High Tide

March 22, 2306 saw the dawn of interstellar research and radical experimentation with states of matter, situated outside of the common solar system. It was at this time when a team of chemists aboard the Athene-Ophiuchus 01 shuttle arrived on GJ 1214 b; an extrasolar ocean planet with an endless expanse of water stretching hundreds of kilometres deep toward the planet's core. The researchers had been sent to observe the properties of liquid compounds under extreme amounts of pressure (naturally occurring ice VII). Fortunately, GJ 1214 b's climate was mild enough for researchers to be present without any need for survival equipment, however they were displeased to discover that the water of which the planet was comprised was near boiling temperature due to heating from the core. Despite this hindrance, the researchers managed to complete their experiments without any major complications. As they traversed the boundless sea, they noticed several alien sea mammals of immense proportions floating near the surface. On their fourth day of research, the scientists were shocked to find an old, waterlogged leather-bound book close to the planet's core. No researchers present from the crew claimed to have owned it prior to its discovery, and no known previous expeditions had been made to GJ 1214 b. The pressure from sinking to such a depth had preserved it well enough to be read, so that's what the crew of the Athene-Ophiuchus decided to do. The book was discovered, impossibly, to be a centuries-old journal. It read:

August 8, 2015 - Sunrise
Or at least I think that's what the day is. I don't really know how long it's been since we fell into that “sinkhole.” Noah, Jack, Jessica, Duncan and I were fishing a ways off the coast of Nova Scotia when this insane hole in the ocean just opened up out of nowhere. It had to be kilometres wide. It was as if the water just dropped into one point deep into the sea. What was strange about this hole was that at the bottom, there was just darkness. It didn't look like there was any ground. We were sucked in towards the hole and despite us being what I would call experienced sailors, we couldn't fight the current pulling us into it. All I remember after that is falling into the hole and then ending up here on this piece of land with everyone except for Duncan. We're just in the middle of some vast ocean now, and we can't see any signs of land. The sky looks strange; it's like we're on a different planet. The ground is odd, it has a texture similar to human skin and it's very small without any trees. It feels like we're on some sort of huge animal... maybe we are for all I know. At least we have some remnants of our load here; some fish, a few flares, a fishing rod and this old sailing log. I pray we'll be able to find a way out of this, I'm not too good with stressful situations, and Noah has a case of severe anxiety.

August 8, 2015 – Sunset
We're all pretty rattled over what happened earlier today. A few more supplies of ours washed up to the shore, so Jack tried dipping his hand in the water to try and recover them. That was a huge mistake. The skin on Jack's hand instantly blistered and began peeling off. He howled like a dog. The water around us is boiling hot. Naturally Jack's first instinct after burning his hand was to put it in cool water, so he put it back into the ocean... he never really was the brightest lad. So, now Jack's hand is covered in nasty burns and he keeps whining about it. The boiling ocean isn't the weirdest part of this place, either. The sunset seemed to arrive several hours before it should have. The day only lasted around seven hours by my estimates. This place just keeps getting stranger, there's still no land to be seen.

Day 2 – Early morning
It seems pointless to record the actual date due to the incredibly short days making it inaccurate, so I'll just refer to the days by number.

Day 2 – Around noon
Noah is starting to panic, and I think I am too. More of the ship's load washed up today along with Duncan... he must have suffered a horrible death. His body was bloated, its skin was falling off and it was covered in huge red welts. Some of them had burst, leaving a disgusting, frothy white fluid soaking his corpse. I can't write about this anymore, it just sickens me. God, save him.

Day 2 – Evening
We're starting to get thirsty, but we don't know where to look for food. It's hard to sleep given what we're going through and especially the short days. I'm no religious man, but I stayed up most of the night praying for Duncan.

Day 3 – Sunrise
The ground is alive.

Day 3 – Noon
We've realized that we're on top of some sort of colossal animal. Not just a strip of land. I'm not talking blue-whale sized, but this thing is stretching kilometres out in each direction. Only a small part of it is sticking out of the water, and that's what we're standing on. I think it's moving. Nobody's going to believe us if we ever get back from this. I think Noah's going insane, he just sits there and mutters to himself. He hasn't talked to us in hours.

Day 4 – Sunrise
The thirst is really getting to us. We tried soaking our shirts in the sea and letting the soaked-up water cool down enough to become drinkable. Unfortunately for us, the water was no less salty than the sea back home.

Day 4 – Afternoon
Noah broke today. He came up with some crazy idea that he could dig into the skin of the animal that was our land and drink its blood. We all told Noah to calm down and that he might disturb the creature, but he didn't listen and began furiously clawing at the ground. We were surprised to find that a small crimson pool welled to the surface. The ground rumbled, which was startling, but we're safe. Noah drank from it first, then Jessica. They both said it tasted fine, so Jack and I took a drink as well. Something about it didn't feel humane, but it was enough to quench our thirst for now. You've gotta do what you've gotta do, I guess.

Day 7 – Evening
We've started to eat the land's flesh now, as Noah suggested. Jessica thinks that our land might be sinking deeper into the water each time we eat or drink from it. Now that I look at it, this place does seem to be slowly sinking.

Day 10 – Evening
There's no land ANYWHERE. I'm pretty sure this animal that we're living on has been moving but there's still no land anywhere. What the fuck is this place anyways? Are we even on Earth? We're eating and drinking less to stop the land from sinking, but what good will that do if there's no land here? I'm gonna go grab a bite.

Day 13- Sunrise
Everyone's spirits are down. I think the flesh and blood is making us go mad, but I can't tell. Jessica keeps crying, Jack's hand is red with scabs and we think it might be infected with who knows what. Noah's psyche is even worse than before. He hasn't talked to us for days; for what days are in this place, anyways.

Day 21 – Sunset
It's raining... we finally have fresh water. We're lucky that the rain isn't boiling hot as well. It's also strange that there are never any waves. Not a single ripple to be seen in the water, except for when the land moves. Come to think of it, there's no wind either.

Day 23 – Around noon
It's getting really boring here. The water doesn't move, everything's silent. The only stimulation we have now is fear of our impending deaths.

Day 28 - Sunrise
Jack's become really weak. I'm pretty sure he's going to die in a few days. Bone is now exposed on his arm and the infection has spread to almost half of his body. It's eating away at his flesh. All we can do is comfort him as he becomes more and more catatonic.

Day 30 – Afternoon
Noah's lost his mind, Jessica and I are wired as hell right now. He fucking killed Jack. Said he was annoying because he kept crying.

Day 30 – Evening
Jessica and I can't trust Noah. He has his half of the land and we have our half... what's left of the land anyways. Most of it has sunk. I'm not sleeping tonight.

Day 33 – Morning
I killed Noah.

Day 36 – Night
Can't sleep. I Haven't slept since Noah died. I don't want to go mad, but I'm not sure if I can help it now.

Day 41 – Noon or something
I need some way to occupy my mind. I dipped my feet in the water this morning just to get a sense of how painful it would be to jump in. It hurt so much. Maybe if I'm lucky I'll end up like Jack. I'm so sick of this. I'm done here, I want to just jump in the water but I'm scared of the pain. Jessica comforts me and is probably the only reason I'm still here but I'm probably not gonna be here much longer I hope. I told Jessica we should keep Noah's body on board just in case we get hungry. She didn't take it too well. I managed to convince her otherwise anyways.

Day 45 – Morning
I finally got some sleep. We only have a few feet of land in each direction now, I think we should start to eat Noah.

Day 45 – Afternoon
That didn't feel right. Jessica couldn't watch but she didn't try to stop me. She knew how hard this whole predicament was for all of us. I started with his arms, I couldn't eat them raw so I boiled them in the water, which didn't make much of a difference to the texture. It was like biting into my own skin, except I didn't feel any pain. I felt his muscles tear as I bit down harder into the bicep. A thick warm liquid oozed from his arm and warmed my tongue as my teeth pierced his flesh. The arm tasted sort of like steak, except a bit more sour. Probably because his body had been left out to decay for so long. I had to stop after that, I nearly threw up from how wrong it felt. I broke down afterwards.

Day 46 – Morning
I had a dream where I butchered Jessica in her sleep and feasted on her stomach. She didn't even move as the blade sliced through her skin like a hot knife through butter. I'm going insane and I don't want to end up killing Jessica, so I'm jumping into the water today. If anyone finds this journal, my name is Benjamin Rockwell. I used to live in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Please don't show this to my family, I don't want them to think of me as I am right now.

Day 49 – Morning
I couldn't do it. I'm such a pussy. Three whole days and I couldn't bring myself to do it. We hardly have enough space on this land to even lay down now. I'm going to die like this anyways, what's the point of avoiding it? Why can't I bring myself to do it?

Day 54 - Afternoon
Jessica slipped into the water and climbed back out. Now all of her skin is peeling off and she's blind... poor girl. I give her three days before she dies. Lucky her.

Day 63 - Sunset
Jessica finally died. She spoke to me a bit, said she was sorry I have to be the only one who goes through this alone. I didn't mention earlier, but Jessica and I resorted to eating Noah's corpse anyways because the land was shrinking too much from us eating it. Now Noah's corpse is gone. I've completely given up on any type of rescue, I don't even think we're on the same planet anymore. God knows where we are. Fuck, I guess it doesn't matter. We've been here so long it feels like home anyways. The land is so small that I can't lay down to sleep anymore

Day 75 I think
I've finished off Jessica. Now all I have is a small patch of fleshy ground under my feet where I stand and never sleep.

Day 78
Have to write this fast, there's a huge storm in the distance. Waves are at least 100 metres and I can feel a strong wind. It's all over now. That's good because I'm already standing in the water and there's hardly anything left of my feet. Guess I just needed a good push to get me in the water. See you soon Jessica.

