Hi. My name is Marshall and I was an investigator for the Coast Guard
for over thirty years. Before I begin I'm not going to give any last
names or overly personal information for the protection of myself and those involved. As
I write this, using the first names my superior still feels like sacrilege.
However, following the events of this story, I had signed an NDA pertaining
to what was uncovered during the investigation. Given that are now staring down the
barrel of a nasty cancer diagnosis, I no longer care for my career or
life, but I don't want to hurt anyone else in the process. Despite
the danger of disobeying a federal NDA, I feel that people deserved another truth
about what lurks in their coastal waters. During my time as an investigator for
the Coast Guard, my days was spent stopping drug runners, hanging around the
docks, and yelling at drunk party boat captains. However, every single serviceman
or member of law enforcement has a couple of cases which they cannot forget,
no matter how desperate they are to do so. The s s Neapoli was
one of those cases. It was nineteen ninety seven and I had been an
investigator for the Coast Guard for three years and was stationed in Portland where my
partner John and I got the call. According to our dispatch, there was
a small cruise vessel which had veered into a restricted commercial waterway. Having nothing
better to do, and not wanting to look too lazy around our superiors,
we made our way to our small patrol boat, where we were met by
one of the senior investigators named Eric John Marshall. You're both late, Eric
said as he stood in front of our boat with his arms crossed. I
didn't know this was going to be so serious, John said, as we
walked towards the boat. It's always serious. Eric said as he stared daggers
at John. This search has become a high priority and we're just wasting time
standing here, so move your asses. After glaring at John for another second,
Eric turned around and quickly made his way aboard the boat. Screw me,
John said, as he gave me a look of dejection and annoyance.
I was really hoping this would be a quick call. I looked at John
and gave him a shrug as I boarded this ship. During my time being
stationed in Maine. I had heard from several of my colleagues that Eric had
a reputation for being a buy the book's hard ass. It was his way,
or you were just in the way, my friend Pete would tell me.
I should have known that once Eric had become involved in the investigation,
that this was going to be more than a routine stop. However, even
with the knowledge of how Eric conducts his investigations, we were all unprepared for
the turn that this case would take. It took us about twenty minutes to
get to the site of the s S Napolis. When we got there,
we found that she had drifted into a sandbar and had gotten stock. Despite
this, we could hear the loud sputtering of the engine, desperately clinging on
for dear life as its rotors were being enveloped by sand. Hello, this
is the US Coast Guard, Eric stated over our boat's pa. Turn off
your engines and come out on top of your deck. We waited for a
minute before Eric repeated the message, This is the U. S Coast Guard.
Turn off your engine and come out, or we will board your ship.
Eric boomed over the loud speaker, clearly annoyed at the lack of response.
Screw this, Eric said, as he drew his pistol. Reboarding now,
Eric had John put down our anchor, and the three of us boarded
this ship. As soon as we stepped aboard, I noticed several pile of
clothes neatly folded along the deck's edges. Maybe they went for a swim,
John said sarcastically, as he simultaneously avoided looking at Eric enough clowning around.
Let's go turn off the engine, Eric said, as his words trailed off.
John and I both looked in the direction where Eric was staring and saw
a limp hand holding a pistol on the ground. John to our boat and
call this in. We have one confirmed casualty. Without saying a word,
John quickly leapt from the napolis onto our ship and made his way to the
radio with his gun drawn. Eric motioned for me to follow him, and
we quickly breached the helm of the ship. When we got inside, we
found the heavily decomposed body of a man in his mid fifties with an exit
wound on top of his head. As Eric radio John to relay the man's
information, I stared mindlessly at the back wall of the helm, which had
become adorned with the man's dried blood and brain matter. Marshal Eric yelled,
snapping me out of my daze. Sorry, Sir, I said, as
I regained my composure and started searching the pocket of the man's pants for any
identification. It's okay, Eric said, in a surprisingly understanding tone. Let's
figure out who this man is and how he got here. Reaching into his
left front pocket, I found his wallet and pulled out his ID, which
caused a loose photo to fall in the process. Who looks like his name
was Wendell Kramer, I said as I handed Eric the man's ID. As
I went to put the man's wallet on the table, I saw the small
photograph and picked it up. In the picture was Wendell and what appeared to
be his wife and two older children as they stood in front of the Billaggio
in Las Vegas. Looks like he had a family too, I said,
as I handed Eric the photograph. Wife and two kids. Eric said,
as he looked out the open doorway. How many bars of clothing were there?
Three? Sir John said, as he made his way into the hell,
stopping just short of the corpse Christ. Do you think it could have
been a murder suicide situation. John said as he looked down at the man's
body. I think that I need to see the living quarters of the ship
first before I have any theories. Eric said as he walked past John,
John, you're coming with me, Marshall. I want you to see if
we missed anything in the helm. Yes, Sir I said, as Eric
and John made their way to the deck below. As soon as Eric and
John were out of sight, I quickly ran out of the hall and threw
up over the side of the ship. During the first three years as an
investigator, I'd only been part of one other case involving a death, and
it had happened earlier the same day. Never before had I ever seen the
effects of advanced decomposition on a dead body, nor had I ever smelled the
blending of the sea water and advanced rock before. After composing myself, I
made my way back into the helm and started searching for any evidence. As
I looked back at the wall behind the dead body, I noticed that there
had been a small circular glare of light at head level. Turning around,
I saw a VHS camera propped up onto a shelf. Sir I think I
found a camera, I said over the radio as I picked it up and
pressed the inject button. There's a tape inside of it too. Thank you
for the update, Marshal, Eric said, come down below and bring the
camera with you. Without any hesitation, I put the tape back in the
camera and made my way down the stairs to the living quarters. John and
Eric were sitting down at a table in a small kitchen. Did you find
anything down here, I said, as I sat next to John and put
the camera on the table. Nothing to give any probable cause, but we
did find four suitcases belonging to two women and two men, Eric said as
he put two new double A batteries into the camera. He also found batteries,
John said, as Eric quickly smiled before going back to his cold gaze.
Are we going to watch the tape? I asked as Eric turned the
camera on, causing it to sound It started jingle. Of course, it's
evidence and we have nothing else to go off of. Eric said as he
checked the time, and the recording looks like there's about an hour's worth of
footage on her John and I sat in anticipation as Eric put the camera back
on the table and hit play on the VHS recorder. The first clips started
off with a woman were in a black and white striped bikini sunbathing on the
deck of the ship, while two people could be heard having a splash fight
in the water. Hi, everyone, the man said, as he zoomed
in on the sunbathing woman. Here is my beautiful and not at all cranky
Clara. Oh Wendell, stop that, the woman said playfully as she sat
up. And this is my not at all annoying husband. Ooh burn,
the man said, laughing. Dad, I'm hungry, yelled a boy in
his mid teens as he climbed the ladder to the deck, and can we
please not have pork chops again? A younger girl chimed in. The man
then turned the camera to face himself, revealing himself to be the same man
that we found in the helm. Being a parent is such a rewarding experience,
Wendell said sarcastically, as he was sprayed with water. Hey cut that
out. The video then cut to black before starting clip two. Hey,
assholes, the boy from before said. As soon as the second clip began,
Today, I'm going to be pranking my dad by pushing him overboard like
hell you are, Connor, Wendell said as he grabbed the camera. You
couldn't trick me if you tried. Yeah, Connor, you'd have to be
smart to do that, the young girl said as she walked by the camera
to sit at the kitchen table. Screw you, Sam Connor said in an
annoyed tone. Hey be nice to your sister, Wendell said sternly. Ah,
fine, Connor said as he sat down. Dinner's ready, Clara,
Wendell called out, before giving an annoyed look to the camera. The camera
then went black again. As I watched these clips, I couldn't help but
think about the man whose lifeless body is lying directly over our head. Yeah,
it doesn't get any easier, Eric said what I said as I snapped
back to reality. This is the first time I've had to go through footage
like this, Eric said, as he gave me a sad look. Seeing
someone's ghost, their memories, the life they've left behind. Just try not
to get too caught up in it. Remember, we need to be here
for them so they can rest knowing someone was able to tell their story.
Thanks, Sir, I said, as I looked down at my hands.
Eric nodded and clicked play on the camera, which started up clip three.
In this clip, it was now nighttime and the family was staring at something
off in the distance. Wendell, do you have the camera ready, Clara
said, in nervous excitement. You have to film this. I just turned
it on. I'm right behind you, Wendell said as he approached his wife
and kids. As he got behind them, the camera showed four blue orbs
of light hovering over the ocean. What are those things, Dad Connor asked
as he turned to face the camera. I I don't have any idea,
buddy, Wendell said, as he zoomed in on one of the orbs.
When he did, you could see that the orb was pulsating, as if
to mimic the water below. Wendel, I don't like this, Clara said
nervously. Yeah, that's all. Go downstairs and play some board games,
Wendell said, with clearly fake enthusiasm. As Wendell started to put the camera
down, he quickly froze. Suddenly, a faint sound could be heard off
in the distance. Is that singing? John said as he leaned towards the
camera speaker. Come on, kids, let's get downstairs. Wendell said,
in a more concerned tone than before. The camera once again cut to black,
leaving us in pure disbelief. You all heard that, right, John
said, as he quickly looked at Eric than me. Yeah, yeah,
I think I heard something, I said before being cut off by Eric.
I didn't hear anything, Eric said as he pressed play on the camera.
Let's just keep watching, Dad, get the camera quick. You need to
see this, Samu yelled from the top deck. Windovin ran up the stairs
to see that the bright lights were much closer. Now, what the hell,
Wendell muttered under his breath as he stared at the pulsating orbs. The
singing from the third clip had become much more audible. John then paused the
recording and turned to face Eric. See don't you hear the singing? John
exclaimed, The orbs are harmonizing. Eric said nothing and press play on the
camera. The clip continued with Wendell filming the orbs. Suddenly, the song
that was being's sung began to shift whend Clara Connor Sam the orbs sang.
As they sang, it sounded as if they were producing multiple octaves of sound
at once, producing a rolling sound of harmonies had a perfect pitch. As
we listened to the track through the VHS, I felt the hairs on my
arm begin to stand up. Sam, honey, and let's go to bed.
It's late, Wendell said, as he started to walk towards his daughter.
Sam, having either not heard her father or did not care to listen
to him, stayed perfectly still as she continued to stare into the orbs floating
ten feet above her head. Sam Window yelled, snapping Sam out of the
days Dad. Sam muttered groggily, it's okay, baby, Window said,
clearly shaken by what had just transpired. Let's get you to bed. You
were asleep. Walking again, the clip went to black, and John pressed
the play button with no hesitation. Eric and I looked at each other as
the clip began. Clara Connor, Sam Window called out as he left his
bed and entered the living quarters. All around him, the sound from earlier
had gotten loud, to the point of causing the VHS's microphone to start clipping.
The blue light given off by the orbs had surrounded the boat, rays
of blue light to cast throughout the cabin. As Wendell panned the camera around
the room, he heard the faint sounds of talking above deck. Hold on,
I'm coming, Window yelled, as he ran up the stairs. As
soon as he reached the top deck and turned to face the bow of the
ship, he instantly froze. Clara, Connor and Sam were standing completely nude
and facing the ocean. What the hell is going on? Window yelled?
As he made his way towards his family. He stopped and screamed as four
creatures began to rise in front of his family. As the skinless humanoids began
to tower over the three, they began to unhinge their jaws and produced two
black tentacles, which emitted the same light blue glow as the orbs. The
three of us and Wendell watched in horror as three of the creature pressed their
tentacles over Clara, Connor and Sam's faces. As their tentacles latched onto their
faces, they appeared to suck away at their skin. Stay away from my
family, who freaks, Wendell cried out. As soon as he spoke,
the fourth creature began to shuffle towards him, walking as though their legs did
not match their autonomy. Wendell began to slowly back away as the creature made
a break towards him. The sudden speed of the creature caused me to flinch.
As Eric sat stoically and John sat transfixed. Wendell quickly rushed to the
helm and slammed the door shut just as the creature was about to grab him.
Damn it, damn it, what are those things? Wendell muttered as
he tried to catch his breath while he locked the door. After a minute
of composing himself, Wendell pointed the camera towards the window and walked off to
the left side of the screen. From the hatch, we watched as the
formerly skinless creatures started to take on facial features from the family members, becoming
twisted versions of the loving family we had seen on TV. The placement of
hair and the creature's heads were matted and off center. Their mouths, which
were still unhinged, looked crooked and broken, and the creatures bulged from the
skin they adorned like a tight fitting suit. As soon as Wendell came back
on screen and looked out the window, he vomited at the abomination before recoiling
due to a loud banging sound from the other side of the door. Wendell
looked up in horror as the face of the skinless creatures suddenly appeared from the
other side of the hatch window. It smiled at Wendell as it began to
bang its head furiously against the door. Take this, Wendell screamed as he
drew a pistol and vited three shots to the door. As the shots rang
out, a deafening scream of pain could be heard from the other side of
the door. HA got you, Wendell cheered as he looked out the window.
As soon as he saw the scene outside, his pride had quickly soured
the dismay as he began to sob. I don't know how to live without
you, Wendell said as he stared down the pistol. I'm so sorry everyone.
I love you so so much. For anyone who finds this, my
coordinates is forty three point six to minus sixty nine point seven. If you
see blue orbs over the water, run. As soon as he said this,
Wendell picked up the camera and placed it on the shelf beside the door,
out of sight of the camera. The sound of the engine wrong to
life can be heard as a single gunshot exploded to the mic, leaving just
the sound of the singing from behind the door. Suddenly, after several minutes,
the sound of banging resumed and a loud crash was heard off camera.
After several moments of shuffling, the creature that was behind the door appeared and
stared directly at the camera, causing John to let out a blood curdling scream.
What the hell? John screamed as he shot out of his chair.
The sudden reaction caused Erek and I to flinch as John began pacing around the
cabin. John, are you okay, Eric asked as he got up hits
face. John screamed, HiT's damn face. I know. I don't think
I'll ever be able to un see that skinless freak. I said, what
the hell are you talking about? John said, as he stopped pacing and
stared at me. The creature, I said, in a confused tone.
It didn't have skin and was all muscle and tendon. It had my face,
Marshal, you didn't see my face, John pleaded, It smiled at
me with my own damn face. Eric shot a glance at John before giving
me a worried look, grabbed the camera. We need to leave now,
Eric said, But it had my face, Sir, John muttered between fits
of crying. Now let's go, Eric yelled. Eric stormed out of the
cabin as I helped an inconsolable John up the stairs and onto our boat.
The right back from the s s. Napolis was tense in silence between John's
constant whimpering. As soon as we made it back to dark two members of
the Coastguard were waiting to escort on to our field office. As I was
about to get off the ship, Eric put his arm out to stop me.
Sir, I said, before being cut off. What I'm about to
tell you is extremely important, so I need you to listen, Eric said,
as he looked around to make sure no one else was in airshot.
Of course, Sir, what is it? I asked. You didn't see
anything today, Eric whispered. Of course, Sir, I won't tell anyone,
I replied. Eric just shook his head and stared at me. Even
if you saw something, you never saw anything, You never heard anything,
You know nothing. Eric continued. I'm only telling you this because I have
no choice. For those creatures you saw are sirens like from the Odyssey,
similar Eric said, as he became slightly more relaxed. We pray on those
who allow themselves to be open to their calls. As soon as you leave
here, listen to your favorite album, or do something to rid yourself of
the mark. What about John, I asked as I watched them struggle to
walk with his escorts. Watch over him, make sure he doesn't do anything
stupid, and hope that God's grace is in his favor. Eric said,
as he pulled out a cigar and lit it. Now go, You're dismissed,
yes, Sir I said, as they gave a salute and walked back
to the office. For the next couple of hours, I took Eric's advice
and listened to some music and watch a late night Celtics game on TV with
my friend Pete and some other colleagues. Bound missed another two point shot.
Eric burst into the office, whereas Marshall. He yelled, I'm right here,
Sir I said, wearily, as the guys who are watching the game
with me tried to distance themselves. Follow me now, he yelled as he
slammed the door and stood in the room confused for a second before grabbing my
coat and rushing for the door. Poor guy, he said as I rushed
out of the room. As soon as I left the office and Marshall was
waiting for me holding an M sixteen. We have a serious issue, Marshall,
Eric said, as he handed me the keys to the boat. What's
wrong, I asked nervously as I eyed the assault rifle. John stole one
of our boats, and I think I know where it's going, Eric said,
as he began to briskly walk to the boat. Where is he going?
I asked, as I tried to catch up the coordinates in that video.
He's going back to the site where the incident happened, Eric said,
as he picked up his pace. Why would he do that? He was
terrified of those things, I asked. As we neared the boat. Just
as we were about to board the boat, Eric turned to look at me
because he never listens. Marshall. He embraced the song, and now they
have a hold on him. Eric and I then boarded the ship and sped
off into the night towards where Wendell had reported the incident. By the time
we arrived near the location, it had been about an hour since we had
left the dock. Ahead of us, we saw the footlights of a ship
in the distance, and to my horror, a bright blue orb hovering in
the sky. Damn, he might already be too late, Eric said as
he turned the safety off the sixteen. What's the plan, sir, I
asked as the floodlights came closer. We save John if we can, and
I shoot anything that's not human. Eric said as he pulled air plugs from
his pocket and handed them to me. As we approached the side of the
boat, I saw John standing on the bow, nude and staring at the
sky, while the orb above him was singing, just as it had in
the video. John, John, John, John, What the hell are
you doing? Eric eld. John didn't respond, John. If you don't
answer me, I'm going to board this boat and haul you off myself,
Eric yeld as he prepared to disembark. Just as Eric was about to board
John's boat, the creature started to crawl from the water onto his boat.
Standing before John was one of the eight feet tall skinless sirens. Oh damn,
Eric said as he raised his rifle. Before he could shoot the creature,
John turned around and fired two shots from his revolver at Eric, hitting
him in the shoulder. As Eric laid bleeding on the floor of our boat.
John turned back towards the creature as his tentacles exploded from his face and
latched onto John's skin. As the creature began to harvest John's skin, John
started to moan with delight. Not wanting to see John consumed, I grabbed
a medical kit from the helm of our boat and rushed over to Eric to
stabilize his wounds. Don't worry about me, son, Eric said, between
gritted teeth, you need to take that thing out. I nodded and carefully
grabbed the M sixteen from beside Eric I had in my hands. I quickly
spun around and fired several shots of the creature. The creature turned around to
look at me, and I saw that half of its face now resembled my
partner John, while the other half still was primarily muscle. It snarled at
me, showing off its various rows of different sized teeth. When I was
able to see this creature up close, I realized that it looked like it
was made of human beings stacked upon each other. Its legs had different joints
and knees that did not function. Its hands had tens of fingers that didn't
move. Its face had several jaws and mouths of various sizes moving in unison.
It was as if it was a Russian nesting doll of flesh and bone.
After a moment of staring me down, the creature lunged for me.
I quickly sprayed the rest of the magazine into the creature. As I did,
thousands of teeth and bone exploded from his face and torso, and the
creature fell forward into the sea. Staring back at John, I saw him
gasping on the floor of his boat, drenched in blood and missing several layers
of muscle and flesh from his face. As he turned to look at me,
he smiled before the creature, which I thought I had killed, grabbed
him by the legs and dragged him below the surface of the water. Having
no bullets left, I watched in horror as the man I had worked with
for the last three years was dragged down to a watery hell. After a
moment of standing defeated and utterly dumbfounded, I made my way over to Eric
and handed him the rifle. You did, good, son, he said,
as he lit another cigar. But John's dead, I replied, barely
able to hold back tears. You did what you could, Eric said,
between puffs, Now let's get the hell out of here. I wish I
could say that I became Rambow and hunted down the creature that killed my friend,
But I didn't. I knew that John was a dead man as soon
as he set sail for those damned creatures. But every day I think about
all the ways I could have stopped him. Eric and I would go on
to work together on many unexplainable cases after this one, but those are all
stories for another day. For now, as a former Coast Guard investigator,
if you see blue orbs in the sky and the open ocean, run like
hell and don't ever listen to their song.