WEBVTT 1 00:00:17.719 --> 00:00:24.800 How legends are born August nineteen ninety seven. Tires have a way of always 2 00:00:24.839 --> 00:00:29.839 going flat when it's raining. Engines won't turn over, brakes don't function, 3 00:00:29.879 --> 00:00:34.719 and fuel gauges always lie when it's raining. It may not be the case 4 00:00:34.759 --> 00:00:40.520 for anyone else, but for Mike it was universally true, especially after sunset. 5 00:00:41.240 --> 00:00:45.960 It was the first rule of tribal for him. The front passengers tire 6 00:00:46.039 --> 00:00:50.920 had fulfilled that rule with perfection. The rein saturated his hair and it had 7 00:00:51.000 --> 00:00:55.000 begun to work its way down his neck like icy fingers. As he stood 8 00:00:55.079 --> 00:00:59.640 on the roadside deliberating his options. He could pull the jack out of the 9 00:00:59.640 --> 00:01:03.799 trunk and change the tire himself, or he could get back into the car 10 00:01:03.880 --> 00:01:07.599 and call the number on his insurance at and wait for someone to come and 11 00:01:07.680 --> 00:01:12.159 change it for him. He glanced up and down the unmarked blacktop. It 12 00:01:12.239 --> 00:01:17.200 was walled in on both sides by a thick mat of old growth trees that 13 00:01:17.280 --> 00:01:22.959 sprung out of an undergrowth of thorny brambles, twisted vines, and poisonous plants, 14 00:01:23.079 --> 00:01:26.519 all of which sat, he was sure, on a carpet of leaf 15 00:01:26.599 --> 00:01:30.840 matter and riding branches. In some places the forest came up to the edge 16 00:01:30.840 --> 00:01:34.920 of the road and formed a canopy over it, and others that withdrew a 17 00:01:34.959 --> 00:01:40.959 dozen feet or more to reveal small patches of tall grass. He had pulled 18 00:01:40.959 --> 00:01:45.159 his car to a shaky halt at a point where a grass oasis was ending, 19 00:01:45.400 --> 00:01:48.959 but where the trees had not yet moved forward enough to form the canopy. 20 00:01:49.920 --> 00:01:55.120 He shrugged. It didn't matter. There was room to work whether it 21 00:01:55.159 --> 00:01:59.040 was him or some other guy. His flashlight had a base that allowed him 22 00:01:59.079 --> 00:02:01.319 to set it on the end so it could act as a lantern. He 23 00:02:01.359 --> 00:02:05.120 had a set of road flares, but he didn't see the need for him. 24 00:02:06.079 --> 00:02:08.879 He'd been driving this road for the past hour and hadn't seen a single 25 00:02:09.000 --> 00:02:15.599 vehicle. The only houses he had passed look abandoned. If it weren't for 26 00:02:15.639 --> 00:02:20.360 the power lines overhead, he would have assumed that this road led to nowhere, 27 00:02:20.520 --> 00:02:23.479 despite the fact that his GPS assured him that he was headed in the 28 00:02:23.560 --> 00:02:29.479 right direction. Ultimately, he decided that he could have the tire changed and 29 00:02:29.599 --> 00:02:34.199 be on his way long before anyone would be able to reach him. He 30 00:02:34.240 --> 00:02:38.719 walked back to the truck and pressed the open button on his keyfob. It 31 00:02:38.800 --> 00:02:43.280 took some manipulating to remove the jack from its position on top of the spare. 32 00:02:44.000 --> 00:02:46.560 Then it took a little more elbow grease to withdraw the donut from the 33 00:02:46.599 --> 00:02:53.599 wheel. Great a donut. A gust of wind pushed the brain hard into 34 00:02:53.639 --> 00:02:57.960 his face. He looked down the road again, hoping against hope that someone 35 00:02:58.000 --> 00:03:00.719 would happen along. Even if they and changed the tire for him, the 36 00:03:00.800 --> 00:03:06.039 company would be nice. He had a sudden need to know that he was 37 00:03:06.080 --> 00:03:08.680 not the only human left on the face of the earth. There were no 38 00:03:08.800 --> 00:03:14.360 headlights cutting through the driving rain. He turned to look back up the other 39 00:03:14.439 --> 00:03:19.759 direction. A boult of lightning split the sky open with a loud crack. 40 00:03:20.319 --> 00:03:24.039 The light momentarily turned the whirl from black to deep shades of green and gray, 41 00:03:24.439 --> 00:03:29.520 and for a second, for less than that, the dark outline of 42 00:03:29.560 --> 00:03:32.120 a figure stood out on the edge of the trees where the road turned and 43 00:03:32.199 --> 00:03:38.680 disappeared around the bin. Mike caught his breath in shock. Who would be 44 00:03:38.759 --> 00:03:43.319 out walking in this weather? Who would be out here this late? He 45 00:03:43.360 --> 00:03:46.319 looked down at his watch to confirm that it was well after ten pm. 46 00:03:46.840 --> 00:03:53.479 The digital face red eleven forty three pm, and his eyes squinted as he 47 00:03:53.560 --> 00:03:57.360 tried to focus on the spot where the figure had been, but it was 48 00:03:57.400 --> 00:04:00.879 too dark. And shaking his head, he told him hseelf that he had 49 00:04:00.919 --> 00:04:05.400 imagined it. Maybe it was a tree that only looked human. He sighed 50 00:04:05.479 --> 00:04:10.000 again, and he was getting tired of hearing himself do that, and he 51 00:04:10.080 --> 00:04:13.199 picked up the jack and carried it in the tire up the side of the 52 00:04:13.240 --> 00:04:16.240 car. Then, realizing that he had left the lug wrench in the trunk, 53 00:04:16.279 --> 00:04:20.319 he started back to get it. Another lightning bolt lit up the night 54 00:04:20.639 --> 00:04:25.800 and he turned quickly, hoping to see that same figure and identified as a 55 00:04:25.839 --> 00:04:30.720 tree or a road sign. He wasn't quick enough. Grabbing the tire iron, 56 00:04:30.759 --> 00:04:34.839 he moved back up through the front passenger quarter panel and he knelt down, 57 00:04:35.000 --> 00:04:39.800 turning the flashlight up on its base and sitting it on the ground beside 58 00:04:39.879 --> 00:04:43.879 him. As he did so, he put that figure out of his mind. 59 00:04:44.240 --> 00:04:46.720 There was a tire to be changed. He hadn't done this himself in 60 00:04:46.800 --> 00:04:50.560 quite some time. He had to think about where to place the jack. 61 00:04:51.360 --> 00:04:55.639 Then he had to let the jack back down because he had forgotten to loosen 62 00:04:55.639 --> 00:05:00.199 the lug nuts first. A few minutes later, he was crawling around on 63 00:05:00.240 --> 00:05:02.399 the ground trying to find the lug nut that he had lost when it fell 64 00:05:02.439 --> 00:05:06.439 off before he was ready, and he held the lantern high, hoping that 65 00:05:06.519 --> 00:05:12.399 it would reflect off the nut. When he heard the growl stopping, his 66 00:05:12.480 --> 00:05:17.000 eyes went immediately to the trees seven feet away from him. Black on black 67 00:05:17.199 --> 00:05:23.519 looked back at him. It was so dark and raining so hard that he 68 00:05:23.560 --> 00:05:29.720 could barely make out more than deep shadows on top of deeper shadows. Anyone, 69 00:05:29.759 --> 00:05:33.120 anything, could be lurking only feet away and he wouldn't know it. 70 00:05:34.639 --> 00:05:40.000 Panic swept over him. He hadn't removed all the lug nuts yet, much 71 00:05:40.079 --> 00:05:43.560 less the tire. It would take time to put the other tire on. 72 00:05:44.560 --> 00:05:46.560 He would have to turn his back on the woods to do so. He 73 00:05:46.639 --> 00:05:49.600 thought for a minute that he could get in the car and lock the doors 74 00:05:49.600 --> 00:05:55.959 and wait until daylight. That would be the safest thing to do. With 75 00:05:56.079 --> 00:05:59.759 a little effort, he managed to get up on his feet. Yes, 76 00:06:00.120 --> 00:06:02.399 he would get in the car and wait until daylight, at least until the 77 00:06:02.439 --> 00:06:09.160 blasted rain stopped. His hand reached out to feel for the car behind him, 78 00:06:09.160 --> 00:06:12.600 while his eyes continued to scan the tree line for the source of the 79 00:06:12.639 --> 00:06:16.160 growl. Blindly, he let his hand lead him around to the front. 80 00:06:17.040 --> 00:06:21.199 He backed off the shoulder onto the road and worked his way clumsily to the 81 00:06:21.319 --> 00:06:26.720 driver's side and behind him. From the other side of the road, he 82 00:06:26.720 --> 00:06:31.800 heard a loud snap. Someone was stepping on a twig. The relief of 83 00:06:31.839 --> 00:06:35.920 not being alone spread across his face in the form of a smile. Even 84 00:06:35.959 --> 00:06:42.279 as he turned to see who was back there, A set of eyes stared 85 00:06:42.319 --> 00:06:46.839 through sheets of driving rain at him, glowing from some internal light. He 86 00:06:46.879 --> 00:06:50.519 looked up at them, gauging their height to be somewhere around seven or eight 87 00:06:50.560 --> 00:06:55.879 feet off the ground. This was not a human being, This was an 88 00:06:55.959 --> 00:07:00.399 animal, and lightning struck and in the stroving light he saw it. It 89 00:07:00.480 --> 00:07:05.600 wasn't an animal, this was a monster. Mike let out a cry of 90 00:07:05.639 --> 00:07:10.519 alarm. His hand groped for the car door, wrenching it open, and 91 00:07:10.519 --> 00:07:15.199 he spun around and tried to dive inside. He felt the claws tear through 92 00:07:15.240 --> 00:07:17.959 the skin on his back, and he felt the blood flowing down his spine, 93 00:07:18.279 --> 00:07:23.879 and he felt the first bite, then the second. He knew he 94 00:07:24.040 --> 00:07:30.360 was being consumed. He knew there was nothing he could do to stop it. 95 00:07:30.360 --> 00:07:32.839 It was ten am the next morning when the squad car pulled up behind 96 00:07:32.839 --> 00:07:38.639 the abandoned car. The officer called in the out of state plates and took 97 00:07:38.680 --> 00:07:44.279 the relevant information before getting out to investigate. He was silently grateful that the 98 00:07:44.360 --> 00:07:48.360 rain had passed and the sun was shining. Daylight was infinitely better than a 99 00:07:48.480 --> 00:07:55.240 dark, stormy night, especially when it came to these Mississippi backroads. He 100 00:07:55.319 --> 00:07:58.560 made his way up the passenger side of the car to look at the jack 101 00:07:58.639 --> 00:08:01.439 and tires on the ground, and he turned and looked at the trees behind 102 00:08:01.519 --> 00:08:05.800 him, wondering if perhaps the owner of the vehicle had wandered into the woods 103 00:08:05.839 --> 00:08:11.399 to relieve himself. A cold shiver traced his spine, feeding the goose bumps 104 00:08:11.439 --> 00:08:16.439 that blossomed on his arms. He knew he was being watched. His eyes 105 00:08:16.439 --> 00:08:22.079 scan the entire tree line, and nothing moved. No sounds emerged from the 106 00:08:22.160 --> 00:08:28.600 vegetation, no animals scurrying, no insects chirping, no birds singing. For 107 00:08:28.680 --> 00:08:33.080 several seconds, he stood in anticipation of something that he couldn't quite explain. 108 00:08:33.840 --> 00:08:39.399 Something was beyond his line of sight. Something was going to burst from the 109 00:08:39.440 --> 00:08:43.879 trees at any moment, and his hand slid to his holster. He released 110 00:08:43.879 --> 00:08:48.399 a long breath and then inhaled, slowly and deeply. It was coming, 111 00:08:48.399 --> 00:08:56.279 and mentally he ran through his training, preparing himself for something. In a 112 00:08:56.279 --> 00:09:01.399 sudden explosion of sound, the zircadas erupted into a wall of song that nearly 113 00:09:01.480 --> 00:09:05.480 knocked him off his feet. His knees gave way to the shock, and 114 00:09:05.559 --> 00:09:09.679 he fell back against the side of the car. A bird flew overhead and 115 00:09:09.759 --> 00:09:13.200 landed in a tree and began to sing. And somewhere a squirrel was barking. 116 00:09:15.080 --> 00:09:18.600 Something crashed through the undergrowth deep inside the forest. It was moving away 117 00:09:18.639 --> 00:09:24.320 from him. The world had slipped into and then out of a trance. 118 00:09:24.840 --> 00:09:30.039 It was over. Several deep breaths later, the officer's heart began to beat 119 00:09:30.039 --> 00:09:33.639 at a slower pace, and he resumed his investigation. He turned around and 120 00:09:33.639 --> 00:09:39.279 looked into the passenger's window. The back seat held a toat full of small 121 00:09:39.320 --> 00:09:45.360 boxes and brochures. A suit hung from the hook over the door traveling salesman. 122 00:09:46.679 --> 00:09:50.360 He noted a wallet tucked into a cupholder between the seats, but the 123 00:09:50.399 --> 00:09:54.519 passenger's door was locked, so he moved around to the other side. His 124 00:09:54.639 --> 00:09:58.559 hand touched something sticky on the door handle, and he pulled it back to 125 00:09:58.639 --> 00:10:05.279 in gate. His fingers had a dark, gelatinous substance on them, and 126 00:10:05.360 --> 00:10:09.559 he thought it resembled a mashed earthworm at first. Putting his fingers to his 127 00:10:09.600 --> 00:10:16.759 nose, he smelled it a sickly metallic scent assailed as nostrils. He knew 128 00:10:16.759 --> 00:10:20.879 instantly what it was, and placing one hand on his gun and looking around, 129 00:10:20.919 --> 00:10:24.799 he reached up with the other and pressed the button on the mic clipped 130 00:10:24.840 --> 00:10:33.679 to his shoulder strap dispatch, we have a situation. April nineteen ninety nine 131 00:10:35.360 --> 00:10:39.679 prom was a blast. It was held at the country club, the inside 132 00:10:39.759 --> 00:10:46.200 of which most of the graduating class had rarely seen. Strapless and brilliantly colored 133 00:10:46.240 --> 00:10:52.279 prom dresses glittered in sequined accents, and black tuxedos boasted cumber bunch to match 134 00:10:52.320 --> 00:10:58.879 their date's attire. Gausy yellow clouds of fabric dotted with rhinestones where draped over 135 00:10:58.919 --> 00:11:03.840 the walls of blue Materi burial in celebration of the themes story night, the 136 00:11:03.879 --> 00:11:09.919 air was choked with a scent of petulian musk was centrist undernoes and grocery store 137 00:11:11.080 --> 00:11:16.519 carsages tacky as it was. For the teenage girls in attendance, it was 138 00:11:16.639 --> 00:11:20.399 paradise, and for the boys it was a promise of paradise, they would 139 00:11:20.440 --> 00:11:26.480 find later that night. Gareth was not an athletic kid. His grades were 140 00:11:26.519 --> 00:11:31.600 a solid sea, and he worked part time at the local McDonald's, at 141 00:11:31.639 --> 00:11:35.559 which he made just enough money to put gas in his truck and pay for 142 00:11:35.639 --> 00:11:39.120 the constant repairs that the nearly fifteen year old vehicle was always in need of. 143 00:11:41.120 --> 00:11:43.919 He had already applied for and been offered a job on the ground's maintenance 144 00:11:43.960 --> 00:11:50.120 staff at the university, something that allowed his father to quip our boys going 145 00:11:50.120 --> 00:11:54.200 to college to anyone who would listen. Most of them didn't get the joke. 146 00:11:56.679 --> 00:12:00.720 Courtney was Gareth's co worker at McDonald's, she said, gaving her money 147 00:12:00.799 --> 00:12:03.320 to pay for classes at the community college, where she planned to join the 148 00:12:03.399 --> 00:12:09.600 nursing program. She was much more interested in a career as a hairstylist, 149 00:12:09.799 --> 00:12:13.960 but her mother was a nurse's aid and she dreamed of her daughter taking the 150 00:12:13.039 --> 00:12:16.960 next step up the ladder, and Courtney didn't want to let her mother down. 151 00:12:18.440 --> 00:12:22.440 The two went on their first date shortly before Christmas break, and by 152 00:12:22.519 --> 00:12:28.799 Valentine's Day she was wearing his class ring. He proposed during spring break, 153 00:12:28.799 --> 00:12:33.879 and she accepted. They planned to marry shortly after she received her associate in 154 00:12:33.039 --> 00:12:39.639 nursing, and their parents smiled knowingly and said silent prayers of gratitude that their 155 00:12:39.720 --> 00:12:45.799 children had at least the good sense to wait. Courtney wore a black sinquine 156 00:12:45.840 --> 00:12:50.039 gown, similar to that worn by Rachel Lee Cook, and She's all that. 157 00:12:50.879 --> 00:12:54.559 Most of the girls had chosen dresses reminiscent of that movie. None of 158 00:12:54.600 --> 00:12:58.919 them looked as good in them as the actresses whose bodies were fully mature at 159 00:12:58.879 --> 00:13:05.559 the time of filming, and Courtney was no exception. Gareth was happy that 160 00:13:05.679 --> 00:13:09.240 she had chosen black. It meant he could dress more like his hero James 161 00:13:09.279 --> 00:13:15.799 Bond. As they walked off the dance floor, having danced to I Don't 162 00:13:15.799 --> 00:13:18.840 Want to Miss a Thing by Aerosmith every time the dj had played it, 163 00:13:20.399 --> 00:13:24.600 Gareth took Courtney's hand and drew her through the door and out the Fouryer, 164 00:13:24.320 --> 00:13:28.600 let's get out of here, he whispered, as he leaned in to kiss 165 00:13:28.600 --> 00:13:33.240 her neck. We can't she protested. She wanted to leave too, but 166 00:13:33.320 --> 00:13:37.000 she didn't want to seem rude with her friends. I'm tired, Let's go, 167 00:13:37.240 --> 00:13:41.279 Gareth insisted. Courtney looked over her shoulder at the dance floor. It 168 00:13:41.399 --> 00:13:46.639 was much less crowded than it had been earlier. They wouldn't be the first 169 00:13:46.639 --> 00:13:50.000 to leave, and they certainly didn't want to be the last. Okay, 170 00:13:50.159 --> 00:13:54.320 let me go in and grab my purse and say goodbye. Gareth pulled a 171 00:13:54.320 --> 00:13:58.399 small black velvet clutch out of his pocket. Courtney looked down at it and 172 00:13:58.480 --> 00:14:03.159 giggled when he purchased it. She had thought she'd be lucky to get her 173 00:14:03.159 --> 00:14:07.039 lipstick in a comb in it. Now she was glad that she'd chosen the 174 00:14:07.080 --> 00:14:11.600 small bag. She looked up at Gareth with a dazzling smile and nodded her 175 00:14:11.639 --> 00:14:15.360 head. They rushed out the door, like a pair of inmates making a 176 00:14:15.399 --> 00:14:20.360 prison break. Gareth was pulling his truck onto a small gravel drive that led 177 00:14:20.399 --> 00:14:24.600 down to the lake. They hoped it would be vacant. The little parking 178 00:14:24.679 --> 00:14:28.000 spot at the end of the road wasn't big enough to accommodate more than a 179 00:14:28.039 --> 00:14:33.679 couple of vehicles. Anyone who parked there, would leave their running lights on 180 00:14:33.919 --> 00:14:37.919 so anyone else could see them in time to turn around at the one wide 181 00:14:37.919 --> 00:14:41.919 spot in the road, and as they approached that point, they both heaved 182 00:14:41.960 --> 00:14:46.799 a sigh of relief. It was vacant. Most of the kids could be 183 00:14:46.840 --> 00:14:50.360 crowding into the local hotel that night. Someone would get a room and six 184 00:14:50.399 --> 00:14:54.360 other couples would join them. There would be no privacy, a lot of 185 00:14:54.480 --> 00:15:00.879 underage drinking, and an eventual call to the cops. Gareth and Courtney, 186 00:15:01.080 --> 00:15:05.080 as an engaged couple, saw themselves as being above all that. Besides, 187 00:15:05.120 --> 00:15:11.080 it would be the popular kids, Keaton Evers and Jetta Davies would be there 188 00:15:11.080 --> 00:15:15.360 with their court and toe, and neither Gareth nor Courtney would be welcome. 189 00:15:16.200 --> 00:15:18.840 Well, this spot was much nicer. The moon was full and the sky 190 00:15:20.000 --> 00:15:24.279 was clear, and the water was smooth as glass. The radio drowned out 191 00:15:24.320 --> 00:15:28.759 the strained silence around them. They pulled up to the water's edge and turned 192 00:15:28.759 --> 00:15:33.200 off the truck. Gareth knew the battery would be dead if he left the 193 00:15:33.200 --> 00:15:37.720 truck running lights on, so he decided to chance it and go completely dark. 194 00:15:37.519 --> 00:15:41.000 They got out and Courtney walked down to the water while Gareth pulled a 195 00:15:41.039 --> 00:15:45.879 blanket out from behind the driver's seat. He went to the back of the 196 00:15:45.919 --> 00:15:50.320 truck and dropped the tailgate. He opened the cooler that he stowed back there 197 00:15:50.440 --> 00:15:54.960 earlier and pulled out a couple of Baccardi breezers. Hey, he called, 198 00:15:54.080 --> 00:16:00.440 holding one for Courtney. She turned and exclaimed, where did you get those? 199 00:16:00.840 --> 00:16:03.399 As she walked over to take the one he was offering. I took 200 00:16:03.440 --> 00:16:07.440 him from dad's refrigerator out in the garage. He won't miss him. He 201 00:16:07.480 --> 00:16:11.679 only keeps him around from when mom decides to come out and have a drink 202 00:16:11.720 --> 00:16:15.279 with him. He slid up to the tailgate and added, which is never 203 00:16:17.799 --> 00:16:21.720 Courtney tilted hers up to take a long drink, but had to stop short 204 00:16:21.759 --> 00:16:26.120 when it dribbled down her chin onto her dress. Damn it, she said. 205 00:16:26.960 --> 00:16:30.519 Gareth chuckled as if he were much older and a much more experienced drinker 206 00:16:30.600 --> 00:16:36.399 before doing the same shit. He wiped the droplets of red fluid away from 207 00:16:36.399 --> 00:16:41.440 his white shirt. Courtney, too shine polite to insult her boyfriend without right 208 00:16:41.559 --> 00:16:47.879 laughter, turned her attention to the surrounding woods. It's quiet out here tonight, 209 00:16:48.039 --> 00:16:52.440 isn't it. It's too early for the bugs, Gareth said, still 210 00:16:52.559 --> 00:16:56.320 it's quiet. They sat quietly for a few minutes, and Gareth finished his 211 00:16:56.399 --> 00:17:03.080 first drink and reached for another. Courtney had barely touched hers. Gareth, 212 00:17:03.120 --> 00:17:07.279 it feels weird out here, she complained. Eighteen year old boys, no 213 00:17:07.319 --> 00:17:11.880 matter how much they might think otherwise, do not hold their liquor well, 214 00:17:11.440 --> 00:17:18.400 nor do they understand the importance of pacing themselves. Gareth swallowed the second bottle 215 00:17:18.440 --> 00:17:22.160 in one long gulp before tossing it into the woods. Don't be stupid, 216 00:17:22.319 --> 00:17:26.039 he said. We're all alone. You're not used to being alone, that's 217 00:17:26.079 --> 00:17:32.720 all. Courtney was not convinced. She surveyed the edges of the little clearing 218 00:17:32.799 --> 00:17:37.160 with wide, frightened eyes. It doesn't feel alone, she said, after 219 00:17:37.200 --> 00:17:41.880 a few minutes. It feels like someone's watching us. No one's watching us, 220 00:17:41.000 --> 00:17:45.640 court He told her, sitting down the third bottle that he had already 221 00:17:45.680 --> 00:17:51.160 consumed half of. We're as alone as it gets. Did you hear about 222 00:17:51.200 --> 00:17:55.680 that guy whose car they found out on Root seven? She asked. That's 223 00:17:55.880 --> 00:17:59.960 just a myth, Gareth said, dismissively, a story they tell to scare 224 00:18:00.160 --> 00:18:03.799 kiddies. No, it isn't, Courtney countered, my dad's cousin was married 225 00:18:03.839 --> 00:18:07.279 to the cop that found the car. What I mean is the story about 226 00:18:07.279 --> 00:18:11.000 the guy's a myth. Gareth argued, I know they found the car, 227 00:18:11.079 --> 00:18:15.759 but they never found him. He probably got tired of trying to change a 228 00:18:15.839 --> 00:18:19.920 tire in the rain and walked away from it. Courtney considered this before saying 229 00:18:21.599 --> 00:18:25.799 I know something that the public doesn't know. She waited for Gareth to take 230 00:18:25.839 --> 00:18:29.039 the bait, and when he finally turned and looked at her as if to 231 00:18:29.079 --> 00:18:33.039 say what, she said. My dad's cousin told my dad that they found 232 00:18:33.680 --> 00:18:38.559 and she paused to find the right words. They found body tissue on the 233 00:18:38.599 --> 00:18:44.759 side of the car. Gareth's eyes widened for a minute. He stared at 234 00:18:44.759 --> 00:18:48.839 Courtney while trying to determine if she was lying or telling the truth. Somewhere 235 00:18:48.839 --> 00:18:52.039 in the back of his mind he thought she was being honest, but his 236 00:18:52.119 --> 00:18:59.480 thoughts were being processed through three alcoholic beverages. He mentally argued that police officers 237 00:18:59.480 --> 00:19:03.279 don't share information like that, even with their spouses. He had seen enough 238 00:19:03.359 --> 00:19:08.400 CSI to know that cops don't talk period. Hey, he said, in 239 00:19:08.440 --> 00:19:14.599 a soft, mildly slurred voice, I brought a blanket. His hand reached 240 00:19:14.640 --> 00:19:19.400 behind him to feel around. Let's lay down. Courtney wanted to say no, 241 00:19:19.759 --> 00:19:23.319 let's leave, but she was suddenly aware that Gareth was no longer in 242 00:19:23.400 --> 00:19:29.319 any condition to drive, and with a sigh, she accepted that lying down 243 00:19:29.440 --> 00:19:33.599 was a better option than driving headlong into another vehicle and dying. She took 244 00:19:33.640 --> 00:19:37.720 the blanket and stood up in the bed of the truck to spread it out. 245 00:19:37.319 --> 00:19:41.960 She didn't see the eyes watching them from a mere twelve feet away. 246 00:19:44.160 --> 00:19:48.240 Gareth staggered to his feet and turned around to watch Courtney for a moment before 247 00:19:48.240 --> 00:19:52.880 the sudden urge to relieve himself sent him into the bushes. He caught his 248 00:19:52.920 --> 00:19:56.759 foot on a clump ofvines as he stepped inside the tree line that sent him 249 00:19:56.799 --> 00:20:02.240 sprawling forward onto his hands and knees. The thorns of a wild rose pierced 250 00:20:02.279 --> 00:20:06.160 the palms of his hands, and the fabric of his pants ripped. His 251 00:20:06.240 --> 00:20:10.440 stomach, already struggling with the amount of alcohol that he had consumed, lurch 252 00:20:10.480 --> 00:20:15.319 and expelled its contents. Gareth. Courtney called her you all right, Yeah, 253 00:20:15.400 --> 00:20:19.359 yeah, he answered, not bothering to hide his disgust. I just 254 00:20:19.519 --> 00:20:25.440 tripped well, it sounds like you're sick, she said. He opened his 255 00:20:25.559 --> 00:20:29.759 mouth to deny that he had just vomited, but a low growl stopped him. 256 00:20:30.519 --> 00:20:33.000 His head shot up and he looked all around him. What what's that? 257 00:20:33.319 --> 00:20:40.039 He muttered? What Courtney asked. Gareth didn't answer. He was looking 258 00:20:40.079 --> 00:20:45.240 frantically around him, trying to find the source of the strange growl. It 259 00:20:45.400 --> 00:20:48.000 wasn't a growl, really, it was something between a hiss and a rumble, 260 00:20:48.359 --> 00:20:52.920 and he couldn't think of any animal that could make a sound like that, 261 00:20:52.880 --> 00:20:57.839 Gareth, Courtney couldn't hide the concern in her voice. She stood up 262 00:20:57.880 --> 00:21:03.079 and stared in the direction Gareth had gone. It was too dark to see 263 00:21:03.079 --> 00:21:07.680 anything beyond the clearing, and the shadows beyond the trees swallowed that little light 264 00:21:07.799 --> 00:21:14.640 the moon provided. Gareth, she yelled. Panic was setting in even before 265 00:21:14.720 --> 00:21:18.359 she caught sight of the eyes. Three sets of them stared back at her. 266 00:21:19.480 --> 00:21:23.240 The tallest pair, a good seven feet off the ground, blinked slowly, 267 00:21:25.079 --> 00:21:29.839 and Courtney felt every muscle in her body tense and then convulse. She 268 00:21:29.920 --> 00:21:33.960 opened her mouth to scream. She needed to tell Gareth that he was surrounded 269 00:21:33.000 --> 00:21:37.720 by something, to warn him but Shaq had sucked the air out of her 270 00:21:37.799 --> 00:21:41.559 lungs, and all she meant it was an odd sort of huff. And 271 00:21:41.599 --> 00:21:45.160 then something flew out of the tree line and hit the side of the truck 272 00:21:45.240 --> 00:21:51.000 with a loud thump. Cautiously, she leaned forward and looked over the edge 273 00:21:51.000 --> 00:21:55.759 of the truck to see what it was. Gareth's head stared up at her, 274 00:21:56.000 --> 00:21:59.920 his eyes wide as mouth opened in a scream that he was not giving 275 00:22:00.119 --> 00:22:07.480 time to vocalize. Courtney screamed. Then two long, agonizing whales of terror 276 00:22:07.599 --> 00:22:12.039 echoed across the lake as three hair covered bipedal beasts stepped out of the woods 277 00:22:12.039 --> 00:22:18.240 and advanced on her. In the last second, when it was already too 278 00:22:18.359 --> 00:22:25.000 late, she turned and tried to run, and then they pounced. An 279 00:22:25.039 --> 00:22:29.839 hour later, two other young promgoing couples made their way down to the gravel 280 00:22:29.920 --> 00:22:33.759 road to the lake. They didn't see headlights when they reached the turnaround points, 281 00:22:33.759 --> 00:22:38.400 so they continued on. The truck parked on the beach surprised them. 282 00:22:40.039 --> 00:22:44.720 Common courtesy dictated that they quietly backed their vehicle out and leave the first to 283 00:22:44.880 --> 00:22:49.359 arrive alone. But teenagers never think in terms of courtesy. Wouldn't it be 284 00:22:49.400 --> 00:22:53.680 fun to sneak up on the unknown couple with their flashlights and surprised them. 285 00:22:55.240 --> 00:22:57.559 Wouldn't it be fun to see the shock looks on their faces when they caught 286 00:22:57.599 --> 00:23:03.799 them making out or war. They'd all have a great laugh watching the unsuspecting 287 00:23:03.880 --> 00:23:07.720 couples scurrying to right themselves. It would serve them right for not leaving their 288 00:23:07.799 --> 00:23:14.079 running lights on. It wasn't fun. No one laughed, and all four 289 00:23:14.119 --> 00:23:18.359 of them would spend years in counseling to help them accept and understand the scene 290 00:23:18.400 --> 00:23:27.079 that greeted them that night, November two thousand and seven. Eli had hunted 291 00:23:27.119 --> 00:23:32.400 the woods around the family farm since he was a kid. There'd always been 292 00:23:32.440 --> 00:23:36.240 stories of buggers and werewolves, but he never believed them. It was all 293 00:23:36.319 --> 00:23:38.920 bs. In his book, the ain't no monsters out here, he would 294 00:23:38.960 --> 00:23:44.200 tell those foolish enough to broach the subject, if there where, I'd have 295 00:23:44.240 --> 00:23:48.480 seen them by now. He insisted that he had hunted every square foot of 296 00:23:48.519 --> 00:23:52.000 that land that belonged to his family, in most of the woods on the 297 00:23:52.000 --> 00:23:56.079 surrounding farms, But every now and then someone would come along and claim they 298 00:23:56.119 --> 00:24:02.559 had seen something that didn't make sense. They tell stories of being chased out 299 00:24:02.599 --> 00:24:06.440 by something too big to be a human, but clearly on two feet. 300 00:24:07.279 --> 00:24:11.839 Some of them were hikers and kids playing around the woods. Eli figured they 301 00:24:11.920 --> 00:24:15.319 weren't country folks, so they probably didn't know the difference between a squirrel and 302 00:24:15.359 --> 00:24:18.319 a bobcat. Once in a while, it was a hunter who made those 303 00:24:18.359 --> 00:24:25.039 claims to them. Eli always asked, why didn't you shoot it? You 304 00:24:25.119 --> 00:24:29.519 had a gun. He enjoyed making fun of those yahoos, A bunch of 305 00:24:29.599 --> 00:24:34.359 scaredy cats with big imaginations and little common sense. That's all fighting good for 306 00:24:34.440 --> 00:24:38.160 them, he would tell anyone who would listen. Leaves more room for me 307 00:24:38.240 --> 00:24:42.440 to hunt. There were a few times when he heard things that he couldn't 308 00:24:42.480 --> 00:24:48.599 identify. A couple of times he felt like someone was watching him. Once 309 00:24:48.640 --> 00:24:52.400 he found himself walking a little faster because he felt like he was being followed. 310 00:24:52.759 --> 00:24:56.720 But he was alone when that happens, and no one ever knew about 311 00:24:56.759 --> 00:25:02.240 it. He certainly wasn't going to tell anyone. And then last week he 312 00:25:02.279 --> 00:25:06.920 came to check his deerstand and it was knocked down and torn apart. At 313 00:25:06.960 --> 00:25:10.279 first, he thought it was another hunter who thought he didn't have permission to 314 00:25:10.319 --> 00:25:15.039 be on his land. He was pretty mad about that. He told himself 315 00:25:15.039 --> 00:25:17.839 he'd catch up with that guy who did it, and he's going to tear 316 00:25:17.920 --> 00:25:22.839 him up. That was before he noticed the claw marks on the tree. 317 00:25:22.920 --> 00:25:26.839 Eli tried to run his fingers along the marks, but they were further apart 318 00:25:26.880 --> 00:25:32.160 than he could spread his fingers. It gave him a cold chill. There 319 00:25:32.160 --> 00:25:37.559 were no bears in the area, hadn't been in decades centuries. Maybe the 320 00:25:37.599 --> 00:25:40.599 marks were far enough up the tree that he had to climb up to reach 321 00:25:40.680 --> 00:25:45.319 them. No dog or coad he could get up that high. He supposed 322 00:25:45.319 --> 00:25:48.039 he could have been a bobcat, assuming bobcat's got as big as tigers. 323 00:25:48.559 --> 00:25:53.559 He didn't have an answer for that. By the time Eli got home, 324 00:25:53.880 --> 00:25:59.279 he had convinced himself that the marks were left behind a some sort of practical 325 00:25:59.359 --> 00:26:04.119 joke by SOB who tore down his stand. He figured someone knew he had 326 00:26:04.119 --> 00:26:08.359 a prime location and they wanted to scare him off. Well, it wasn't 327 00:26:08.400 --> 00:26:12.400 going to work. He had to make a special trip halfway across the state 328 00:26:12.559 --> 00:26:17.440 on Saturday to get a new stand. But he'd be damned if he was 329 00:26:17.480 --> 00:26:19.720 going to let some so and so run him out of his favorite spot. 330 00:26:21.599 --> 00:26:25.119 While he was there, he picked up a trail cam. It took him 331 00:26:25.160 --> 00:26:27.160 half the night, but he figured out how to use it, and the 332 00:26:27.200 --> 00:26:30.960 next time someone came along and tried to tear up his stuff, he'd know 333 00:26:32.079 --> 00:26:37.839 exactly who it was. Sunday morning, sleep deprived and ill tempered, Eli 334 00:26:38.000 --> 00:26:41.640 pulled up to the gate and parked his truck. It would be a fifteen 335 00:26:41.680 --> 00:26:47.480 minute walk in and he was tired as hell. Deer season opened the following 336 00:26:47.559 --> 00:26:51.160 weekend, though, so he didn't have a choice. He couldn't miss work, 337 00:26:51.200 --> 00:26:53.920 and there wasn't enough daylight after work to drive out and do it during 338 00:26:53.960 --> 00:26:57.200 the week, and before he could get to the trees, he'd have to 339 00:26:57.240 --> 00:27:03.839 cross a pasture. After that he'd have to cross a narrow stream. Even 340 00:27:03.880 --> 00:27:07.319 when it rained, the water was never more than shin deep and it hadn't 341 00:27:07.440 --> 00:27:11.480 rained in weeks. Then he worked his way into the woods, and that 342 00:27:11.599 --> 00:27:15.079 was the hard part. He had to follow a game trail that was lined 343 00:27:15.119 --> 00:27:18.960 with briars. He wasn't one hundred yards in when he began to feel like 344 00:27:19.000 --> 00:27:23.200 he was being watched, and after what happened to his tree stand, he 345 00:27:23.319 --> 00:27:26.920 was sure it must be the same son of a bitch. He was now 346 00:27:26.960 --> 00:27:30.640 watching him now. He thought about raising his hand up high and flipping them 347 00:27:30.720 --> 00:27:34.359 the bird, but he couldn't quite tell what direction they were watching from. 348 00:27:34.960 --> 00:27:40.599 He didn't want to look like an idiot. Another fifty yards and he thought 349 00:27:40.640 --> 00:27:45.319 he heard a twig. Snap's a deer. He stopped and looked around. 350 00:27:45.920 --> 00:27:48.440 Looked like something moved, but it disappeared behind a tree before he got a 351 00:27:48.440 --> 00:27:52.480 good look at it. He was hoping it'd be a big ten point buck 352 00:27:52.599 --> 00:27:56.119 er. Maybe it was that irregular he caught sight of a couple of weeks 353 00:27:56.160 --> 00:28:02.039 ago. He was twenty five yard yards from the tree where he planned to 354 00:28:02.039 --> 00:28:06.000 put the stand when he heard the first howl. He stopped dead in his 355 00:28:06.160 --> 00:28:11.480 tracks. What the hell? He ran through a mental list of animal calls. 356 00:28:11.000 --> 00:28:15.799 None matched it. He had taken only a few steps when the second 357 00:28:15.839 --> 00:28:21.279 howl sounded closer this time again, he stopped and ran through the possibilities. 358 00:28:21.720 --> 00:28:25.880 He couldn't come up with a match. Feeling more than a little easy now, 359 00:28:26.000 --> 00:28:30.319 he glanced around him and mumbled something about nobody chasing him out of these 360 00:28:30.359 --> 00:28:33.680 woods. He'd been hunting here for too long. This was his turf. 361 00:28:33.839 --> 00:28:38.839 This is my turf, he yelled, and he moved on ten more yards, 362 00:28:38.839 --> 00:28:42.400 and the sound of something moving off to his left brought his head around 363 00:28:42.400 --> 00:28:47.319 with a snap. This time he got a little more than a glimpse. 364 00:28:48.480 --> 00:28:52.519 Like a sleepy child. He rubbed his eyes, unable to comprehend what he 365 00:28:52.559 --> 00:28:57.039 had seen. It wasn't a deer. It was moving on two legs, 366 00:28:57.079 --> 00:29:00.960 but it was too big to be a man. Turning to look back in 367 00:29:02.000 --> 00:29:04.440 the direction he was moving, he saw another one, and it too was 368 00:29:04.480 --> 00:29:11.920 standing on two legs, and it was standing directly in his path. In 369 00:29:11.960 --> 00:29:15.400 the early morning mist, it was difficult to make out any real detail, 370 00:29:15.519 --> 00:29:19.079 but he was sure that he was either looking at the tallest man he had 371 00:29:19.119 --> 00:29:26.119 ever seen, wearing a heavy fur coat, or he was seeing a Eli 372 00:29:26.279 --> 00:29:30.119 wasn't the kind of man to admit even to himself that he was afraid. 373 00:29:30.079 --> 00:29:33.799 He knew the tree he was headed for was closer than his truck, but 374 00:29:33.880 --> 00:29:40.000 he also knew that thing was standing between him and his tree before he could 375 00:29:40.039 --> 00:29:44.039 turn and head back to the truck. Though he had to convince himself that 376 00:29:44.160 --> 00:29:48.920 it wasn't because he was scared. Maybe he forgot a tool he didn't check 377 00:29:48.960 --> 00:29:52.799 his bag before he left. Maybe he left it sitting on the bench at 378 00:29:52.799 --> 00:29:56.599 home. That was it. He may as well walk back out and do 379 00:29:56.720 --> 00:30:02.039 this later. Slowly he turned and again and to retrace his path. And 380 00:30:02.160 --> 00:30:07.319 it followed. He knew it followed because it wasn't bothering to be quiet about 381 00:30:07.359 --> 00:30:11.559 it. And worse yet, it was moving faster than he was. It 382 00:30:11.559 --> 00:30:15.000 wouldn't be long before it caught up with him. He stepped up his pace, 383 00:30:15.279 --> 00:30:18.160 and his heart was beating hard now, and his breath was coming in 384 00:30:18.240 --> 00:30:23.480 short bursts. He felt his hand sweating inside his gloves, the stand feeling 385 00:30:23.559 --> 00:30:29.960 heavier by the minute. It was getting closer. Don't run, he whispered 386 00:30:29.960 --> 00:30:36.000 to himself. Don't run, don't run, do not run. He broke 387 00:30:36.039 --> 00:30:41.000 into a run. It wasn't a conscious decision to drop the stand. One 388 00:30:41.039 --> 00:30:44.759 minute it was in his hand, and the next it wasn't. The thing 389 00:30:44.839 --> 00:30:48.440 behind him was closing the gap. He was sure he could feel its hot 390 00:30:48.440 --> 00:30:51.960 breath on the back of his neck, and he jumped the stream and ran 391 00:30:52.000 --> 00:30:56.480 out into the pasture. Halfway across, he realized he didn't hear it anymore. 392 00:30:57.000 --> 00:31:02.359 He stopped and turned to look it wasn't there. He bent over a 393 00:31:02.359 --> 00:31:04.839 little and put his hands on his knees. He needed to catch his breath 394 00:31:04.880 --> 00:31:10.079 and slow his heart rate. After a few seconds, he allowed himself to 395 00:31:10.119 --> 00:31:14.240 look back at the tree line. It looked like it always had, no 396 00:31:14.359 --> 00:31:18.480 giant, hairy monsters in sight. And a laugh escaped him between his breaths, 397 00:31:19.079 --> 00:31:23.240 and then it built into an all out laugh. Elie, you the 398 00:31:23.240 --> 00:31:27.039 biggest iddiot on the planet, he said out loud, And you got a 399 00:31:27.039 --> 00:31:33.480 good imagination with the kind of steely determination, only a fool and muster. 400 00:31:33.160 --> 00:31:38.039 He stood up right and marched right back into those woods. He paid three 401 00:31:38.119 --> 00:31:41.240 hundred dollars for that tree standing. By God, he wasn't going to let 402 00:31:41.240 --> 00:31:45.880 it lay out there in the woods and rite. As he worked his way 403 00:31:45.920 --> 00:31:48.079 back down to the creek, he realized that he could hear birds singing. 404 00:31:48.519 --> 00:31:53.519 It was odd, couldn't remember hearing birds earlier. A squirrel ran up a 405 00:31:53.559 --> 00:31:59.440 tree barking. He hadn't heard any squirrels before either. Maybe he had seen 406 00:31:59.480 --> 00:32:02.359 something, but if the birds and the squirrels were moving around and making noise, 407 00:32:02.880 --> 00:32:07.480 it was a sure sign that whatever it was was gone. Now he 408 00:32:07.519 --> 00:32:12.839 had walked the trail for two hours from the pasture to the tree three times. 409 00:32:13.279 --> 00:32:16.279 He hadn't located the lost stand yet. The trail cam was in his 410 00:32:16.359 --> 00:32:21.079 backpack, which was still on his back, but the tree stand had vanished. 411 00:32:22.200 --> 00:32:24.920 He wished he could remember exactly where he had dropped it. It's funny 412 00:32:24.960 --> 00:32:30.880 how fear can make a man do things he can't remember. He was frustrated, 413 00:32:30.880 --> 00:32:36.799 and he screamed out several loud expletives. Angry and feeling more tired than 414 00:32:36.799 --> 00:32:39.039 ever, he gave up. The only thing left to do was to go 415 00:32:39.160 --> 00:32:43.319 round up his buddy Roy and bring him out to help him search for it. 416 00:32:44.079 --> 00:32:46.799 His stomach was growling and his feet were starting to hurt. He put 417 00:32:46.799 --> 00:32:52.680 his head down and he started the long walk back to his truck. On 418 00:32:52.759 --> 00:32:54.359 the way back, he thought about the events of the morning, and he 419 00:32:54.440 --> 00:33:00.640 wondered what he had seen, if he had even seen anything. His best 420 00:33:00.680 --> 00:33:04.160 to remember if he had heard the birds and the animals in on the first 421 00:33:04.240 --> 00:33:07.319 trip, and as a hunter, surely he would have noticed their silence, 422 00:33:08.559 --> 00:33:14.640 silence cold. Fear twisted or not in his stomach when he realized that it 423 00:33:14.720 --> 00:33:19.440 was silent. Now, you just yelled, dummy, he told himself. 424 00:33:19.440 --> 00:33:22.680 You probably scared everything off. That had to be it. It wouldn't hurt 425 00:33:22.680 --> 00:33:28.000 to walk a little faster, though, just in case. He could hear 426 00:33:28.000 --> 00:33:31.440 the babbling water of the stream ahead of him. Wouldn't be long now. 427 00:33:32.160 --> 00:33:35.839 The pasture was on the other side of it, and his truck was on 428 00:33:35.880 --> 00:33:38.640 the other side of that. He'd go home and have a good hot meal, 429 00:33:38.920 --> 00:33:43.519 maybe watch a little Sunday football, and take a nap in his recliner. 430 00:33:44.480 --> 00:33:46.880 He had to put this all behind him. He was starting to sound 431 00:33:46.960 --> 00:33:52.279 like those scaredy cats down at the cafe. For Pete's sake, Eli hadn't 432 00:33:52.319 --> 00:33:57.599 been paying much attention. He was too tired, and too furious, and 433 00:33:57.680 --> 00:34:01.599 too frustrated to use the wilderness skin that he had spent a lifetime honing. 434 00:34:02.599 --> 00:34:07.119 There was no telling how long that thing had been standing in the path ahead 435 00:34:07.119 --> 00:34:12.559 of him. He looked up and it was just there. It was closer 436 00:34:12.599 --> 00:34:15.719 now than it had been before. It had the head of a dog. 437 00:34:15.920 --> 00:34:21.440 Insanely, it had the head of a dog. His eyes were unlike any 438 00:34:21.480 --> 00:34:24.960 eyes he'd ever seen on any dog, wolf, or even a coyote. 439 00:34:25.079 --> 00:34:29.679 They could have been human, or they could have been animal, but in 440 00:34:29.760 --> 00:34:35.000 them. He saw intelligence and hatred. Now what was he going to do? 441 00:34:35.639 --> 00:34:38.880 It blocked his path to the truck behind. There was nothing but woodland 442 00:34:38.880 --> 00:34:44.599 all the way to the river five miles away. He looked to his left, 443 00:34:44.639 --> 00:34:47.559 thinking maybe he could go around it, but to his horror, another 444 00:34:47.599 --> 00:34:52.119 creature stood a dozen yards away from him. Had it always been there? 445 00:34:53.280 --> 00:34:57.599 He turned to make his escape to the right, but another stepped out from 446 00:34:57.599 --> 00:35:00.360 behind a tree there and as he spun ou around to run and the only 447 00:35:00.440 --> 00:35:05.440 direction left, he came face to face with the biggest one of all. 448 00:35:06.400 --> 00:35:12.119 This one was on all fours and clearly it was stalking him. With a 449 00:35:12.239 --> 00:35:15.760 yelp, he backed up a step. He was surrounded, and they closed 450 00:35:15.760 --> 00:35:21.599 in on him with a slow, measured movement. Something in their actions told 451 00:35:21.679 --> 00:35:24.920 him they were enjoying this. It was almost as if they were smiling. 452 00:35:25.800 --> 00:35:30.760 They're real, Eli cried, I can't believe they're real. They were the 453 00:35:30.840 --> 00:35:37.599 last words he would ever speak. When is the story just a story? 454 00:35:37.480 --> 00:35:42.760 Is a fool the one who believes without solid evidence, or the one who 455 00:35:42.800 --> 00:35:46.079 became a believer at the cost of his own life. They say there is 456 00:35:46.079 --> 00:35:50.719 some truth in all legends, no matter how far fetched they may be. 457 00:35:51.800 --> 00:35:58.400 Some legends have a little more truth than others.