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Entry No. 1. Days in captivity: 14

My name is Adam Lettin, and I've decided to keep this journal for a number of reasons. I've never done something like this before, but I feel that what we're going through needs to be recorded. I hope I'm wrong.

None of us remember how we got here, and no one apart from Tim seems to want to talk about anything from before we wound up here. The last thing I remember was going to bed on an unusually warm night in April, and then I woke up strapped to a cot in this cave; though they've done some serious modifications to it. It looks, at least to me, like they had to improvise working conditions out of a natural cave network. The walls are all smooth stone and none of the doors seem to sit right in their frames.

I'm getting off topic. The reason I'm able to write this is because whoever's in charge finally approved our "List of Comfort Items" as they called it. Each of us got to request one thing to have in our shared quarters, and mine was a notebook to keep a journal in. I was half worried they wouldn't give me something to write with because I forgot to mention it on the form they handed us, but thankfully they were kind enough to provide me with a pen with the promise of another when it runs dry. Jesus, that makes it sound like we're stuck here for the long haul.

Our "Living Quarters", as they call it, consists of a rectangular room carved into what looks to be granite. Its about thirty foot by twenty, and has a cot for each of us spaced out evenly around it; all of which are bolted to the stone floor. Its always cold, but at least the blankets they gave us are warm.

I'm going to cut this entry short because they just gave us the ten minute warning for lights out. I'll write more tomorrow.

Entry No. 2. Days in captivity: 15.

Today was a long day. They corralled us out of our prison and down to some sort of medical bay. Whoever is in charge has some serious money judging from the number of people working here and their equipment. The guards all have some sort of machine gun, though I couldn't tell you which model or anything.

The doctors had us all do some kind of a stress test from what I can tell. I remember my dad having to do something similar when he was getting checked out for heart troubles. Anyway, all of us checked out except Sarah, who got a pretty bad road rash when she collapsed on her treadmill. Poor girl, can't be more than sixteen; not that she'll say.

After that they made us change into the clothes they provided for us: plain jogging shorts and t-shirts across the board for us from now on. They look like they were bought at a department store, but more importantly we now lack pockets of any description. They're not stupid, whoever is running the show here.

I'll write again tomorrow when I'm less tired, right now I need to lay down.

Entry No. 3. Days in captivity: 16.

Nothing to report today, they seem to have left us alone for the time being. Everyone's a bit irritable. Tim passed the time by bouncing his tennis ball off the wall until Mary snapped over the noise. After that he just sat on his cot looking like a kicked puppy.

There's five of us here, apart from all the staff. There's Alice, Sarah, Mary, and Tim, apart from myself. No one really wants to talk that much apart from Tim, poor kid. Tim's some kind of football star from what he's said so far; though he can't be that far out of high school. My best guess is that he's around twenty years old, but he won't say. He asked for a football on the request sheet they gave us, but that got vetoed. After a bit of pointless debate with the guard, he settled on a tube of tennis balls.

Alice doesn't like to talk much. Its not that she doesn't like us, or at least I don't think that's the case, but she seems to prefer to be by herself. Must be rough for her since we all share this room. She asked for some books to read on the request form, and got a small pile of paperbacks. She's currently reading in what she's silently claimed as her own corner of the room underneath one of the hanging lights. Those lights make me a bit nervous; specifically the way they're caged and locked so we can't get at the bulbs. Sure you could write that off as a general safety measure, but I get the feeling they're expecting us to be violent or something.

Anyway, Mary is next up I guess. She doesn't say much, and when she does she talks in a very curt manner. I get the impression she might have military experience from that, but it's just a hunch. Apart from that I couldn't tell you much more about her. She didn't ask for anything when they brought the request sheet out, and right now she's just laying on her cot with her eyes shut. She's not sleeping though, just laying there.

Last is Sarah. She's probably handling this the worst out of all of us. She spent the first few nights here crying, I'm surprised Mary didn't snap at her for the noise then. Maybe she's got a softer side. Sarah's in high school as far as I can tell, she's clearly not old enough to drink at the very least. She doesn't like to talk and seems to be afraid of Tim for some reason. Thankfully Tim seems to be aware of this and keeps his distance. She asked for earplugs of all things on the request form, I guess to help her sleep. Her leg still has a large bandage on it from yesterday. It looks to be causing her quite a bit of pain, but she's keeping quiet for the time being. Seems she's out of tears for now.

As for myself, I guess you could call me somewhat of an average Joe. I'm not sure how much my personal life is relevant for this, but for what its worth I work human relations for a somewhat large company. Maybe I can use my skills to help us get through this, at the very least I can try to keep us all from blowing up at each other.

I'm going to call it a night for writing, Tim asked Mary if she would mind him and I playing catch for a while, and Mary allowed. I figure I should entertain him for now at least, He's trying to stay upbeat but I can tell he's struggling just like the rest of us.

Entry No. 4. Days in Captivity: 20

Not much to report the last few days. Sarah's been escorted in and out a lot, I think her leg's infected. Jesus it's been nearly three weeks in this hole.

Entry No. 5. Days in Captivity: 22

Had a chat with Alice today, we talked about books for a while. She seems to like science fiction and fantasy a lot; she's pretty bright.

Tim's mood is getting worse, but I've been helping him cope as best I can. Looks like the cramped space is getting to him; he needs space to run.

Entry No. 6. Days in Captivity: 23

Heard gunshots today, everyone's on edge. I swear I heard something like a bear howling deeper in the cave right before it happened. Tim had an anxiety attack, but Alice helped him calm down. Mary held Sarah to keep her from freaking out, I guess my hunch about the soft spot was right.

Our guard refuses to say anything about it. What the hell is going on here?

Entry No. 7. Days in Captivity: 24

Today only brought more questions. Whatever happened yesterday has sent the people keeping us here into a panic, and out of nowhere they corralled us all out of the room and down another tunnel. From what I could pick up from the radio chatter they were talking about needing to "start right away".

We were herded into a dark chamber, and after they hooked a bunch of sensors up to us, they locked us in. Tim was ornery, but I kept him from snapping. Better to play along at least for now, if only because they have infinitely more firepower than we do. Things got weird after that.

I'm at a loss for words to describe my reaction to what happened in that room. They turned the lights up and above us was what I can only describe as a floating ring of granite or some other stone like it. Floating isn't the right word though, the thing sat immobile in the air like it was fixed there. It wasn't hanging from anything, there was nothing under or around it, it was just THERE. The rest of the room was covered in cables and cameras and other devices I assume were there to take measurements of some variety or another, I'm no scientist.

They had us sit there for a while and do nothing for about a half hour until someone with a thick accent crackled into the chamber via a speaker in the wall near the door. The voice introduced itself to us as The Director, and proceeded to give us each a designated code-name. Clever move on there part, taking our names away; makes it easier to follow orders. Tim was Alpha to them, Sarah was Beta, I was Gamma, Mary was Delta, and Alice was Epsilon.

All they had us do today was just stand in the room while they presumably took measurements. This was called a "control" if my memory is correct. Just checked with Alice and she agreed. Today was their "Control Test". From here on, they'll start trying different things to see what effect we can have on that thing.

What the hell is it? I'd say it was ignoring gravity, but we're on a spinning rock running laps around the sun. How the hell does something just maintain its relative position with all that movement? if it really was just unaffected it would go whizzing off into the sky or something as we spun away from it. Maybe it had something to do with magnets, but that has to be at least a couple tonnes of stone to levitate, but the kind of magnets needed to suspend that would fuck with the all the tech they had in the room anyway; their readings would be all over the place, and that's only if the magnetic field didn't just immediately brick their equipment.

I feel like I'm the only one bothered by this. Tim doesn't seem to care about anything besides being held prisoner, Mary and Sarah are just relieved they're back in our own space. Alice is the only one that seems to understand the impossibility of that thing apart from me, but she's just reading away like nothing happened.

I'm being tapped out it looks like, Alice is making me sleep instead of dwelling on it. I'll write again when my thoughts are more collected.

Entry No. 8. Days in captivity: 25

They brought us back to that thing today, this time they left a guard in the chamber with us. The lights came on and there it was again sitting there in defiance of physics. They told Alpha, IE Tim to take a provided pick-axe and strike the ring; which he did. He hit the thing as hard as he could, and to my surprise it actually chipped. He was going to hit it again and they told him to stop, and he only did so because the guard cocked his rifle.

After that they sent us back to our cell. Tim was fuming, and I tried to calm him down. I think it worked at least a little bit. Alice just went back to reading again, and The other two are chatting quietly in their own corner by themselves. I can't just sit here though. That thing follows at least some of our rules it seems, and I think it can be broken, but that doesn't explain the roar I heard. No one else remembers hearing it besides me though, so I may just be remembering wrong.

Alice is tapping me out again. I don't want to tell her no, so I'll comply for now.

Entry No. 9. Days in captivity: 27

They gave us a day off from testing, but we're right back into it again. Today was simple, they just had a couple step ladders in the room and we were told to individually climb the ladder and look through the ring at the rest of the group. I should be shocked by what I saw, but at this point I think I'm just resigned to it all. We couldn't see anyone through the ring. The rest of the room, wires and all, yeah, but we couldn't see the group. We could still see their clothes, that was the weirdest part I think. I mean we see everything because of light reflected off of stuff, so how does something block out light reflected off skin, and then show light reflecting off of the inside of their clothes like the skin wasn't even there to block it? I just don't know anymore.

When we tried to talk through it we could hear each other, but not directly through it. We could only hear each others' voices bounce off the walls around the thing, but the sound wouldn't go right through it. Beta, I mean Sarah, was excused from climbing the ladder because of her leg. I'm still worried about infection, but she's putting on a strong face for now.

I just laid down for an hour when we got back; I was getting a migraine. Alice asked our guard for some painkillers, but he said no. I don't care anymore. Fuck the ring, fuck this place. I'm rededicating my mental efforts to getting out. I'm not telling anyone yet, I can't afford to compromise my efforts this early. I'll just watch and wait. It's risky writing this down, but they haven't checked this thing in almost a month so far so I think I can get away with it.

Entry No. 10. Days in captivity: 31

I'm cutting back on the frequency of my entries. I'll run out of paper if I keep this up, and I have no idea long how long they intend to keep us here. Testing has been largely non-interactive on the thing in the room, at least so far.

I'm helping Tim get a handle on his temper, and I think I might actually be earning his respect. I hope so, the last thing we need is him blowing up while we have rifles pointed at us.

I've been talking to Alice a lot, and it's been helping. Funny, usually I'm the one helping others cope, but there she is. She's too nice.

Mary and Sarah are like sisters now, though Sarah does most of the talking in their interactions. Turns out Sarah's had a lot of stuff pent up even before being taken here. I've learned a few things about her from overhearing their conversations: Apparently she's enrolled in some kind of school for kids with troubles now that her parents are divorced. She was living with her father before this because the courts deemed her mother unfit as a parent due to a lot of things; my gut tells me booze after hearing some other things from her.

Mary seems to know what she's doing too, she just listens and lets Sarah get it all off her chest without judging. Just nodding when necessary, and asking a few questions here and there to prove she's still listening. Maybe she's not military after all. I still don't know what her deal is though.

The guard here is tight, but there's a few weak points I'm keeping an eye on. They only ever have one guard at the door, and I've been memorizing their rotation patterns. That will probably be our best window unless it proves more practical to make a break for it from the testing chamber. I don't know enough yet, and I still have no idea which way is out. This will take a lot of work, but I've got nothing else to do in the meantime.

Entry No. 11. Days in captivity: 35

We met "The Director" today; in person. He came to our cell with a pair of guards to bullshit some excuse for keeping us here. He's a surprisingly short man, and he's supposedly some kind of doctor. I honestly don't trust a word that came out of his mouth, but I'll put it down here in case I'm wrong.

He said we were all rescued after a disaster in our town, and that most of the city was destroyed in a seismic event which they believe that thing caused. He says he has to keep us here because we were changed by it and that we were the only ones that could affect it according to their data so far, he even claimed there was a long series of tests with their own men before they even considered using us. He said he didn't expect us to be here more than a few months, provided we were compliant. Its a load of horse shit though.

I talked with everyone after he left, and he's right insofar as we're all from the same city. That at least narrows things down. I know where we are now, but that's not exactly an aid. There was a popular spelunking spot a few dozen miles north of our town, out in the desert, but the business was shut down after getting sued by the family of someone who went missing on one of their tours. Ever since then it's had a reputation as being haunted. We have to be in those caves, but that doesn't help me figure out how to get outside. I won't tell anyone about that quite yet though, mainly because I'm not sure I can keep them form telling Tim. I don't want him getting ideas in his head, at least not this early. I'm going to keep studying the guards to find out who's the weakest link.

Entry No. 12. Days in captivity: 40

That fucking ring.

Testing escalated today, and I knew this bit was inevitable. I was not ready for it. They had Alpha (Tim) put his hand inside the ring after testing a few random things. Everything except Tim didn't react, but poor Tim, his hand disappeared as he stuck it inside the thing, and I swear I watched the space around his stump of a wrist ripple like a wave as he put it in. Tim immediately freaked out and fell off the ladder, and thank god his hand reappeared as he pulled back. I thought it would just start spraying blood everywhere, but what happened next was worse. Tim snapped and tried to pick a fight with our guard. I held him back, just barely, and the Director threatened to put him in what he called solitary. I managed to talk the Director out of it, but he warned if anything like this happened again I would be held responsible, and that seemed to get to Tim. I think I know what that ring's playing at now, or at least I have a start. The only thing it does outside the laws of physics apart from its interactions with us is the floating thing, but I think that's connected too us too. I think it might not be keeping its position relative to the earth, but relative to us, to people.

Tim's just staring at his hands right now, sitting on his cot. He's got a lot to think about. I'll talk with him in a bit, but right now I need to finish my entry. Alice is on to my plan. She hasn't said anything yet, but she's been acting different all of a sudden. She seems nervous around me despite being more comfortable near me than by herself for weeks now. She's been asking what I write about, and I told her it was just a journal. I can't lie to her, I'm glad she didn't ask any further.

I've had a few chats with Sarah. She's more trusting of me lately, but still doesn't like Tim. I won't press her on that issue. She's lucky someone like Mary is here with us, I have my hands full just keeping Tim stable, I don't know what I'd do if I had to handle both of their issues.

Mary is the same as always; though she seems to brighten up a bit when She's around Sarah. I tried to get some information out of her about what she did before we wound up here, but she just ignored my questions. I let it go, she clearly doesn't want to talk about it and upsetting her by pushing the issue would only make the whole situation worse.

Entry No. 13. Days in captivity: ???

This will be a short entry. Tim lost it during testing on day "fuck if I know". He attacked the guard, and got his nose broken for his efforts. I remember Sarah crying as The guards hauled me out. Guess she wasn't out of tears.

"Solitary" is the worst thing I've ever been subjected to in my life. I would rather be shot in the stomach than do that again. Tim is quiet. His face is purple.

Entry No. 14. Days in captivity: 56

I feel better with Alice around, she reminds me of my wife. She stayed up late telling me stories.

I lost track of time in that room, the only reason I have an accurate day count is because Alice was keeping track too. They say that solitary confinement is enough to cause hallucinations; which I thought was a big pill to swallow. I'm apparently choking on that pill now because I saw things in that room that could not be there. My only saving grace was the food slot, which momentarily brought be back to reality when a meal was shoved through it, but it never lasted. I don't want to waste the space recalling what I saw, nor do I want to poke fresh wounds, so I'll leave them out.

Tim has an entirely new attitude. Seems they broke more than his nose back there. Sarah was glad to see me back, but her leg has gotten worse. Mary was almost like a worried mother doting over me for a while, I still can hardly believe it. She tries so hard to seem aloof all the time its easy to forget she's human like the rest of us. They say we'll resume testing tomorrow. I'm afraid to sleep, but I need it to stay alert. I need to get out of here.

Entry No.15. Days in captivity: 57

Testing was canceled because Sarah went into convulsions. I assume she's in the medical bay right now, but the guard won't even respond. I can't believe they could be so fucking careless, her leg should have healed weeks ago. Mary is even more pissed than I am. She's been pounding on the door demanding answers for the better part of an hour now, but they're just ignoring us.

Entry No. 16. Days in captivity: 59

Sarah hasn't returned, and we've gotten nothing out of the guards outside besides meals. To my surprise, Tim of all people convinced Mary to calm down. They're in the corner talking right now, its almost surreal.

I've been thinking a lot about why they might have picked us of all people. They said we're survivors but I find that to be hard to believe. My current guess is it has to do with a broad sample. I'm college educated, Alice is a college drop out, Tim's in college I think, Mary is ex military as far as I can tell, and Sarah's in high school. Furthermore, our ages spread out in a similarly varied way, with the exception of Alice and I only being a couple years apart. The stress test also supports this, as we all crapped out at different points, and Sarah even collapsed and was still involved in testing. I can't figure out why any of this would be relevant though. I hope Sarah is okay.

Entry No. 17. Days in captivity: 62

Those bastards. Sarah came back today, with a prosthetic leg. They almost put Mary into isolation, but Tim and I held her back. I can't let any of them go through that. Testing resumes tomorrow.

Entry No. 18. Days in captivity: 70

I think I see our out. It seems the guards are changed every thirty days in one massive rotation, and if they keep just one guard on us during that, we might be able to get out if we're lucky enough to be on our way to testing during the rotation. I don't know the odds of that, but its a start, and that's more that I had before. I'm going to tell Alice soon and see what she thinks. Mary and Sarah will be second, since I can't tell one without the other finding out.

I can't let Tim know too soon, I don't want him to start getting rowdy again. I can't go back in that hole, but I'll need his strength when the time comes.

First Entry: Adam was always writing in this thing, I think its how he got by. I think he wanted to put down everything we're doing just in case we get out, but he can't anymore. They shot him like a wild dog. I lost my temper again, and they went to grab him, but he just snapped. He tried to fight, but they just blew him open like an apple with a firecracker wedged in it. There was blood everywhere, and he just fell to pieces. My ears are still ringing. Its all my fault too. Papa was right, I am just a stupid animal, but I can't just sit by. Adam was a good man, and I owe it to him to finish this for him. I've too much respect for him to read his private affairs, so I'll just start from number one.

Second Entry: Sarah's in a real bad shape. I tried to talk to her, but she screamed at me. Those monsters took her leg away and gave her that rickety plastic thing before putting her back in that chamber again. Alice hasn't said a word since they killed him, I think she liked him. Mary's been real quiet too, like when we first got here. I have no idea what's going on in her head. She's a lot like me you know, but she handles it better than I can. I'll see if I can get her to talk later, I think that's what Adam would have done. That freaky ring is in my dreams now, I think its trying to tell me something. Its like one of those old fairy tails or something.

Third Entry: Alice wanted to read the diary, but I told her no. I can't let someone go digging through the man's private thought's like that, Adam deserves better. My dad's been in my dreams a lot lately, telling me how worthless I am. I can't help but agree with him most times, but every once in a while I think "what would Adam say?". I feel like he'd tell me I'm just beating myself up and it would get me nowhere, but it looks like I'm going nowhere anyway. Mary started talking to me again, started telling me about her dad. I had to chuckle at how similar he was to mine, but that just made Mary mad so I shut up quick. I think that's how she does it actually, She just shuts it all up and keeps it all inside instead of blowing up like I do. I guess that's why she's so serious all the time. I had a dream about Adam last night. We were in the testing chamber again, but this time I knew what was coming and I tried to get in front of him before they shot. I didn't.

Fourth Entry: They made me go inside it again. I was terrified, and I wanted to hit something, but the thought of Adam just lying in pieces with that scared look on what was left of his face kept coming back to me. I couldn't see anything at first, and the air felt really humid. I felt around as my eyes adjusted and I think there's another cave inside that ring, and it's got another ring inside it. I think it's just the same ring in two places though, since its where I came out from. I Couldn't make out much inside even after my eyes got used to the dark, I think it was filled with fog or something, so I came back. I hadn't noticed until then, but my clothes hadn't come through to the other side with me, and I nearly died of embarrassment when I came back, but thankfully the girls saw my clothes fall through and were looking the other way for me.

Fifth Entry: I am disgusted. They made me go back inside the thing today, but they did something... Alright, they wanted to see if they could get something that isn't me to the other side, and instead of just asking me to hold it in my mouth or something reasonable they stuck a flashlight in my ass. I am absolutely livid right now. It worked, and that only makes me more mad because they are just going to do it again from now on. It hurt my pride more than my body, but I can't let my anger get the best of me. I need to relax. The other side is definitely filled with fog or something like it. The flashlight barely did anything it was so thick. What worries me was I could hear wind the whole time I was in there, but I couldn't feel it, and the fog getting any thinner for it.

Sixth Entry: They sent Mary in today. I'd have felt relieved if they hadn't made her stick the flashlight in her lady parts. This is beyond humiliation, this is crossing the line. She was gone a long time, but came back with nothing to show for it, and apparently the flashlight got stuck on the other side when she came through. She was real tired when she got back, but it looks like we both saw the same thing in there. She could actually feel the wind though, but the fog still wasn't moving.

Seventh Entry: They wanted to send Sarah in this time, but I volunteered instead. They didn't want to, but I remembered that she wasn't too good on her fake leg yet, and would probably trip and hurt herself more. They let me go in after I mentioned that, and this time they had what looked like a stainless steel pill they wanted to put inside me. I put up with it, but it hurt like hell. On the other side it was all windy like when Mary went in. I could barely stand up straight and the fog was still there like nothing was happening. I took the pill out and found a pen and paper inside, along with some chalk and the flashlight. I think they wanted me to draw a map but I couldn't hold the paper straight enough against the wind to write anything. I gave up after and hour and put the pill back in. There was blood this time, but the director said it would heal on its own when I asked to see the doctor. They said that about Sarah's leg too. Back in the cell me and Mary worked out a two knock system to preserve decency. Since we couldn't take our clothes through, and we can't see through it, we're gonna stick just out hand through the portal and knock twice on the ring when coming back so everyone can look away. Everyone liked it, well everyone but Alice who never really said anything the whole time, just sat there and nodded. I keep having that dream about Adam. not every night, but most. I keep trying to get in the way, trying to save him. I feel lost without him, and I know everyone else would have been much better off if they had him instead of me, he was so good at being friendly to everyone, and I'm just a fool with a temper.

Eighth Entry: They led us to the testing room again, but freaked out after we got inside. They were getting things set up for me to go in again, when that fog started rolling out of the ring and into the room. They started shouting about a "quarantine" or something and hauled us off to the medical wing again and put us in this plastic room. I don't know what the issue is but Sarah and Alice were seriously scared. Mary kept calm, but she's been on edge for a while now. She looks like she's about to snap like when we were first here again. We lucked out and Mary kept her cool. They let us out after a few days and a lot of needle pokes, but I was jut happy to have a few days off from dealing with that freaky thing. I had a lot of time to talk with Mary while we were in there, but that actually helped me figure out what one of Sarah's issues with me is, and I think Mary figured it out since she ended up spending most of her time with Sarah there. Its better like that, I can take care of myself anyway.

Eighth Entry: They didn't let me go in today, instead they sent Mary in. She was gone for a few hours. She told me to make sure to use the chalk when I go in next time otherwise I might get lost for good, not sure why she made sure to tell me that, but it can't mean anything good. There was a commotion outside the door when we got back, and I took a peek through the feeding slot in the door. I don't know what's going on, but there's a lot of unfamiliar faces around here now. They have two guards on our door now, I guess because of what I did before. I'll have to keep my temper in check otherwise we'll be in real trouble.

Ninth Entry: The director is gone apparently, they replaced him with someone else with less of an accent, but they keep sending me and Mary back inside. We've been working together to draw a map of the place, but it's really confusing. The tunnels are all twisty and branch every hundred yards or so. Mary was right about the chalk, I might not ever get back without it; though the walls are so marked up now that we've just taken to drawing arrows every ten feet or so point back towards the ring instead of drawing lines. I talked to Sarah today. I figured out why she doesn't like me too. She said I remind her of her first boyfriend. I ain't that smart, but I'm pretty sure that's a bad thing, so I'll keep giving her space. I don't want to make things worse for anyone else. I can handle things being worse for me, but no one else.

Tenth Entry: They sent Alice inside today, I'm not sure why. She's still down from what happened to Adam. She was gone for a few hours, and she came back looking like she had shell shock. Said she saw something, but couldn't describe it. They hounded her for the better part of an hour before sending us back to our room. She's curled up in a ball in the corner. I tried talking to her, but she didn't respond. Mary pulled me aside and told me she needs space. Its funny how that's all people seem to want from me.

Eleventh Entry: I saw it. The thing that scared Alice so badly. I don't even know how to describe it, and I only got a glimpse of it before I ran back. It was covered in something like fur, but there was metal weaved into it too. It had to be at least ten feet tall at the shoulder. It had way too many legs too, that thing can't be natural. What in heaven's name was that thing? Was that where those noises were coming from? I don't think it saw me, if it did it sure didn't care I was there. I got in trouble for leaving the map on the other side, I was in too much of a panic to put the capsule back inside me. We'll get it back tomorrow. Mary keeps trying to make me relax, but I can't. I can't blame her for getting frustrated either, she didn't see that thing, how can she know? She says she's going to mark sightings on the map so we can avoid it from now on, says she'll talk to Alice later to get her side too.

Twelfth Entry: They sent Sarah in today. I'm steaming again. The poor girl never deserved any of this horse crap. They made her go to the other side, put everything back in the pill, and come back with it. That thing was in my ass. Do they know the kind of infection she could get from that? I bet they don't even have real doctors here. Mary kept me from blowing up, if only because she was giving me the evil eye the whole time. She had me mark where I saw the thing on the map before they sent us back, and I thanked her once we were by ourselves.

Thirteenth entry: I knew something bad would happen for this one. I can barely write my hands are shaking so badly right now. Papa always told me superstition was for the feeble minded folk, but the bad luck of this damned number works, I swear it. The thing spotted me. The thing in the cave, I can't call it an animal, it's got too many metal parts to be alive in any real sense. I went a completely different direction from where it was before, so it either wandered that far, or these tunnels don't line up like they should. It saw me too, and It chased me and I saw its mouth as wide as a soccer net and filled with whirring steel teeth. I ran. I ran as fast as I could and the thing kept coming and shrieking. I tripped through the portal and fell on my face, and it came through behind me. Luckily the portal tore all the metal bits out of it as it passed and all that hit me was a bunch of meat and a shower of dark blood. The guards nearly shot me and they threatened to send me to isolation. Mary talked them down, I was too out of it. Sarah helped me walk back. I need sleep right now, I don't want to think about going back in that place, but I know this won't stop the testing. Nothing will stop the damn testing.

Entry No. 31. Days in Captivity: 154

Tim is gone. They sent him in today and he didn't come back. After an hour, they sent Mary in after him, and she came back with the map, but nothing else. She was grey when she got back, and refused to talk about it even under the threat of isolation. I think this is the first time I've ever seen her scared. Sarah's been crying silently for a while now.

My name is Alice Warbler, and I'm continuing this journal for Adam's sake. I figured he was cooking up something before he died, and having read everything so far it looks like he was on to something. We're back at square one after the change of command and an increase in guard patrol, but I suspect there might be less cohesion in the troops now. I'm going to tell the others everything tonight after lights out, I don't think they have any microphones in this room, nothing we've done so far has given them reason to.

Entry No. 32. Days in captivity: 155

Mary is on the same page as me, seems she was cooking up her own ideas for a while now. I don't know what she saw in that place, but it kicked her brain into overdrive on escape plans. Sarah agreed to keep quiet and help any way she can; though even she knows she won't be much use to us during the escape or even during planning. I feel sorry for her.

Testing has continued, however they've stopped using us for the time being. The current director said they're trying some more traditional animal testing for the time being. I doubt this will last long though: mice can't draw maps and explain what they saw.

Entry No. 33. Days in captivity: 156

We have yet another director, this one french by the sounds of it. The guards have doubled again, but everything is disorganized now. Human testing is starting again tomorrow under his leadership. Sarah's having an anxiety attack and I'm trying to help. Mary is keeping busy by watching the guards through the feeding slot. I'll write more when things settle down or something important happens.

Entry No. 34. Days in captivity: 157

They made me go inside it again. I couldn't stop shaking, even though I saw the thing in bloody pieces. I didn't run in to anything, but who's to say there aren't more in there? And what about what made them? The thing had metal grafted into it for Christ's sake, and from what I saw of the skeleton that was left on the other side, it was some pretty intricate work.

The map is getting expansive and contradictory now, I don't think the other cave follows the conventional laws of physics. It looked the same from the last time I went in, so I don't think its changing, but from my wanderings with the map, several tunnels should have intersected that just didn't. Maybe Tim and Mary are just bad at proportional drawing?

Either way, I added another branch of tunnels to the map, but as I got further out I started to hear what sounded like a distant jet engine. It was quiet, barely audible, but it was there, I swear it. That reminds me of the roar Adam heard. I miss Adam, but more than anything I feel stupid. I didn't know he had a wife, what was I thinking?

Entry No. 35. Days in captivity: 158

They sent me in again today. It looks like they're making me take Tim's spot. I handled it better this time, and I figured out the map wasn't wrong. I went down a tunnel to the right of the entrance, and the first thing it did was make a complete bend back the way it came to the left, and not only did it simply not connect with any of its neighboring tunnel, it didn't even come back to the ring chamber, it just kept going like there was nothing but rock in the way. I think Adam knew how wrong this thing was from the start, I should have been more understanding.

No word form Mary yet on an escape plan, I really hope she comes up with something soon.

Entry No. 36. Days in captivity: 165

I'm taking over. Mary's taking too long, and she's admitted she's no good at this kind of thing. I'm really not comfortable with this, but we need to get some kind of plan together. Things are getting less stable outside. We can hear guards arguing quite regularly deeper inside the caves. That has to be the key out of here, I think I know what we need to do to escape. I've talked with Mary, and she agrees. Starting tomorrow, we're going to try to further destabilize the chain of command, hopefully it works.

Entry No. 37. Days in captivity: 170

Its working, I can't believe it. I tried talking with a few guards and they actually responded. My heart was pounding the whole time. No one knows why we're here, or at least they won't say, and some of them even feel sorry for us. They're too afraid of the higher-ups to push to help us, but its something. If we can get just a few of them to hesitate on pulling the trigger when the time comes it will be an immense help.

They've been sending Mary in lately, and they've changed up the procedure a bit. They've given up on a drawn map at this point because of the impossible geometry of the other cave, and have taken to sending us in with this tiny camera instead. The battery life is pathetic, but it means we're in there less time overall so I'm all for this new procedure. Mary's heard the engines in there too, and she thinks they're getting closer. They've put themselves back to square one on documenting the cave with this switch, just who the hell is running this slapshot operation?

I've been trying to get more information out of Mary about Tim, but she refuses to talk about it and insists I don't need to know. Sarah's been trying too, I think she's been blaming herself about what happened. I'll try to talk to her later.

Entry No. 38. Days in captivity: 173

Mary opened up about Tim today. She said that there was nothing to approximate a body left when she found him, just a bloody smear on the wall and floor next to the discarded map. What's worse is it was gone the next time she went to that section as well. Something cleaned it up. I'll bet the same thing that took Tim from us. What's even more unnerving is the chalk was cleaned off of the walls there too. We could be covering the same ground over and over again and never know it if whatever did that has been acting with any regularity. Sarah's taking the news better than I thought though, I think the closure was what she needed.

Entry No. 39. Days in captivity: 180

We have yet another director with a southern accent. He's accelerating testing too. The guards are all in disarray, but the sheer number of men is making it hard to find an opening. We need to wait more.

Entry No. 40.

Delta taking over from here. The new director caught Epsilon attempting to communicate with a guard and put her in indefinite solitary. Its just Sarah and I now. Plans adjusted to break Epsilon out. I've stopped recording the number of days, it will just distract me and I need to stay focused. We've lost both of our brains and half our muscle, now we've just got me and a scared little girl.

Entry No. 41.

Exploration of the cave has advanced significantly since we started. I must have covered at least five kilometers of tunnels on my own, Alpha... Tim probably covered twice that. That machine noise Epsilon first noticed is getting closer every day, it seems to be tracking our entry point down. It might actually be using our own chalk markings. I've been having deja vu in unmarked tunnels a lot lately. Might be just me, but I get the feeling something's been erasing our chalk like before, this time with purpose though. I've decided to withhold this information from the testers. I've had no encounters with anything living in the interrum.

Entry No. 42.

They've rotated directors again. Guard rotation is basically random now, we might just luck into a mutiny at this rate. I told Sarah to be ready for when our chance comes, it's going to be soon if they continue to operate in such a poor state.

Entry No. 43.

I saw something in the cave today. I think it's some kind of machine. It doesn't move or operate like any vehicle or weapon I've seen before. Its like bunch of connected boxes that snake around like running water, but it's not entirely metal either. I think it's like the thing that chased Tim because there's a bunch of fleshy parts too, like eyes lining the side. It fled when it saw me. Not even the eyes were right though, they were just milky pits that blinked intermittently.

I think it was some kind of scout, and if I'm right, we're in trouble because I wasn't far from the entrance. If that engine is tracking us, and that thing is connected to it, we have very little time until it catches up to us. Nothing good can come from that.

Entry No. 44.

Sarah's turn to go in today. I bit my tongue when the orders came. She's strong, but not in any way that matters on the other side. She came back alive, and they seemed satisfied. The guards are getting uneasy. It seems the footage of that thing I found the other day escaped the clutch of the higher ups and started its rounds with the grunts. This bodes well for us, they're having trouble keeping a lid on things.

Entry No. 45.

Testing halted. It's found us. I went through the ring to find what I can only call "metal sludge" pouring out of literally every surrounding tunnel in the main chamber . It was chunky and liquid, and seemed to be moving with some sort of purpose. The roar of the engine was deafening and it rushed across the floor and ceiling at me as soon as I stepped through. I dove back to our side fast enough not to get slammed by it luckily. I told them I'm not going back in there without a weapon. I was surprised they took me seriously and halted testing for the day. Pretty fucking ironic that they trust the unarmed and malnourished woman less than the actively hostile unknown force. I should be scared, but I'm more angry than anything else. Good thing too, I can handle angry better than scared.

The guards are arguing a lot now. Its almost time, Sarah's on edge. I don't know how we're going to do this, but I have to make it happen for her sake.

Entry No. 46.

The portal is closed for all intents, I nearly lost my hand finding out. Whatever's on the other side is pressed right up against it now. It bit off a chunk of my hand when I tried to go through. The doctor patched me up as best he can, but I can tell they're under-supplied now. That has to be a good deal of why things are falling apart here. They've probably been that way since the start too, judging from what they let happen to Sarah's leg.

I took a look at the wound, and it doesn't look good. Instead of healing, its got this metallic dust covering it now, and it looks like its rotting. It hurts like nothing I've felt before, but I can't let that show, not in front of Sarah. She wanted to look at it, but I told her its fine. She's too smart to believe me, so I yelled at her and she stopped. Sarah, if you ever read this, I'm sorry, but I couldn't let you ever see me weak.

Entry No. 47.

Can't sleep through the pain. Looks like I don't need it anymore though. I'm not making it out of here alive. I'll be damned if Sarah doesn't though, I can't let this thing kill us all. Gotta get Epsilon out too. Fuck. My head's all fuzzy how the hell could I forget?

Entry No. 48.

I can hear the engine now, Sarah says she can't. Its eaten through most of my hand. The doc let me have a sling to hide it better, guess he ain't as bad as the rest. The guards are all nervous. We have to move soon. I hope Epsilon, Alice is alive. I need her to take care of Sarah for me.

Entry No. 49

They want me to go try to talk to it tomorrow, they think I might have a shot because of my hand or something, the fucking idiots. I just laughed at them. The engine is louder than ever though, and I think I'm starting to hear words coming from it. Sarah's worried for me. I can't let her down. It has to be tomorrow.

I made it out I guess, someone needs to finish this. I'm Sarah Emeren, and I'm writing this while camped out in the bathroom of some diner that looked familiar. I think we ate here once when my dad moved us to this state. I told the server I wasn't feeling well, so I think I'll have enough time to put it all down before someone checks on me.

We were on our way to the testing chamber when Mary gave me this look. I knew it was going down right away. She kicked the guy behind us in the nuts and took his gun, I just tried to stay out of her way. Mary pinned the other guard to the wall and made him tell us where they were keeping Alice, then she choked him until he collapsed. The way she moved made it looked like she'd done this all before.

The next part was a blur, but we made it to her cell without having to shoot anyone. Mary made the guard open the door, but he was afraid to. He kept saying that we don't want to see, but Mary had a gun to his head. I wish she had listened to him, she might still be alive.

Alice was in there all right, but she looked like a mummy. The guard was crying then. They just stopped feeding her. Just stopped. She was in there screaming and crying and dying, and they just stopped taking care of her.

The guard tried to explain something about rationing her for "insubordination", but Mary just blew his head off before he could finish. Everything went to hell after that. It was like we stepped on a hornets' nest, except we were inside it. A siren went up and people started shouting and running everywhere.

Mary grabbed my arm and took off running after that. Neither of us knew where to go, and half the guards we ran into didn't seem to recognize us. The ones that did Mary gunned down without a thought. She was screaming and crying the whole time. I was so scared, but I had no choice but to keep with her.

We kept trying to go up, but it was just dead end after dead end. The guards started shooting at us on sight, and we just kept running. I was beyond winded, I was coughing hard enough to taste blood, but Mary kept a vice grip on my arm and wouldn't let me fall behind.

I don't know how long it was before we found the elevator, but we did it. Mary hit the button and I just stood there shaking and wheezing as we waited, and she shoved me inside. She hit the top button and pointed the gun at me. I didn't understand, and still don't, but she stayed behind. I begged her to come with, but she didn't say anything. She was still crying the whole time the doors shut and sent me up.

I wanted to go back down, but I just sat there frozen like an idiot until I heard the guns and I just ran. I wound up in some kind of garage and hid in the cab of a truck. It wasn't long before the siren was overlaid with a canned message about "evacuation protocols" or something like that, and people started pouring into the garage. I thought that was it, but they just started piling into the other trucks.

An entire wall rolled up to my side, and people started peeling out through the opening into what looked like a desert outside. It was apparently night out there, and I think that was a good thing for my eyes. I looked around and found the keys to my truck already in the ignition, and started it up. No one so much as looked at me as I floored it outside.

Everyone was driving off in different directions, and as far as I can tell, no one followed me. Driving with this leg is hard, and I had to stop after an hour of rocky driving through the uneven terrain. I just sat there and cried for I don't know how long. When I got a hold of myself I looked around and saw a cell phone tower to my right, and started heading towards it. That turned out to be the right move I guess since I found the highway and then came here.

I saw a missing person poster with my face on it: I'm not far from home. I don't care if that's where they'll look for me, I need to see my dad to make sure he's still real. I have to do something else first. I've read everyone's entries before me now, and I've decided that there's someone who needs this Journal more than I do. Adam Lettin, your wife deserves to know what happened. I need to find her before I can go home. I don't know who else to give it to, everyone but Alice didn't give a last name, and Alice never mentioned family.

I won't stick around to explain things to her, I'll just give it to her and leave. Right now I need to ditch this truck though. After that, I don't know. I'll figure it out, that's what Mary would do. I can't let her down, not after what she gave up for me. I can't let any of them down. Someone has to know.