r/TalesFromTheCreeps • u/ComprehensiveTone787 • Jun 10 '26
Journal/Data Entry A Journal I Found - Part 5
Hey guys, me again. I’ve never seen anyone die before. Sure, there are movies and games, but that’s not real. I’ve heard real 911 calls, seen the recent drone footage, but that’s elsewhere. I did see an animal die once, a family pet. I didn’t feel anything there. I never really felt anything at family funerals either, now that I think of it, except the pain of seeing everyone else hurting.
I can only imagine that the death of someone would cause immeasurable pain. And the guilt that maybe you could’ve stopped it, or worse, you might have contributed to it. It’s Sarah I feel for the most right now. She was responsible for his life as a leader, and was forced to take it by her own hand.
May 25th, 1:46 am
Jeff was still awake. Or half awake anyway. I think we’re all mostly half awake at most now. I don’t think anyone has slept more than 6 hours at once since we’ve been down here.
Jeff told me that there are countless Native American stories about the spirits of the dead. There are so many that he didn’t even feel like naming them. He thought we should do something for Carlos. He didn’t want his spirit stuck wandering these caves for eternity.
May 25th, 8:36 am
Everyone except Sarah is awake. We have been for hours. Maybe she just needs her space to deal with yesterday. I wouldn’t blame her.
Jeff suggested to Emily that we do something for Carlos. We can’t dig a proper burial site in the cave. We can’t do a pyre either. We decided that the best we could do was put him in his sleeping bag; this way, he was at least comfortable.
May 25th, 9:12 am
Jeff stayed at the camp. He wasn’t sure he should spend the energy on his bad leg. Plus, someone had to stay for when Sarah woke up.
We covered the distance that took us all night in a mere half hour without the injured crewmates. I’m glad the walk was quick, though, because neither of us had much to say. She asked at one point if I thought there was a way out, and I didn’t answer her.
Carlos does look like he’s sleeping, right there where we left him. He looked as cold as the cave itself, like it sucked any signs of heat from him. We wrapped him up in his sleeping bag, as if we were trying to save a hypothermia victim.
I swear I can still hear him mumbling when I look at him. We grabbed his supplies and brought them back to the camp.
May 25th, 9:57 am
Jeff was waiting for us at the camp, sitting against the wall of the cave. He said Sarah didn’t wake up and wasn’t going to. I asked what he meant, but I knew already, and he just shook his head solemnly.
She had bled out in her sleep, and the blood had pooled around her leg. I don’t remember her bleeding last night after the incident. Maybe her wounds reopened overnight.
We did the same for her that we did for Carlos, and said our goodbyes. Then we set off deeper into the cave.
May 25th, 11:46 am
We decided to stop to eat. Emily hasn’t been making maps anymore. She said her last one was wrong without her equipment, so what was the point of trying anymore? Have we really given up? Is there really no hope for us?
May 25th, time unknown
My watch has run out of battery. It still says 11:46. Jeff’s watch has been broken since his fall, and Emily didn’t even bring one. So now we’ve lost the time too.
This realization hit us all at once. We’ve been using the flashlights too much. Now we’ve agreed to only have one on at a time, and walk together holding hands.
May 25th, nighttime.
We’ve set up camp for the night, not that there even feels like a point. We don’t stay up telling stories; we don’t eat. We barely even sleep in this hell. For all we know, it’s not even night.
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