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DAY 1
Hel…lo? Is thisxsx…is this thing on? The light…bzzt…blinking, but I…oh, hold on. There we go! Much better. Coming through loud and clear. My name is Oswin Oswald, and I’m the lone survivor of..of…
sniff
Sorry. In films and things, people in crashes always make logs like this, you know? So that when they’re rescued, everyone back home can know what happened. Or so they don’t go mad from loneliness, maybe. Anyways, I thought I’d try it, only…it…it’s harder to hear out loud, I think. Let m-me try that again.
Ahem. My name is Oswin Oswald, and I’m the last survivor of the vessel Alaska. We crashed about a week ago, maybe. Actually, I have no idea. The chronometer is still on the blink, haven’t fixed it yet. It’s been enough just trying to keep the essentials from shutting down. Speaking of that, hold on…
…..
………..
Phew! For a moment there, I thought the life support was going out. The warning light went on- still is, actually. But air’s coming through just fine. What do you do if the light that tells you when something isn’t working right stops working right? Seems a bit of a conundrum.
DAY 3
For starters, some good news. Always start with the good news first, right? I finally fixed the broken warning light. Well, ”fixed” is a relative term, I suppose. I hit it with a shoe until it stopped blinking. Not my best work, admittedly. But this place is nerve-wracking enough without a stupid blinky light saying you’re about to die when you’re not.
More good news- I gained access to the database of the place where this ship crashed. At least I know where I am now. Even if no one else does…oh, please, let someone else know where I am…because I’ve finally found out what those noises I keep hearing are. Turns out this place is an insane asylum for these…creatures called Daleks. I don’t even know if they could be called creatures, really. Things, maybe. Or monsters. They’re these living beings stuck inside a metal cage they use like a body. It’s horrible. And the crew of the Alaska, they…they….
Oh god, the crew.
I-I know it’s important that I say all this. That’s the point of this log, right? So if- sorry, when- I’m rescued, people will know what happened. But believe me when I say that you do not want to know what happened to the crew. Tell their families they died in the crash, tell them they froze, or asphyxiated, or anything. Because anything is better than what they actually went through. I read all the files, and I still can’t imagine what it must have been like.
I don’t want to.
DAY 8
This place must be sturdier than it looks. I hear those creatures- Daleks- almost every day, but they haven’t broken in yet. I wonder if they even know I’m here. They have some impressive technology- of which I’ve had plenty of time to study, unfortunately. Not much else to do now that most things are fixed. Shouldn’t they be able to detect me? Not that I’m complaining, of course! I’d hate to have to come face-to-face with one of those beastly things. Just in case, though, I’ve been working on some contingency plans. Basic weapons, self-defense, that sort of thing. It helps if I think of them more as machines. Machines, I can handle. Computers and I have always spoke the same language, that’s what my dad used to say. Maybe if I ask the Daleks nicely enough, they’ll leave me be. How do you say “please go away” in Dalek? Oh, who am I kidding- as if they’d have a word for “please”!
Anyway, it is comforting to think I wouldn’t be completely helpless if one were to get in here. Goodness knows I could use some more comfort right about now.
DAY 12
Still nothing to report. The Daleks seemed louder than usual today, so I added some more to the barricade. Don’t know how much it’ll do, but every little bit counts, right?
Oh! I’ve also been working on getting this place a sound system. It’s going well. Been piping through classical music from the Alaska’s database. Bach sounds a bit tinny still, but it’s a work in progress. So nice to hear music again.
DAY 19
I know, it’s late. I couldn’t sleep. Nightmares. It’s always the same one, almost every single night. In it, I’m chained up so tight I can hardly move. I can’t even feel my arms and legs. When I try to scream, it’s like I don’t even have a mouth. Everything around me is pitch black. Not surprising that living in a place like this would give a person nightmares, but it still leaves me in a cold sweat even thinking about it. It’s not real, though. I have to remember that. It’s only a bad dream….
DAY 25
I’m starting to feel a bit like a fairytale princess, locked away like this. Oswin, Oswin, let down your hair! Not that that would really work- I’m underground, not high in a tower. My hair is getting long, though- should I risk giving myself a trim? No one’s around to see it even if I do- but then again, no one can see it if I mess it up, either. Nah, I don’t think I’ll chance it yet. I’m still counting on a prince to show up and save me long before then. Tall and handsome…and probably a bit mad as well, to come here. Doesn’t matter to me- I’d give anything just to talk to a real person again. How did Rapunzel do it? I bet she kept a diary too.
DAY 30
Has it really been a month since I started this? Time flies when you’re having fun, I suppose. Maybe I should do something to mark the occasion. Bake a cake maybe. I bet I could find the ingredients- this place seems to have almost everything, if you look hard enough. I don’t know how the foodstuff stays so fresh after all this time, but maybe it’s best if I don’t. What’s that old saying- “don’t look a gift horse in the mouth”? Strange saying. I bet horses have terrible breath anyways.
DAY 30, LATER
The cake…did not go so well. Thank goodness for fire extinguishers. That’s all I’m going to say. Wish I hadn’t used the last of the milk, though. Dry cereal for breakfast tomorrow- ick!
DAY 34
The strangest thing happened today. I was setting up a new hammock- the last one fell down, hung it on a rusty bulkhead by mistake- and I kept hearing Daleks. Not full-blown, screeching mad Daleks, fortunately, bur that whirring they make when they move around. Only Daleks usually travel in packs. This just sounded like one. And it was really close, too- if I hadn’t known better, I’d have said there was one right next to me or something. I admit, I panicked a little, thinking one had gotten in somehow. But there was nothing. I looked, hard, and still don’t know where that noise was coming from. Maybe the sound system’s gone screwy. I don’t know. It’s stopped now, at least. Went away when I sat down to check the computers. Still- if Daleks are creepy, then phantom Daleks are even creepier.
DAY 36
That mysterious ghost-Dalek sound keeps coming and going. I swear, I’ve looked everywhere! It’s not like Daleks are big on subtlety either, from what I can tell. Why would one be sneaking around in here, following me around?
sigh
The nightmares haven’t stopped either, or changed at all. Thank goodness for small comforts- right now, a big glass of warm milk is just about all that can get me to sleep again. No idea how I haven’t run out yet. It’s amazing how many supplies this ship must hold!
Not that I plan on needing them, of course. I’m still holding out for that prince…