Patchy’s dead. Looks like he froze, even though he was right by the fire. The fire that was big enough to see when I ran away from the town, but too small to see when I started. Or maybe it was the angle. Hopefully no one will see it. I wish I had some kind of cover. Maybe a storm will blow in.

I thought I was doing the right thing, trying to figure out what was going on. The thing Patchy told me about, that there would be an adventure. I don’t think I like adventure. I thought I was getting close. It was probably one person, and all that mutilation… I don’t know if I actually got close.

…okay. Breathe.

I woke up in a house. I think I got knocked out, I don’t remember going to sleep, anyway. There was some weird film surrounding me, closing in, keeping everything still. I felt it press in, squeezing the air out of me.

And then I made it worse. I panicked. Air left.

I think I was crying? I don’t remember. I didn’t see anything anymore. I don’t think I closed my eyes. I was blind, maybe. Something about oxygen. I can’t remember.

I lay there, knowing that I was dying. I saw a light. Or a presence. Maybe I imagined it? But I reached out, tried to touch it. And it felt… warm. The pressure around me changed. It felt static, no longer pressing in. I wiggled, and heard cracks. The casing, or whatever it was, got brittle. It fell off in chunks and clinked against the ground. But I didn’t feel cold. If anything, I felt hot. Burning.

I heard screaming.

I stopped for what felt like hours. Then I took a breath. I found a pole in the corner and brought it with me. I probably should have run away, but instead I ran toward the scream. It had stopped by then, but I knew where it came from.

Another room. There was a pile of grease on a chair. It glowed, maybe? It must have been my imagination, cause a sculpture – of a person, in that same weird film – was further in the room. But the grease had stopped glowing when I looked back. It was there, but… it was just grease.

The scream must have been loud, since someone knocked on the door. I didn’t know what to do, I guess. I wasn’t thinking, so I opened the door. And heard more screams. And more people came, more screams. It kept getting louder, and repeating.

I tried to walk away, and someone tried to grab at me. It didn’t last long. I felt a weight, but not any pressure. A clink on the ground behind me as the weight fell and I walked. Someone must have called guards, but I don’t remember much. I just got out of the town and ran.

I cam to… sometime out of town. Maybe a mile. I felt cold, freezing. How could I have gotten here in this temperature? I saw the light, came here, and found Patchy… dead.

What happened in town? Why was he out here?

He had a pack of supplies, so I guess I won’t be hungry. For a bit, anyway.

I guess I should thank Patchy, but I’m more confused than anything else.