Simon's Log: Entry 2. January 8th, 1989
I...I don't know what happened! Betty's gone! She left after-..I think it's the crown. It has to be. I have underestimated it. I didn't have the respect for it, and now I have paid a terrible price! Whatever this is, wherever it originated from, it is like nothing I've ever seen. This is too important to leave unattended, but it may be far too dangerous to take anywhere else. I can't take this to any news station. I don't think I would be able to anyway. The first thing I was greeted with upon returning home was a group of soldiers telling me Martial Law was going into effect. Had I gotten here a day or two later they wouldn't have let me into the stinking country. People are getting scared. The fighting grows closer to our boarders every day. Oh god I hope Betty is okay in all of this. She said she would be with her mother...and that I should not try to seek her out. "Never come near me again". I have never seen her look that way. I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry.
January 9th, 1989
If I am to understand what I did to Betty, I must understand the crown itself. For this purpose I have started a video journal in addition to the written one. In the instance that someone should find one and not the other, I will leave a transcript of the video entries here. The transcript for the first entry is as follows:
"Hello. My name is Simon Petrikov. I am recording this tape so people will know my story. I was studying to be an antiquarian of ancient artifacts. Now I never believed in the supernatural stuff myself; just had a fascination with superstitions, but everything changed when I came into contact with this item. After purchasing this crown from an old dockworker in northern Scandinavia, I brought it home and excitedly showed my fiance Betty. I jokingly put it on my head just for a laugh or something, and that's when it started. The visions-I fought with them, shouted at them until I realized IT WASN'T REAL IT WAS THE CROWN! I quickly took it off and saw my fiance in front of me. Looking at me with such contempt. What had I said? What had I done when I wore this crown? All I know is I never saw Betty again. I will continue to study the effects of the crown, and monitor any changes of my mental state. Perhaps I can unravel its mystery. I will provide updates on my progress as time goes along. Until then, this is Simon Petrikov signing off."
There has been a dull ringing in my ears ever since the night of the incident. I should imagine that this is normal, and will subside in a matter of days. However I cannot wait that long. The longer I wait the longer this mystery lingers. I need to understand it so that it does not become a danger to anyone else. Tonight I will once again wear the crown. I have decided upon a time limit of fifteen minutes. I do not fully understand its effects, who knows what prolonged exposure could do? It took mere seconds for the visions to occur the first time, I do not know what will happen in mere minutes. But I am not afraid. There is no one around for me to hurt this time. Wish me luck.
January 13th, 1989
I awoke today to much confusion and a severe headache. The throbbing in my head has ceased, so I believe I will be able to recap the event with little issue. On the night of the 9th, just as I said, I wore the crown for an intended fifteen minutes. I do not know if such time was met. I sat at my desk with the crown in front of me, and upon starting the timer, placed the said crown onto my head. For the span of a minute there was nothing. I was confused. Frightened even. If the crown produced no visions, what caused me to lash out at Betty? It was then the phantoms arrived. Slowly at first, peering from behind the desk and out of the shelves. Hallucinations both bizarre and unusual. Almost childlike. This was unlike the first experience. They came in such numbers and intensity the first time.
I tried to make contact with them. No response. I do not know if they heard me, or if what I was even speaking to was a real entity or not. Another minute had passed, and then the whispers began. The kind so quiet and so far in the distance that you strain to hear them. I placed as much effort as I could into making out the sounds, but I regret to report that I could not decipher one word of it at that time. I looked back to the timer but one of the creatures was obscuring it with it's body. A weird, green blob of a thing. I'm ashamed to admit it but, I began to panic. A sudden sense of fright overtook me. I swatted at it but my hand went through it like it wasn't there! It had to be! I SAW IT!
More visions began to seep from the walls. So many of them. Like some hideous infestation. They plastered the walls and began spreading to the floor. I feared they would consume me. But of course! They are merely visions. I shut my eyes tight, trying to find a moment's peace but the voices! The voices had been growing and I failed to notice them until they became undeniable! Where they were once distant and indiscernible, they now became as clear as this journal in front of me. They spoke of ice and frost and power and snow. Over and over again simultaneously! A thousand words at once accompanied by sounds of howling-no-SHRIEKING winds that threatened to rupture my very ear drums. I held my hands over my ears oh god I tried to blot out the sound but it WOULD. NOT. SUBSIDE. It was as if the sound came from a place within me. How is that possible? I rose from my chair and made the mistake of opening my eyes. My god. The visions were everywhere. In the air, on the ground, on the walls, on my body! It felt like they were mocking me with their unyielding presence. My vision blurred as the room started spinning. I lost my balance and fell backwards onto the floor. All I could do was clutch my ears as I fell. I..I just wanted the madness to end! That's when I blacked out.
I just woke up earlier today. I'm not sure when exactly. Sometime in the late morning. The voices and visions were gone (thank heavens), and the crown lay askew several feet from where I awoke. I was unconscious for almost four days..and my body reacts as if it never happened. I am not hungry nor thirsty. I have not needed use of the restroom. I have no desire to do anything my body would need after being out for so long. The only noticeable difference is that I think I have grown paler. Whether that is from lack of food or of some cold I am catching, I am not yet sure. It isn't too horrible. I am naturally tan, now it is just less so. That night was horrid. I have never had my senses assaulted like that before. This crown could have easily ended my life right there had I not lost consciousness. It was a traumatic experience that I will never forget.
But do not think that means I am giving up.
January 14th, 1989
The dangers of this crown are ever-present in my mind now. This artifact and the psychological damage it could cause is potentially catastrophic. I risk my very being just studying it. But what am I to tell others if someone should find it? "Don't wear it or it could turn your brain into mushy peas?" People just like I once was would dismiss my words as superstition. What I need is proof. Proof of the crown's power. So I can prove that power to the world! To warn them of it's danger I mean.
However the crown is not the only thing on my mind. Things outside have gotten worse since my blackout. I attempted to go get groceries, because although I am not hungry, I would be a fool to allow myself to become malnourished. Before I could even make it to my car I was stopped by yet another group of soldiers. These guys are everywhere now. They said, well, let's not be coy, they ordered civilians to stay indoors, and that food rations would be left on our porches. Remember how I said they acted like Armageddon was at our doorstep? Apparently Armageddon is some stale bread and a ham sandwich. They said it was for our safety. Is it really that bad out there? They didn't talk much on the news about it, finally. Yet all that makes me is worried. I find myself putting my life on the line studying the crown, yet I could be dead anyway in a few weeks by god knows what.
I suppose whatever happens, it is out of my control. If the military has such a tight grip on it's townsfolk then surely they must have Betty in a safe location. Maybe we will all be placed into a civilian shelter and I might cross paths with her. Hah, here I am daydreaming again. There is so much work to still be done. While I have not given up, I am going to give myself one more day yet before putting on the crown. I will be more prepared. In all the chaos of the last experiment I did not think once to remove the crown. I was too panicked. Not this time. The visions and voices seem to be linked to me only when I wear the crown. When things become too hectic all I must do is remove the crown to resolve the issue. I will control the madness. I won't let it control me. But first-ham sandwich!
January 15th, 1989
I am somewhat relieved to be able to wrtie in my journal today. To any who read this you may take this as a sign that this experiment went better than the last. Yet I cannot help but be perplexed by these experiments. Every time I wear the crown the experience is different from the last. The previous time it displayed violent effects. But this time? Almost nothing. Almost is an important word here. I once again sat at my desk, more than prepared to chuck this piece of tin halfway across my study. I thought perhaps I could control the whispers and mirages. That if they are creations of my mind, all I must do is will them away. However, this time there were no visions. Not a single blob, worm, nothing of the sort! I awaited the voices, but again nothing had manifested! Why? I wore the crown for a half hour before I gave up. That is when a change occurred. I removed the crown, and within seconds I heard the faint sounds of the wind. Whispers in the distance. I was confused, I ran my hands through my hair and indeed I was no longer wearing the crown. The thing that concerns me the most? I still hear them.
A/N: Alright everybody hope you were pleased with the next set of entries. Once again, and I hate to sound like a broken record but let me know what you think! Any advice helps when I'm taking my first steps fic writing.