The Windigo

by -Hidden Identity-

12

Day 12:
I’m currently somewhere around one mile from the edge of the Outer Centre. Hopefully whoever carved that note in the sign still lives there and can give me some help. Yes, whoever it is did specify quite plainly that they do not want visitors, but I really don’t care right now. I will have an unwanted visitor waking me up in the night if I can’t get out, and most likely this pony will bothered eventually. Find them, meet them, and warn them. That is the best idea right now probably. I made it through the night in one piece, and whatever was following me seems to have stopped, as I can’t hear any more of those noises. I really don’t want anything to be following me that whatever Peers is now can track. Plus, if something was following me I would be able to hear it, the silence around here is staggering. Not even the new Peers can move that silently.

I’m taking a break for a moment; enjoy the fact that I found an actual stream, with fresh snowmelt water flowing down it. I have been preoccupied, so water has rarely crossed my mind, but I’m not entirely sure how. I have just realized how thirsty I actually was all this time. Plus, the plants around this small stream look slightly more alive than those nearer to the cabin, I’m really hoping that they won’t turn out to be poisonous, but if they are I’ll know all too late, I need to eat something.
Well, I’m still alive ten minutes after I ate those things, so chances are I won again. A deadly game, but I have become good at these games recently; this entire experience has been one big game of life and death. Time to win.

Oh that’s just perfect; yeah, swell. I walk another half hour through this dense forest, trying to stay on a straight path so I don’t miss the border of the Outer Centre/Briar Sanctum, and what do I find? I find a crevasse of some sort. It doesn’t look especially deep, but really hard to get back out of it should I fall in. Why is there never a fallen log perfectly spanning the gap when you need one? I’m going to try and find a way around, but I can’t see an end in either direction. This can’t set me back too long though, I need to get across this thing. To make matters worse, I’ve been hearing noises behind me again; something is following me again. I’m going to try and act ignorant, but circle back and see if I can spot whatever it is. There it is, the lurking fear of what it could be. If it turns out to be Peers, we’ll see what we shall see, as he does have the upper hoof here.

Ok, I’ve walked both to the right and to the left of where my initial path was, and I was careful to mark my staring point so I won’t end up lost again. I didn’t see any way across, but there is a way up from the bottom of the crevasse over to the left about ten minutes walking distance from where I am. I didn’t see anything to the right, and there wasn’t anything following me from what I could see. Plus the noises have stopped, so I’m beginning to have doubts whether anything was following me in the first place. It would have taken previous knowledge to see me coming to get a look behind me, I was being careful.

I got to the other side of the crevasse, and in total I took about four or five hours to do so. Much longer than I would have expected. The bottom looked like something out of a drawing of the Inferno, dark and red rocks everywhere, lots of jagged breakdown, it would have been really easy to break a leg down there. Several times I found my hooves slightly stuck in between two or three rocks, or in a small hole. I crossed the rubble at a faster pace than I should have probably, but something about the base of this crevasse unnerved me, and considering everything that has happened that’s saying something. At the top though…the top is the reason I didn’t stop to rest for a second after the long climb back out. I’m sure my eyes are playing tricks on me; they have to be. The moment I reached the top of the other side I saw something disappear into the trees in front of me. So I turn sharply around to see another something move swiftly out of sight on the other side. I didn’t know what to do. I ran, I didn’t look where I was going, I just ran away from there. I don’t know what’s real anymore. Can I trust my eyes? Can I trust anything?

I feel that I am very close to the border of the Outer Sanctum. Centre, sorry, centre. The border of the Outer Centre. One thing is for certain, whether I can trust my eyes or not, something is following me on this side of the crevasse. It hasn’t been quiet in its movements, unlike the shadow on the other side, if there really was something there. Couldn’t have been though, I circled back around and I didn’t see anything. Stress and fear, that’s all that is. But I also haven’t been able to get a look at what is following me on this side, so perhaps I wasn’t as careful in concealing my actions as I would like to believe. I am unaware on the intentions of this thing, as it has had ample opportunity to strike me by now. An attack would mean that I would get a look at what it is, but do I really want to know?

I’m back in a cabin. Who in Equestria would have thought that I would be in a cabin so soon again? This time, however, the cabin is in the Outer Centre. I’m not sure whether my pursuer wanted to be found, or if I was able to sneak up on him. Either way, another pony was following me, and it wasn’t Peers. Peers isn’t really a pony anymore though. He carved the note on the sign, stating that the Outer Centre belongs to him. Took me a while to get a word in edgewise, he had no intention of letting me past him and therefore into the Outer Centre. Once he finally calmed down slightly I was able to introduce myself and explain that I just wanted to see if he could help me find my way out. I didn’t think that it would be wise to bring up Peers and the others, if he thinks that I am leading something dangerous to his home, he most likely would drive me out, and would have good reason to do so. Maybe I’ll ask him what this “Windigo” is. Crazed old hermit pony in the Everfree, (or a branch of the Everfree anyway) he may be able to answer a question or two for me. I really can’t push my luck too far here though; it took a lot of persuasion to let me stay in his home, and he still isn’t too happy about it. Speaking of this cabin, it’s a bit in shambles, seems to be thrown together without too much experience in building. But there is an actual table, a fireplace and two rooms. I don’t have a bed, but next to a fire…that is perfectly acceptable. I’m writing this on said table, next to one of two windows in this place. Looking up at the crescent moon reminds me of the first day we arrived at the other cabin; when all of us arrived at the other cabin. Writing about our predicament, then about an odd cloud that wisped past the full moon, now I’m watching some other wisps of cloud passing by the crescent. More like shadows than anything. Shadows can move then?

Shadows
can
move

Cath Wintergreen Amber

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In the original journal, Cath’s writing was very different from his usual form. His lettering is usually neat, but here (especially during the section describing the crevasse and the top of the other side of said crevasse) the writing is very untidy, almost slovenly. He was clearly disturbed at the time that he wrote that particular section. In all, the neatness of his lettering has decreased since the start of the “experience”, as he would say.

Comments

[-Hidden Identity-]

169263
I never said they couldn't figure out what happened to them, I said the search was called off.

Great picture btw.