The journal you found

After days of foraging the forest on this island for treasure, you walk back to the seashore. You have explored many other places, but you have never been this exhausted before. How many hours have you spent wandering through those woods? You take a look at your ship. You want to go home.

However, you still haven’t found what you came for, so you listen to your body and sit on the smooth black sand and gaze upon the waves that are going back and forth, when, suddenly, what appears to be a pocket-sized notebook washes upon the shore right beside you. 

Entry #74 

Dear Diary, how many days or weeks have it been since I last wrote here? I would be lying if I were to say that I was busy. Frankly, I’ve been everything but that. Sailing across this forsaken sea in search of a fantastical land left me with plenty of time to rot away doing nothing.

In the last few days, I have once again reread my past entries. So much has happened since then. Just thinking about my life before this journey feels so surreal. It almost seems like a different life. 

Nevertheless, the flames of hope that I had felt at the beginning of this venture have once again been relit when the following occurred:. 

“Enemy ship!” cried one of the mates. “Enemy ship!”

I recall the initial shock and the look of disbelief on everyone’s face when the shout was first heard. Then there was the ensuing panic as everyone, including me, rushed outside, thinking we were ready to face whatever it was.

Yet, what we saw was nothing. We looked in every direction, but the fog was so murky that we had trouble seeing ourselves, let alone the enemy. I remember how anxious I felt looking for this transparent foe, and how my heart jumped when my back bumped into one of the lads. 

“False alarm!” The captain shouted! “Now which one of you is the scoundrel who-”

“Land! Land!” the same voice yelled. 

This time, everyone could see it, and slowly, we all gathered up on the left side of the ship. It’s quite strange, I thought. Normally, I would keep my distance, but this time, and only this time, I thought, I would join this herd of misfits. This land is the hope we have been searching for. 

I was one of the first to set foot on the inky shore. I grabbed a handful of sand, and despite this otherworldly change in tone, it was, surprisingly, the same as ordinary sand. Upon further observation, everything, from the color to the shape and formation of things, appeared to be just a little out of place. It is truly a mythical place, and if the legends are true, somewhere on this island lies a treasure of worldly significance. 

After building camp, we decided to celebrate with the ale and wine the captain had kept tucked away in his cabinet. We needed this. I needed this. 

Entry #75

Fascinating. A week has passed since we arrived here, yet this fog still shows no signs of ever dispersing. This island is bigger than it appeared to be, perhaps another illusion cast by this accursed fog. I would go on by myself, but getting lost would be the most I would be doing out there. I wouldn’t want someone going out to look for me like they are doing for that other fellow. 

I am still astounded by the discovery of this place. Enganeo Island is supposedly its name—the island seen only in the dreams of kings and queens, sought after by all those who wish for unparalleled power, and also the first words whispered by a soon-to-be lunatic. 

However, what makes it so strange is that for generations, all those who have “seen” this place have described it as being surrounded by a terrible fog, with charcoal sand and precious violet palm trees. The Lord knows what is hidden here. Some say that a great treasure is buried somewhere; others speak of a secret that would reveal the many truths behind this reality.

How wonderful! Life surprises me time and time again. Never in a million years would I have imagined embarking on a journey on the sea, seeking treasures, and discovering secrets that may bring change to this world as we know it. Perhaps I am meant for something greater. 

Hah! 

As if! I should stop leaving myself with such silly impressions. 

Hah! 

But what if? 

Entry #76

I am no coward. Damn the captain for calling me that! I simply find it precarious to use torches to light our way through that accursed forest!

I understand that time isn’t on our side, but this fog must certainly go away soon. We simply have to be patient. 

We could boil the sea water to drink and catch fish for food. Still, this entire island is peculiar. Despite the many trees, I still cannot explain how they have sustained themselves for so long. 

I have not yet seen even a single drop of rain, let alone a pond. 

We have traveled for weeks. There also doesn’t appear to be a single living being. However, every time I travel through those woods, I cannot shake the feeling of being watched. 

I am writing this in the camp beside the shore. I can’t tell if I am imagining it or if it’s a joke played by my mates, but the ship seems to be further away. 

Entry #77

I must collect myself. Too many things have happened since my last entry. 

Firstly, I don’t think we were the first to arrive on this island. Actually, I am almost certain that there were many others who came before us. And not just that, but there have been people here not long ago. 

There were those burnt-out branches and those orderly placements of stones, almost as if someone had once built a campfire there. Then there are those small carvings on the trees. 

Secondly, a number of our men are missing. It first began with that scavenger who had gone off by himself, then those who went to look for him, and then that search party of four. The captain and his group as well. It has been days since they left us, and still they haven’t shown themselves. 

Thirdly, in regards to my previous observations about our ship, it seems like it wasn’t a trick of the mind. The ship is indeed moving away. It is almost impossible to communicate with them now. We have to send someone to tell them about the current predicament.

There are so many more things occurring. Everyone seems to be getting sick all of a sudden. Even I feel like my health is worsening. I pray for the captain’s return. We can’t go on like this.

Entry #79

There is no escape from this place. 

As we sent a pair of men to the sea, we heard bellowing from the woods. I mistook it at first for the wind, but soon a familiar figure started emerging out of the woods. It was the man who first saw this island. 

“They are dead! They are dead! The ground ate them! It almost ate me too! Oh dear God, it ate them!” 

Before anyone could ask any questions, the ground began quaking on its own, and the mist, for the first time since we arrived here, disappeared. 

We could finally see the ship. The ship could finally see us. Yet, there was something else in that moment watching us. 

Chaos ensued. 

In an instant, the small boat with the pair of men was dragged down into the sea. Next, the ship was swallowed in an instant by something under the ocean. Finally, the island itself began submerging. 

I don’t know what happened next, but I woke up somewhere on the island to the cries of someone far off in the distance. After seeing it, I was yet again mistaken. It wasn’t the cries of a single man, but of what could only be described as a dreadful amalgamation. 

And as their flesh and blood are being drained bit by bit, hahahaha, I realize the great secret those kings and queens have yearned to learn. The earth is a living and conscious being. We are only its sustenance!