I do not remember much of the prior events. All I knew at this moment was that I was safe...and far from the things that would grant me my first nightmare in years.

Hearing the continual flow of the gentle river beside me, imbued me with a sense of calm. In my most desperate moment, it had always been guiding me, preventing me from submerging myself into the unknown. Even in my happiest moments, it had been a backdrop, the only source of life for miles. That was why I had come here, to seek solace.

I lay among the shrubs and withering trees on the cracked dusty ground. I looked up to the night sky above, staring once in wonder at the stars...stars which the Collapse brought to our sight. Stars which humanity had closed away. Every night I would wonder. Was the Contract wrong? Was the Collapse necessary? The time before and after were not too dissimilar. Things had gotten worse, sure, but they always would get worse.

It was thoughts of my family that always brought me out of this foolish nihilistic state. At least they deserve better, even if the better was only marginally superior. Nevertheless, superior is superior.

The stars twinkled with faint light from so far. So so far. For the first time, I wondered...did they Collapse too? It was something I had never considered, after all, nobody had the time to consider what occurred beyond. Or rather nobody dared to consider. If the universe was falling apart...where would we go? Salvation was the hope of many, no matter how tiny. Perhaps that was why the Contract was so tempting. It offered salvation, albeit laced with poison.

My blank gaze, my bad habit showing itself once again, scanned the eternal darkness above. A sudden sense of guilt struck my unguarded self hard. I am a fool. I had nearly died, in fact, I should be dead. Only chance saved me. A chance that no one should rely on. The moment I went in deep, I was a dead man. Like an addict, I went deep and deeper still.

Thea had been right like she always was, yet I never learned. Oh god.

I just wonder...how could she keep up with this. So many mistakes, yet she always stayed. And there I go, plunging deep into another one.

I had no reason to do so. I made a promise, yes, but was it worth what happened? If I died...then what? A promise twisted into a reminder of death.

I should have thought this through. I should have been rational. I shouldn't have run off. Like a child.

There is no justification for what I did.

There were so many options I could take and I took the wrong one.

I truly am a fool.

...

The stars above twinkled. A magnificent picture revealed itself. Of a pristine land, untainted by anything. Of worlds untouched. Of dreams impossible.

I had met a Patchwork. Not one but two. One bound by land and the other free. One perfect and one not. And both nearby.

Close enough for me to worry. At least one would remain within the forest, the ground it lived upon now being its prison. The other, however, is free. Free to wander right into my home.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

I fear that the walls may not hold against its tremendous strength. Just its sheer presence was enough to...

The grass. That horrifying grass. I wonder what would have happened if... if I had eaten it. It definitely was a Patchwork, moreover a perfect one. There was no deformity present, looking perfectly like grass. Only its vibrancy and the location it was present, betrayed its nature. That's why I didn't dare to go the first time I saw it. Only when that fawn appeared feasting peacefully, that I foolishly thought that it was corrupted differently.

That can happen, the corruption is random after all. Some straight-up die after corruption, their bodies messed up beyond function. Some live, yet would be better off dead, masses of suffering flesh. Some live better but not by much, disfigured and mad from pain, their bodies spilt into pieces stitched together. The origin of the name Patchwork.

Of those who were corrupted perfectly, with very few signs of change present, little is known. Some claim they are peaceful, others bring about stories of immense horror.

I thought the grass would turn out to be one of the peaceful ones, after all, nothing happened to the deer. Even after hunting it and slowly moving across the grass to get it, nothing happened. Even today when I first moved across, with the same caution, nothing happened. It was only when leaving that I caught the grass doing something strange, undulating towards me despite no apparent wind.

I rushed away of course, but the grass did nothing more. It remained where it was. Anything that happened afterwards had no relation to it or at least that was what I thought at first...

However what happened to me back then, according to what little I remember, perfectly explains the deer I found. Those blank unfeeling gazes, completely devoid of any semblance of will...very similar to my own experience.

The grass had stolen my sense of self away, leaving me to its whims. I felt lost in a dream, with sweet whispers enticing me. I had no control. I was caught within its grasp.

Just like the deer. Now nothing but slaves, forever bound by whatever witchcraft that the grass now possesses.

This witchcraft, hypnotism or something, is probably not immediate, which must be why it never acted overtly before. Simply unsettling me and doing nothing, lulling me into a false sense of security. It would have failed in its endeavour had I not been disturbed by the haunting presence of the deer. The deer...

It couldn't be...could it? Had the grass planned all of this out? Drawing me close by arranging prey in the vicinity, putting the main herd just slightly further away to compel me to go further, then using their strange behaviour to unsettle me and make me lose track?

That's...that's impossible. Am I overthinking this? Just what kind of corruption could turn unthinking, simple grass into...an abomination. Just what has the Collapse done? I had never heard of such a thing before...

No wonder such little is known about the perfect ones. Those that know, no longer live.

...

Hah.

Still, there is a countermeasure. We just have to stay far, far away from that place. It won't be able to come here, not for a long time. It's the other one I worry about the most.

Living and mad, a whirlwind of strength...and destruction. The pressure and fear I felt from facing it, were enough to override the grass's tampering. Not only that, a soft sound from it was enough to wilt the grass.

My memories may be unclear, but I can never ever forget its visage. The sight was engraved into my mind.

Shadowed, the darkness of the quickly approaching night, wrapped around like a cloak. A silhouette was all that remained, yet it was enough. It looked like...no, it was definitely a stag...at one point. Now...

Twisted horns, broken and bound together, not looking out place in the forest. The head was misaligned, as if split in half and haphazardly bonded together.

One leg was double the size of the other, muscles torn and oozing liquid.

One could hear the thunderous heartbeat. The pulse was forceful enough to push away the trees.

I could feel its gaze, hidden within the shadows. The pain brimming within, simmering flames of rage. Any single disturbance was enough to ignite it into a conflagration of manic rampage.

It was something that shouldn't be alive, yet it was. A testament to the horrors of the Collapse. Horrors I didn't wish to experience again. And this was a horror that could move.

That ability, combined with its inherently unstable nature, was enough to make an overwhelming threat. I don't know when it appeared here, but if it was just weeks ago, it could even be linked to the disappearance of prey near our house.

If that is truly the case...then it may have already been near our house. And there is no telling if it would randomly choose to come back. A level of uncertainty has been added to our lives. An uncertainty that I never wanted.

I can't lie down and wait here. I must go and warn Thea. Such a thing happening...

We have to prepare, a Patchwork...should never be taken lightly, even those on the brink of death.