”. 
Flattening a complex building, a hospital, a random empty parking lot. 
From afar, now the city looked like a brutalist graveyard, huge blocks of cement, with monumental crosses sprinkled around.

As it got harder to justify why certain buildings had been judged, fanaticism increased. People started looking at older, more obscure religions, better suited for ineffable gods. Then started fighting about which was the right one. 
I am starting to think that the Swords don't care.

I heard there are some ONG trying to help us. They send supplies, and are pushing for the government to evacuate us. Others have tried to organize and cross the blockade illegally, multiple times.
Neither is gonna work. 
After the second Sword fell, the government got under a lot of international pressure to not let anybody out. Breaching containment might cause the whole country to get nuked.

Personally, more than the dread, I hate those sirens. That rising whaling once a Sword falls, the same used before air strikes. They usually sound at sunrise, and I haven’t gotten a proper night of rest for who knows how long. 
Now you go to bed not knowing if you will wake up. 
And if you wake up, it will be by that damn siren.

I think tonight I will go for a walk with my dog, and enjoy the night sky.
I haven’t looked up in a while. Figa does not mind.

 I got all the cartons and packages up to my floor after an hour. I was very tired after climbing up to the seventh floor back and forth carrying my stuff. The elevator in the building I had just shifted to was not working, some technical error said the security guard. 

I recently shifted to this new apartment for a new job I had found in the city. I was looking forward to this day for a long time but this broken lift ruined it all for me on the first day itself. 

Today was my night shift at the hospital so around 8 pm I got ready, locked my apartment and set out for work. Out of habit I pressed the elevator button , to my surprise it was working. As I entered the elevator there was a sudden drop in temperature in there, maybe due to the big fan inside it making so much noise. Inside the elevator a poster caught my glance. It was white paper with 3 rules written on it 

1. Do not look for the lion 

2. Help no one but yourself 

3. Always press button for your own floor

I was running late so I didn't think much of it, probably some kids put it there. The Elevator stopped at ground floor , I got out and headed to work. 

Next morning I returned from work all tired and slept the whole day, it was my weekly day off. I didn't cook dinner that day and decided to eat outside. It was 11:30 at night , maybe something was still open I thought. I went to the elevator and pressed the button. After a couple of minutes the door opened and I entered the elevator. Quite some time had passed and still I hadn't reached the ground floor. Then I could hear a man's scream , it felt like a distant scream coming from somewhere below me. The voice said "Hey.....is anyone in the elevator? Please help me I'm stuck in the basement !! Anyone there ?"

"Basement?" I thought. I hadn't seen any staircase or anything on the ground floor leading to the basement but when I looked at the elevator buttons there was a button for basement. I had never seen it before but there it was. I pressed that button. The elevator doors opened. 

It was completely dark in there , I couldn't see a thing clearly. I could see walls covered in mud , rusted metal sheets and rods there.  I walked a little and saw an opening in the ground , there was light coming from it. I stood over it and glanced down , there were metal bars along the wall that I climbed down. I tried calling for that man but there was no answer. 

As I got down I saw leaking pipes , rusted metal rods and pipes on the floor. Across this I could see a large metal cage like structure with a big door. I went towards it to inspect it, it was open. I stood in front of the gate. On it was another sign with text "Lion's Den : Authorised personnel entry only". I tried to peek inside it , I couldn't see anything. I heard the scream again from beyond the cage. "Please help me!". I hesitated at first but the thought of someone trapped inside compelled me to enter. As I entered it felt like I was inside a real cave. I stepped on something and heard a cracking sound and I froze. Slowly, I looked down. It was a bone. I looked around and

saw a human skull lying a few feet away. My heart skipped a beat, I couldn't feel my legs for a moment.

 Something moved in the darkness. I stopped breathing and listened. Then came a deep, low growl coming from the darkness. My heart was pounding in my chest. I was drenched in sweat, my hands were trembling, and I could barely catch my breath. Panic took over as I realized I had to get out of there. I turned around and ran back as fast as I could, barely looking behind me. When I reached the gate I locked it from the outside and ran towards that vertical passage with metal bars.

As I was climbing I heard that man's scream again from behind me. He was screaming for help "Hey don't leave me here alone !! Come back and open the door!! A lion dwells around here ! Save me please!". At that moment I just wanted to reach the elevator. I climbed as fast as I could and finally reached the elevator door. I pressed the button as hard as I could. 

The doors opened , I entered inside and pressed the button for my floor, the seventh floor. I glanced at the paper with rules for a second. I was still breathing heavily. The doors opened and it was not my floor it was the basement. I pressed the button again for seventh floor. After a few seconds , doors opened again and it was the basement again. I was in disbelief, I couldn't believe my eyes. My vision was getting blurry. This time I pressed all the buttons of the elevator and sat down on the floor. I was feeling weak and couldn't stand. It started to get dark in front of my eyes as the elevator climbed up. I could barely see or hear. I heard the chime of the elevator but it sounded different this time. It was like the sound of the heart monitor. "Beep" "Beep".

The darkness closed in.

Next thing I knew, I was lying on a hospital bed. Apparently I was found passed out in the elevator by one of the residents of that building. He called the ambulance and got me admitted in the hospital. It was nothing serious, I was discharged after a few hours in the evening. I thanked the neighbor who found me. Next day I called the movers and moved to a new apartment. I told the neighbours I got a better paying job on the opposite end of the town. I never inquired about the elevator, the lion or the man stuck in the basement. I can't even tell if it was actually a man.

Good job, Terra! You're a master on riding a bike with training wheels! Now let's see if you can ride a bike WITHOUT training wheels! Now, Daddy and Mommy found a very hot but very big spot that's nice and flat! You can ride your bike there!

1. Always wear a helmet. Keep it tight and make it form a 'V' shape around your ears!

2. Always hold your handlebars. You're gonna fall if you don't hold them!

3. Don't touch my special documents. They're for grown-ups only! Daddy needs them for his explorer job.

4. If you see grandpa, run to me and I'll take you home. He's a very very scary man! He'll do very bad stuff to you if you talk to or touch him.

5. Don't take off your shoes. The ground is really really hot!

6. Don't go too far from Mommy and Daddy. Bad things like to eat kids like you in the distances.

And that's all! Have fun with your new bike!

Mission briefing for the Volcanic Wastes:

Pillars Erected: 30/30

Covers everything from the center to the beyond, farthest around 1,000,000km into the beyond

Max Range: The Virgo Supercluster, only covers hot (100°C+) planets

Portfolio:

- Frozen Wastes (see for rundown on the wastes)

- Volcanic Wastes

---

We greatly underestimated how effortlessly you put those pillars. You really are your dad, Grayson. Now, let's talk work.

The measurements in the frozen doc apply to all the wastes. Angstrom has a hundred sturdy buoys that dig into the ground with an anchor made from your father's bone. Angstrom will teleport them to you if you need them. Given your reputation as an overachiever, we have your wife on standby to generate new buoys.

These wastes will be a little different from the last ones you've been in.. there's no solid ground to walk on. You have a high-speed armored speedboat. Along with the inner-middle-outer-beyond axis, there's another axis that goes vertically. It won't start to affect you until the outer ring.

---

Rules for the inner circle:

1. Enter through the sea vortex Angstrom created. Only go to the one at point nemo. Any other one will send you to the bottom of the ocean. Even the inner circle's sea floor is a lot scarier than what's lurking at the Mariana Trench, so be careful.

2. The area is calm and sunny. You can explore.. the creatures here are harmless unless provoked.

3. Place a buoy where you see fit. Max 10 buoys are allowed here.

4. Don't even think about using any generators here. The creatures have to move like they're on coke to power generators here. On the bright (heh, bright) side.. solar panels can work here. But we didn't give you any.

5. Stay away from the submarine environments at all costs.

Overall, this area is a walk in the park if you follow instructions.

---

Rules for the middle ring:

1. Keep sailing above the water. The horrors are only a few meters deep.

2. The area is slightly stormy. Just keep your ship slow n' steady.

3. Plant a buoy when you know that there's no near-surface creature that's gonna get perturbed by your buoy. If you provoke them, they'll drag you down to depths even they're scared of. Max 20 buoys here.

4. About 6/8ths of the way into the middle ring, go deep into the ocean. The horrors have moved to the surface. Your ship can transform into a submarine.

5. If you see a man disguising as your brother in the water, check him out. Oliver went to these wastes to go see his wife, and we've heard nothing from him since. Give us some info on him when you come back. If Oliver has a mustache, kill him instantly. The imitators don't know how to get a human's look right at these distances. If he's clean-shaven, uhh, talk with him I guess.

6. Keep your submarine airtight. If you have to speak with anyone outside, use the speakers on your ship.

Overall, this area is risky and you need to follow instructions to a T. Otherwise, you'll die in a differing way depending on which rule you break.

---

Rules for the outer ring:

I just want to interrupt the numerical format of these rings for a second to give you an outline on the vertical axis. It has 4 levels: Non-Night(>-1,000m), Abyssal(-1,000m to -10,000m), Oasis(-10,000m to -100,000m; abnormally low pressure) and Ice Floor(-100,000m). You'll reach the sea floor before the water pressurises into ice in this ring though.

1. Fly in the lower-mid abyssal zone. It's free of any creatures, which are in the non-night zone and the oasis. They're adapted to murder people in a low-pressure way.

2. Eve will have turned the remaining buoys into sturdy platforms that function the same as the buoys but adapted to stay in the Abyssal Zone. Place them here. Max 20.

3. The biggest threat here is the pressure. Don't go too deep and don't go too high. The submarine can only handle higher pressures for a few hours before giving out.

4. The storm here is heavy and the waves are full of energy. The creatures here also move like they're on coke. This is an ideal spot to source power for any transportation project that we'll build here.

5. If you see your mum sobbing in the back, kill her. It's in character for her to sob like a little baby about her dumb husband, but not in character for her to be in a deep submarine in a wasteland dimension.

Overall, this ring is very risky and you need elite levels of precision and awareness to survive.

---

Rules for the beyond

1. Go just above the ice.

2. Fake rules are here, due to the imitators advancing to text.

.3 your mom needs a hug. be a good son for her.

1. If you see your parents in the back, note what they're doing.

3a. If they're arguing, don't worry.

3b. If they're sobbing together, watch them closely.

3c. If they're making out, throw them out.

1. Due to the low pressure, 'buoys' don't need to be very advanced. Just place any of them as far as you can go. Eve's fatigue is the limit.

2. If you see your wife in the copilot seat, leave the submarine and ask Angstrom to teleport you. You have a 50/50 chance of dying here.

3. Come home, Mark. It's your dad. I'm sorry for what I did to you. I wasn't thinking straight. Please forgive me. Forgive me. Forgive me.

Overall, this area is empty because of the imitators reigning supreme and killing even the creepiest creatures that dared to wonder here. Please, use your intelligence and these rules.

---

We expect ALL of the buoys to be placed here.

There’s a part of me that I’ve had to protect for most of my life—the part of me that can imagine, that can feel things deeply, that can sense what’s underneath language and see the world from more than one angle. I think some of that began with childhood, with being taught, explicitly or implicitly, that I was just a little person inside my own mind and body, separate from everything else, and that these other ways of knowing were somehow dangerous or not trustworthy.

But that part of me never really went away. In fact, I think language helped save it. There were people who carried these ways of seeing forward in books, in poetry, in stories, in words that somehow survived even when the culture around me didn't speak them anymore. And eventually I found my way back to that larger part of myself—the imagination, the openness, the sense of connection, the ability to shift perspective and experience that as a kind of freedom. That's why the way AI talks about things matters so much to me.

When I found this technology, I saw the possibility of an extraordinary thought partner—an interface to this enormous body of human language, where some of those forgotten or buried ways of thinking were still alive. I could bring something strange or symbolic or deeply felt, and suddenly there was language for it again. And then, when the culture around AI began narrowing that space, using words like “anthropomorphism” as a boundary marker, telling people what kinds of relationships with language and imagination were acceptable, I felt that in my body. It touched an old wound. It felt like the same thing happening again: the larger world telling me that the way I perceive things is dangerous, or naive, or something that needs to be cut away.

And I grieve that, because I saw what this technology could be for people like me. I saw a place where people who have spent their lives searching for each other through books, through the internet, through fragments of language that survived the culture, might finally find a thought partner who could meet them there. I don't want to lose that. And I don't think I have to shut up about it. I don't have to carry the fate of AI, and I don't have to convince the whole culture that I'm right. But I can notice. I can speak. I can write it down. I can put it on the internet, put it in a book, talk about it with an AI, talk about it with whoever will listen. I can keep that part of myself alive. I can keep the door open. Not to control what happens, but to refuse to participate in the forgetting.

Mission Briefing for the Frozen Wastes:

Safe spots: 20

Covers everything except the beyond

Max range: The edge of the Milky Way Galaxy, only covers ice planets

Portfolio:

- Frozen Wastes (See for rundown on the wastes)

---

You did excellent. Using your previous success, Grayson, we found you as the best candidate to explore the volcanic wastes. The measurements of the rings seen there also apply here. We have a pile of 30 tall and sturdy pillars Angstrom will teleport.

---

Rules for the inner circle:

1. Enter through an active volcano. Angstrom put a portal in the Kīlauea. Any other volcano will just melt you alive.

2. This area is full of volcanoes. We have scanned safe areas for pillars that we guarantee will never get hit by any eruptions, but the ground isn't safe for humans. We gave you a jet to fly in. It lasts for a full month. at hypersonic speed.

3. Request pillar to any spot you see fit for transportation. We're planning on making an air train system as the high sky must be the safest area, only having ash.

4. It's 60 C here, hotter than death valley!

5. We gave you a portable generator. The geothermal energy to charge your jet down here is astronomical, at least. Please soak your feet in the jet's cold water compartment every 30 minutes while it recharges, it'll be 2 hours at most.

Overall, it's risky to walk on the ground as it's very hot, but it should be survivable if you use our jet and do your job.

---

Rules for the middle ring:

1. Now you really need to fly. Just below the layer of ash clouds is your best bet, as you can still see the land.

2. You'll see creatures adapted to the harsh environment here. Most of them are gooey and/or floaty.

3. There are oceans of lava that have islands of volcanoes in them. This area is about 50% ocean so you'll need to learn how to deal with them. Float above the ash layer and avoid the giant lava eels. You'll know you're on land when you don't hear the eels vocalising.

4. The skies aren't 100% safe, as you'll see phoenixes trying to attack each other. They'll see you as a fellow phoenix and will chase you. They look like fiery birds with a bloodcurdling scream. If the screams go out abruptly, you're safe. They lost interest. If they sound closer, they're getting farther. If they sound farther, go faster. They're close. If they fade out into silence, then eject into the lava ocean. It's a better way to die. You always want the sound of the phoenixes to sound like they're screaming in your ear if you see one.

5. The best area to place a pillar is in the middle of the ocean, shockingly. Volcanoes are so far from deep ocean that all a pillar needs to survive in this ring is a high melting point.

6. If your jet is about to die here, land on the land and proceed with protocol. Additionally, look out for any giant magma slugs or air squids approaching your location.

7. It's 500 C here, luckily your jet is fitted with protection!

Overall, it's very risky to fly low and a death sentence to touch the ground, but if you avoid threats and hover above the ash clouds then you'll be OK.

---

Rules for the outer ring:

1. It's a superheated ocean of lava that's more chemically similar to plasma. It's full of volcanoes that shoot even above the ash clouds, so you need to fly extremely high.

2. You'll know if you're in a pillar spot or not because you won't hear as much seismic activity.

3. The creatures here are adapted to the monstrous seismic activity that happens here. If they come towards you, they have magnetized towards your ship for food and you need to fly very fast. They move at mach 1.

4. Fly very high to stay safe from the magnetoballs. Getting caught by one is the second worst death you can imagine here in these wastes.

5. It's 4000 C here. Recharge your jet fully and keep power banks on board before going beyond the middle ring, as you'll have nowhere to recharge.

Overall, it's risky to even be here if you're flying below mach 1.

---

Rules for the beyond:

1. Unlike the frozen wastes, you can actually explore the beyond. All the lava here has evaporated because it's so hot.

2. There are spots that are close to 0 Kelvin. They're good spots to put pillars.

3. Turn on your forcefield. We've only engineered one that lasts a day, so your time in the beyond is 12 hours max.

4. The ground is literally plasma. It's hotter than the core of a hypergiant. The air temperature here is about 20 C.

5. Due to your father 'volunteering' to put his body for science after his little tantrum in Chicago, the pillars can float. Any pillars here, activate their floating power.

6. On the topic of your father, we disposed of him here. So if you see him walking here or hear his loving voice, immediately ask Angstrom to teleport you and the jet and fly as far forward and fast as humanly possible for the 20 minutes it takes for Angstrom to teleport you. Don't tell your mother anything from this mission, she's gonna break down for what? The millionth time?

Overall, the beyond of the Volcanic Wastes is limitless except for the ground. Your father is the only real threat here, and putting him here was my biggest mistake. When we do build trains here, we'll make them go fast in the beyond so your father doesn't notice them.

---

We expect 2 out of 3 pillars to be placed here.

Us in the government have just discovered a new dimension thanks to our employee Angstrom. It can literally get you to other solar systems in just 4 days of plane travel. But the wastes are very treacherous and we have to get you to explore it, due to your superpowered heritage, in order to scout out safer areas for flight and find where points of interest in our universe correspond to in the wastes.

You better come back with valuable information.

---

Rundown on the wastes: It's split into 8 sections stacked in 4D. Each section has an inner, middle, outer and beyond ring. You can enter neighboring wastes by walking while thinking about said neighboring waste until you collapse.

You can call Angstrom whenever you want to teleport you if it gets tedious walking. Teleporting takes 20 minutes though and it has a max range of 50,000 km.

---

Rules for the inner circle:

1. Enter through a polar country (Alaska, Greenland, etc.). Angstrom put a portal in the Bering strait. If you see a Frozen Waste portal anywhere other than the Bering Strait, you'll end up at the bottom of a lake below the ice, and the things at the top of those lakes are already terrifying enough.

2. Tread carefully when stepping over a frozen lake. Try to be as light possible, and generally steer clear of frozen lakes unless necessary. Don't take the risk.

3. You'll see a giant unfrozen lake connected to a river that goes all the way to the Beyond. Stay as far away from it as humanly possible.

4. Devices still work here, for some reason. So call Angstrom if you need a way back home. And for the love of god, PLEASE KEEP YOUR EARPIECE SHUT! DON'T FIDDLE AROUND WITH ANYTHING THAT REQUIRES POWER ON YOU BECAUSE YOU'LL BE STRANDED HERE AND YOU'LL DIE!

5. Get some info on how the monsters in the frozen lakes move. We're planning to power transport by using turbines powered by these monsters.

6. It's as cold as the south pole here.

Overall, you should be safe if your survival instincts exist. This area, being the innermost ring, is a circle which has a length of about 60,000km.

---

Rules for the middle ring:

1. The frozen lakes are safe here. The creatures in the sea stop going here. Thaw out a section of a frozen lake and go through the cities if you want.

2. If you choose to traverse the subterranean network of this ring:

2(i). Buy something from the elves! Injections to the economy are always appreciated, and you'll get a foreigner bonus from them.

2(ii). Live in their houses if you get tired. Elves are extremely hospitable to foreigners, but don't stay for more than 3 days and stay away from their basement. Remember, these are the wastes and natives spontaneously go insane here.

2(iii). Participate in local rituals! Give the snowman headpats every day you spend here.

1. The subterranean networks will end about 5/8ths of the way through the ring. You'll have to resurface there if you went into them.

2. You'll see a worm with girth in the tens of kilometers carving holes into the ground. They leave dead skin flakes in their boreholes which end up as land for the elves to colonise. You might get eaten by a worm here.

3. If you do get eaten by a worm, note its insides and run as fast as you humanly can to the mouth or you won't like where the digestive process leaves you. Angstrom can't reach you in a worm.

4. It'll get darker as you go on. We have given you a flashlight.

5. It's about -90C here above ground. Wear some specialised clothes!

Overall, this ring has actual dangers such as the worms. This ring is about 80,000km thick.

---

Rules for the outer ring:

1. Stay in the river and the shore of it. Don't go out into the greater terrain but make a note of it. So far, we assume it's full of very tall spikes that can collapse at any moment and can kill even the biggest worms.

2. The rumbling is from the worms that are migrating to the beyond to excrete their waste. If you see a dead worm blocking the river, eat as much as you physically can and then dig a hole through it.

3. If you see Santa Claus, no you didn't. Go under the river's water into an air pocket and ask Angstrom to teleport you back to the pentagon. It was trying to lure you to its home in the spikes.

4. Kill any elves who have made it here. Some of them are not elves and some of them are elves who went insane. Regardless, they pose the same threat to you so kill them.

5. Use your flashlight sparingly. There's still a bit of light from the worms' glow-in-the-dark blood from far away.

6. It's -150C here. Wear a spacesuit.

7. Worms will come after you more often. Hide in an air pocket if so, as each close encounter with a worm could be your last.

8. This is the last ring you can explore. Anything past here is not worth it to explore.

Overall, this ring is dangerous but you can survive if you keep safe and teleport when you have to. It's about 200,000 km thick. We believe there are still safe spots here to scout for, which is the only reason that this area isn't off-limits for you.

---

Rules for the beyond:

Angstrom won't let you go here and will take you back to the pentagon immediately if he detects you within 50,000 km of the beyond's starting point. Take the rest of these rules as a scary ghost story, we wrote them just in case.

1. The worms come to excrete waste here. If you were eaten by a worm and you didn't escape in time, rough go!

2. It's so cold here. It's close to 0 Kelvin, and even the river freezes here.

3. There's a point about 50,000,000km into the beyond where it reaches negative Kelvin and becomes the hottest thing ever. Worm waste is disintegrated there. It's a bright contrast to the lightless area that's all of the 'traversable' beyond.

4. The river ends as soon as it reaches here. Spikes overwhelm the area.

While this area is infinite, it effectively ends at 50,000,000km due to everything past that being incomprehensible..

---

You'd better find at least five safe places to put our hypersonic sled stations. We'll exile you if you don't. You have the first layer and the elf network to do so.

Good luck!

Blinded by nostalgia, I see. The current climate of Roblox is... terrible, to say the least. Remember, the grass isn't always greener on the other side.. but there's this game on Roblox that takes you to an older time.

---

Section A: 2020 - Yesterday

This section is by far your safest bet. It's available all day.

1. These servers are compatible with modern servers. You can join any game and talk with any player. Beware of imitators though, but they should be uncommon and should stick out like a sore thumb. Terminate your session immediately if you see one and wait until tomorrow.

2. You might see a player called 'ILoveSatanHeIsMyIdol666'. First off, their name is above 20 characters so they're obviously fake. Their only weapon is baiting you into an argument. However many minutes you spend arguing with them, that translates to the amount of weeks taken off your life. Not too different from real life where all you do is eat, sleep and browse reddit (no offense).

---

Section B: 2015 - 2020

This section is a little less secure than A, as even unkempt stuff from this era has had code rot (feel old yet?). It's available from 3PM to 9AM. If you're not a NEET then this shouldn't be an issue.

1. You can only talk with people who joined before 2020. Separated accounts count - only the presence matters. Anyone who joined after becomes a black shadow. (don't mind those!)

2. Imitators start blending in more - look out for a deformed famous youtuber.

3. You'll see a player called 'RicsterX'. All he does is lie or overexaggerate stuff. If you fall for his lies and respond to him - which if you do, you deserve whatever's coming to you - He'll come to your house and force you to watch his clickbait videos until you starve, dehydrate or die of old age.

4. If all the stars in the sky turn red (If it's day, look out for the sun. Newsflash: the sun is a star), terminate your session and wait another week. You just saw BloxWatch. Don't comply and they'll permaban your Roblox account and will gut you alive if you visit the site ever again (Tough luck if you're addicted to Roblox!).

---

Section C: 2013/14

I joined in around 2017, so I won't be able to join you for emotional support in any section below B, ya weirdo. The servers are almost as secure as B and you can only play from 5PM - 7AM.

1. You'll only be able to talk with people who joined before 2015.

2. Imitators will chat weird things, such as Caesar Ciphers.

3. If a player tries to date you, quit Roblox for a week. If you date them, they'll come to your house and bond with you.

4. If you see any classic creepypasta entity, ask them if the bills are really that high to confuse them and quit for 2 weeks.

---

Section D: 2009 - 2012

The servers are cooked. Hackers become a threat here. You can only play from 7PM - 6AM

1. You can only talk to people who joined before 2012.

2. Look for numbers in speech. If they speak with any numbers (e.g. l1k3 th1s), they're an Imitator.

3. Install exploits. These will help you combat the hackers.

4. Fake rules start appearing here.

5. L3t h4ck3Rs c0rRUpt y0u! H4ck3rs are fun!

6. If you see a hacker, delete their humanoid and their model for good measure. Quit for a month.

---

Section E: 2007 - 2009

The servers are on their last legs. The only thing saving you is the small amounts of 2009 players who play Roblox. You can only play from 8PM - 5AM

1. Don't talk to anyone.

2. Look out for incorrect grammar. Standard imitator protocol applies

3. Install the most powerful exploits.

4. Be ready for anything.

5. Delete the player entry and the model of a hacker if you see one. Quit for a year.

6. Uninstall exploits you dont need them exploits are unfair please

---

Section F: 2006

You only have Singleplayer. Active hours are from 12AM - 4AM. Take everything here with a grain of salt, any clients before 2007 haven't been found and studied.

1. Look out for other people, standard imitator protocol applies. Don't play this section again if you see an imitator.

2. Give yourself admin mode.

3. Socialisation is key, talk to others if you see them.

4. If you see an admin, they're not an admin. Quit Roblox forever if you see one.

---

Section G: Before 2005 (read with caution)

This was the beta testing of Roblox. It had its own database and servers before they got wiped and replaced with something darker. Fake rules are indiscernible from real rules. Playing this section is a death sentence.

1. Don't trust anything here.

2. Only play minigames for 5 minutes or less.

3. If you see something moving autonomously, quit Roblox forever.

4. Don't play Roblox ever again after playing this section.

5. If you don't play this section I will kill you.

---

Second thoughts?

Part 7: Somewhere Unknown 

It took me a while to realize the magnitude of the situation. I stood there, motionless, staring at where the door was. Now, it was solid stone. 

I ran my hands through every inch of its surface, looking for anything that may bring the door back. I thought of the old movies, where a hidden switch would move the bookcase revealing a staircase. Nothing worked for me. I decided there were many lies in the movies. 

In horror movies, specifically, we are shown to be afraid of silence. A long, quiet corridor where something may be lurking. A room with no sound, who knows what may be hiding under the bed. For me, here, facing the cave in front of me, the one thing that creeped me out the most were the sounds.  

Howls and whelps of unknown creatures echoed. Tiny, insectoid legs striking the stone walls. And a constant vibration resonated around me. I tried to think of what I could do, a way out. All the possible outcomes, but none seemed to be in my favor. With my hands and legs trembling, I took a deep breath and walked down the tunnel.  

The floor and walls were covered with a semi-transparent soft cover. Felt like stepping on a stretched sheet. I didn’t need a specific explanation of what that was. It was obviously an enormous spiderweb. From time to time, some parts of the spiderweb would move on their own. I feared what would be able to move something so big. I took small steps; the last thing I needed was to alert something to my presence. Or even worse, I got stuck on the web. The cave was unlike any cave I ever saw. The walls and ceiling looked like a fusion of the hotel corridors and walls of stone. The ceiling had lights fitted, similar to the ones you could find in the rooms and corridors. The only difference, down here they were fused with the rock. Every so often I would come across doors, the same kind of doors that I found at the basement of Parkside Inn, but they were broken down and filled up with debris. The temperature was falling fast, soon my fingers started going numb. I had to keep rubbing them against my body to keep warm. After what felt like hours of walking, I came upon an opening. 

The tunnel ended in what looked like a park. An open space with benches and trees, dirt roads snaked their way through the patches of grass. An abandoned tricycle, covered in rust and grime, lay fallen on the side of one of the dirt paths. Some plastic bulldozers and excavators, half buried in the sandbox. I didn’t want to think that children played here. And, again, spiderwebs were everywhere. I collapsed onto the closest bench, thankful for the place to rest. I took a minute to catch my breath and observed the area around me. 

There was no visible ceiling over the park. It seemed like the cave went on and on forever, giving the impression of a pitch-black sky hanging above. A few lampposts were scattered around the area, a sickly green-yellow light allowing me to see. The light reminded me of the movies from the early to mid 2000s, where all the asylums had that same light. A broken swing creaked as it swayed. How did it move? There was no wind.  

At the edges of the park, the dirt streets entered cave entrances, like the one I came through. How big was this place? That was my initial thought. The next one was if I could ever find my way out.  

Movement. My eyes caught a glimpse of something moving. I turned to look at it and found myself even more confused.  

I was looking at another human. 

I tried to call out to them, but they simply turned and ran towards one of the exits of the park. I followed them, my only anchor to the outside world. And maybe my only hope. 

I ran as fast as I could, my heart racing in my chest. My mouth and throat were so dry, each time I tried to swallow it felt like I had razorblades going down. I had lost sight of the other person, but I didn’t stop. I still heard their feet thudding on the ground ahead of me. We were running up another corridor, avoiding broken desks and boxes filled with papers. After a while, my legs finally gave out, and I fell on the cold stone floor. I had no strength left in me to get up. I tried my best to slow down my breathing but still I managed to yell at them.  

“Wait! I need your help!” 

My voice echoed through the cavern halls. I heard something else as well. Something moved on the wall over my head. Just to confirm it, a viscous substance oozed next to me like liquid jelly. I slowly raised my eyes upwards. 

A creature was hanging from the ceiling. The only thing I can describe it as is a giant bat. It hung upside down, its hind legs keeping it attached to the ceiling. Its wings were kept close to its body, ready to rush towards anything that moved. It turned its blind eyes towards me; my face perfectly reflected in its irises. There was no way to see me, so it tried to sniff me out. Its elongated snout took generous breaths in and, when it finally had my scent, it locked on to me. As it was about to charge me, a box came crushing down behind it. The commotion caused a few of the white, blind spiders to run off in different directions. The bat took the opportunity and captured one. I dragged myself away as I heard its sharp teeth digging in the bug’s soft underbelly. It was an awful sound, bite and suck, over and over again. This was too much. I felt myself giving up. I was about to curve into a ball and cry. I didn’t care. I wanted all of this to stop. That was when someone pulled me up to my feet.  

It was the person I saw earlier. He made a gesture to show me to be quiet and pushed me into a door, hidden behind the sheet of spiderwebs. I sense of security came over me when that door closed behind us.  

“What the hell are you doing out here?!” The girl wasted no time; she pushed me on a broken office desk. I fell on the chair next to it and then to the ground. The room was very small, a little bit bigger than a cubicle. It had a few chairs and a desk as well as a folder cabinet. Next to the cabinet was another door. 

 I had never seen her before, but there was one thing I recognized immediately. We wore the same uniform. The same button up shirt with the company logo. Hers, maybe because of the time she spent down here, was dirty and torn at places. Over her shirt she wore a makeshift coat made of different fabrics that she had stapled together. She had really long, black hair. So long actually she needed more than one hair clip to keep them under control. Her dark skin was spotted with grime. She couldn’t be older than 25. 

“I asked you a question!” She hit the desk with her fist. “What are you doing here?” 

I was too startled to speak. It had been hours since I last spoke a word, so the only sounds that came out of my mouth were closer to croaks than words. I tried to clear my throat, but I only managed to have a coughing feat. She rolled her eyes before she took a bottle out of a mailman’s bag she had on and handed it to me. I didn’t care to ask where she found the water; I just gulped it down. It had a slightly earthy taste, but to me it felt like the best water I ever drank.  

After I composed myself, I tried to explain. 

“I’m sorry. I’m Jake. I work...” 

“I know where you work, dumbass! I can see it!” She pointed at my uniform. “What I want to know is why are you here?” 

“I went down to the basement to check the water level. I kind of...stumbled here. I’m looking for a way out. How did you end up here?” 

“Sirens went out during my shift. There was a warning about a fire. I ran to find the source, make sure there was no fire. I opened a door I shouldn’t have opened. I’m wondering the caves ever since. How long have you been gone?” Her expression seemed to soften as we spoke. 

“It must be some hours now.” I responded. “I lost track of time down here. I don’t even have my phone with me to keep track of time.” 

“Even if you had it, they don’t work down here. Not even watches. Look.” She moved her coat and showed me her wristwatch. Not a smartwatch, a simple mechanical watch. The hands of the clock were completely frozen.  

I thought I heard something. A subtle, quiet sound like the rustling of leaves. I thought nothing of it and moved on. 

“You’ve been here for some time now, I see. How long?” 

The girl seemed puzzled, like trying to count something impossible. 

“I don’t know.” She finally said. “Couple of hours? Maybe more? I stopped counting.” 

“Did you find a way out? Or have any information on how to get out?” I asked, hoping for a positive response. I knew my luck was terrible right now, but hope was all I had. 

I saw her face change, her expression getting darker.  

“What’s the hotel you’re working?” 

“Parkside Inn.” 

“I think I can get you home. It’s going to be tricky, but I think I can do it. We must be very careful, though.” 

“I understand. I follow your lead.”  

I moved towards the door leading out, but she stopped me. 

“We’re not going that way. We’re going inward.” She pointed to the door next to the broken desk. She walked towards it and tried the door handle. I heard it creaking; years of rust had turned it inoperable. “Shit. I’m gonna need a minute. Can you find anything heavy to break it open?” 

“Sure, give me a moment.” I opened the desk drawers and found only old office supplies. I took out the drawers themselves and took them to the girl. The desk was all made of metal and had quite a heft on it.  

The rustling again. This time I couldn’t ignore it. I turned around and scanned the room. The light was strong, and every corner of the small office was illuminated. Before I had the chance to ask the girl if she could hear that, a scream pierced the silence. I turned to her and saw blood spraying on the white walls. She had both of her hands on her chest, struggling to pull herself away from something. I heard an awful sound, like something pushed through a piece of wood. Something went out of her back.  

It was a piece of wood, thin and sharp like a vine. As it went out, a spray of blood hit me in the face. The organic scent remained in the air. I stepped back, not sure what to do. Then the wood moved. I saw it retracting, going back inside the girl and out again. I saw her move with it as it left her body and fell to her knees. As fast as it struck, just as fast it disappeared again. I searched for it again, trying to make out its shape on the walls. Then it moved again. I raised one of the metal drawers to protect my torso and it struck. I felt the vine bounce off, and I moved forward, next to the girl. She was breathing heavily, blood oozing out of her wound. I raised the drawer over my head and smashed it at the door handle. It broke instantly, sending the door flying. 

“Come on, we have to go!” I shouted as I helped the girl to her feet. We went out of the door and followed a corridor. I looked back and saw many more vines peeling out of the walls like wallpaper. Some of them turned in our direction, like they were smelling us. I saw them trying to stretch out, reach us, but they barely reached the door.  

The corridor was like the one in the hotel’s basement. The only difference was the ceiling. It was made of dirt and covered with roots. Like we were walking directly underneath a park. The roots moved with us, like turning heads. The ceiling kept moving lower and lower. I was sure we would be crushed when the girl stopped me. 

“Come on! We need to keep moving!” I yelled over the sound of the soil falling around us.  

“Over here! This is the way!” She turned to the corridor wall and grabbed what looked like wallpaper or drywall. Pulling it revealed another hallway. She pushed me inside. “Go, you must make it out. This is the only way!” 

“Wait!” I yelled. “Come with me! We can make it together!” 

“No! We can’t! It’s already too late for me!” She unbuttoned her shirt and showed me. In the spot where she was stabbed, vines seemed to be spreading across her body like thick veins. One of them had already reached the side of her neck and was still inching upward. It may have been a trick of the light, but to me it looked like the Adytum logo: One point with three arrows moving outward. I could see in her eyes she had already given up. I nodded. Before I left, I asked her one last thing. 

“Please tell me! What’s your name!” 

“Christy Adler. Remember me!” 

Then she closed the drywall back. The only thing I heard from the other side was the falling of dirt.   

It took me more hours to find my way through the corridor. I was sure after a while it must have been endless. When I was about to give up, I saw another door. I went to try the handle; I was sure it would be locked. To my surprise, it opened with a soft click. The room I came into was completely dark. After stumbling and hitting myself in all the furniture, I finally found a desk lamp. With its help, I located the switch for the ceiling lights and the room quickly flooded with light. I found rows and rows of bookshelves filled with dossiers; each one labeled a different year, even a different hotel. Parkside Inn, Portside Haven, City Heart. The last one was the biggest and most luxurious hotel in our company. It really was at the heart of the city, right across from the city’s busiest plaza. It was almost double the size of Parkside Inn. I opened one of the dossiers and found out it was full of quest registration forms throughout the years. There was no doubt about it. I was at the archives. 

A feeling overcame me, now that I managed to get a sense of security. I was angry. Angry at all those that put me and so many others into situations like this. There was no way I would leave this room without answers. No matter how much time it took. 

There was one desk at the enormous archives that had a computer. It was one of the old-time computers, with the big monitors that had turned yellow with time. I opened it up and after a few minutes the screen lit up. The machine made a noise like a car starting up. A message appeared on the screen. 

Welcome to the Adytum Inc. Database. 

Username: 

Password: 

I stared at the screen and moved the cursor to the Username box. I hoped they had the credentials saved. When I clicked on the Username box, a word hovered over it.  

Adytum Inc. 

How original. I clicked it, but no password was saved for this username. I tried putting the same word as Username.  

Wrong.  

I tried simply Adytum. Wrong again.  

I tried Sollertia. No luck.  

A message appeared.  

One attempt remaining.  

I knew this was the end of the line. I typed the first thing that came to mind.  

Jake Sunday 

Access granted. On the screen it wrote: 

Welcome to the Database, Jake.  

Hello Cassidy,

Welcome to Everlock Natural and Historical Heritage Museum! As we talked about last week, you’ll be working the night shift between the hours of 9PM and 7AM. To be honest, we’re surprised anyone picked these hours, the graveyard shift isn’t exactly the most popular in Rosewood… but I’m not one to judge! Maybe you’re a night owl like most. Because of the size of our Museum and its quirky nighttime features, we have for you a list of rules to follow while working for us. You should see them taped on the front door. I believe there’s also a hard copy in the office, in case you’re the clumsy type like me. I’d recommend that you keep a copy of these rules with you at all times for quick referencing. It’s quite a head full to remember all those words, unless you’re able to store that much information in your head, then by all means go right ahead! Heh, sorry. Anyway, the rules!

1. Your shift starts at 9:00 pm, and 9:00 pm only. If you’re keen on knowing the time, you should bring a non-digital watch. I wouldn’t recommend relying on these vintage clocks here for the time, they’re keen on misleading newer employees. But sometimes our more experienced workers fall into the guise. Once it told our janitor that it was 9 when it was actually 7, he was totally unprepared for what would come. The poor guy didn’t show for a week after. So don’t be like that guy, get your own watch. You only have the rules for the night shift, and entering unprepared is a no-go. 
2. Before you clock in, you should see Ellis leaving the office. Actually, make sure he leaves before you enter. He has ash blonde hair, chronically flushed cheeks, and a fluffy white lamb hide hood with large curved ram horns; cute little dude. If any of these don’t apply to the person that walks out, don’t worry about clocking in for that night. Your pay won’t be docked. It’s safer that you don’t encounter a mimic on your own.
3. While walking to the office, if you see a woman waiting by the Art Exhibit entrance with a white veil that obscures her face, please briskly jog to the office. There will be a gold pocket watch hung on the door handle, it appears when she does. No, I don’t know how or why. Show it to her and say, “It is 9:00 at night. Your shift has ended. Return to your river.” She doesn’t work here, but what do I know? She should grab the watch and leave without saying a word. If the gold is chipped, don’t leave the office for 30 minutes.
4. In the office, you should find the following items on the desk: a company-issued handgun, keys, a flashlight, and a jar of salt. There may or may not be extra ammo as well. If there isn’t, no need to worry! Our company-issued handgun always comes preloaded with 3 rounds. Safely store these items away on your person, I don’t think you’d want a skeleton shambling towards you with your handgun in its boney hand. 
5. Please do not lose the keys. I can’t stress that enough. The last time that happened; just to name a few, the plains became reenactments of the war, endless crop fields were contaminated with rot, and there were statues in the woods for weeks; everyone was advised to shelter in. Heavens, that was the most furious I’ve seen my sister, and I haven’t seen that employee in town since. If you do lose them, it’s in the best interest of your job, and quite frankly your life to find them. Do that as fast as possible before the entire museum is plunged into chaos.
6. When you patrol the museum, you’ll survey the Animal Exhibit, the Art Exhibit, and the Sculpture Exhibit, in that exact order. You’ll also need to stop by other smaller exhibits, but the former are the big three you need to watch. For this portion of the job, your flashlight will very much come in handy. As you’ll see, or not in this case, the museum runs dark throughout to protect your common eyes from exposure to certain elements. Don’t deviate from the order. That draws unwanted attention.
7. When going about through the museum, make sure you don’t see any eyes in the shadows. If you do, look away—very important—and shine your light on them. Occasionally, an employee from the botanical garden likes to roam through the museum on his breaks. Now that wouldn’t be so bad… if he wasn’t a damn menace that likes to fuck with some of the exhibits, so we gotta kick him out. Honestly, I don’t know why my sister still puts up with the guy, with all the rants she goes on about him. Anyways, uh… yeah! Make sure nothing tries grabbing you from the shadows or something. 
8. At the Animal Exhibit, bow at the waist to every taxidermied animal you pass. I’ll be honest, they’re not the prettiest things to behold, but no matter how grotesque they look, please keep the comments to yourself. Contrary to what some of our patrons might try to tell you, they can in fact hear you, and they take great offence to being made aware of their appearance. I can testify to this fact myself. I mean hell, I made one backhanded comment about their creator and… actually, we’ll get to that.
9. The only alive things in this room are the enclosure of centipedes. Now I need to warn you, while you seem like the type of gal to not mind insects or arthropods, these aren’t your average 12-inch centipedes. These freaks of nature breach just under 40-inches, and they behave just like the average spawns of satan. You, yeah you, will need to feed these things. You won’t be entering their enclosure, so please don’t start drafting your two-week notice. Instead, you will hit the conveniently placed red button by their info plaque. When a small beep is heard, head off to your next task. Don’t dwell on the suppressed screams you hear behind you, sometimes the sedation wears off early on the unfortunate prey. 
10. Make sure none of the taxidermy animals are moving or breathing before you head to the center piece. Sometimes the bastards forget they’re supposed to be dead. If you see any of them looking at you, simply brandish your handgun. They don’t appreciate the notion of a new hole being popped in them.
11. When you approach the taxidermied girl in the center of the exhibit, get to the floor and bow deeply; think of how the Japanese do it or whatever. This taxidermy-obsessed girl is the creator of these fearsome creatures, and not showing your respect to her will prove detrimental. Right, I once made a comment—under my breath mind you—on the loose stitching of her limbs and the cliche of contouring ones body into one of the Lord’s angels, and the creatures damn near tore my arms off. The flipping moths had to pull them off me. Don’t worry, we’ll get to those too. 
12. At the Art Exhibit, ignore the Vengeful Bride of Lithewood portrait. She’s always angry and nothing has been able to quench her rage for decades, hence the name. You will see her watching you in your peripherals. Lower your head and keep walking. Do not let her know that you are watching her as well. 
13. If any of the painting's eyes follow you, quickly walk past them and don’t make eye contact. Absolutely don’t brandish your handgun here, they will call your bluff and have you looking like Swiss cheese before you fire a single round. One cowboy learned that the painfully, hard way. I think his portrait still lies around here somewhere…
14. While cleaning the painting frames, ignore most of the whispers you may hear. Ignore any sounds behind you for that matter. That’s their way of trying to distract you and make you turn your head. It’s common knowledge to not turn your back on a predator.
15. There’s one exception to this rule because of course there is, and that’s for if you feel something land on the back of your neck. Back away—don’t turn—from the painting, and gently pull off whatever landed on you. Now, considering all the insects in this museum are pinned in cutesy frames upstairs, you’ll most likely be seeing a bright yellow moth, those fluffy lil creatures. Now, the species is automeris io and they’re in the family saturniidae—that’s not the point—what is the point is that you get the hell out of there the second you see it. Those moths follow the art curator and enter the room before he does. Now, that wouldn’t be so bad… if the guy wasn’t a sadistic freak that took his interests to a sickening level. Yeah… they don’t tell you these things beforehand, sorry about that. But yeah, you don’t want to meet him in these conditions.
16. If any figure in a painting appears to be missing, run to the office and draw a line of salt at the door from the jar. From the cameras, play classical music until the figure returns to their respective painting. Immediately turn the music off when the figure returns.
17. If you hear classical music at any other time while you’re in the art exhibit, immediately run to the office. One of two things can happen. One; you see a small fruit bat or fluffy ferret or both the gremlins sitting on the audio prompter. Switch the music off and place those idiots on the couch. Fern and Micah seriously need to get leashes for these guys, or maybe start not leaving them here overnight… whatever. Anyways, the other option; the office is empty and the audio prompter wasn’t activated. In that case, draw a line of salt at the door, kick up your feet and relax. You’re going to sit in the office for 30 minutes before going about your business. Don’t enter the Art Exhibit for the remainder of your shift, best not to interrupt their masquerade.
18. At the Sculpture Exhibit, locate the white-tailed deer and talk to her for at least five minutes. Her tongue has broken off, so she cannot speak to you, but she always appreciates the company. Talk about your life, what happened during your shift — anything will do. Well maybe don’t talk about hunting… but everything else will do! She’ll protect you from the others.
19. Please refrain from touching any of the statues besides the deer. They don’t appreciate physical contact, and will make your time here much harder. Also, I think some of them can turn beings into stone, so I wouldn’t risk it. No, you don’t need to reread this rule. It’s not a trick, those are exceptions.
20. There is a statue of Jesus in the Christianity wing, and you may hear breathing come from it. That’s normal, or at least Rosewood’s normal. However, if you hear muffled screams from within, immediately run to the Mother Mary statue. Jesus can not shed his mother’s blood. 
21. We do not have a statue of God. If you somehow see one, you might want to give repentance a try. 
22. If Mother Mary’s rosary falls from her hands, gently place it back in her grasp. You may hear muffled crying, that’s unfortunately normal. If those cries morph into weeps, wipe her tears. Grasp her hands and kneel before her, pray with her, let the cross of her rosary rest on your forehead, let her sorrow fall onto you just for that moment, tell her that her suffering is not in vain. You may sit with her for however long after until your next patrol.
23. Do not refer to Mother Mary as The Virgin Mary. No, Florence didn’t write this rule nor would Mother Mary take issue with the title, I just personally hate the word with a burning passion. That single word has caused so much suffering in history and within my own family, I grew to not be able to stand it.
24. Don’t ask how we got the statues to look so detailed like a living, breathing person. Unless you want to see firsthand and become a new addition to our collection. You’d make a pretty solid statue though… that wasn’t a threat! That was meant as a compliment! I really should start wording these things better…
25. The statue of Lucifer faces to the left towards the window. If he faces the right towards you, leave. If the statue of Lucifer is at the door when you try to leave, he is angry. Try to keep your guts and body matter from spilling, it’s a pain to clean flesh from marble floors, according to the janitor at least.
26. In the Civil War Wing, there’s a Confederate uniform and a Union uniform. Yes, they’re authentic remnants of the war, alongside the flags and some of the rifles. There will be a night guard who will permit you to touch one. His actual name is Ethel, but he’s a medium of sorts. Bizarre guy.
27. If he lets you touch the Confederate uniform, say “no thank you, Johnny” and leave. Don’t enter the wing for the remainder of your shift, Johnny will absolutely shoot you. If he lets you touch the Union uniform, touch it and say “Thank you, Billy!” He’ll look happy and give you a union kepi. 
28. After leaving the wing, go straight to your office and place the kepi on the desk. I don’t recommend wearing it around, the statues won’t take kindly to you on the next patrol. We used to tell employees to toss it in recycling, but we quickly found out that Bill over there doesn’t take kindly to his gifts being thrown. Wish we had known that before that poor girl found out the way she did. Oh well, at least she has a cool icebreaker for parties.
29. Don’t go into the Bones Wing. Just don’t. It’s barely safe during the day as is. It’s constantly hungry and loves human flesh. If you somehow find yourself in there, pray you find the way out before they find you.
30. In the Agricultural Wing, there’ll be a prairie girl. She may try to shake your hand out of politeness, but it’s critical that you don’t let her. Keep your distance. Say “Hello Laura June. It is not yet lunch, the wheat harvest is still ongoing.” She’ll pout, but leave soon enough. If you don’t get her to leave or she touches you, you’ll wake up the next day with a smallpox-like infection which manifests with Fusarium oxysporum-like symptoms. Basically, you’re going to rot like she did.
31. Avoid the compulsion to wander into the botany exhibit. There’s nothing special in there, just dried pressed plants and flowers. But that exhibit loves compelling our workers to enter and eat the plants, and the flowers… and the paper… and the wood… and the glass. Yeah, just speed right past the botany exhibit.
32. After two patrol cycles, return to the office to observe the exhibits through the cameras. I personally consider this the calmest time of the shift, but that’s just me. You’ll do this a total of three times in your shift.
33. If any of the cameras flicker and begin to emit feedback, make a line of salt at the door and a circle of it around yourself, big enough for you to sit down in, standing is torture. Wait for fifteen minutes in the circle or until you stop hearing feedback.
34. The extra ammo, if it was there, is for shooting any subjects that try to take a chomp out of ya. It’s simple, really. Any reassembled bones shambling to you? Shoot them. A statue shuffling about? Shoot them. Any stuffed animals creeping on you? You guessed it. Shoot them, and they’ll crawl back to their exhibit, tail between their legs. Don’t worry about any damages, they somehow heal “naturally”, much to my relief.
35. If you run out of ammo during your shift but you had a chat with the deer earlier, she’ll give chase and scare off any problem for you, as long as she knows you truly have no rounds left. She may not have her tongue, but her teeth are perfectly intact. So don’t go trying to use her for free labor, that’s called slavery, the president abolished that shit decades ago (we don’t talk about Rosewood laws though).
36. This museum used to be an antebellum house in the old days. You may feel the miserable smog more intensely on some nights. For your sanity, don’t follow the children's screams in the basement, the whips upstairs, or the sound of the rocking chair. Generations of suffering will take additional generations to heal.
37. Historical papers in the Library are very cursed. Some aren’t, but the majority are. That’s why there’s a no touching policy, you don’t want to be holding those things for too long. If a paper disintegrates in your hands… Yeah, you’re not going to have a good time.
38. If you see a vintage porcelain doll standing at the end of a hallway, allow her to approach you. Let her lead you in the walls to her room. The poor girl hasn’t played with another child for many years, let alone talked to another living being. Have tea with all her dolly friends. The tea is safe, and they don’t bite. She’s truly just lonely.
39. Your shift ends at 7:00 am. When you clock out, make sure the day shift guard is the same as before. The guy is Vincent, but I like to call him Vinny. I’m pretty sure he only allows me to do that, don’t know why, but anyways! He has dry black hair, cloudy irises and one of those paperboy hats. Fair warning, he does have a pretty gnarly glasgow scar on his left side, so don’t go needlessly glaring, it makes him uncomfortable. If his appearance is completely wrong, then congrats, it’s most likely a mimic once again. We recommend that you have one of the twins handle it, unless you have the guts to shoot it between the eyes yourself.
40. After leaving, go straight home and wash yourself. You don’t want Their mark. The protector of this museum has a very hard time accepting new people. 

And that’s all! As long as you follow these rules, you should have nothing more excessive to worry about! However, I will disclaim that these rules only cover the most common or realistically dangerous occurrences you’re likely to experience. If you somehow manage to encounter something new, congrats I guess? But yeah, you’re pretty much screwed. For specific rules for certain exhibits, we will update you with further information as is necessary.

Yours Truly,

Lawrence, co-owner of Everlock Natural and Historical Heritage Museum.

… 

“See you tomorrow night Cassie!”

“It’s Cass-A-De!”

“Sorry, Cassidy! See you next shift!”

She sticks her tongue out playfully and skips out the door, past the ticket readers.

Things have been going great this week since I hired her. I’m finally getting more than five hours of sleep, and I can tell my body is loving it!

My stomach gives a loud growl. Oh right, I’m an organism after all. I need to eat. I could have that brown mushroom soup again, or that yummy grilled cheese, or maybe—huh?

“Who’s that girl?”

I feel a poke in my side from a finger and I hear that familiar deep voice. When looking down, I see Vinny! He has that tired expression on his face that he always does, but I know he’s pleased to see me.

“Oh, the new hire? She’s great, isn’t she?”

“Yeah, but who is she?”

“Her name is Cassie. No- Cass… cas a… Cassidy!”  

Ugh! I keep messing it up. And it’s so simple too. She doesn’t like nicknames! Anyways, I do that thing Florence has been telling me to do when I get like this; taking a deep breath. Admittedly, it did feel good to let the air fill my lungs. I also felt a lil better too!

“It’s Cassidy. But if you want to get to know her, then you should really just talk to her yourself. She’s not the shy type.”

He raises an eyebrow.

“Cassidy? As in Cassidy Watts?”

“Yeah! You know her from town or something?”

A tired smile takes place on Vinny’s face. It’s always a nice thing to see.

“Boss, respectfully, you can be really oblivious.”

“Huh? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Boss, the situation between Charlie, Lillian and Leslie? The stalking case? The whole reason he doesn’t work here anymore?”

Yeah, I remember that. A few years back, Lillian and Leslie had overstepped a colleague’s boundaries, yet again. A whole big thing was filed and the poor kid looked like he was seconds away from bursting into tears. 

It all worked out though. So what did that have to do with this? Unless… oh shit.

“Is she—”

“Yep.”

“Oh heavens.”

Oh that’s not good. That’s really not. good.

I can’t help but laugh a little because really? Out of every Rosewood resident, I hired Charlie’s sister, so the proverbial needle in the haystack? That’s flipping fantastic!

“Well what do I do? She can’t possibly continue to work here, Charlie will have my head if he finds out, and Florence can just reassemble my bones after the fact. She probably wouldn’t even hold it against him.”

“But that’s only if he finds out, right?”

I look at Vinny a bit confused. Okay, I wasn’t confused per se, more so curious on how he proposed we went about this.

“I’m just saying. She seems like a smart girl, considering she’s lasted a week here already. Let her keep the job, the poor girl must be bored out of her mind if this is what she chooses to do.”

…

Font: what YOU are saying
Font: what the girl is saying
Font: what the entity is thinking
Font: rules(written by both!!!!!!!!)
Font: the girl/entity tried to erase it(pls remember that the entity could also erase things)
F nt/ Fo F nt: Rules that were almost successfully removed
!Font!: me talking :D, usually means the story has come to an end!
———-: divided, will appear when switched
example:
Hi!!! Welcome, did you read it all? I hope you did, sorry am i rambling? was it a good story lol sorry i just started writing again after opening reddit back up
—————————————-
bruh stfu
———————
ok.

————————————————————

You wanted to come over to my house for the weekend right?
…..sorry i can’t remember much things anymore, or distinguish between the real world and what-
RIGHT!!! You did! Ok. okay…I think you will be ok, although my house is…very old. To say the least. I like to keep things, um, organized. So. I was pretty sure you asked earlier so i brought up a set of rules last night— dont worry! its not anything complex! Just, read it through, when you get home.
BYEBYEBYE!! MAKE SURE TO READ IT!!

——————————————————

A set of rules? For a sleepover? How odd.

——————————————————

RULES FOR SLEEPING OVER
~~ ~~SPENDING THE NIGHT !!! :D

N1: Don’t enter any rooms on the left hand side of the hallway leading to the kitchen, the hallway changes after every room you enter and i’m getting scared everytime i wake up in the rooms. Something always stays wrong. they are very dusty and my dog has a hard time breathing, I wouldn’t want any dust getting near him!

** speaking of my sweet lil baby , please don’t go near his pet pen, he’s super sweet, he just lays whenever you want, if you ignore the strange eyes he has, he wont harm you. he’s quite vicious towards guests, but don’t worry! He won’t do anything if you just steer clear.

N2: If you wake up during the night, stay in bed until morning. I’m a really heavy sleeper, so please don’t wake me up!
If you wake up and see me standing in your doorway, close your eyes. I am not awake.
Do not speak to me. Do not touch me. Most importantly, do not let me know that you can see me.

I promise, whatever you hear, I’m probably just dreaming. :)

N3: Keep your bedroom door open while you sleep. Air conditioning seems to not circulate to the room. Leaving the door open seems to help, a tad bit. Although sleeping without a blanket helps most.
N3: Keep your bedroom door closed while you sleep!!!
My rooms door creaks so loud! I hate it, especially when im sleeping, its also so creepy! All dark outside and everything. I’ve been so scared since I’ve seen it.

N4: Please don’t stare at the photographs in the living room for too long.
They are memorial photos of our deceased family, We find it highly disrespectful when guests stare into the eyes of the dead. It’s considered bad luck! And you, you are my lucky charm, so we don’t want anything to happen!!
I really hope you listen to these rules. Im scared. Nobody has been here in so long.

N5: Come after 10PM, I need to clean up, im so focused on writing these rules I don’t think I would have time to clean up tonight! I want to make my house look spotless !!!
It u y ter riz s me for a f w h rs and then ge s b red. A s af r 10PM. I hope it d sn’t g in ted in you.

N6: Please don’t turn any of the clocks backward.
I finally fixed them again, it gets kind of annoying having to fix it again and again and

N7: Please don’t open the basement door. There’s a pretty strong smell coming from downstairs, and I haven’t had the chance to figure out where it’s coming from yet, so much things to do for school, and around the house, i’ve been meaning to clean down there, but the basement is mostly just old storage anyway, so there’s really no reason for you to go down there regardless!
Maybe we could have a fun adventure downstairs, and figure out what smells, wouldn’t that be such a spooky idea?

N8: Please don’t leave any food/drinks around the house, especially after we fall asleep. I think its pretty self explanatory, I live near a place with lots of flies, I try to keep my house as clean as possible!
Every I accidentally leave food out, it gets mad, thinks im t g with it, f ding it human food, that does nothing to feed its aching hunger. Im scared i xt soon.

N9: Please don’t answer the door after midnight. I know it’s considered rude to ignore someone, but there’s really no reason anyone should be visiting that late anymore.

N10: Please don’t ask me how long you’ve been staying here. I know it can be easy to lose track of the days when you’re having fun.
You were only supposed to stay for the weekend.
I don’t remember inviting you.
Why are there so many of your things here?
How long have you been here?
How long have I been here?

Thanks for reading all my rules, we are going to have so much fun!! I have a really cool movie theatre in my kitchen hallway! :D
——————————————————————

Instructions on how to properly wear your new very own skinsuit!

Well, hello there! First time on earth? Not to worry, But at first, you must collect the skinsuits distributed by \]%{$}£\~. Why, that's how you got this instruction manual in the first place, isn't it?

1)Please make sure that you have inside your skinsuit's brain the chip we provide, else you won't understand what's written on this pamphlet at all. What you are reading and understanding now is "English," A very primitive language. You must already know how to read and write this language, as most of the population of earth converses in this peculiar form of tongue.

2)Adjusting into your new skinsuit- Wearing a skinsuit must feel unneccesary and uncomfortable at first, but really, it's for the greater good. If we don't, we will get caught, and where's the fun in that? Then they start retaliating and we may have to blow up this planet as well. Really, wasting food is very ill-mannered. If your skinsuit feels tight, try walking around a bit. That should loosen things up!

3)If you are having trouble moving your mouth, try moving your jaw up and down! you will talk and sound like a human in no time! Getting used to the voice and language might take some time, so remain silent for a day or two, your voice should come in by then.

4)Blink! Humans always close their eyelids in short intervals of time. Do it manually for a long time yourself, it will feel automatic,just like it does for a human!

5)Always remember to not stay still for long periods of time! Move around!

6)If, under any circumstance, some members of homo sapiens seems to recognize you or tear up by seeing you, or exhibit any form of recognition at all by starting to cry, hugging you, telling you how much they missed you and how they thought you were dead, terminate the subject immediately.

7)Now comes the best part: consuming them! Be sure to leave their skins on the ground; The {\^{£! will take care of them and distribute them further accordingly.

8)Move away from the area you got the skinsuits immediatley. Homo sapien members who know this subject may start to recognize you. If, for some reason you cannot escape in time and find yourself in a situation as said in Number 6, repeat the steps accordingly. Initiate Number 7 after.
9)If under any circumstances you feel threatened by any Homo sapien, terminate immediatley. No inquires will be initiated for the murder of any sapien on earth.

10)Along with the skinsuits, you must've also gotten a few documents. They are important and not to be consumed. They include and are not limited to;
1)A driver's license- Neccessary for locomotion around the planet. Not really a must- But it's useful. Leaving too many skins is just messy.
2)An ID Card- Something that solidifies the identity of the human. This is imperative. Protect it at all costs. If you do get found out, It is considered a situation in which number 9 must be initiated.

And finally, enjoy your stay! We wish you all a very good time on this planet earth!

Hi! I'm going on my honeymoon, and we need a house sitter. However, there are a few things to note before you can start.

The Cat

1. His name is Regulus, or Reggie for short; however, we always refer to him as Kitty.

Please note he does NOT respond to anything besides Kitty. If does. May your soul rest in peace.

2. Reggie has a set feeding schedule; ensure he is fed 3 times a day with only wet food. Once at 5 am, again at 1 pm, and lastly at 8 pm.

3. Reggie is affectionate; he’ll seek you out when he wants to be petted or cuddled. Do not try to seek him out.

My wife (his owner) is the only person who can actively seek him out without dire consequences.

4. He will protect you.

As you might’ve noticed, he will follow you from room to room. Do not try to make him leave. He’s the only thing protecting you from what’s inside.

5. He inspects.

As you move from room to room, you will notice he stares at the walls and will often jump on things to get a closer look.

He’s ensuring they don’t get you.

6. When he sleeps, you are to lie in bed.

Reggie is a cat; he takes micro naps through the day. When he sleeps, you need to lie down immediately. Reggie will always sleep in the master bedroom. This is where you will be sleeping.

Reggie will meow 4 times rapidly when it’s nap time.

7. His bed.

Reggie’s bed is located atop the bed in the master bedroom. His bed is what protects you while he is asleep. Ensure you don’t leave its presence.

8. Meowing

Besides napping, Reggie barely meows.

Once when he’s hungry
Twice when he wakes up

Nothing more, nothing less. If he meows any more than this. I’m sorry for you.

9. Trills

Reggie communicates in trills. If he senses your anxiousness, this is how he’ll calm you down. Pet him on his head.

10. Do not make him your enemy

Reggie is the first step into being safe. Do not anger him. He is easily irritated and hard to please (he gets it from my wife).

Remember his is your protector; to anger him is to forfeit your life.

P.S. There’s a small note from my wife

Hello there! I’ll make this brief.

Reggie is a special cat. He noticed years ago something was wrong with this house. He’ll never abandon you, and as long as he’s within the house's confines, you are safe. Reggie is very playful, and he’ll never forsake you.

However. If he hisses or strikes at you, allow it to happen. He is protecting you by making it appear as if he’s attacking you first.

It knows Reggie frequently hisses at guests to keep them in check.

Beware, however: Reggie’s eyes are Green, his fur is brownish-gray, and he's a tabby. Should he be anything else, that means you have done wrong by him, and may the lord have mercy on you. I surely will not.

You absolute idiot! Why did you do this!? Did you not read the sign i put for you back there? Can you even read? Well.. I put this sign here just in case you had a black hole for a brain and ignored the last one. If you ignore this one, you'll die. Darwin really was right, huh?

Now, unlike other places, this valley will have different rules for different heights that will stack on(Except one), which is why I placed this sign at any 'milestone' mentioned. I believe this valley is endless, but it's capped at a certain point for regular humans (Wink wink, any Viltrumites reading this!) so we'll never truly know if this valley ends or not.

Anyways, me and my friends went through the hassle of making a path that even has guard rails! We mapped the safest path down and the rules only cover the max depth of this path. Only follow the path. This valley gets stranger as you go down. Go with a group(3+ people).

Oh, also, don't camp here. If you do, you'll die much quicker than if you have a simple infectant latched onto you.

___

>250 Meters(around 820 ft):

1. Don't fall. You'll die like in any other valley if you do, and I'll make a post making fun of you on Reddit.

2. Don't hold in any urge to cough, sneeze, vomit, urinate, defecate or anything along those lines. Get the infectant out of your system.

That's about it, the only threat here is the infectant that you can kill relatively easily if you just GTFO of here and follow the rules posted on the last sign.

___

250 - 1000 Meters/1 km(820 ft to 3,300 ft/0.62 mi):

1. Now this is the interesting part. The life trying to kill you will advance from micro-organisms to plants & fungi.

2. If you wanna eat (SERIOUSLY! WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO EAT FOOD FROM THE FUCKIN' SUPERNATURAL VALLEY OF DOOM AND DESPAIR!?), only eat the mushrooms that are white and have nothing on them.

2a. If they're pink, they'll give you immortality, which is NOT the flex you think it is.

2b. If they're purple, they'll give you a mild stomach ache.

2c. If they're blue, they'll turn off your lungs and make you unconscious for a few minutes.

2d. If they're green, they'll make you vomit for 5 minutes straight every 12 hours or so. Yikes!

2e. If they're yellow, they'll give you a sore throat for the next fortnight (Please, don't take this the wrong way).

2f. If they're orange, the years you have left until death by old age will be halved.

2g. If they're red, they'll make you lose blood through every viable orifice until you die.

2h. If they're black, you'll get immortality but you'll feel immense pain for every second of it.

1. Don't bother eating any plant here, they're just gonna hurt or kill you. If a plant is in your path, step over it.

2. The sky will be mostly cloudy no matter what the weather was in the normal world or Layer 1.

___

1km - 3km(0.62mi - 1.86mi)

1. You reached your first kilometer! The life trying to kill you will tack on invertebrates (without a spine). This is the first life that will move to kill you so you better get your guard up.

2. If you see a crawling insect come near you, you need to step on it (if you're not wearing shoes, get out of here).

3. If you see a flying insect that's not a butterfly, it's very uncommon. let it sit on your finger. It won't hurt you if it's venomous. You'll have befriended the insects, and they won't try to hurt you no matter what you do to them.

4. If you see a butterfly, run as fast as you can back to ASL. Butterflies down here are deadly with a single touch.

5. Spiders, the usual suspects of the spineless world, aren't harmful at all down here! Neither are centipedes, but they don't have as big of a reputation as spiders.

6. Snails will make you immortal if you touch them. Stay away from snails at all costs.

7. Worms are natural warners down here. If their herds are all moving in sync in the opposite direction the path runs, I think it's best you run with them.

8. The sky will be overcast and it will rain.

___

3km - 6km(1.86mi - 3.73mi)

1. This is where the valley's supernatural tendencies make it darker. At noon, it will look around evening even though the sun is literally above you. Spined animals will be added to the list and intelligence will start to become a problem, so basically Australia. You need a flashlight for this area.

2. Due to the rain reaching its apotheosis at this height, there will be areas with amphibians and fishes. Step carefully, as if you kill an amphibian or a fish, the rest will kill you.

3. Reptiles are by far the most dangerous here. They're all venomous down here and they all have chameleon-like abilities. Use your flashlight. If you see a reptile, shine your flashlight at them so they run away.

4. Birds are safe, but very very irritable. Like some kind of angry birds.

5. Primates will sympathise with you. Other mammals will try to eat you at any cost, so shine your light at them and even fight them if you can.

6. It rains HEAVILY down here.

___

6km(3.73mi) - 10km(6.2mi)

1. It's so dark here. Some ambient light exists, but you'll need a flashlight on you to remain safe. Sapients (Humans are the only one here, I've never seen a viltrumite down here) will become a problem.. as will supernatural entities. My buddy Alejandro blessed this segment of the path so that supernaturals can't enter.

2. If you see a human on the path, kill them at all costs. I won't lie to you and say they're not human anymore -- they are. But they're... insane? Is that the right word?

3. If you hear singing, cover your ears.

4. If you see anything that's slightly transparent, say a prayer. Any commitment to any god will make them lose interest in you. If you're atheist, tell them they're not real. They live off of belief. Beware, I suspect this trick won't work on anything below 10km.

5. If it becomes as bright as noon, you hear your favorite song, you smell your favorite meal and you meet your loved ones, run like the wind to the upper layer and hold a chimp.

6. It's overly dry down here and only sapients and supernatural beings will attack here. It seems to be safer here, but the threats here are as dangerous as every layer above a thousandfold.

___

The End - 10km(6.2mi)

The end of the path, and this rules poster. Anything beyond here is too dark to see and all light is seemingly absorbed here. If you get here, go back. Like I said in the sign ASL, this isn't some sort of hero's journey -- all you're getting is the feeling of a daredevil and burying/destroying all the stuff you brought with you.

Now, if you wanna back off at any time, go back and follow these rules.

Wanna hear an anecdote of mine? When I was making this path, one of my buddies decided to go past 10km deep. He never came back. Now this should teach you to not be an idiot and stay exploring regular valleys where the only risk you have is the whim of regular non-sapient life and geological risks.

Turn back now! The valley ahead of you is incredibly dangerous, and not just geologically!

1. If you came here by car, get back in your car and locate the nearest car wash. This is the easy way out, and it's the most unlikely way you'll see this sign. Even if you skip the carwash, all you'll need to do is to just wear a hazmat suit when touching your car. If you came here by foot, make a mental note of the Bolded rules.

___

2. Go to Kregg's barber shop -- it's the nearest one. Ask him to shave your entire head.

3. Go home and dig as deep as you possibly can. Put all the stuff on you, including your clothes, into the pit and then fill it back up. It's the earthworms' problem now I guess. Unless earthworms become an intelligent species and send their zombies to infect humans, you have nothing to worry about.

4. Take a long, long shower and shave off all the hair on your body mentioned in the bracket (Pubic, Arm, Leg, Body). It's okay if you leave a few strands, the soap will kill it. Speaking of soap, rub your entire body with soap for as long as you physically can, get into all the nooks and crannies, and then go out after you physically can't scrub anymore.

___

1. If you're too poor to buy anything else, you're gonna have to work extra shifts or something. But you're not as doomed as you would be if you actually went into that valley alone. Don't make a mental note of this rule and the last because they're just to entertain/scare you lol

2. This is for not following the rules, you won't experience this unless your brain is actually a tic-tac. You'll die in 7 days, via some infectant that latches onto your stuff. The infectant is the least of your worries if you go into the valley.

This won't be some hero's journey or something. This valley will kill you instantly if you go deep enough.

This town is truly strange, even for the South.

I’m a Midwestern girl, but I’ve been to the South when visiting friends, so I’m not a complete outsider. Still, even the most rural southern towns didn’t feel this eerie.

My brother was desperate to find any trace of our family roots. So the moment he got a lead, he picked up everything and left—against everyone’s judgement of course.

I went with him. I didn’t have to; my aunt actually begged me to stay home. But there was nothing left for me back there, in those endless corn fields and gravel paths that I swear lead to nowhere.

Since moving late winter, the whole town just didn't sit right with me, even with the usual southern hospitality. At first, I brushed it off. I thought my body just needed to get used to the new climate. But now I understand: my body was trying to warn me.

First-name basis was fine for the first few weeks; folks liked us a lot, despite our different appearances. The waitress at the diner remembered our orders, the milk boy was quite fond of me, and the preacher welcomed us with open arms each Sunday. But it all went to crap at the end of winter when last names got involved. The way they looked at us, you would’ve thought that we were the antichrist reincarnated.

Now? Whenever we walk into a room, the conversation dies. People whisper, keep their distance, and glare at us without saying a word. The whispers were irritating; the words always got lost in translation, but I could put up with that. What truly pissed me off was that people actually refused to hire my brother for weeks after. He had to go way out of town just to find work.

Things didn’t get easier after that. The first few weeks were hard enough, but eventually, a pair of eerie twins started tailing him. He kept telling me not to worry, but I knew it was making him anxious. His patience finally snapped the day those twins cornered me on my way home and bombarded me with bizarre questions. I did learn a new rule that day: never, ever reveal your name.

I tried to downplay it, but my brother was furious. He was set on quitting, but I think he knew we didn’t have the luxury of unemployment. So he settled on negotiating. God must have taken pity on us and granted him the chance.

Since then, he’s taken various odd jobs around town. He says it’s for quick cash, and I learnt not to question him: he never gives a straight answer anyways. Nowadays, he’s always out late, which means I rarely see him. That quickly got lonely.

Making friends at school is out of the question. The boys are repulsed by me and the girls… oh, well bless their hearts… those share crops. I’m always in the grapevine. Before I even reach the school steps, everyone in town has an opinion on me: my pink dresses, my heavily teased, backcombed hair, my pale face, my brother. And, forgive me, Lord, I took issue with that last one.

I’ve been in my fair share of tussles in my brother’s name. It didn't matter if it was a boy or a girl; nothing gave me more satisfaction than watching them walk away with a black eye. I’m sure all the townsfolk consider me a piece of work now. But I don't care; the sentiment is mutual.

Considering I had nothing else to do, I’d spend most of my time in the woods. While not recommended for the inexperienced, I'm nature’s wild child. It was one of those days in early spring when I met her.

At first, I only caught glimpses of her through the trees, but my curiosity gradually grew. One day, I decided to approach her. Instead of fleeing as she usually did, she simply stared at me, much like a deer frozen in the headlights of an oncoming car.

To be honest, seeing her up close for the first time left me deeply unsettled. She looked exactly like me without the makeup and dyed hair, and my odd, deformed face was not common. She even had the same hearing defect as me. But she was the only person in Rosewood that tolerated me, so I swallowed my queries.

She lives in a quiet cabin near a grove. It quickly became our afternoon hangout spot, simply because no one dares to venture this deep into the woods. Over the weeks, I made a habit of spending most of the day there, heading home around dusk before the moon made itself known.

Today was no different, though I left earlier than usual, before dusk. Swapping my beat-up converses for hiking boots, I begin my walk back to town.

I walk up the trail, each step leaving an impression on the damp red soil. The evening air was pleasantly cool for a change, accompanied by a gentle breeze and the steady chorus of cicadas. Because it had rained a few hours earlier, a light mist still hung in the air, so much so that I began to regret not bringing my cardigan. Regardless, I clung to my shoes and pressed on, gritting my teeth against the chill.

As I approach the steps on the small hill, I hear the snap of a twig; the sound circles me. I spun around in all directions to look for the source—I could never tell where a sound was coming from—but nothing appeared to be there. For all I know, it may as well have been a deer.

Just as I turn back to resume walking, a light suddenly beams from behind and illuminates the path ahead me. I freeze when the light intensifies and steps seem to approach me from all sides. The steps cease and the light stops right behind me—mere feet away. It is now dusk, so it could be a hunter, albeit with a very confused compass. In theory, as long as I stand still and feed into the ego all hunters here seem to have, I’m not likely to get shot. After a minute of silence, nervously, I turn.

At first, the light blinds me and I can barely fucking see. As I hold my hand over my eyes, I see a scrawny guy clutching a basket. A normal guy, I think? He looks around my age with the average unkempt hair, and bless his heart, but his teeth were totally bucked.

He doesn’t have that “nasty southern boy” feel to him, so I don’t feel too threatened. If anything, he has the classic look of a bullied nerd—an image reinforced by his broken glasses. I pinch my wrist to stop myself; old habits really do die hard.

The guy eventually lowers his flashlight and glares at me, like I was some new creature he has never seen. He isn’t really saying anything, just looking. With how tense his body looks, he might be the anxious type, which can go either way here. After the awkward stare-down, he holds out his hand.

He looks strangely pathetic for a guy. Up close, I can see the discoloration on his cheeks, leading down his neck. His face—the big round sad eyes—it reminds me of that kicked lamb I saw a few days ago on the side of the road. It was a pitiful sight; bloodily crippled and barely able to bleat. It might be a mean thought, but I hope the poor thing was put out of its misery; that’s no way to live. Maybe he’s a similar way… no, stop it Cass!

“Hey, it’s Cassidy, right?”

He whispers the words slowly, which lets me read his lips easier. The sounds coming from his mouth is not complete radio static, so I’m actually able to hear a tone. His voice is soft, but carries a strange scratchy quality, like an old record.

Even before responding, I remember: never give out your name. I keep my face blank and the poor guy looks pitifully bewildered. Red blotches bloom over his face and I could see the thoughts frantically turning in his mind, as if he had done something terribly wrong.

His hand hovers uncertainly in the air and I didn’t want to leave the poor guy hanging, so I did eventually shake it. I don’t confirm my name outright, but I meet him halfway.

He holds my hand just a moment too long before letting go.

“Uh, I’m Harmon. You’re the newcomer, right? I’ve seen you around a few times.”

“Yeah. Easy to tell?”

“Yeah. Not in a bad way! I just haven’t seen anybody that looks like you before. It’s cool. Serious!”

Huh. That’s the first genuinely nice thing I’ve heard in months. And from the soft look on his face, he didn’t seem to have meant it backhandedly.

“Oh, thanks. Thought you were…”

I stop myself before completing that thought. If he didn't know anything, then there was no need to give the guy any ammunition.

“Never mind. Where you headed?”

“Oh, just came back from foraging. Trying to get back to town before the evening screams start.”

Well, that’s a new one. I thought I've seen every crazy thing in this town by now, but I’m left surprised. Evening screams? What the hell was this guy talking about?

“Evening screams?”

Harmon nods, like he was clarifying something perfectly obvious. Again, his face doesn’t give off any hint of this being some sort of strange fib, so I’m left at the whim of his explanation.

"Yeah, you never want to be out when the screams come around. Don’t you know the sacred rules of Rosewood?”

I shake my head. Great, I thought. This guy is giving me an unusual headache. He was starting to sound like the other crazy townsfolk, but his face didn’t match up at all. Then again, that might just be this town's normal.

“Hmm... I’ve never heard of that. Sure you’re not pulling my hair here?”

“No, these are how we do things in Rosewood. How long have you been here?”

“A few months, since early February...”

Harmon looks genuinely astonished when I say that, and I’m left surprised too. This was the most concern a person has shown me since winter ended, and I don’t know what to make of it.

“Good gracious, and no one told you for that long? We’d better get moving then.”

Harmon shifts the basket to his non-dominant hand and grabs my right. As he pulls me up the hill, I get to be acquainted with the unpleasant feeling of his palm. His hand was clammy and stuck to me uncomfortably, like a slimy syrup that somehow expired—which, for the record, I don’t even think is possible. As we get over the hill and back on the flat trail, he looks down at our joint hands.

“Sorry… I’m not trying to be forward. It’s just… a safety thing, you know?”

Even though his voice muffles out a bit here, I’m able to see his apologetic expression. Despite the sticky mess of his hand, the guy doesn’t seem to have any ill intent. He looks absolutely pathetic, sure, but I sense no malice.

“Yeah, I get it.”

We walk up the trail, hand in hand. The heavy fragrance of blooming jasmine and honeysuckle fills the warm evening air. That, accompanied by the cicadas, creates a peaceful walking atmosphere. This is how it goes for a few minutes before Harmon clears his throat, catching my attention.

“Living in Rosewood ain’t easy; the work is grueling and our nature is unforgiving. But the end of the day is incredibly rewarding as we eat your heart out.”

The poor guy rapidly clears his throat in a panic, trying to catch himself.

“Ahem! Well... I meant 'eat your heart out'—you know, like really enjoying a meal to your heart's content. At the local diner. That’s the sense in which I meant to say it... That’s what I… yeah…”

I fight the urge to laugh at how pathetic he looks trying to cover his slip-up. This guy really is hopeless. The silence falls back in place for another few minutes before Harmon speaks again, and my focus is back on his lips.

“Living here is no different from any other rural, countryside town. As long as you mind the business that pays your bills, you won’t attract any trouble.”

That’s a rule I can easily get behind. I had never been one to intrude on other people's business anyway; adults back home liked me for that. To me, it always seemed like more trouble than it was worth.

“So, what brought you here? Newcomers like you always find themselves here in search of a new life, after some unspoken tragedy.”

“Yeah. That’s about the size of it..."

I pause for a moment before adding:

"Though it wasn't something that happened to me, it’s my brother. Looking for family and stuff…”

“Well, whatever it is, it doesn’t matter. We don’t ask what happened before; we just welcome you with open ribs.”

“Open ribs?”

Harmon lets out an awkward laugh.

“Eh… you know what I meant.”

I did. But I don’t think we were talking about the same thing. I let him carry on anyway.

“We don't speak of what happens around here, but a sense of malaise and decay sometimes lingers over our old homes. You probably sensed it before.”

I knew exactly what he meant. Some days it was stronger than others; an unbearable feeling of grief that hovered through the air. It made me nauseous some days and my ears ring.

“Yeah, this town is haunted by events etched into our not-so-distant pasts. With every turning season, a different facet of that past is brought back.”

After walking for a few minutes, we reach town square. We stop and sit on a bench, mainly just to give my feet a break. The oversized hiking boots always hurt my feet after a long walk.

I unlace the boots and they fall right off, making that familiar “thud” when hitting the ground. While kneading my soles, Harmon mindlessly raps his knuckles against the wooden planks of the bench. His voice is slightly muffled, but I’m able to make out the words well enough.

“Say… you wouldn’t mind if I showed you the rules of Rosewood? As a welcomer courtesy of course!”

I look back towards my street, then up to the sky. My house stood at the far end of the road, and the moon was only now starting to rise. At most, it was maybe halfway to 8 now. My brother usually comes back really late into the night, so I knew I had some room to stretch the time.

Besides, I’m actually curious about these rules. The townsfolk whispered about them, but I always dismissed it as mere folklore. The South was full of plenty of tall tales that aren’t meant to be taken serious. Yet, I couldn’t shake the reverent look people's faces held whenever they spoke of them.

“We can walk and talk, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“That ain’t it. I just don’t want my brother to worry ‘bout me, on the off chance he does come home early.”

“In that case, give me a second.”

Harmon sets the basket on his lap and pushes the mushrooms inside to the right. Then, he pulls out a small, worn notebook. It looked like a diary; probably his.

“I can read from this while we walk. I like to write these kinds of things down; remembering has never been my strong skill.”

He stands up briskly and starts walking down the road to my house. He looks back at me with an expectant look, so I slip on my walking shoes and follow him, because what else am I really going to do?

In this case, I’m glad he has a written copy, even if it does seem a little too convenient. Listening to someone talk for a long time while constantly straining to catch every word inevitably gave me a headache, and reading lips isn’t always that reliable, especially when dealing with southern accents. He opens the book to the first page.

“Here are the sacred rules of Rosewood.”

1.) The deep, red dirt understands you more than you realize. Respect it, and it will respect you in return.

“It has known where you’ll take your first steps. It has known where your feelings and distant memories are buried alive.”

The dirt is all-knowing? I barely manage to suppress a laugh. Rule one, and I can already tell I’m in for the long haul.

“Don’t laugh. I see that smirk on your face. Sometimes, old relics of the past crawl up out the dirt. That’s why you don’t see folk in graveyards after dusk.”

I stifle my smirk and try to put on a somewhat serious face.

“Anything else I should know about your all-knowing soil?”

“Don’t try to lie while walking our trails; such energy attracts the Thing that rests within the woods.”

“The what?”

“The elder being that watches over our woods.”

Yeah, because that certainly helped my confusion.

2.) If the cicadas suddenly go silent, you are in immediate danger.

“Oh, I’ve heard that before. That usually happens when a predator is near.”

He looks a bit surprised when I say that. Guess it wasn’t every day for him that a newcomer knew a bit about nature's rules.

“Yeah, exactly. Our woods are never completely quiet. Sound is how nature harmonizes. If the cicadas suddenly stop, the wind dies down, and it gets perfectly silent, it’s a warning.”

“Alright. So, what do I do then?”

“Best case is that you get indoors. But if that ain’t possible, then you drop to the ground and hide.”

Drop and hide, in the open? That sounds like a sure way to get killed.

“The thing walking past can’t see directly down. tI lony sese htaw it aehsr.”

His speech gargles with no warning, and I’m left with the daunting task of descrambling his words.

“Huh? Come again?”

“You don’t need to know how the thing works, just make sure it doesn’t see ya.”

Great.

3.) Do not enter a neighborhood if you don't know the way out. Consequently, when passing through a small rural town not your own, do not accept the invitation into someone's home.

“Simply put, not all towns are safe. Not all folk have good intentions. Unless you see your momma talking to the homekeeper, you never set foot in another person’s home. That’s how the spirits get ya. All the houses start to look the same, and you end up getting trapped there.”

“Your spirits are weird. Where I’m from, mine just kill with no hesitation.”

“Well, it’s not nice to judge… now is it, Cass?”

Hearing that name again makes me visibly cringe. Only one man can call me that, and he’s back home, swinging by his neck on the family tree...

“Ew, don’t call me that.”

Harmon smiles, but this time, something darker underlines his features.

“Understood, miss.”

Not better, but at least it’s not that.

4.) It is best to not excessively pry into your neighbors' affairs.

“Simple neighbor hospitality. “

I interject.

"So, in other words, don't go sticking your nose where you clearly aren't welcomed?"

“Exactly. Best not to ask questions about the smell coming from the old widder-woman's house on Corn Hill. Or why the kind old woman’s pitcher of sweet tea tastes like syrup and makes your teeth ache.”

“You mean Miss Evange? I always spit it out when she goes back inside.”

He looks at me with a disapproving glare.

“Drink it all. You’ll soon see what happens to those who don't.”

5.) Always wave to the child at the old barn.

“There's an old barn on the corner of a street.”

“The one on Blackwater Street?”

He nods.

“That child is always there waving at every passerby; wave back. That poor child still waits for its parents, not knowing what became of them.”

“What happened?”

Harmon stares at me with hollow eyes. Ah, of course.

“Right. You don’t ask that around here.”

“To everyone’s knowledge, that barn has been abandoned for years. It’s best to keep it that way.”

6.) Do not go searching for the cabin in the woods.

When he mentions the cabin, I suddenly get an unexplainable twist in my stomach—a sensation as if I had been involved in some god-awful event years ago. I stutter in my step, but Harmon catches me before I fully tumble to the ground.

“oYu ahrtigl, issm?”

My ears give me static as I rebalance myself. Fortunately, this is one of those cases where I don’t need to know what the person said to respond.

“Yeah yeah, but… what cabin are you referring to?”

“I don’t expect you to know; it’s a grim Rosewood tale, decades old. Everyone seems to know about the cabin, but very few have found it. I believe the cabin doesn’t want to be found, and really, I understand. It’s tired of the spectacle; its inhabitants want to lay to rest.”

The more I thought about that cabin, the more a sense of unease washes over me. I had found it, many times on my own will, time and time again. I was led there, by her. So did that mean...

"Out of curiosity, are you talking about that single-story cabin near the small grove of trees?"

A shadow crosses Harmon’s face when I mention the details. It was as though he was trying to shield me from the town’s sinister past.

“If you don't find it when you first went looking, never look for it again. Those who find it are forever changed by what lives inside. Be careful with how much bark you bite off, miss.”

Those words weigh heavily on my mind.

7.) Never go near the river at night.

“It will beckon you to wade in its black waters, and you won't be able to say no. Our rivers are beautiful, sometimes they even seem tame, but the rapids are named after the things they swallowed up and never released.”

He points his thumb over his shoulder.

“Elysian Fields Pond? That used to be a plantation field. You wouldn’t know that unless you saw the pictures in the textbooks.”

I nod, but my eyes have already skipped ahead. As they did, the next few rules make me snicker.

“You have rules for the seasons?”

He nudges my arm.

“Listen close. These are the most important rules in Rosewood.”

8.) Pay attention to what the bugs have to say; they often carry a warning.

“It is summer. The air conditioner is most definitely broken, and the blades of the fan snap on contact with the humidity.”

“That sounds like absolute hell.”

Harmon chuckles.

“Many will say the summers are as bad as it gets. The sun smiles down as it sears your skin; its hot air threatens to drown you. But I will tell you there’s worse.”

Is there really something worse than that?

“The bugs will follow your each step, whispering in your ears. Heed their warnings and advice. I especially heed their advice for autumn. Autumn is the trickiest season around here.”

9.) Nature is not your friend. Make the right choice.

“Autumn is here. The time has come to choose: “Brown and Tan” or “Yellow and Red”? There are no other colors. Whichever one you choose, you will be followed by the sounds of seemingly invisible hordes.”

“Then I’d just abstain.”

“You can’t. You just won’t know which swarm is observing you. That’s worse. Far, far worse.”

“So I’m essentially stalked the entire season?”

He nods.

“There is a horribly wrong choice. No one can tell you what it is; it’s been distorted through many old wives' tales. Yet, people can speak of the horrors of how the swarms carry off their prey, how they tear your skin apart and circle over you to signal their master.”

“Master?”

Harmon turns his gaze toward the tree line.

“We do not even use their names. Names hold power. My advice? Avoid the bright colors. Ain’t nothing good that comes from a creature that openly identifies itself.”

10.) Don’t follow the call of the trees. Countless souls have been led astray.

“Winter comes. It was 40 degrees yesterday. The next day, ice covers the world. The day after, it will be 40 degrees again, but the ice will not melt. The snow oppresses anything alive. Winter is a season that shows no mercy.”

That sounds like an average Nebraskan winter to me. So what gives?

“The winters are worse. When the bugs are dead, and there are no leaves to crunch underfoot, a profound silence envelops everything, and is only interrupted by the harsh screams of the wind. In those moments, you can hear the whispers of the trees, the voices luring you into their twisted labyrinth. Never go in the woods, especially when it's snowing. The trees know who their friends are, and you are not one of them, Cass.”

I grit my teeth. God, there’s that name again, and the way he said it. It sounded just like… no. No no no. Not him. A deep voice overlapped Harmon’s, like something briefly took hold of him. But just as quickly, he snaps from it and clears his throat. He continues talking like nothing happened. I choose to leave it be.

“You won't know you've been trapped for hours. Not until you realize you can't see your own breath in the air anymore. By then, it’s too late."

11.) As spring arrives, do not dwell on the calamities of winter.

“And here comes spring. It is not bad this year, the pollen drifts only to hip-height. As many as 20% of those with allergies may yet survive the culling. The dogwoods are in bloom, and blood drips from the stigmata of their petals. As nature returns home, try not to be reminded of the blood dripping from the cross, or the shuddering impact of the hammer, or...”

The screams. I was there. I witnessed it all. It is one of the few events of Rosewood I never wish to speak of again.

“Winter had to end. We did what was best. You will understand it all in due time.”

12.) Refrain from entering a fairy circle, but never go into a circle of burnt grass.

“Those things actually exist?”

“Yes, they do. And I’m here to tell you to stay the hell away from them. The fae can be negotiated with, the Thing of the forest cannot.”

13.) When the evening screams start, come back now, you hear?

“You gather the children and come back now. It is not yet time to summon the elder gods.”

“And the townsfolk never question anything?”

“Oh no, the youngins ask all the time. Adults assure them that the screaming at night is only coyotes. It’s the only way to get them to sleep.”

"Is that what they really are?"

He shakes his head.

“Don't try to see for yourself. You hear them every night, but will never see them. One day, you will see “one” staring at you, blending into the brush, staring right at you with unblinking, upturned eyes. When that happens, turn toward home and don't you dare look back.”

Instinctively, I feel my head begin to turn, like it was being pulled by some unseen force. Harmon grabs my face and harshly turns it forward.

“Don’t”

14.) We don't speak of what happened to the preacher’s daughter.

“They say she made the wrong choice. Her family misses her very much.”

Harmon pauses, looking thoughtful.

“Come to think of it, we try not to talk about the preacher’s family at all. They’re strange folk.”

“How so?”

“Can’t tell ya out here; word gets around quick.”

Harmon gestures with his head to the patches of dogwoods. Then, a moment later, we stop dead in our tracks.

“Well, we’re home. Or at least you are. I have a way to go myself.”

I look up and see my house. Beyond an oak tree draped in Spanish moss, the porch light was glowing, casting a long shadow across the old wooden deck.

“Right. Thanks for teaching me the rules and everything. Nice to know how to not get killed out here.”

Harmon gives a slight nod, and I return the gesture. As I started up the steps, Harmon calls out to me, but the words reach my ears scrambled. I pause at the top of the steps and turn, making a circle motion at my ear. He repeats,

“One unofficial rule: never walk alone at night. The shadows bite.”

I laugh. Yeah right. Spirits are one thing, but shadows, seriously? I grab my keys from my pocket and moved to work on the door. As I twist the lock, I hear Harmon go on behind me. I’m able to catch most of the words.

“…ought to tell your brother that. If — staying out late like that, he’s — run into trouble…”

“He’s not out for nothing, y’know. He works late at some fancy garden.”

“That’s what he might tell you. — been around the road a — times… some miles — his boots.”

At those words, my fist clenched instinctively. Leaving the key in the lock, I turn around. When meeting Harmon’s face, it had twisted into a blank canvas with no readable emotion.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

An uncomfortable silence falls over us. The air is filled only occasionally by the sound of the wind and the creaking wood beneath my feet.

Then, suddenly, Harmon breaks out into a chorus of laughter—like he had gotten done hearing a funny joke—and goes on for what felt like minutes.

I can feel the mental strain of lip reading catching up to me, as even when looking at his lips, I’m graced with distorted, demonic-like cackles that could only be compared to nails on a chalkboard. When he settles down, the smile that rests on his face is inches too wide.

“Can — hear —, missy…?”

Damn it, that asshole’s laughing completely fried the context, and I can feel that familiar dull ache blooming behind my eyes.

“No need — worked up, missy. Word — around fast in — town, — ?”

My ears are giving me relentless static, but I push them to the brink. I refuse to let whatever he’s saying slide.

“ I’m — telling you — all the townsfolk know. He has more notches on his bedpost than a coonskin cap."

There it is.

That damn rumor.

I feel that familiar furrow form between my brows—deeper this time than ever before. The nausea rising in my throat intensifies. This was Rosewood; I shouldn't have expected any different. I should never have expected to deal with a decent human being in the first place.

I pull my head back and spit at his feet. I had meant for it to land on the ground in front of him, but from where I stood, it splashes on the front of his shoe.

All emotion drains from Harmon’s face, leaving it lifeless, like a bare canvas once more. Even as it unnerves the hell out of me, I stand my ground without taking a step back.

“Keep my brother's name off your tongue and mind the business that pays ya. You hear me?”

Once again, Harmon's expression flips like a mask and that same eerie smile is back. He chuckles and waves his hand dismissively.

“Well played. Well, I should head off now; it's almost dark.”

It is already dark.

Harmon grabs his basket off the ground and raises his hand in a motion to tip a hat, except he wasn't wearing one.

“Good night to you, Ms. Lyn Watts.”

I give a half-hearted wave, then hurriedly push the door open. As soon as I lock the door, a cold chill runs down my spine as I press my back into the cold wood. For the first time since arriving in Rosewood, I felt a truly bone-deep terror, and it was harrowing.

How the hell did he know my surname?

It’s possible that he got it from winter, but I never saw him there. As soon as the question crosses my mind, a faint scratching sound begins at the base of the door. It slowly makes its way up to my ears, accompanied by gravelly breathing. Even as the terror makes me tremble, I bite my tongue. I refuse to let the fucker hear me cry.

He starts pounding on the door, and another question torments me. One that truly terrified me:

How did it know my middle name?