1 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:04,799 Speaker 1: I always brought two drinks up the tower crane with me, 2 00:00:05,679 --> 00:00:09,519 one thrmos for coffee and a bottle for the strongest stuff. 3 00:00:10,720 --> 00:00:13,679 I kept it tucked deep in my rocksack, half wrapped 4 00:00:13,720 --> 00:00:17,039 in an old flannel to keep it from clinking. I 5 00:00:17,079 --> 00:00:20,280 sipped it slowly, just enough to keep the shake out 6 00:00:20,320 --> 00:00:23,679 of my hands as the moon rose, and up there 7 00:00:24,239 --> 00:00:30,280 above the trees, no one could see. The shakes had 8 00:00:30,320 --> 00:00:33,600 gotten worse since I came out here. I wasn't proud 9 00:00:33,600 --> 00:00:36,359 of it. Would ye sit up in a steel box 10 00:00:36,439 --> 00:00:39,439 one hundred and forty meters off the ground with nothing 11 00:00:39,479 --> 00:00:44,399 but wind and birds for company? Eventually you'd need something 12 00:00:44,439 --> 00:00:48,280 to pass the time, I had a book. My daughter 13 00:00:48,320 --> 00:00:51,640 erely gave me on my lap, a stiff little paper 14 00:00:51,679 --> 00:00:56,159 back called Field Guide to North American Cryptids in bright 15 00:00:56,240 --> 00:01:00,920 red lettering. It was clearly a kid's book. She'd handed 16 00:01:00,920 --> 00:01:03,119 it to me during my last visit back in Trurow 17 00:01:03,479 --> 00:01:07,040 and said who was to keep me company? I laughed 18 00:01:07,079 --> 00:01:10,040 and told her she was nuts, but she just rolled 19 00:01:10,040 --> 00:01:13,120 her eyes and said, you'll read it when you're bored. 20 00:01:15,319 --> 00:01:19,439 She was right. When I first opened it, there was 21 00:01:19,480 --> 00:01:22,079 a yellow, sticky note in her handwriting stuck on the 22 00:01:22,120 --> 00:01:27,280 front page. It read, don't get eatn Dad, You're too 23 00:01:27,319 --> 00:01:32,079 grumpy for that. Her mom doesn't let me see her much, 24 00:01:32,680 --> 00:01:36,079 not since the hearing. Last year. I missed a couple 25 00:01:36,120 --> 00:01:39,000 of pickups while working out west and couldn't get back 26 00:01:39,040 --> 00:01:42,319 in time, and she used that to file for full custody. 27 00:01:43,599 --> 00:01:46,879 She's not wrong to want's stability for Ellie. I get that, 28 00:01:48,200 --> 00:01:52,680 but I'm trying, I really am. I take these jobs 29 00:01:52,680 --> 00:01:54,640 so I can pay what I owe for child support 30 00:01:54,959 --> 00:01:57,959 and legal payments, and maybe show the court that I'm 31 00:01:58,000 --> 00:02:01,239 not some dead beat and a hard hat. The best 32 00:02:01,280 --> 00:02:04,079 paying ones mean coming all the way out here and 33 00:02:04,200 --> 00:02:07,920 sleeping in a trailer six nights a week. But it's 34 00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:10,599 worth it if I can pick Elly up with something 35 00:02:10,680 --> 00:02:13,199 new in the back seat and take a for ice 36 00:02:13,240 --> 00:02:19,159 cream without checking my balance first. The past few nights 37 00:02:19,159 --> 00:02:22,520 had been colder than expected. I pulled a bottle from 38 00:02:22,560 --> 00:02:25,639 my pack and took a swig. The whiskey did the 39 00:02:25,680 --> 00:02:29,919 trick and settled in warm under my ribs. We were 40 00:02:29,960 --> 00:02:33,719 ahead of schedule. I leaned back, thumbed the edge of 41 00:02:33,759 --> 00:02:37,840 the book, and looked out the glass. The radio mumbled 42 00:02:37,960 --> 00:02:41,639 in and out, tie in that corner. Where's that extra 43 00:02:41,680 --> 00:02:47,039 bracket gone? Rob? Check the clearance by tower three? Same 44 00:02:47,080 --> 00:02:51,319 odd stuff. I didn't listen to most of it. I 45 00:02:51,360 --> 00:02:53,719 only kept my ear open for anything meant for me. 46 00:02:55,120 --> 00:03:00,960 Then a new voice cut in, Hang on, there's something 47 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:06,120 down by the tree line. Another voice crackled back, what 48 00:03:06,240 --> 00:03:11,759 do you mean? I sat up, frowning. Lights near the 49 00:03:11,759 --> 00:03:15,960 equipment trailers were still on, stretching long shadows into the brush. 50 00:03:17,159 --> 00:03:19,560 It could have been a moose, maybe a black bear, 51 00:03:20,400 --> 00:03:25,240 but the voices on the radio didn't sound calm. Movement 52 00:03:25,280 --> 00:03:31,639 by tower floor, you guys seeing that? Then came static, geez, 53 00:03:31,719 --> 00:03:37,800 what is that? It cut off, panic bled through. There's 54 00:03:37,800 --> 00:03:42,280 something out there, something's moving. Markabull back now, I said, pulp. 55 00:03:42,800 --> 00:03:45,159 I stood so fast the buck slipped off my lap 56 00:03:45,159 --> 00:03:49,240 and hit the floor. I leaned over the control's fingers, 57 00:03:49,240 --> 00:03:53,759 smudging the glass, breath fogging the inside. I wiped it 58 00:03:53,840 --> 00:03:57,759 with my sleeve and squinted hard. Too far to see faces, 59 00:03:58,639 --> 00:04:04,639 but I saw movement. People were running. One figure took 60 00:04:04,680 --> 00:04:08,199 off past the prefab stack. Then something else broke out 61 00:04:08,199 --> 00:04:12,439 of the dark behind him, low to the ground fast 62 00:04:13,479 --> 00:04:17,839 it tackled him, Limbs flying I couldn't see much, but 63 00:04:17,959 --> 00:04:22,279 the thing looked nothing like the workers. Someone else came 64 00:04:22,360 --> 00:04:26,680 running into help. The thing intercepted, lifted the guy clean 65 00:04:26,680 --> 00:04:29,959 off his feet, and slammed him into the floodlight tower. 66 00:04:31,000 --> 00:04:35,319 It collapsed with a clang, smashed into the fuel cage. 67 00:04:35,480 --> 00:04:40,240 Then there was fire, bright and fast. Flames jumped from 68 00:04:40,279 --> 00:04:44,839 tarp to tire, tired to trailer. The crew scattered, the 69 00:04:44,879 --> 00:04:49,959 thing followed. It tore through the camp, and even from 70 00:04:50,000 --> 00:04:55,040 a pie I could tell it wasn't just chasing, it 71 00:04:55,160 --> 00:05:01,759 was hunting. More screams crackled over the radio. One was 72 00:05:01,879 --> 00:05:05,920 just the name over and over. Another came through, crying 73 00:05:05,959 --> 00:05:13,439 for help. Then a wet, cracking noise and silence. Then 74 00:05:13,879 --> 00:05:18,360 I saw it stop, just for a second. The thing 75 00:05:18,480 --> 00:05:21,680 was crouched near the last standing fuel drum, half lit 76 00:05:21,720 --> 00:05:26,519 by the flames, and it lit it up elbow joins 77 00:05:26,600 --> 00:05:29,519 too high. There were no clothes or gear I could 78 00:05:29,560 --> 00:05:34,199 make out. It looked like it had huge antlers. It 79 00:05:34,319 --> 00:05:38,600 stayed low, almost coiled, but when the fire crept closer, 80 00:05:39,199 --> 00:05:43,279 it reared upright, took one step back, and crawled forward 81 00:05:43,279 --> 00:05:48,199 again on all fours. As the fire surrounded my tower, 82 00:05:48,680 --> 00:05:51,079 the thing backed up to my ladders and was so 83 00:05:51,240 --> 00:05:55,560 far below me I couldn't see it anymore. I stepped 84 00:05:55,600 --> 00:05:58,920 back from the glass, heart pounding, then move to the 85 00:05:58,920 --> 00:06:03,600 rear door, the one that covered the ladder access. I 86 00:06:03,680 --> 00:06:07,720 flipped the lock and pushed it open. A crack there 87 00:06:08,639 --> 00:06:12,439 way way down the steel spine of the tower. It 88 00:06:12,560 --> 00:06:17,920 was something moving. He climbed slow but steady, hooking each 89 00:06:18,040 --> 00:06:22,120 limb over wrung after rung. Smoke hit me in the face. 90 00:06:23,040 --> 00:06:27,079 It was thick and full of heat. I doubled back, coughing, 91 00:06:28,120 --> 00:06:32,800 my eyes watered, and slammed the door shut. My hands 92 00:06:32,800 --> 00:06:36,680 slipped on the latch and I locked it again. I 93 00:06:36,720 --> 00:06:40,199 wiped my mouth and searched the cabin. Strapped to the 94 00:06:40,240 --> 00:06:43,360 side panel was a fire extinguisher, one of the heavy 95 00:06:43,399 --> 00:06:47,800 steel canisters dented at the top. I thought, if I 96 00:06:47,800 --> 00:06:50,319 could get a clean hit from this height, it might 97 00:06:50,399 --> 00:06:54,600 cave the things sculling. The fire would die down eventually, 98 00:06:55,000 --> 00:06:59,120 or help would come. I could wait it out climb down. 99 00:06:59,160 --> 00:07:03,600 Once the smoke, I snapped the clips and pulled it loose, 100 00:07:04,160 --> 00:07:08,279 cracked the hatch again and leaned out. I lined up 101 00:07:08,319 --> 00:07:10,800 with where it was on the right side, aimed for 102 00:07:10,879 --> 00:07:16,920 that spot and dropped it. I snapped the hat shot, 103 00:07:17,160 --> 00:07:20,240 stopping the smoke from pouring in, and watched through the 104 00:07:20,279 --> 00:07:24,360 glass as the red cylinder fell briefly before it ricocheted 105 00:07:24,360 --> 00:07:27,040 off one of the support bars and spun once in 106 00:07:27,079 --> 00:07:30,680 the air. Then it clattered like a coin down a 107 00:07:30,759 --> 00:07:36,040 drain and tumbled somewhere out of sight. Near the bottom. 108 00:07:36,399 --> 00:07:40,120 The creature was frozen, one long limb hugged on the 109 00:07:40,160 --> 00:07:45,040 ladder rail, the other hanging loose at its side. I 110 00:07:45,079 --> 00:07:49,279 could see its head tilt slowly until it was looking 111 00:07:49,360 --> 00:07:55,279 up its face if you could call it, that was bone. 112 00:07:55,600 --> 00:07:58,360 From the collar, I could tell it had no skin, 113 00:07:58,720 --> 00:08:02,120 no muscle. The shape was too long and narrow to 114 00:08:02,160 --> 00:08:05,800 be anything human, and it appeared more like a deer skull, 115 00:08:06,319 --> 00:08:09,480 but longer with black sockets. I couldn't see from here. 116 00:08:10,759 --> 00:08:14,360 The antlers weren't wide like a buck. They clawed back, 117 00:08:15,000 --> 00:08:19,360 thin and spun like charred branches. Even with the smoke 118 00:08:19,439 --> 00:08:23,720 and distance between us, I knew it had only just 119 00:08:23,920 --> 00:08:29,439 noticed me. I stumbled back, my shoulder cracked into the wall. 120 00:08:30,199 --> 00:08:33,120 I searched the cabin for anything heavy, like my rocksack, 121 00:08:33,399 --> 00:08:36,360 the radio box, even the goddamn swivel chair if I 122 00:08:36,360 --> 00:08:39,240 could get it loose, but there was nothing here that 123 00:08:39,279 --> 00:08:43,240 would hold against something like that. My hands shook as 124 00:08:43,279 --> 00:08:46,960 I snatched the radio and clicked the receiver, already backing 125 00:08:47,039 --> 00:08:52,840 toward the front window. Anyone copy, I swallowed hard. This 126 00:08:53,000 --> 00:08:58,320 is Marcus up in Taiwan? Is anyone there? Only static 127 00:08:58,360 --> 00:09:03,000 came back. It was a slow clicking of his. I 128 00:09:03,080 --> 00:09:08,639 tried again, anyone alive down there? Someone answer me? Someone? No, 129 00:09:09,279 --> 00:09:14,480 something is climbing the goddamn tower. I turned and looked 130 00:09:14,480 --> 00:09:19,480 down again, hoping, just hoping for some movement, some sign 131 00:09:19,559 --> 00:09:23,879 of life among the smoking flames, but there was nothing. 132 00:09:25,559 --> 00:09:29,600 Then Kyl came to mind. Three days ago, we'd been 133 00:09:29,639 --> 00:09:32,519 eating the lunch out behind the trailer, sitting on the 134 00:09:32,600 --> 00:09:35,080 edge of a pilot stack, with our boots in the dirt. 135 00:09:36,320 --> 00:09:39,440 He was younger than me by decades, with fresh boots 136 00:09:39,440 --> 00:09:43,120 and fresh gloves, and still called the foreman sir, like 137 00:09:43,200 --> 00:09:46,559 it was his first camp. He nudged me with his 138 00:09:46,639 --> 00:09:50,960 elbow while I was halfway through a sandwich. You ever 139 00:09:51,000 --> 00:09:55,440 see teeth in the saw? Before he asked, I glanced 140 00:09:55,440 --> 00:10:01,440 at him like an animal's, shook his head and pulled 141 00:10:01,440 --> 00:10:06,360 a crumpled napkin out of his jacket pocket. Hesitant, he 142 00:10:06,480 --> 00:10:10,840 unwrapped it and held it out. Inside was a yellow tooth. 143 00:10:11,840 --> 00:10:17,679 It was sharpened one end. Christ Man, I said that real. 144 00:10:19,039 --> 00:10:22,639 He nodded. Finded by the west tree line under some roots. 145 00:10:23,200 --> 00:10:26,120 Kept this one. Figured no one would believe me otherwise. 146 00:10:27,720 --> 00:10:32,960 I took a closer look. Looks human, That's what I thought. 147 00:10:33,440 --> 00:10:35,360 There are a bunch of them in the same spot. 148 00:10:36,679 --> 00:10:41,519 You report it, yeah, he said, radioed it in as 149 00:10:41,519 --> 00:10:44,320 soon as we uncovered the first view. They told me 150 00:10:44,360 --> 00:10:47,080 it was probably old dental waste. Said there used to 151 00:10:47,120 --> 00:10:50,519 be a field hospital up here during the war. That 152 00:10:50,639 --> 00:10:53,360 doesn't explain some of the weird bones I found out here. 153 00:10:55,840 --> 00:10:59,080 I remember squinting past him out toward the tree line. 154 00:11:00,200 --> 00:11:02,600 The company had as clearing a stretch near the back 155 00:11:02,639 --> 00:11:07,039 boundary of the site. Apparently the land had been untouched 156 00:11:07,120 --> 00:11:11,080 the decades. Some investors out east picked it up cheap 157 00:11:11,519 --> 00:11:16,120 and wanted the foundations for condos before ski season. The 158 00:11:16,200 --> 00:11:19,000 last real record was from the fire crew in the seventies, 159 00:11:19,600 --> 00:11:23,399 and even they didn't go far too steep, they said. 160 00:11:24,600 --> 00:11:28,120 We sat quietly for a minute. After that. He wrapped 161 00:11:28,120 --> 00:11:31,200 the tooth back up and slipped it into his jacket again, 162 00:11:31,799 --> 00:11:35,159 looking like he wasn't sure if telling me had been 163 00:11:35,200 --> 00:11:43,120 the right idea. That morning, Ellie called just as I 164 00:11:43,159 --> 00:11:48,159 was ready to sleep. See anything cool today, she asked, 165 00:11:48,960 --> 00:11:55,399 I smiled. You mean besides frostbite and rusted steel? She groaned, No, 166 00:11:56,000 --> 00:12:00,200 like cool, cool animals or anything. This place is full 167 00:12:00,240 --> 00:12:06,480 of wildlife, right, Actually, I said, one of the guys 168 00:12:06,519 --> 00:12:10,720 found some old bones teeth actually out by the tree line. 169 00:12:12,519 --> 00:12:18,039 There was a pause, then a voice got a little sharper. Wait, really, 170 00:12:18,559 --> 00:12:24,879 what kind? I didn't want to spooker. Probably a coyote, 171 00:12:25,759 --> 00:12:28,240 could be a fox. We get a lot of weird 172 00:12:28,279 --> 00:12:34,080 stuff out here, she hummed. That's kind of gross, but 173 00:12:34,200 --> 00:12:38,159 also cool. Can you keep one for me? I'm not 174 00:12:38,200 --> 00:12:41,559 sure your mom would love that. She doesn't have to know. 175 00:12:42,360 --> 00:12:44,519 Just hide it like I do with that frog skull. 176 00:12:45,879 --> 00:12:49,919 We'll see, I laughed. Might be a while before I'm back. 177 00:12:51,039 --> 00:12:56,039 That's okay. Just don't get eaten, all right, wouldn't dream 178 00:12:56,080 --> 00:13:02,519 of it? Good, she said, cheerful again. I promised i'd 179 00:13:02,519 --> 00:13:06,960 call the next morning. Then I stayed sitting there long 180 00:13:07,240 --> 00:13:14,000 after the line went dead. I shake down the ladder again. 181 00:13:15,000 --> 00:13:18,080 The thing had made a lot of progress. It was 182 00:13:18,159 --> 00:13:21,320 maybe a quarter to the way up now. I wiped 183 00:13:21,399 --> 00:13:24,120 my damp hands and my jeans and reached from my pocket, 184 00:13:24,720 --> 00:13:28,679 fingers shaking as I pulled out my phone. One bar, 185 00:13:29,200 --> 00:13:33,279 then none. I held it higher angle toward the window. 186 00:13:34,080 --> 00:13:38,360 Then I, unlike the screen, thumbed nine one one and 187 00:13:38,480 --> 00:13:42,879 hit call. There was a crackle and some words in 188 00:13:42,919 --> 00:13:51,799 between emergency. Hello. My stomach flipped. Yes, yes, I'm here. 189 00:13:52,120 --> 00:13:54,679 My name's Marcus Holt. I'm at a tower site off 190 00:13:54,759 --> 00:13:58,039 range six. But there's something down here. People are dead. 191 00:13:58,440 --> 00:14:03,320 It's coming up the crane. I need help. Location, say again, 192 00:14:03,399 --> 00:14:09,559 your Alberta north of Jasper. It's a lease sight towering stall. 193 00:14:10,039 --> 00:14:12,559 You need to get someone out here. Now there's a 194 00:14:12,559 --> 00:14:18,000 fire and something is climbing. The line fractured. There was 195 00:14:18,039 --> 00:14:21,919 a low pulse of static, then nothing but random words 196 00:14:23,480 --> 00:14:30,480 you repeat, climbing. I pressed the phone tighter to my ear. Yes, 197 00:14:30,840 --> 00:14:33,919 it's climbing. I'm at the top. I'm trapped. You have 198 00:14:34,000 --> 00:14:39,759 to hello. Can you hear me? Hello? I stared at 199 00:14:39,759 --> 00:14:44,039 the screen, and after a few moments of silence, I 200 00:14:44,120 --> 00:14:49,440 hung up and tried again. This time I couldn't hear anything. 201 00:14:51,679 --> 00:14:54,879 I lowered myself onto my chair, let the phone drop 202 00:14:54,960 --> 00:14:59,360 in my lap, and stared at it. My chest was tight. 203 00:15:00,039 --> 00:15:03,559 I couldn't seem to breathe right. My hand trembled as 204 00:15:03,559 --> 00:15:06,600 I reached the bottle again and took a small sip, 205 00:15:07,879 --> 00:15:13,039 and it didn't help much. Everything was shaking now, the glass, 206 00:15:13,279 --> 00:15:16,480 my legs, the whole damn cab felt like it was 207 00:15:16,559 --> 00:15:21,039 trembling under me. I slumped back in the chair, letting 208 00:15:21,080 --> 00:15:25,320 it turn slightly on its swivel. The cab creaked faint 209 00:15:25,360 --> 00:15:28,799 and hollow. I stared past the glass to where the 210 00:15:28,840 --> 00:15:32,320 fire had started, trying to find shapes in the dark. 211 00:15:34,679 --> 00:15:40,039 My boot knocked something and I glanced down the book. 212 00:15:41,399 --> 00:15:44,639 It had landed face down in the corner. The edges 213 00:15:44,679 --> 00:15:49,240 were bent and some pages had fanned open underneath. I 214 00:15:49,320 --> 00:15:52,600 reached down, picked it up slowly, and brushed the cover 215 00:15:52,679 --> 00:15:56,360 off with my sleeve. The page was still dog eared 216 00:15:56,360 --> 00:16:00,879 from earlier. That little yellow sticky note stuck out. I'd 217 00:16:00,919 --> 00:16:05,840 been using it as a bookmark. Don't get eat and dad, 218 00:16:06,120 --> 00:16:11,200 you're too grumpy for that. I ran my thumb across 219 00:16:11,240 --> 00:16:15,120 the handwriting. She'd use one of those thick purple pens. 220 00:16:15,159 --> 00:16:17,919 She liked the ones that always seemed to bleed through 221 00:16:17,960 --> 00:16:21,879 paper and made a note look messy. It hit me 222 00:16:21,960 --> 00:16:25,360 harder than I expected. I thought about the last time 223 00:16:25,399 --> 00:16:28,679 I saw her. She'd asked me to take her skating, 224 00:16:29,159 --> 00:16:32,440 but I didn't have enough gas money. I'd promised the 225 00:16:32,559 --> 00:16:35,080 next time i'd take her up to the big rink 226 00:16:35,360 --> 00:16:38,480 and let her rent the flashy white skates, the ones 227 00:16:38,480 --> 00:16:43,000 that made her look like a figure skater. Now I 228 00:16:43,080 --> 00:16:47,720 didn't know if I get to keep that promise. I 229 00:16:47,799 --> 00:16:51,600 stared down at the book and my eyes blurred. I 230 00:16:51,639 --> 00:16:55,000 wiped them with a heel of my hand, sniffed, and 231 00:16:55,120 --> 00:16:59,679 let the book fully fold open through the tears. I 232 00:16:59,759 --> 00:17:04,559 know the hand drawn illustration rough, like something copied from 233 00:17:04,599 --> 00:17:10,319 an old woodcut. It was tall, thin, crawling on all fours, 234 00:17:10,799 --> 00:17:13,920 with a skull face and sharp antlers are twisted like 235 00:17:14,000 --> 00:17:19,519 burnt branches. I stared at the drawing and my body 236 00:17:19,599 --> 00:17:24,960 ran cold. That skull looked exactly like what I saw 237 00:17:25,000 --> 00:17:29,039 on the ladder. It was in the book with the 238 00:17:29,079 --> 00:17:35,680 page titled the Wendigo. I read the paragraph under the name. 239 00:17:36,519 --> 00:17:39,400 It talked about the creature being born of winter. Starvation 240 00:17:39,839 --> 00:17:44,400 and cannibalism. It could never be full, It only stretched 241 00:17:44,400 --> 00:17:48,680 thinner the more it fed. I traced my finger across 242 00:17:48,759 --> 00:17:52,200 every word it said. It brought the cold with it 243 00:17:52,559 --> 00:17:56,960 and left a rot smell that never faded. My hands tensed. 244 00:17:58,079 --> 00:18:02,359 I remembered we had a stench following us all week. 245 00:18:03,200 --> 00:18:06,119 The first day, I thought maybe someone hid a buried 246 00:18:06,119 --> 00:18:09,640 fuel drum or septic gleek. We even talked about it 247 00:18:09,680 --> 00:18:14,279 over a cigarette. God that stinks. Think we hit a 248 00:18:14,319 --> 00:18:18,039 sewer line, Kyle asked, pulling his collar over his nose. 249 00:18:18,960 --> 00:18:21,200 Hell of a sewer system for the middle of nowhere, 250 00:18:21,680 --> 00:18:26,480 I shot back, But the smell never left. It was 251 00:18:26,640 --> 00:18:30,359 sour and meat, sweet like wet hide and a hot trunk. 252 00:18:31,559 --> 00:18:36,079 No matter where we dug it came with. We never 253 00:18:36,119 --> 00:18:43,640 found a pipe. Now I know why. And the cold, geez, 254 00:18:43,759 --> 00:18:47,279 the cold. I remember checking the weather on my phone 255 00:18:47,319 --> 00:18:50,279 a day before getting here. When I climbed up the 256 00:18:50,319 --> 00:18:53,920 first night, it was supposed to be mild, sweater weather 257 00:18:54,920 --> 00:18:59,680 ten maybe fifteen degrees, a little breeze coming off the ridge. 258 00:19:00,079 --> 00:19:02,640 I left my thick gloves in the trailer and zipped 259 00:19:02,680 --> 00:19:06,759 my coat only halfway By the time I hit the cab. 260 00:19:07,319 --> 00:19:09,880 My fingers were stiff, and I had to rub them 261 00:19:09,880 --> 00:19:13,480 together to grip the throttle. I thought maybe the height 262 00:19:13,559 --> 00:19:16,119 was doing it, or that I was just run down. 263 00:19:17,119 --> 00:19:20,079 But even in the cab, with all that glass trapping 264 00:19:20,119 --> 00:19:24,119 heat from the floodlights, I stayed cold to my bones. 265 00:19:25,559 --> 00:19:30,119 I peeked back down the hatch, nervous. It was closer now. 266 00:19:31,000 --> 00:19:34,519 Its hunger seemed to have fed its speed. The shape 267 00:19:34,559 --> 00:19:37,759 of it came through clearer now, just like the picture. 268 00:19:39,000 --> 00:19:42,559 It was more bone than skin, all joints and angles, 269 00:19:43,160 --> 00:19:46,039 limbs that bend in ways that made me feel sick 270 00:19:46,279 --> 00:19:50,480 just watching. Its spine stuck out like a ridge of knuckles, 271 00:19:50,920 --> 00:19:54,400 and its ribs strained under something thin and gray that 272 00:19:54,519 --> 00:19:58,880 might have once been flesh. Its head would tilt unnaturally 273 00:19:58,960 --> 00:20:02,279 to the side every few wrongs, like it was sniffing 274 00:20:02,319 --> 00:20:06,759 me out. My body went soft all over. My hands 275 00:20:06,759 --> 00:20:12,039 were wet with sweat but still freezing cold. I pictured 276 00:20:12,079 --> 00:20:14,920 the thing making it to the top, but I quickly 277 00:20:15,039 --> 00:20:20,400 got that idea out of my head. I had something 278 00:20:20,440 --> 00:20:24,559 to do. I reached for the book and I frantically 279 00:20:24,599 --> 00:20:29,400 scanned through the pages. Come on, I muttered, come on, 280 00:20:29,559 --> 00:20:34,480 come on. My eyes dropped the next paragraph. My fingers 281 00:20:34,519 --> 00:20:38,680 gripped the page tight, almost tearing it. I was desperate 282 00:20:38,720 --> 00:20:43,000 for anything that might stop it. Folklore varies by region 283 00:20:43,920 --> 00:20:47,519 it read, but many accounts agree the creature has an 284 00:20:47,519 --> 00:20:50,559 aversion to fire, and can be stopped by burning it 285 00:20:50,599 --> 00:20:56,279 to death and or carving out its icy heart. I 286 00:20:56,359 --> 00:21:01,079 blinked reading it twice. I'd watched the tear through those 287 00:21:01,119 --> 00:21:05,960 men like paper, wild and frenzied. But then it stopped, 288 00:21:06,759 --> 00:21:10,079 just for a second, right when the flames roared and 289 00:21:10,119 --> 00:21:16,160 surrounded my crane. It hadn't just turned away, No, it 290 00:21:16,240 --> 00:21:21,559 had recoiled from the heat. And now, looking back, God, 291 00:21:22,200 --> 00:21:26,599 it hadn't been climbing the crane for me. I've had 292 00:21:26,640 --> 00:21:29,839 the sick pull in my gut. The fire had been 293 00:21:29,839 --> 00:21:33,960 closing in fast, licking through the trailers, pushing smoke through 294 00:21:34,000 --> 00:21:36,880 the tree tops, and circling the base of the tower. 295 00:21:38,039 --> 00:21:41,119 It didn't charge straight for the ladder until after the 296 00:21:41,160 --> 00:21:44,559 flames got too close. It had gone up the crane 297 00:21:44,599 --> 00:21:49,000 because it had nowhere else to go. I stood there, 298 00:21:49,480 --> 00:21:53,359 book in one hand, mouth dry, and suddenly wanted to 299 00:21:53,359 --> 00:21:57,279 put my fist through the glass. If I hadn't dropped 300 00:21:57,279 --> 00:22:01,920 the goddamn extinguisher. If I just state quiet, maybe it 301 00:22:01,960 --> 00:22:04,759 would have climbed half way up, then waited it out. 302 00:22:05,680 --> 00:22:08,440 Maybe it would have crawled back down once the flames died. 303 00:22:09,240 --> 00:22:11,759 There was a chance it never would have known I 304 00:22:11,759 --> 00:22:15,880 was up here. I stared down at the hatch door, 305 00:22:16,400 --> 00:22:20,319 my chest rising too fast, my breath catching every time 306 00:22:20,359 --> 00:22:23,759 it hit the back of my throat. I kept looking 307 00:22:23,799 --> 00:22:28,519 for something, anything I could use. The extinguisher was gone, 308 00:22:29,000 --> 00:22:32,559 the radio was useless. The fire outside had started to 309 00:22:32,599 --> 00:22:36,240 smother itself in smoke, but it still burned hot along 310 00:22:36,279 --> 00:22:40,759 the south edge just below. Maybe I could time it, 311 00:22:41,240 --> 00:22:44,039 wait until the thing was close enough, and then shove 312 00:22:44,119 --> 00:22:47,720 something heavy down, knock it off the ladder. It had 313 00:22:47,720 --> 00:22:50,640 fallen a long way, bounce off every steel bar on 314 00:22:50,680 --> 00:22:54,039 the way down. Maybe the fire would finish the job. 315 00:22:55,480 --> 00:22:58,720 But what the hell did I have to use? The 316 00:22:58,799 --> 00:23:01,880 chair wouldn't fit through the hair, and even if it did, 317 00:23:02,279 --> 00:23:04,559 I wasn't strong enough to swing it without the thing 318 00:23:04,640 --> 00:23:09,160 grabbing me first. My rucksack was too soft, and the 319 00:23:09,200 --> 00:23:13,519 tool box was bolted to the floor. I nothing solid enough, 320 00:23:13,880 --> 00:23:18,160 nothing sharp enough, nothing that wouldn't guarantee it tore through 321 00:23:18,200 --> 00:23:22,680 me before I got the chance to lift it. The 322 00:23:22,759 --> 00:23:27,720 truth hit me then, real and raw. There was no 323 00:23:27,960 --> 00:23:32,799 fighting this thing head on. I raised my bottle again, 324 00:23:33,160 --> 00:23:36,160 hands trembling, and took a swig in hopes it would 325 00:23:36,160 --> 00:23:41,839 calm my nerves. But the second the liquor hit my tongue, 326 00:23:42,200 --> 00:23:47,440 I stopped, my jaw clenched. I spat it back into 327 00:23:47,480 --> 00:23:50,640 the bottle and coughed hard. Then stared at the bottle 328 00:23:50,640 --> 00:23:54,720 in my hand. There was still at least half left, 329 00:23:55,480 --> 00:23:58,720 and for the first time I really looked at it. 330 00:24:00,279 --> 00:24:06,559 It was flammable. I held the glass tighter. Could I 331 00:24:06,599 --> 00:24:11,079 would that work? I'd seen molotovs and movies through broken 332 00:24:11,160 --> 00:24:14,400 up riots on the news. I remember seeing tom kits 333 00:24:14,400 --> 00:24:20,039 and balaklavas throwing them at squad cars. It was just alcohol, right, 334 00:24:21,039 --> 00:24:24,200 something strong with a rag and a flame. Was it 335 00:24:24,279 --> 00:24:28,079 that simple to make one? Would it explode? Just burn? 336 00:24:28,880 --> 00:24:31,039 Could I even get it lit fast enough before I 337 00:24:31,079 --> 00:24:35,799 blew up? I pulled a lighter from my pocket. I'd 338 00:24:35,799 --> 00:24:38,279 swiped it from Kyle earlier in the week when he 339 00:24:38,359 --> 00:24:41,480 left it on the trailer step. It had a scratched 340 00:24:41,519 --> 00:24:44,759 up image of a girl in bikini, all glossy lipped, 341 00:24:45,720 --> 00:24:48,400 I hadn't meant to keep it, but it reminded me 342 00:24:48,440 --> 00:24:51,480 of the old lighters from the early two thousands, and 343 00:24:51,599 --> 00:24:55,680 I had lost mine earlier. For the first time since 344 00:24:55,680 --> 00:25:00,240 this all started, a plan began to form. Not a 345 00:25:00,279 --> 00:25:06,759 good one, but it was something okay, I whispered to myself. 346 00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:10,480 I pulled the flannel from my rucksack and dug a 347 00:25:10,559 --> 00:25:13,720 knife from the side pocket off my bag. I hagged 348 00:25:13,720 --> 00:25:16,160 a strip from the tail of it and jammed it 349 00:25:16,200 --> 00:25:18,880 into the mouth of the bottle, pushing it down far 350 00:25:18,960 --> 00:25:22,519 enough to soak up the whiskey. I tilted the bottle, 351 00:25:22,960 --> 00:25:26,400 watching the liquor run down the cloth, watching it darken 352 00:25:26,599 --> 00:25:31,799 and cling. I heard it get closer. Its screaming got 353 00:25:31,880 --> 00:25:36,160 louder and louder as it pulled itself up. I would 354 00:25:36,200 --> 00:25:40,799 have to work quickly. I fumbled with the lighter. My 355 00:25:40,920 --> 00:25:43,480 fingers were too wet and shaky to keep it alight 356 00:25:43,640 --> 00:25:46,200 long enough. I had to rub it on my pants 357 00:25:46,240 --> 00:25:50,799 to get dry enough to catch. Small but steady. The 358 00:25:50,880 --> 00:25:56,039 flame bloomed. Then I turned to the hatch. I flung 359 00:25:56,079 --> 00:25:59,279 it open and leaned out, nearly gagging from the heat 360 00:25:59,319 --> 00:26:03,240 and smoke that rolled back in. I looked down and 361 00:26:03,359 --> 00:26:07,160 saw it very close. It would be up in minutes. 362 00:26:09,079 --> 00:26:12,039 My hands moved before I could think. I held the 363 00:26:12,119 --> 00:26:16,319 lighter to the soaked cloth. The flame caught fast, rushing 364 00:26:16,400 --> 00:26:22,000 up the rag. Come on, I whispered. I raised the bottle, 365 00:26:22,720 --> 00:26:30,359 aimed and through it fell for maybe two seconds. That 366 00:26:30,519 --> 00:26:34,720 was all. Then it exploded against the side of the 367 00:26:34,759 --> 00:26:40,480 creature's skull. The glass shattered and flames surged. The whiskey 368 00:26:40,559 --> 00:26:43,400 caught and ran down its neck and shoulders in rivulets, 369 00:26:44,039 --> 00:26:47,400 clinging to the skin like oil, and the fire soon 370 00:26:47,519 --> 00:26:52,240 followed it. The windyghosts screamed a high gurgling how that 371 00:26:52,400 --> 00:26:55,640 punched up and bounced off My CAB's walls, burst in 372 00:26:55,680 --> 00:27:01,279 my ear drums. I watched, terrified as it slipped, caught 373 00:27:01,319 --> 00:27:06,640 itself again, and clung tight. The fire didn't stop. The 374 00:27:06,680 --> 00:27:11,720 flames crawled over its back, igniting it all over. He 375 00:27:11,839 --> 00:27:14,400 shrieked again, and I held the edge of the hatch 376 00:27:14,440 --> 00:27:18,359 with both hands, knuckles white, praying it would let go. 377 00:27:19,960 --> 00:27:22,359 It looked like it might climb through the fire, like 378 00:27:22,480 --> 00:27:26,079 nothing could stop it. For a second, it just hung there, 379 00:27:26,480 --> 00:27:31,880 limbs twitching and every tendon stretched and screaming. One hand 380 00:27:31,960 --> 00:27:35,799 lost this grip first, then the other. The leg slid 381 00:27:35,839 --> 00:27:40,200 off the rail, and then, like something snapping loose in 382 00:27:40,240 --> 00:27:47,000 its mind, it dropped. I watched it for its limbs, 383 00:27:47,039 --> 00:27:51,559 caught the steel on the way down, bouncing, spinning rips, 384 00:27:51,599 --> 00:27:55,160 snapping loud enough to hear through the wind. It cart 385 00:27:55,160 --> 00:27:58,759 wheeled end over end, trailing smoke and sparks, with the 386 00:27:58,799 --> 00:28:02,160 fire still clung to it, until it disappeared out of 387 00:28:02,200 --> 00:28:08,759 sight below. The fire still surrounded the steel of my crane, slower, 388 00:28:08,799 --> 00:28:13,160 now choking itself in its own smoke. I could hear 389 00:28:13,200 --> 00:28:15,799 pops from the tires going off in the equipment yard, 390 00:28:16,440 --> 00:28:22,279 one after another, like dull fire crackers. Then just the wind, 391 00:28:23,039 --> 00:28:26,599 the creak of metal cooling, the low, distant wine of 392 00:28:26,640 --> 00:28:32,640 something allegrical shorting out. I closed the hatch, leaned back 393 00:28:32,680 --> 00:28:36,160 with my head against the cold wall, and let myself shake. 394 00:28:37,519 --> 00:28:40,480 Every inch of me felt wrung out, like I'd been 395 00:28:40,559 --> 00:28:45,440 running a fever for hours, and finally crashed. My hands 396 00:28:45,480 --> 00:28:48,720 smell like burnt cotton and cheap whiskey. My mouth was 397 00:28:48,839 --> 00:28:52,160 dry enough to crack, and somewhere in the back of 398 00:28:52,160 --> 00:28:56,960 my mind was the thought I couldn't push down. That 399 00:28:57,119 --> 00:29:03,039 thing might not be dead. I sat there, trying to 400 00:29:03,079 --> 00:29:08,039 slow my breathing, listening for even the smallest noise, a clang, 401 00:29:08,240 --> 00:29:17,039 a footfall, anything. Nothing came. I don't know how long 402 00:29:17,079 --> 00:29:20,079 I sat like that. It could have been five minutes, 403 00:29:20,319 --> 00:29:24,240 it could have been fifty. Time didn't matter much after 404 00:29:24,279 --> 00:29:27,880 what I just lived through. My thoughts started to drift 405 00:29:27,920 --> 00:29:35,160 again to Elie, don't get eaten, Dad, God, what would 406 00:29:35,160 --> 00:29:38,480 she think if she knew how close I came? Maybe 407 00:29:38,480 --> 00:29:42,559 I'd win some Father of the Year award. The glow 408 00:29:42,640 --> 00:29:46,559 had shifted from violent to tired. A dark smoke column 409 00:29:46,680 --> 00:29:50,680 stretched into the sky like a signal flare. Anyone within 410 00:29:50,759 --> 00:29:56,039 twenty miles would see it. Maybe someone already had a ranger, 411 00:29:56,240 --> 00:29:59,680 another sight. Hell, one of the worker's families might have 412 00:29:59,720 --> 00:30:04,079 called when they didn't check in. Emergency crews had to 413 00:30:04,119 --> 00:30:07,960 be on their way, they had to be. I just 414 00:30:08,079 --> 00:30:12,839 had to wait, just had to stay awake. I pulled 415 00:30:12,839 --> 00:30:16,119 my coat tighter and curled into the corner of the cab, 416 00:30:16,759 --> 00:30:24,000 watching the hatch until my eyes burned. The sky was 417 00:30:24,039 --> 00:30:28,319 beginning to lighten when I heard the first sirens. It 418 00:30:28,400 --> 00:30:31,279 was faint at first, just to rise and fall on 419 00:30:31,319 --> 00:30:35,680 the wind, but enough to jomp me upright. My back 420 00:30:35,759 --> 00:30:38,960 cracked from being hunched too long. I crawled to the 421 00:30:38,960 --> 00:30:43,799 window and pressed my forehead against the cold glass. Flashing 422 00:30:43,880 --> 00:30:47,759 lights cut through the trees below, bouncing off smoke and debris. 423 00:30:48,880 --> 00:30:51,720 A few figures in Hives's jackets moved through the wreckage 424 00:30:51,759 --> 00:30:55,640 with flashlight and radios. I could see a fire crew 425 00:30:55,680 --> 00:30:59,119 trying to smother the remaining flames, and someone pointing toward 426 00:30:59,160 --> 00:31:02,759 the base of the crowd, but none of them locked up. 427 00:31:04,000 --> 00:31:06,519 Once I was sure it was safe, I grabbed the 428 00:31:06,519 --> 00:31:10,519 hatch handle and stared down. The still rungs dropped away 429 00:31:10,559 --> 00:31:14,759 beneath me, some slickid dew and ash. The whole ladder 430 00:31:14,799 --> 00:31:19,799 felt smaller now. The first few rungs were agony, My 431 00:31:19,920 --> 00:31:23,839 knees were jelly. My palms slipped twice, and each time 432 00:31:23,920 --> 00:31:27,680 my froze and clung tight, breathing so fast I felt 433 00:31:27,720 --> 00:31:31,519 like I might pass out. I forced myself to count 434 00:31:32,440 --> 00:31:38,039 ten rungs, pause ten more. When I was maybe halfway down, 435 00:31:38,440 --> 00:31:42,440 one of the responders looked up, Hey, we got someone 436 00:31:42,440 --> 00:31:49,359 on the tower. Voices multiplied. Lights turned upward, suddenly blinding 437 00:31:50,279 --> 00:31:53,759 A paramedic ran to the base, radio in hand, calling 438 00:31:53,759 --> 00:31:58,839 for a backboard. Another firefighter moved beneath me, arms raised, 439 00:31:58,839 --> 00:32:03,920 like you could catch me if I I kept going ten, 440 00:32:04,599 --> 00:32:10,279 then five, then three, and finally boots on solid ground. 441 00:32:12,359 --> 00:32:15,960 The second I touched down, my legs went out. They 442 00:32:15,960 --> 00:32:18,920 caught me before I fell completely, but I hit my 443 00:32:19,000 --> 00:32:25,160 knees anyway, coughing and trembling. I remember someone shouting for oxygen, 444 00:32:25,640 --> 00:32:29,440 a hand on my shoulder, and a warm blanket. But 445 00:32:29,559 --> 00:32:31,960 all I could do was look past them toward the 446 00:32:31,960 --> 00:32:36,839 base of the ladder. It was there, crumbled in the 447 00:32:36,920 --> 00:32:43,319 gravel and steel debris, a blackened body, long, twisted and curled. 448 00:32:44,480 --> 00:32:47,799 The antlers had chatted against the lower bar. One leg 449 00:32:47,920 --> 00:32:52,440 was missing entirely, the flesh a gunwaxy and gray, fused 450 00:32:52,480 --> 00:32:57,319 to the bone. It wasn't moving. It would never move again. 451 00:32:59,000 --> 00:33:01,119 One of the crews stepped into my line of sight, 452 00:33:01,640 --> 00:33:05,720 blocking the thing from view. We didn't know anyone was 453 00:33:05,720 --> 00:33:12,559 still up there, he said, gently, crouching, real lucky. I 454 00:33:12,599 --> 00:33:19,759 shook my head, voice horse, not lock, I said, just fire. 455 00:33:22,599 --> 00:33:27,160 He didn't get it. That was fine. I let them 456 00:33:27,200 --> 00:33:29,880 lift me under the stretcher and wheel me toward the 457 00:33:29,880 --> 00:33:33,400 waiting rig. I got a good look at the damage 458 00:33:33,440 --> 00:33:36,519 the fire had caused, and they loaded me up and 459 00:33:36,640 --> 00:33:39,319 reached into my jacket and felt the edge of the 460 00:33:39,319 --> 00:33:43,640 book still tucked there, and I rubbed the lucky yellow 461 00:33:43,680 --> 00:33:52,759 sticky note between my fingers.