u/idk_im_just_here3

For those who may read this, I am Noah. If you have found this, it means I’m gone, either physically or mentally, but let's not get into that. Let me tell you about my past entries.

I entered the city to solve the mystery of everyone vanishing. Once there, a fog rolled in, but it never moved; it just stayed around the edge of the city, then I felt watched, as if I'd been here before. The air reeked of blood and fear. The ground trembled; buildings groaned as I walked the cold, dark streets. I spotted someone and rushed over, but he frantically gestured for me to stop, silently screaming at something behind me.

… 'GET OUT AS F…' he tried to shout, before his body just crumpled. A slick, wet sound filled the air as he collapsed into a pile of blood and flesh.

“WHAT JUST HAPPENED!” I thought. He was trying to warn me; just before the sound, a note fell from him. My hands are shaking too hard to write.

The note said, "It's everywhere."

I put the note inside the front cover. It felt cold, like ice, even colder than the streets. I keep seeing it, though, even with the cover shut. I keep seeing it. And now... now the ink is running. The words are twisting, curling. The paper itself is becoming sick. The words are gone now, just a blotch. Just... scribbles. And the city feels different. The feeling of being watched is no longer just a feeling, …I think… I think it saw me take the note.

And it doesn't like that… I keep hearing his words, “Get out!” I want to run, but I’m unable to do so. I have a weird feeling that if I leave, something will end me like that man.

I discovered a pristine building and went inside—so much blood. I got out quickly. That uneasy sense of something approaching grew stronger after I glimpsed a vanishing figure; hunger had blurred my senses, making everything, even bodies, seem tempting. I ate, hating and loving the taste. Suddenly, I saw it—almost human, except for its face and movements. It chased me relentlessly, as if it could predict every move.

…I ran around a corner, and when I looked back, it was gone. All that's left is a pile of bones, blood, and flesh. I turned around to leave and accidentally looked into the window. That's not me; I see the monster, and my face looks so disfigured like a deer's head on a human. I also look as if I haven’t eaten in months… …What just happened? The city just reset. I need a better view. I see him, the guy who tried to help me tho why do I feel like I have done this before …All of my instincts are telling me to kill the man who warned me, but I'm trying to fight it. ...I did it, I killed him, my body is no longer screaming at me. I feel as tho my instincts are back to normal, …but I saw someone who looked like me, but normal. I left a note where I killed the man, so he will get the hint and get out. I will be watching him, but this voice keeps getting louder. I want it to shut up, but it won't. …I found some notebooks.

They all say the same thing as mine, even entries I have not written yet. Does that mean I'm not the first? Does… this city view me as a plaything? Is it just toying with me, killing me, making the new person the creature, and starting this all over again? …I heard a voice that sounded like it was coming from the city, but it was in my head. It said, “Do you like it? I just love trophies and memorabilia.” Too late, I realized that the thing I thought was hunting me was trying to help me. I was allowed one question about the city and then the ability to write it down, and I asked if any of this was ever real. Was I, or did you make me for your sick games? With a monotone, almost unmoved tone, it responded, “No, you were once real but had died, so I took your soul to be my plaything, you breaking every time.” Then why do I remember things before I entered the city? It responded coldly, much like one would with an annoying bug. “I'm beyond your comprehension, and you wonder how I made false memories and gave you new life. You’re dumber than I thought, Alex.” What did it mean by Alex? I asked, and it answered, “That was your real name.” It had one more thing to tell me, which was “that note that you held on to for dear life that was my conciseness, so you have been basically dragging me around everywhere you went.” This is what it said after “you know that flesh you ate.” I responded with a yes, “that was me, it allowed me to influence you to do as I pleased, and there were never any people other than that man, of course. That mystery you came to solve never existed. You’re so shallow, Alex. I am the city; everything is me. The walls are made of steel. I could bend this place and your mind without even bending my finger. Before you go thinking this place is full of flesh, no, everything here is made like a normal city, other than the flesh on the floor. Remember, I could reset this entire city with about as much effort as you slightly moving your eyes, and once a monster is done, I take their soul and reuse it. I wipe your memories, then send you back through again, yet again. I do this as easily as you make your heart beat, and before you ask, I split your soul in two and fixed it so you are the same person over and over again,” I asked it how it knew what I was going to say, it answered honestly” I feel there is no reason to hide anything from you its not like it matters any way i can read your mind and emotions. Here, I want you to try something. I will hold the notebook.” A pillar appeared out of the ground. It said, “Try to exit through the fog.” I couldn't; it felt like steel; it was cold and hard.” couldn’t leave, could you. You can never leave this place. Try jumping.” I did, and I hit my head on the sky. Then I fell, but the ground seemed to soften beneath me. “You thought I would let you die so easily,” it said, as if it was mocking me. … it's calling for me now, it’s been a few days, but why now? I thought I was fine, but it’s telling me to write my last entry. This is goodbye.

Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed this delectable fear and mental breakdown I hope that you found this as delectable as I did -sincerely the city