*day 4768*: The daily chuckles started out as a gold mine of hope and laughter in my life. I’d hop onto my phone, scroll through reddit, get a good laugh whenever **IT** came onto my feed.

Simple enough, really. A cat. Carrying a cigarette. Such a delightful jolly, such a delectable maymay. None of us could ever begin to comprehend what **IT** would become.

The contagion spread slowly. The first appearance of **IT** in the real world began at a cafe in Portland. Harmless, a funny chuckle and a warm coffee.

Others saw the potential of the maymay and the news spread quickly. Soon, **IT** was plastered everywhere from McDonalds billboards to political bumper stickers.

The chuckles.. The chuckles never ceased. Everywhere one turned, there was **IT**. What started out with magical whimsical fun became the epitome of pain, abdomens contorted and strained through hours of non-stop chuckles.

It was Day 74 when the first deaths arose. Four innocent party-goers in Vegas chuckled for 136 hours straight before dropping dead. Their lungs simply stopped working as the muscles were worn to their core. The chuckles had become deadly.

Soon, the death toll began to rise across the nation, then the world.
Entire families could be found by the roadside, shocked looks of horror and chuckles on their faces as they tried to escape the inevitable.

Me.. well, I’m still alive, but I shouldn’t be. My wife laid down her life for me by blocking out every source of **IT** as we made our way to the bunker. She chuckled and chuckled, but we thought we would be safe once we were inside. It turned out that too much exposure to **IT** rendered her permanently chuckled. She passed away in my arms that night, chuckling her last breaths.

I always knew the world would end.. but not like this. **Not.. like.. this.**