I live in Abandon. That’s what I call it at least. I call it that because it’s part of my working theory for this place. As far as I can tell, Abandon is made up of…well… abandoned places.
Everything from malls to industrial buildings to regular homes to old subway tunnels. I remember even being on top of a skyscraper once.
As far as I can tell, I’m alone. Mostly at least. Sometimes I’ll see people or…figures…in the distance. They seem scared and lost just like I was when I first got here. Sometimes…well sometimes I see bodies. But I never go close. That isn’t safe. Plus sometimes I’m not convinced they’re real. I’m relatively sane but I wouldn’t put it past me to imagine something like that.
You see, this place isn’t what most would consider great. Abandon is a dangerous, lonely place. But you can stay safe and even be happy if you follow the rules. I started writing them down about a month in. They seem nonsensical at first but over time the true image of how the world works makes a weird kind of sense.
Like, don’t stay by a border. The abandoned places aren’t always connected the same way all the time. The last thing you want is for half your body to appear miles away because you decided to hang out in a door frame. What’s worse is when that happens, there’s no blood. Just organs in a perfectly cut body. Still pumping away. I…I hope they’re not still alive. They don’t make noises at least.
A big one I had to get down is that the impossible people can’t actually hurt you. They look scary as hell and sure do seem threatening, chasing you and screaming and all that. But they’re harmless. I’m not sure they’re real actually. Once you shut your eyes real hard they go away. Just be sure to not look directly at them. They hurt to look at in a way I can’t totally explain.
What’s truly dangerous about them is how they convince you they are dangerous. See, a lot of abandon isn’t safe. OSHA would have a collective panic attack with the state of most of the facilities. Doors that open to sheer drops, mountains of rusted metal, mold ridden bedrooms that are impossible to breathe in. An impossible person making you panic is the quickest way to do something stupid and get yourself killed. I’ve seen a few bodies that splatted from a high distance.
Rules like that have kept me alive for nearly 5 years. I think so at least. There are clocks and the sun goes up and down when you can see the outside but it’s never consistent. I found a watch that keeps track of dates and according to that it’s been about 5 years.
Oh! That’s the other thing. See this place isn’t empty. At least not all of it is. Yes most of the food left In the abandoned grocery stores is either gone or rotten, but you can find enough to get by. Usually.
I’ve got a backpack and a few things I carry around with me, all scavenged from countless locations. I don’t…I don’t remember what my clothes looked like when I first got here. I’ve replaced them many times over. I know I know. I forget a lot.
I mentioned before that I’m relatively sane. I say that because I think I was completely sane before coming here. But Abandon has a weird way of messing with your head. Things can get real fuzzy sometimes. The first few times I nearly died running around in horrified confusion like a chicken with its head cut off. Luckily, I didn’t die then. I learned after that that whenever you feel the static (my name for whatever makes your mind go dumb) you just gotta sit and let it pass. You’ll only perceive a few hours of random voices screaming at you and you’ll forget a few key things about yourself but after that you’re ok.
I know all that sounds bad but I promise, Abandon has some good bits too. Ever wanted to get into an amusement park for free? Well if you don’t mind the rust, you can! Some of the rides even still work. Some bedrooms still have electricity and functioning tvs! When I came to that one bedroom with an awesome PS5 gaming setup I stayed there for about a week just grinding a bunch of random games.
I broke down sobbing afterwards because of a wave of existential dread when I tried to play an online game and all the pre-game lobby mics were full of blood curdling screams but hey, nothing’s perfect.
That’s another rule I figured out. If you hear a voice that doesn’t seem prerecorded, ignore it. Don’t answer phones. Don’t try to video or voice chat with people (I’ve been to a few internet cafes that still had shitty internet), and Definitely don’t talk to voices on the other sides of walls or doors. The conversation will start out normal but then they’ll start telling you facts about yourself no one could possibly know and then it just gets awkward.
Text chat works, though. From what I can tell at least. As long as all of you don’t start giving me really cryptic statements about my future or telling me eldridge truths I think we can consider this successful.
I’m actually able to make this post because I found a house with internet and a phone! Who abandons a house but leaves the Internet on?
I keep getting interrupted by phone calls but hey! Remember the rules!
I don’t necessarily know why I’m writing this. I’m probably just lonely. Maybe other people in abandon will see this! That’d be cool! I mean not cool for you since…y’know…you’d be in Abandon. But you can know you’re not alone!
On the assumption that anyone is seeing this, this has been (whatever is my name)! Living another day in my wonderful world of Abandon.