Entry 1:
The only way to describe this place is strange. The sky is overcast, and in the three hours I’ve been here, the lighting hasn’t changed. The road is empty: no cars, bikes or even people. Yet, I’m in what seems to be a rather large neighbourhood (everywhere I go, there are houses and closes branching off roads.)
The houses are even weirder. They seem lived in - some have scaffolding, others have neatly cut lawns or an abundance of gnomes, or even the abandoned toys of children sprawled across their drive, yet, there’s not a single car, sound or person anywhere.
I’ve even tried looking through people’s windows, yet all the houses have closed blinds or curtains, and the upper floors, where the occasional window is open, are inaccessible.
There’s not even any signal, so I’m sitting on the bench in someone’s front garden writing a post I’ll probably upload later. I might be trespassing, but no one’s yelled at me for it yet. Jesus, it’s so quiet - I’ve got to show someone this place at some point. If I remember correctly, you just have to go down the alley opposite my house. Was that alley always there?
Entry 2:
I’ve delved a little deeper into this neighbourhood, and it’s much bigger than I could have imagined. Every single road has several other routes coming from it without fail, and honestly, I’m not one hundred per cent sure if I know the way back home.
In terms of the houses, they’re all two-story but in various shapes. I’ve seen panelled housing, houses with several large windows and others with many small ones. They’re all pretty standard though, nothing out of the ordinary. No, the creepiest thing is how empty it feels here - even with all the clutter.
Entry 3:
A few hours ago, I decided it was time to go back home, but I’m yet to find a single road I find familiar. I’ve run out of water, and I didn’t bring any food. Where is everyone?
The lighting hasn’t even changed, so I can’t tell if it’s night or day. I’m fed up with seeing god-damn gnomes - it’s like they’re watching me. Why do people buy them?
Entry 4:
Nothing about my situation has changed - only that I’m hungrier. The silence is starting to get to me - I’ve started talking to myself, just to hear something.
Right now, I’m sitting on the front wall of the first bungalow I’ve seen. I tried to get into the back garden, but the gate was locked.
Entry 5:
I found water! First, I heard it. It was the most beautiful sound I’ve ever heard. Then, I searched for a few minutes and found the glorious elixir at a marble fountain in the middle of a slightly out of place roundabout.
For the first time in half a day, my throat doesn’t feel like it’s got shredded wheat attached to it.
Entry 6:
I haven’t updated in a while, but I think I’m going to die here.
Additionally, I’m pretty sure my feet are about to drop off.
I’m so tired I could collapse.
Who built this place? Why do the damned streets seem to move? I must have been here a day, but it’s still not night. It might just be fatigue, though I think I saw shadows move behind a window. Am I in a dream?
Entry 7:
I fell asleep. With all my walking, I couldn’t stay awake any longer. Unfortunately, I’m not in a dream. I’m still here, and it’s like nothing’s changed since I was awake. I don’t even know how long I was asleep. I think I’m going to walk back up the road, the way I came.
Entry 8:
I can’t be alone. I walked up the road, just a little bit, and painted in red paint on the paving (God, I hope it’s just red paint) was a message.
“Don’t go to the light,” it read. What light could they be talking about? I just want to go home.
Entry 9:
I need food. I haven’t eaten in a day and a half, and my legs are shaky. I hope Gary isn’t too worried about me - He’s the guy I live with, by the way.
Looking around, the only place I could get anything edible would be from the houses.
Entry 10:
I tried knocking first, but no one answered. How could I have guessed? Then, I found a window that looked like it could be a kitchen window - I think - and threw one of the gnomes at it. I must say, it was loud. For a solid five minutes, I cowered in a bush just in case someone heard and came to check what had happened. No one came. Where is everyone?
Next, I carefully avoided treading on as much shattered glass as possible but to very little avail. Although, at least there was a sound. Finally, I clambered in, pushing away the curtains to enter the room - Cursing slightly as I tore my jeans and scratched my thigh against an outlying shard of glass. My breathing was audible.
It wasn’t a kitchen. No, the room was empty and had no doors. The wallpaper was a musty white, and cobwebs dangled from the ceiling. Except, the cobwebs weren’t cobwebs - they were red and fleshy. And the house, it may just have been my imagination, but I swear it was shaking. Where am I?
Entry 11:
I can’t sleep. I want to, but I can’t. Not anymore. Instead, I’ve walked. Why was the house like that? Where the hell am I? What light am I supposed to avoid?
On the brighter side, the hunger isn’t so bad anymore - I managed to steal a rotting apple from someone’s lawn. The bitter taste is still lingering, but at least I have something in my stomach.
Entry 12:
The scratch on my leg has dyed my jeans red. I didn’t think it was that bad, not that I’m able to move anyway now. My legs are exhausted. So much blood. I feel a little nauseous.
I just saw a light further down the street. What was the message again?
“Don’t go towards the light.” That was it. I can smell meat, roasting meat. Maybe, I’ll go check out what it is. It’ll distract me.
Entry 13:
God forgive me for what I have set my eyes on. It wasn’t meat, that smell. Maybe it was some lure or something. Either way, I found the light. It was coming from one of the houses, one with its front door wide open.
Yet, when I peered in, thinking I’d finally found someone, all I saw was a heart. A great, beating, bloody heart surrounded by a network of arteries and veins.
As you’d expect, I staggered back, and if I had any food in my system, I’d have thrown up.
Then, the door slammed shut, and, I assume, I was supposed to have been trapped inside, but my pure disgust seemed to have saved me when I fell back onto the road.
Of course, I was wrong. No, I’d already been caught in the trap. All along the road, lights flickered on, and the monotonous beats of hearts filled the air. Be-Dum. Be-Dum. Be-Dum.
I turned - I had to leave. But, at the end of the road, looking me dead in the eye, was a man in blue scrubs. Why was he smiling? A chill came over me.
The rest was a blur, but then I woke up here. It looks like my room. The lights are off, and a blind is covering the window.
Entry 14:
I went to open my windows, but I felt a tug at my chest and realised that, that pipes were coming from me. They’re white, not transparent, but they lead out through a hole in my wall. What the hell? Every second, the pipes shake. No, am I shaking? Wait, it’s the house. Ba-Dum. Ba-Dum. Ba-Dum. That’s how it beats.
Entry 15:
I think this will be my last entry. I just peeked out my window, and this isn’t my neighbourhood, but I have a signal now so I can post. Although, my contacts have been erased. I, I don’t think I can leave here. My door is locked.
The house is shaking more regularly now.
I’m scared. If you can, please send help.
Don’t follow the alleyway. Don’t go to the light.