Tuesday - October 23rd, 2121:

Five minutes— fifteen minutes— thirty minutes.

Time passed as I followed along the slimy trail. Finally, I heard rumbling and howling. Both— oddly familiar sounds.

I crept up, glued to the sides of buildings and the broken-down detritus of the world that once was. Until finally, I saw that abomination once more. This time, it was not alone. Stones bounced, causing the ground to tremble beneath their rhythmic dance, all while the human raised its green tendrils to the sky in a circle.

Those stones— were not unlike the ones that pursued me when I first awoke. Looking closely, I could barely make out hints of green tendrils that sprouted from various cracks that lined the stones— they, too, seemed to be some form of hybrid.

Their dance was mesmerizing and strange. They merely bounced while rotating counterclockwise around the human-hybrid with its outstretched extremities. From the bulbous growth, the guttural howl gurgled repeatedly as its body pulsed like a creature breathing.

Finally, a change occurred.

The clouds seemed to part as a spiraling mist extended from beyond the horizon upward. It spiraled into a vortex that hung high in the sky, above where the creature raised its extremities. It rained down— something that splattered across the creature's bodies, eliciting chirps from them. They soaked the liquid, glowing as a lustrous green pulsated from their core.

Then, the stones began to crack down the middle, like a baby chick hatching from an egg. Offshoots of green broke free from the stone, and flowers bloomed, blinking with curiosity. The sprouts at its bottom enlarged, holding up the creature's weight as it bounced excitedly, witnessing the world around it with newly bestowed eyes.

For the human, it was different, as it seemed to almost regress. The bulbous extension beneath it seemed to recede and absorb into itself, subtly merging with the human half atop it. Its change made me question everything I read in the bunker— was humanity truly gone, or had the survivors merely changed?

'O.S.S. Detected - Report to O.S.S. Command'

'O.S.S. Detected - O.S.S. Detected - Report to O.S.S. Command - An-'

Those grating words screamed out from my suit. I slammed down on the proximity alarm, but it was too late. The stone creatures and the human half of the amalgamation turned toward me. The stones rubbed against each other, clattering like teeth in the biting cold. There was a sense of exuberance— and of yearning in their motions.

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But the worst was the human as its flowery eyes blinked in my direction, its mouth curved up into a grin that revealed layers upon layers of thorny, jagged teeth. It gurgled words, inhumane ramblings— bestial howls both raw and primal. It spoke to me. Not in the words of man. Not in any language that belonged to Earth, but an instinctual cry that spoke to the soul. It— hungered.

I ran.

Breaths rasped painfully in my chest as I weaved through the streets, heading toward the bunker. Behind me, the stones rumbled and clattered, and the howling gurgles continued— distant yet approaching ever closer. The thought of the O.S.S. hung in the back of my mind, but it could not be a priority right now.

I slid down a slope, slugged through moss and debris, and finally, I reached the hidden away building with the bunker. I stood glued to the door, pressed against it with all my weight as I listened to the world outside.

It came close, and then it drifted away into the distance. And then it returned louder and angrier, the thunderous rumbling that shook the very foundation of the ruined city. It left again, panged with reluctance as its movements quaked every few moments, stalling, waiting, and listening.

I knew I was trapped in a hole of my own design, but it felt safe. I turned to the hatch that lay open. Worst case, I'd dive into it and live out my days with the final remnants of humanity.

Silence came as the creature left, only for it to return like a relentless hunter unwilling to forfeit on its prey. My mind distracted itself with random thoughts. The O.S.S. was near where they performed their strange dance— their ritual to the sky. There was the spiraling mist that pooled above as well. Could it be what the book talked about— the genius plan to bring forth the great reset? The horizon...

My thoughts jolted as a slamming crash echoed in the streets, and the howling pierced through the air. I couldn't see— but I could only imagine it was throwing a tantrum at losing sight of its prey. The breath in my throat stalled as I awaited its departure. Once silence returned, I crept back and lowered myself into the bunker.

I wanted to thrash against the bunker and throw a tantrum just like the beast outside, but I had to maintain silence, so I sat with my back pressed against the soil. My whole day seemed to have been wasted. My water was gone, and all my efforts seemed so effortlessly futile— as if nothing mattered.

The only guiding light in the dark was the realization that the O.S.S. was detected. That meant there was an actual destination for once, a chance to find hope and my colleagues. If I survived— they must have as well.

'Tomorrow, I'll search for it. The creature must be gone by then...'

Wishful thinking. You should go now. Don't be a coward— find the truth.

'The O.S.S. is my last hope to find the truth...I'll pray for success.'

My thoughts dulled as I slumped against the wall into a deep slumber.