Day 10:
Windigo. The word plagued my sight this last night; I couldn’t help but stare up at where it was carved twice upon the door. Peers has taken to staying in the other room, and I have the sense that he doesn’t sleep anymore. The fire is officially dead, it must have died sometime yesterday, and I just overlooked it. The warmth of the days now make the night tolerable without a fire, and to be farther away from Peers when I am asleep is probably the safest thing right now. I still can’t be certain of my suspicions, but I can’t be too careful right now. The one bad thing that I can see about the days warming up is that I have the luxury not to be worrying about my own survival as much, and therefore time to be in emotional turmoil over my dead friends. My heart and mind have been stretched so very thin by this whole experience. I sincerely hope with all my being that Peers is not what I am close to believing he is. I can think it, but I can’t bring myself to write it. Of course, if he isn’t the creature that ate Cross and Wymble, then it is still out there. That is a reality that seems rather far-fetched right now.
The sun is rising in the sky, a brilliantly blue sky at that. Peers hasn’t emerged from the other room yet, which I have no qualms with. There are three options the way I see it: his mind has broken, something has bedeviled him, or both. I need to stop thinking about this; I need to get my mind set on something else. I need to start thinking about something happy, or something just distracting.
I’m outside the cabin, a ways down the accursed hill. I have taken the journal with me to see how easy it is to write while on the move. It hasn’t proven to be much of a challenge, which (should worst come to worst) will be a very useful asset to me. I have taken to listening around me. The sound of silence. I noticed this at some earlier day, that there are no birds or animals. It is an eerie silence, but somehow very restful. It’s a silence which makes you want to lay down and sleep, nurtured by the fact that nothing will come and wake you. No loud chirping, or rustling of a squirrel through the trees. No, it is very serene. If I escape, I think that I would have to visit this place again, for the silence if nothing else.
Still outside, I have decided to try and eat one of the less spiny plants. It doesn’t look healthy, and even less appealing; but it may be food. Anything besides that inner bark would be a blessing. No, I can’t start thinking about that again, I’m just going to try and eat this shrub thing.
Note to self: the leaves are edible, but the stem is too bitter to even have in your mouth. You can literally feel your throat closing, and your entire body rejecting this thing. This pencil that I am writing with is infinitely better to have in my mouth than the stem of that thing. Unfortunately, that is the only one I have seen, or I would pick more and harvest the leaves. It is warm enough that I have found my hooves sinking into the melting snow, so I have to keep moving. It would be a dreadful thing if this journal fell victim to the snow.
I wandered back to the cabin, but I have fled back down the hill partially, just so that I am out of sight if Peers decides to look outside. I simply stepped in, and there he was: sitting on his hind legs, staring at me with those wide eyes. There is something unnatural about his gaze. I I just heard the door open, time to move.
Ok, I am in the actual forest part of the Sanctum, and I think that I have hidden well enough that he shouldn’t be able to find me. I don’t actually know if he is looking or not, but it is better not to take chances. I found a hole of sorts, more like a divot in the ground, surrounded by more thorny plants. Thankfully my hooves are pretty much immune to the thorns, but my legs and sides are cut in several places. Ok Peers, nopony can move that silently. I guess you were looking for me, but there is no way that you could move as quiet as that. That is impossible feat for an earth pony, especially here. Oh dear Celestia, I see him but does he see me? Why am I still writing this down?
I think he has moved on, but I’m too afraid to look out. He was just in the right spot that I could see him moving before. I can’t see him anymore.
The evening is starting to set in; not very fast, but setting in nevertheless. I have started to head back, stopping every once in a while to avoid detection. If I can make it back without him seeing me wandering about here, then perhaps… If we are to have a confrontation, I would rather it be in the cabin, where I have a greater chance of defending myself. I don’t much like the odds in the woods, him being able to move silently and swiftly.
I have returned to the cabin, and I believe that my arrival has gone unnoticed. I am unaware whether Peers is also here, but the door to the second room is closed, and I do not have the courage right now to see whether it is occupied. Those eyes are enough to drive me away. Cross goes over the proverbial edge, Wymble falls to an illness, and now Peers has turned into a monster without any of us realizing it. I have no more doubts about that he is responsible, my suspicions are correct, and that I am in danger. Perhaps if I had not run off earlier that I might have been able to trick him into believing that I do not suspect him; that I could gain an advantage and strike first. A low and self-centered blow I must admit, to strike while the other is not looking. But Peers is larger and stronger than me, and now has abilities that nopony should have. The question now is, what do I do? Should
Peers is in the second room; he just spoke to me through the wall. He said something along the lines of “There were no other tracks in the snow, were there?” That is as good (or bad) as a confession. That also takes away any chance I had for an advantage in this situation. I see only one option now.
I’m outside of the cabin now. Peers probably heard me leave, and I am hiding in the same place I did before. I am still unaware whether he saw me here or not, but I am inclined to think that I was safe. Well Peers, if you want me you are going to have to chase me. It does not matter that you move silently nor swiftly, I will not let you take me without a fight.
Cath Amber