Last Request

Dear Reader,

I wish I could tell you that you're going to survive this but to be honest no one has before. I wrote this to give you at least a chance of success no matter how miniscule.

First of all don't eat the purple berries, yes I know they are tempting especially after your supplies inevitably run out. Take it from someone who knows. They are delicious and you think safe because you'll see animals eating them but you'll be wrong. The animals have adapted to them, our kind, not so much. They caused our first fatalities. I won't go into details but they died writhing in pain, it wasn't pleasant.

Second warning is the trees, at some point due to the excessive damp you'll get the idea to sleep among the branches above. This works but only with certain conditions which we discovered the third night we tried it. Avoid any fruiting trees at all cost they attract the insects, not the ones you screech and brush off your clothes. These miniscule monsters will burrow under your skin and although not fatal initially they are torturous. Especially when their eggs hatch three nights later and the larva start chewing their way out. In the end what killed them was actually infection as the exit wounds refused to heal despite all our efforts.

I don't have much time left so I'll leave you with this final piece of advice. Stay away from the river. There's something there, something I haven't seen but have heard stalking us almost from the start. Eyes I have felt watching me since I stepped foot in this cursed place.

I'm the only one left now so I'm pretty sure tonight is my end. You've done well to get this far alive and I hope you can make it through this nightmare. If so as a last request, in exchange for my advice. Please tell our families that we perished quickly in an accident, don't give them the details of our gruesome fates. Thank you and good luck, you'll need it.

I read the letter taken from the corpse's hand and my blood went cold. The body was alone in the cave but what really made me shiver was seeing the evidence of the fatal blow. Obviously not self-inflicted since the blade itself was gone as was the heart.