Arachnophobia

[Gizmotron]

Terrible first try :3

Arachnophobia:

Day Three:

Morning: I awoke today in the grip of a horrendous chill, indeed my very bones seemed frozen so much so that I feared that I might break upon attempting to move. I had failed my nocturnal vigil yet again, and the fire it seemed, had died sometime Soon after. While I have yet to see anything other than the occasional bird overhead, or as previously noted, a strange jackalope type creature, the likes of which I had only seen in an overly enthusiastic taxidermy, I still worry that there are far worse creatures. In the distance I could swear I hear larger creatures, and I have seen evidence of beasts of such prodigious size that they trample the trees underfoot, but I have yet to encounter such a monumental entity, not that I am overly enthused to do so.

Another breakfast of these horrendously bitter berries, the only seemingly edible vegetation this strange land has to offer. I must find something more substantial, I can feel my body weakening from hunger, but I must ration myself if I am to survive.

Afternoon: I happened upon a most curious structure this afternoon. It was approximately twelve feet high, and appeared to be made of thick, ropy strands, which where in turn wrapped around what appeared to be a voluminous white rock. I would have approached it, as my curiousity was aroused, but the structure seemed to quiver, and I could locate no breeze to which I could attribute this strange, hypnotic swaying. However, upon realization of this, the wind did in fact pick up, seeming to come from the structure and wash over me, bringing with it a pungent smell of decay, and worse, a strange muttering. Could there be intelligent life here after all? I have decided to continue foraging for food, and camp within reasonable distance of the structure and begin my observations.

Night: The structures mild swaying has given way to chaotically spasmodic throes. I quickly ripped up grass and tied it to one of the thinner sticks of kindling I had stockpiled for the night, then proceeded to ignite it in the fire. With this torch in hand, I approached the structure. My instincts told me to keep my distance, but the scientist within me had to know what was going on. I was close enough to touch the structure, and I could hear voices, yet not make out what they said. It sounded like english, and this gave me my first feelings of hope since I awoke on this strange land. I will not understand why, but this strange elation seemed to prompt me to reach out and touch the structure. As I touched it, the construct stilled completely, and the voices stopped. I withdrew my hand in sudden fear, yet part of the structure came with it. Panic quickly set in once I realized that it was in fact webbing. I am extremely arachnophobic. I started to walk backwards away from what I could only believe now to be a cocoon when suddenly all hell broke loose.

Holes formed all over the cocoon, and horror of horrors, each hole proceeded to spew forth hundreds upon hundreds of what appeared to be spiders, but I have never seen spiders like this. They were easily the size of a small dog each, and when they turned to me, I saw in the flickering torchlight that the spiders bore human eyes upon their hideous, misshapen bodies. The nearest spiders ran straight towards me, and so shocked was I that I did not initially run, however upon reaching the outer area of luminance that my makeshift torch offered, the spiders recoiled and would not enter the light. The spiders bodies split open, and I caught a glimpse of strangely human mouths with hideously sharp teeth and a large, lolling forked tongue. The spiders hissed at me, but it wasn't until one of them said my name that I blanched in complete fear and ran for my life. I held no illusions about what would happen to me.

I had been there so long that my fire had all but dwindled into nothingness, and so, trusting my torch, I ran for my life, pursued by this horrifying, chaotic swarm. As I dashed through the trees, it seemed the clattering of their carapace covered legs diminished, and so I believed myself to be outrunning them. I turned to see if I could catch a glimpse of them, however as I did so I stupidly tripped over a tree root and crashed in to something, dropping my torch as I did so. As the light of my torch starts to fade, I look to see what I have crashed in to, and my flesh breaks into goosebumps as I realize it's a headstone. I quickly stand and walk around to the front of the headstone, noting as I do that the grave is open, and take care to avoid falling into the pit. I give the headstone a quick inspection, and a quiet gasp of fear escapes my mouth. The headstone has my name on it. I whirl around and dive for the torch, determined to make good my escape from this chaos, and as I raise the torch I learn that I am completely surrounded by the spiders. I have nowhere left to run. The torch is failing me now, and as it's light diminishes, the spiders come closer. I fear I am doomed to die here. If anyone reads this, please run now, whi-

---

First and foremost, if anyone should happen upon this journal, I can only offer my pity that you are here, in this obscure, hellish land.

I have never kept a personal diary so to speak, as the experimentation notes in the first half of this book will attest to, however like any scientist worth his salt, experimentation and documentation are the two keystones to progress. Henceforth, this book shall be a personal recollection of my encounters and experiences in this strange land, as well as a chronicle of anything I can remember before awakening here.

Upon the commencement of consciousness, I recall firstly the soft embrace of lush grass. I was lying face down in some form of field, and I struggled to remember what I had been doing there – was I fleeing the authorities? On the run from an escaped experiment? Memories seemed to hang at the edge of my mind, tantalizing me to grasp for them, yet disappearing as I reached, akin to trying to recall the details of a dream upon waking. As I pondered upon how I arrived in this strange predicament, a voice to my side startled me. As I turned to locate the source of this strange voice, I was blinded briefly by the sun, causing my glimpse of this strange character to be caught through hazy vision. However it would seem that vision was not my only stunted sense, as some form of aural discombobulation served to make most of his oration to be muddled and indistinct to my ears. I believe I heard the words 'night' and 'starve' most clearly. As my vision cleared, I managed to obtain a clear, yet brief look, at this strange character. It was a man, a very tall man, and unhealthily slender. He was wearing what appeared to be a pinstripe suit which, it later occurred, to me, was extremely out of place in this environment. The name Maxwell rose unbidden from the depths of my mind, although I could attach no real significance or accuracy to this seemingly subconscious relation. His expression was one of humorous disdain, as though he knew something I didn't, and he had no plans of telling me. Then, I swear, he graced me with a brief sneer and disappeared in a puff of smoke. I am not sure if this is some form of delusion caused by heat or hunger, but I could swear he was real. I could swear it.

There are pages missing from my journal...how strange, that's not like me at all.

Edited November 5, 2012 by Gizmotron

[Q is for cucumber]

You are amazing at writing. And you just gave me nightmares.