Author: Anonymous

Date: November 15th, 4679

Subject: "Horizon Flash"

It seems what I thought to be misfortune has turned out to be a blessing. Lately, the snow has been pouring endlessly, blanketing the ground over and over again. When I go to sleep every rest cycle, I glance outside to see the snow still slowly creeping up. When I awaken, it is always slightly higher than I expect it to be. I gave up shoveling the area directly outside my door a week ago, and by now, the ground floor of my dwelling has been inundated in white powder. However, I now realize that with the endless accumulation of snow around my home, the heat I generate has had a much more difficult time escaping my grasp. By grace and providence, I have been given free insulation. So long as neither my walls, doors, nor windows fail, my position is optimal. I do not need to leave shelter anyway, I have everything I need. I melt snow to quench my thirst and I have constructed a makeshift garden with dirt I tracked in before the ground froze (I admittedly botched an attempt at hydroponics around that time). No, I don't need a bloody "balanced diet" or a "reason to live", I persist for love of the game. I could not imagine needing a reason to stay alive, I do not intend to forfeit everything I know because I haven't gabbled with someone in ages. No wonder everyone but me is dead. 

However I do sometimes reminisce on life before the sky shut off, back when people were actually alive and the sun shined down properly. Now the only light I get is my lamp and the occasional flash outside of some fool lobbing bombs around. The blasts were a curiosity at first, but now they're just bloody irritating, so yesterday I put on my gear and crawled out to investigate who is spending precious energy blowing things up. The cold is no longer a concern because I have reinforced my clothing to the point of essentially being a space suit, and the snow has hardened up too much for me to risk falling through. I wasn't sure where I was going though, not to the city again certainly, don't even think I can go there to pretend everything is normal. Set out for about four or five hours up north, traveling on skis when going downhill and on foot when going uphill. 

Eventually I came across a lamppost that was still on, an indication that the local power grid was still online. Its glow was an odd thing to see after all this time, but not unwelcome. When I made my way to it, I saw another nearby, and another after that one. Probably the remnant of an old highway buried under the snow, but I'm not too sure. I followed the series of lights for another couple hours until it abruptly stopped near a butte; its shape defined by a ledge hanging over a large gap that was relatively untouched by the snow. Bits of barbed wire and metal littered the ground by this great maw in the hill, some large icicles hanging over me like teeth. At the end of the gap was a massive steel door partially covered in snow and sealed shut. When I approached the door, I gave it a firm knock as one would typically do with a door. However to my surprise, my fist dented the steel as though it were thinner than a car bumper. Was it too cold for steel to work properly or was the door's integrity lacking?

Curiosity got the best of me and I pounded my way through, finding the door was in fact absurdly thin. Inside, I was greeted with a gaping hole that went down for however long, and a ladder built into the side of the wall. It resembled a missile silo or a grain storage compartment. I climbed down the ladder for a while until the floor abruptly appeared under my feet; it was too dark to gauge how deep the pit was and my flashlight was stored away in my pocket so my hands could work the ladder's rungs. It was awfully quiet here, even more quiet than usual. As the deafening silence coursed through my ears, I shined my light across the area, spotting a metal door several meters to my right. This door was actually built properly, but it was left unlocked and I was able to slip in. 

Before me was a massive turbine, churning as steam flowed up from a great truss into its system. This steam appeared to be flowing through ventilation shafts going who knows where, and as I figured that out, I realized the room was very warm. If I removed my gear here, it would take a long time and I would risk losing it if I left the area, so I simply grit my teeth and roamed the area. It was well-lit, someone was doing something right here. Or they were, until one of the arms of the turbine snapped off at breakneck speed and shot at me before I could flinch. A crash louder than anything I have ever heard vibrated across the room as the turbine's blade embedded itself in the wall to its side and fragmented. One such fragment slammed by my head with force that vibrated the whole room. Had my head been any closer to where it impacted, I would have been dead. The turbine snapped off from its axis which it rotated upon and plunged through the metal truss into the boiling water below. Water shot up from underneath and sprayed the room. Although I was miraculously unharmed, my clothes had been splashed a little bit, so I stepped outside to dry them off and collect myself.

I do not know if this is the proper procedure for wet clothes in extreme cold, but I was working with only half my mind as the other half contemplated my near-death experience. I remained in the silo for a few minutes before returning through the door to find that the lights had come off. Flicking my flashlight at the truss beneath where the turbine was, I caught a glimpse of it floating in the hot water. It wasn't steaming anymore, but it was floating. I found that interesting. However, my attention to it was cut short as a scalding hand shot out from beneath the waves, attempting to reach for the truss. Instinctively, I recoiled, but I soon got to work removing the panel of truss immediately above the hand and reaching for it. It was extremely hot, but my gloves shielded me from most of the heat as I tried to pull with all my might. But as I pulled, I was simply bringing up more and more arm. I soon realized my mistake as the arm grabbed the floor, using its fingers to pull itself out in full. Before me lay an arm I estimate to be roughly my height in length, moving itself like a snake with its many elbows. 

A pale blue light shone from the water below, and when I looked down, I saw the shimmering image of a cirque in the mountains bearing an obelisk in its palm. The obelisk showed me dozens of images all at once, some more comprehensible than others. At the zenith of this procession, eyeballs began bubbling up to the surface of the water, hundreds and hundreds of them, all staring into mine. The water became so churned with eyeballs that the image was obscured by the ocular mass, which rose higher and higher. I wanted to run, I wanted to hide, but it would have been no use under their omnipresent gaze. Besides, I've run from these awful things enough, I have had enough of their persistence. And so with a grunt, I grabbed the arm I had pulled up by its wrist and cast it back down into watery pit of endless eyes. As I did this, I said unto them, "I am free to do as I please, begone", and so both the arm and the mass of eyes began to sink back into the murky depths. The blue light began to dim until I was once more left in darkness.

As soon as I had gained my bearings, I turned around and left the room. I climbed out of the silo through the hole I made and went onward. The process of backtracking to my residence was much easier than I thought it would be, fortune which I owe the credit for to my hand radio. The closer I was to the city, the clearer I could receive the endless spew of automated advertisements broadcasted from it, and my abode was closer than the city. Eventually I made it back and did not even bother removing my gear. I simply slumped over on the floor, too tired to do anything else. It seems whatever I do from here on out is my sole responsibility, and I think I can handle that.

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