#cave time

I didn't used to be scared of caves. Maybe the whole obsessive reading thing is keeping me safe, because I'm terrified of 'em now.

Anyways all this is to say do you think I'm being tormented by the Buried because I feel like if I were I'd be more directly trapped in caves or something right? Maybe this is some weird Eye thing.

A very interesting case. This is definitely a manifestation of the Eye, though a strangely specific one.

I would’ve been like 9 maybe 10 at the time?

Anyways my friend’s house had a crawlspace, the sort that’s completely unfinished, maybe 3 feet tall, with bare concrete walls and rocks on the floor. my friend seemed pretty ambivalent towards it; I, on the other hand was riveted. We spent all of winter break hanging out down there “exploring”.

And here’s the thing: there was cardboard on most of the walls down there. And we actually did find two sections of the crawlspace they didnt know about.

So we brought lamps in with extension cords, cleaned up all the cigarette butts, put old christmas paper up on the walls as decoration, and made up ghost stories about the kid that was there before (a real guy who presumably used it as his hideout and place to smoke without his parents knowing back when he used to live there, he left some stuff there so we knew his name. it was Isaac.) anyways contrary to what I’m sure are the real facts, we were convinced Isaac was dead in some horrible way so we’d play Charlie Charlie but with Isaac Isaac while we were down there so we could communicate with him.

Anyways my friend’s mom then decided it was too dusty down there and we were gonna damage our lungs so she banned us from going in there again. Then that friend moved away when i was like twelve and i haven’t seen her since.

Hi Cave Person,

Well, this certainly explains Cave Time. From your statement, it seems likely that your friend's house was a place of power for the Buried. If your friend hadn't moved out, it's likely the Buried's influence over you would have only gotten stronger (think: Jane Prentiss Wasp Nest In My Attic).

However, this little encounter in your youth left you with a connection to the Buried, which the Eye now exploits in a process known to you as Cave Time. Your fear is extra sweet because it comes with a personal connection to the Buried without making you an avatar.

The other possibility is that it was not the house that held the power of the Buried, but your friend. Perhaps there's a reason you haven't heard from her since you were twelve. Perhaps it's best not to go looking.

Basically when i was a kid my other neighbors had this big hole they dug in their backyard [I don't quite remember but I think I might've helped some at the start], it was like 2-ish feet in diameter and *probably* 8-12 in depth, although I don't know the exact depth, just that it hit the water table and I couldn't touch the ground when I was in the Pool, since it was filled all the way up with [muddy] water. We'd all get in our swimsuits and go just like sit in the Pool together and in retrospect that was probably kinda dangerous and I don't know why their parents let us do that but we had a good time.

All this to say perhaps the Buried has had more influence on my life than I've cared to notice, should I be worried?

From my past experience? The Pool was a lot more than 8-12 feet deep. It seems possible that your whole neighbourhood has some affiliation with the Buried.

Don't worry about your personal safety, though. If, as I suspect, you have been marked by the Eye, it will keep you protected from further Buried influence. As long as Cave Time continues to happen, you have use to the Eye and it will not forsake you. If it stops, however...

You don't live on any fault lines, do you? Edges of tectonic plates? Those are hotspots for Buried activity. You might want to consider moving somewhere... more stable.