The Greenland Diaries: Day 37

The rain and thunder stopped abruptly last night. The Drum appeared quickly and deliberately, like it was jealous of the clout the storm was carrying. My chest became a little heavy when just the Drum hammered the shadows.

The rain was a nice reprieve.

I’ve been worried about my thoughts recently, or my overall state-of-mind. I’ve been thinking far too much about the monsters. Maybe it’s been these consecutive weeks of little or no confrontation with them which has caused it. I won’t forget them.

I don’t overlook that they are there.

Earlier on, Gerald was fixated with them, and we would talk about them every day for at least a few hours. It’s like a disorder or syndrome based on curiosity. I can’t stop thinking about them. I don’t know why they’ve been able to invade my thoughts, especially during the day when you can only find them lurking in reflections. If only I could see them better, take a picture or something. Their bodies look sharp and dangerous. From what I’ve seen, they have bones beneath their shadowy disguises; they’re usually faded gold with a blue and sinewy tissue holding them together. They have curled horns that change colors, and a dark shapeless face with no specific features.

What could they be? Obviously, they’re related to the plants, but what’s the relationship? They’re mortal, I killed one myself. It was hard, but it died.

They have weapons, but they’re hidden beneath their cloaks. Usually, they have blades that are grafted to their skin. They throw thorns as well. Who knows what those do when they pierce you. There’s a bigger version of them too, only their bones are a piercing red. They have an obscenely big arm that looks like an overextended strip of muscle. I wonder what it does.

I want to see them. I want to know them. To be hunted by invisible monsters’ night after night borders on insanity. The Drum knows. The Drum knows I’ll eventually go out to it. I’ll be drawn to the beasts.

This must be a tactic by them.

I swear it.

#apocalyptic #books #fiction #horror #journals #monsters #novels #reading #writing

Holidays are almost here. If you're looking to avoid awkward conversations with judgmental family members, just say you need to read the Greenland Diaries.

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https://patrickwmarshauthor.wordpress.com/2025/12/22/the-greenland-diaries-day-37/

The Greenland Diaries: Day 36

Last night, I woke up to the most amazing sound. There was rain.

The falling water echoed hard enough to block out the Drum. The sound was soothing and extravagant, like my mind was on vacation for a night. It felt so good not to hear the murderous beat, but real, natural thunder.

My dog hates thunderstorms. She instantly started to whine. I pulled her close beneath the blanket. She eventually fell asleep, but only after a series of labored breaths. I guess the Drum hadn’t changed her that much. The Drum didn’t really bother her, but the storm did.

It rained all day. Gerald and I were going to continue our scavenging. Instead, we called it off to enjoy the change in weather. A gray wall of clouds filled the sky. The sun was nowhere to be seen. I sat out in the storm on my steps despite the streaks of lightning. The humidity had increased tenfold inside my house. In the basement it was still cold. Nothing really caused the temperature to change down there.

I’ve noticed my sensitivity to temperature has increased. Maybe that’s because all the fat has melted off me from my diet of canned goods. I’m so tired of that sterile taste. These dark times have made me physically a better person. Why did it take this? Why?

I sort of forgot about the rain and what it does.

Memory and nostalgia came with every drop. The feelings of the past world sink into me. I think of it falling off the roof at my parent’s house, their farm, or even the neighborhood street lights at night.

Plenty of time these days to remember things; especially, about how everything was before the Drum.

One time after a wedding, Ling and I ran through a downpour to a bar along the Mississippi river. The rain was so heavy it hurt us as we ran. I had an oversized suit, and she had a purple dress that curled around her narrow shoulders. We laughed and drank the night away against a backdrop of tropical music and overly sweet drinks. She ran so fast back then. I thought I’d never catch her.

I’m not sure I like the rain anymore.

#apocalyptic #books #fiction #horror #journals #monsters #novels #reading #writing

Weird to not have descriptions of rain for a whole ton of writing, since I love to describe the rain, but we finally have it here in the Greenland Diaries. Enjoy the latest entry in my apocalyptic book series. Posted every Monday.

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https://patrickwmarshauthor.wordpress.com/2025/12/15/the-greenland-diaries-day-36/

Free Book Weekend

We’re back to Leave the Name in the free kindle book rotation. This is an excellent short story collection. It contains bits and pieces from my other universes, along with some unique narratives like Factory 9, which I will turn into a full length novel at some point. Science fiction, fantasy, horror, it is all here for your enjoyment. Free today, tomorrow, and Monday.

A collection of short stories from a variety of worlds.

During the Greenland Diaries, in the shadow of an apocalypse, a survivor awakens with no identity or hope. He only knows that the monsters worship him, and want to keep him safe. Off the coast of Key Largo, a group of survivors stumbles through survival in the wake of the drum. The scared live and the ambitious die. So is the reality of the drum.

On the Cursed Island, a new assassin appears on the blood-soaked shore. Their goal, to infiltrate the Diamond Town and battle the freshly appointed Guardian, who despite the weight of the sword, can still remember her name. For now.

In the dark cloud of Hidden Oaks Park; a woman’s dead husband stirs to life, a grocery store devours a young man, and a playground appears and disappears overnight. It all flows according to the monster living in its otherworldly center.

Two brothers hide in an abandoned robotics factory after radiation and monsters have ravaged their world. They find an unlikely ally, and search for a bit of hope beneath the nuclear snow and forgotten sun.

Click here to get Leave the Name for FREE on Kindle

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Nature reclaims the forgotten, as wildflowers bloom amidst the ruins of a bygone era, casting a poignant glow under the setting sun.

#aiart #abandoned #vintage #sky #car #naturephotography #landscapephotography #apocalyptic #decay #goldenhour #sun #sunflower #sunset