wHerE aM i whAT Is

ArMs aREn't mOVing RIght. LEgs EIthEr. MoVIng liKe RUBber. MOUth hURts toO. BaDly. FeELs liKe a buNcH of NEedLEs in mY gUMs.

FeELs liKe I haVE a seCOnD sKin oN my cHEst, leGs, aNd ARms. ToO tHIck. HaD to tAKe ofF cloTHes, THey weRe toO tiGHt.

SEEm to Be LOsinG my hAIr. CaN't feEL mUCh of iT leFt aNYmORe. WHy do hANds feel so BIG?
So huNGry.

So HUngrY.

sTARviNg

HAven't leFt the caVe for dAYs. WaLking toO HArD. Can't See anYThinG it's sO dARk. GOtta leAVe soOn; I'm lOSing it. KeeP seeINg tHinGs. So thIrSty. CraVIng raW meaT.

JoiNTs stiLL acHe Bad. MaNAged tO sTAnd. FunNY, dOn't remEMbeR cave ceILing beiNg thiS low.
Skin's BEen peELing ofF in bIG CHunks.

FeELs leSs iTchy nOw.

Back HUrts so bAd sTill. FeLt it; thERe's all thESe Big, wEIrd-shAPed wElts. WheN I tOUch them, soMEThinG inSIde theM moVes.

Why Do I FEel so sKINny? Why aM I so HUngRy?

NEed to Eat soON or I'll DIE.

WRonG

OH gOd HElp me There's soMEthing VerY WRonG witH ME I have tO be SEeinG thinGs dEar God pleaSe tell me I'm Seeing thinGs!

I cUt my haNd on a sHArp ROck in the caVe toDay. And wHEn I LOokEd at tHe bLEediNg wouNd, whEn I looKEd, I alMOst faiNTed. My bLood wAsn't red.

It was bLAck. Pitch, oILy, midNIght blaCk, and reEKinG of iron oRe and LEaf roT.

Oh mY God, wHAt's HAPpenInG to Me?

cAnT tHINk sTrAGht

Don'T kNow how LonG I've been cUrled up in this cavE for.

SoRry if the lettErs are sHaky. tHe COMpuTer is NoT wORKinG rIGht. NO iDeA WHy.

I sWear everything looks shorTer nOw. I swear, I'm not CraZY, I'M nOt!

JoiNts still acHe. It's likE I'm beinG pUlled apart.

StiLL so, sO itchy. My sKin's bleAChing itself. Please, plEase believe me. You have To. You NEED TO.

Can't tell What'S a Shadow and what's NOT anyMorE. LosINg so mUCh wEIghT so FaSt. ToO faSt.

Back acHes. Feels like someTHing's curled up In IT. It KeEps moving ARounD. WriTHing.

Oh GoD. I hope I don't Have a wOund that's infeCted with maggOts or someTHing. That's All I nEed right noW…

Nope.

Given up on walking today. I just don't feel like I have the strength to. Just too sick. Too exHausted.

I keep sweAting and seeing things. Seeing shadows of that thing in my peripheral Vision, but that's impossible. It's dead, isn't it? I killed it. And I achE all over. Every joint, tendon, and muscle in my body hates me right now. Feels like I'm being stretched on a rack.

Besides, I've vomited Five times in the past hoUr alone. I can't even keep water dowN.

There's something really wrong with the vomit though. It's not clear, like when you haven't had anything to eat. It's white. Milky white. It looks almost like I ate chalk, and it tastes like I swallowed road kill.
Skin still itches badly, and it's starting to peel a bit now. It's insanely pale underneath where it's peeling. Unnaturally pale. What the Hell did that thing do to me?

It's getting hard to type. My fingers ache. Have to stop. Feel dizzy.

No Sleep.

Oh shit. Damn.

These nightmares… they keep coming back. They keep happeNing.

Why dO they keep happening?

That thing alWays gave me plenty of nightmares, of course. But these ones… these are dIfferenT. And far more horrifying.

In these ones, I'm chasing myself. I'm in the forest and I'm chasing myself through the trees. My dream self can't run from me, not for long; I always catch up to hIm eventually. He screamS when I find him, horrible, fearful screams.

Then I pick him up easilY, bringing him up tO my face, looking over the terror in his eyes. I smile.
And then I open my moUth inhumanely wide, and I swallow him whole. Jesus... the sounds are so Real. I can actually taste blood in my mouTh, and I can feel and hear the bones crUnching between my teeth.

What happens next, though, is faR more horrific and much worse.

I walk to a Nearby glassy pond, and bend down to scoop water up with my hands to wash the blood from my face. But when I look into the water at my reflection, I don't see myself.

I see the thing, staring back at me. And when I scream, I realize that I am the thing.

I always wake up panicking and screaming. Every single time I have that nightmare, I wake up in a cold sweat. And I keep having the same fucking dream, over and over again every single night.

Oh God. Oh Christ, I...

It's so, so real. So damn awfully real…

It's Just illness. It has to bE. Just a fever dReam I bet! All part of what's causing the nausEa and tiredness. I bet I'M just getting delirious in mY sickness. I'm not going nuts, I'm not still being stalked by that thing. It's only a fever dream!

But if that's all it really is, then why does the nightmare last so long, and why does it feel so damn much like I'm wide awake during it?

Not Feeling Well...

Been kinda tired and nauseous since about a day ago. Haven't really felt well since I killed that thing, really. Been looking awful pale, too. Just my luck. I probably got poisoned from Its blood or something. That would just be the perfect end to my running, wouldn't it? Killed by toxic blood. Maybe I'll mutate into a superhero too - the Amazing Bow-Man.

Yeah, like that's gonna happen.

Hands are feeling better today. The boils and black staiNs are mostly gOne, but now I'm iTching like crazy. Mostly on my hands, but it's all over the rest of my bOdy, too. The skin's all red and inflamed, like a mosquito bite but eVerywhere. It's driving me nuts!

I neEd to Rest some, I'm sure another day in the cave would do me good. Who knows? Maybe getting some sleep will help me get through whatever the hell this is. And since that thing's gone, I should sleep plenty soundly.

Thank God. I think I've had more than enough nightmares for one lifetime.