#3

You is back in the cave.

You remembers now. That all did happen. But it did in fact happen differently. The dialogue was different, more fluid, less...scripted. Is that the right word? The APPLE and its grammar-sensing abilities don't really discern properly between different flaws in diction. But You can sense when it goes wrong, that's what matters.

The APPLE is what gives You the whole “issue with pronouns” thing. “You” is always perceived as a name or replacement pronoun for Y̶o̶u̶ Y̶o̶u̶ HIM or Y̶o̶u̶ HER (or hir, or ou, or even it, if one feels like being offensive). As one can see, it's somewhat difficult to negotiate other pronouns or conjugations for one who suffers from an APPLE. “You” is You's name, pronoun, and conjugation origin point, like all others who have an APPLE. As such, APPLE sufferers—derogatorily called “apples” themselves—do not have much contact with each other, as it can get incredibly confusing for them. There is no known cure for APPLE as of yet, but top researchers believe that, as with most things in the world, treatment lies in the application of the fuel. It's just taking awhile to find.

Thinking of the fuel—which You had forgotten before Your memory—causes You to remember that Your flashlight runs on fuel. That in turn causes You to remember that Your flashlight exists. You takes it out and turn it on. As suspected—You is in a dark cave. How You got here, though, and how to get out, remain problematic. You meditates on the image of the claw. Was Susie in danger? Is she still alive? At the passing of that last question, You suffers a brief moment of panic. The situation suddenly possesses gravity, and You starts sweating.

You knows that You's a light sleeper, even when forcefully knocked out. Susie once accidentally hit You with a branch when You was five, which gave You a concussion; the doctors told You that You woke up in under ten minutes and they had to put You under again to apply fuel treatment. Actually, You realizes, that might explain that blackout back there. You hasn't had blackouts since You was seven, though. Still, maybe being knocked out again brought them back? That's not something You wants to contemplate.

Still, if You really is a light sleeper even in the face of, say, being beaten by something with claws, You wonder how far You really could have been dragged. There are caves out in the woods, and the fields of course border the woods. Something could have come out of the woods, attacked You, and dragged You out into one of the caves. But why? Unless the cave is the home of whatever attacked You, and You's its next meal...

You tries not to think of that. You sees that the cave goes back quite a ways, and in one way only. You decides to head in that direction, all the while hoping that all of Your fears haven't come to pass...