David Miller, officer of Base-dFOM. Man, obviously. I went to get some more firewood, but the fog got thick and I couldn't find my way back. My walkie-talkie doesn't work whatsoever.

I found a path that looks like a person-made one. I tried to walk past it but no matter how far I walk, I keep coming across the same path.

I started to follow the path to the right, but I just ended up in the same area again. I'm going to die here, aren't I?

I turned around and finally got to a new area. I've been walking for a while, and I think I have time to update this with more context, in case my body ever gets discovered. The black fog gets really thick past Base-fRSK, you're supposed to carry a journal at all times in case you ever get lost, lose your ability to communicate, etc. The mist where I'm at is white and pushed way out, so I think I'm around Base-tMWP? Whatever, I should continue walking.

Found a bench. Kicked it. Seemed safe enough, so I'm taking another break. Did you know those code letters at the end of bases are acronyms? Base-tLHF means "the Last Human Fort," even though dFOM exists. Nobody actually knows what fRSK means, not even the sergeants. There's been a lot of rumors about it, like one person supposedly asked the president what it meant and was jailed. A popular theory is that it means "fORESKIN," even though that makes no sense.

The path terminates at a building. It looks like a church, or maybe some kind of temple. I'm scared to go in.

I am so fucking scared. I went inside the building and saw these giant figures, arguing over an ornate table with a fire in the middle. I saw a rotting corpse wearing rusty and old medieval armor, a rat Fur that was as black as the night but could somehow reflect light just like a jewel, and a mannequin with these horrible glassy eyes that saw nothing and also directly into my very core. I couldn't see any of the others but the main room was big enough for several more. I tried to sneak up and listen to the argument but the mannequin leaned and turned in an unnatural way to meet me face to face. Those fucking pearly eyes twitched and focused directly on me, and it spoke my fucking name. There was laughter and cheering, and the mannequin finally moved its mouth to show its horrble smile. Its mouth looked so unnatural, the teeth were perfectly white and looked like a human, but it looked so off and strange and bad. I ran as fast as I could out the building, but the path wasn't there and the fog was black and thick. I heard loud thumping behind me, like footsteps of those giants. I hid in a small cave and I'm trying to calm down, but I keep seeing hoards of bonerippers with empty sacks run away from that building.

I finally found a landmark I recognized, a huge rock that sorta looks like a person. I made it back to dFOM but the door guards didn't believe I was a person. I guess I'm sleeping outside tonight.

Been having trouble sleeping. I've definitely stayed outside Base-dFOM long enough for protocol to say I'm safe to let in. Creatures don't usually stay near the bases themselves. I've also been thinking about that horrible mannequin.

Finally slept. Had a horrible fucking nightmare involving that damned mannequin. Got let back into the base and had to take a sanity test and let the onsite psychiatrist read my deadman's journal. Just found out today what they were called. It's kinda messed up. They told me to keep recording my experiences, especially anything that feels supernatural.

I've been putting this off all day, but I have to write down my nightmare. I found myself in that building with the giants, but the center had no table and all the giants were gone except that fucking mannequin. It told me to come closer, and I nervously shuffled towards the center of the room. It laughed and smiled that horrible smile again. "David, can't you remember yourself?" I couldn't. I felt... blank. Empty. Like I was a vessel for something I didn't understand. It then leaned down in that socket-popping way it did when I first met it, and its glassy eyes rolled and rolled until I could see a weird glowing white iris in them. It said something in some language I couldn't understand, but it feels like the ideas themselves are bouncing around in my head. I started to see myself in the relfection, its eyes going from milky and cloudy pearls to clear glass with a mirror inside. It felt like I learned a prohecy of the world being coated in ink and oil, as well as something about the giants being gods. I woke up after that. I don't think I'm going to get a lot of sleep tonight.

I had another fucking nightmare. I was back home. I just woke up, and I could smell blueberry pancakes. I walked out of the room to see my girlfriend and she was standing at the stove, humming our favorite song. I went over to kiss her and see her beautiful face again, but as soon as she turned to look me she was replaced by that damned mannequin. I fell on my ass and crawled backwards as it just sauntered towards me. "What's wrong, sweetheart? This isn't going to help. You're already mine." Then I woke up for real.

I'm fucking panicking. I pulled my drawer out to look at the photo of my girlfriend and a fucking milky white marble rolled from the back. I swear the weird glowing iris from my dreams was in it and it looked at me for just a split second before rolling upwards and dissapearing. What the fuck am I supposed to do?

I tried to ignore it and just get on with my duties. The marble keeps fucking showing up. I took out the trash, but there was a small hole in the bag and only the marble fell out. I tried to rake up leaves outside dFOM and I kept hitting the marble and having it fly into my boots. I threw the marble back again and again but it kept being in the pile of leaves and I kept hitting it back into my boots again and again. Some of the other guys were huddled around a table so I went to see what they were doing, and they were playing with fucking marbles. The milky white one was there too, of course. They said they found a bag of marbles in an unused locker. They also said I turned literally white as a ghost when I saw they were playing marbles.

Had another horrible nightmare. I was lying down, completely paralyzed. My torso was wrapped in the legs of mannequins, my limbs were held down in the forceful grips of dozens of mannequin hands. My jaw was forced open and something horrible slithered into me. It felt like a giant slug slowly made its way down my throat. It felt like I was choking. It tasted unlike anything I've ever tasted before. It was like the very idea of black sludge. Tar, ink, oil. It was awful. After I felt it make itself home in my stomach, horribly lengthy arms with far too many joints sprouted out from under me holding those godforsaken marbles. I saw the irises in the marbles look at me hungrily. The hands carefully and delicately plucked out my eyeballs. I could only watch as I saw my point of view get farther and farther from my body, until they both just snapped. It felt awful, like I was a piece of gum that was stretched into breaking. I could feel the cold marbles be gently lowered into my empty eye sockets. Then, I could see again. It looked so bright. The limbs that were holding me in place slithered away below the operating table I was on, but they were nowhere to be seen when I looked. I stumbled out of the room and I found myself in the temple from the forest. "Do you want to leave, darling?" the mannequin softly spoke. I felt myself fall to the floor and begin to hurl. Thick black liquid spewed from my mouth, forming a puddle all around me. I slowly started to pass out and the last thing I felt before waking up was the splash of my face in the black vomit. When I woke up, I had already pissed myself. I want to go home.

This is fucking horrible. We just got news from home, they're not going to extract us. There's been no contact from Base-tLHF. Base-fRSK exploded weeks ago. Base-tMWP has been experiencing blackouts. Even fucking Base-oFEI has been dismantled by sunstalkers. Our supply chain is completely shattered. It's been getting darker and darker outside and I'm so scared.

The psychiatrist deemed me unfit to even go outside. I've been cleaning the entire base inside to get my mind off the nightmares, which luckily have stopped. The door guards wont let me out to rake or- I just remembered, I haven't seen that marble in a few days. A week? I don't even know anymore, it always looks like night and all our clocks stopped ticking.

I've been so freaked out lately that the other guys have been letting me into their private quarters to clean their rooms. I know they're not doing it to get a free room cleaning, I can feel the pity they have for me.

Spotless. I've cleaned this place from top to bottom. Even the ceiling is shining. Me and a few others literally ate off the floor to show how clean it is. I'm writing out of nervousness. When I don't have something to do, I start shaking and quivering and breathing hard. I've been staring at the knives. I don't want to be here anymore. I want to go home. I'm too scared of killing myself to escape that way. I just wish I could jam something up my nose and give myself a lobotomy so I can just stop fucking thinking about this hell I live in. It's gotten so dark that the inside of dFOM is dark too. Even with the lights on, it's so dark. Our administrator removed the outside positions who knows how long ago. Everyone's just been inside, conserving energy. I've gotten to clean a lot more at least.

I'm so scared and confused. I just ran outside as far as I could. It was so dark. I tripped and ran into trees. Eventually I got to the path, but this time it was still dark, but lined with lanterns. The lantern lights kept exploding after I got to the next one. My journal was left on the bench. I don't know why the forest gave me it, but I feel so calm writing. I don't want to stop.

I don't want to go in.