WEBVTT 1 00:00:06.000 --> 00:00:08.720 Hey, thanks for clicking on this video. Just real quick. 2 00:00:08.800 --> 00:00:12.560 Two of these stories were recorded out of town, not 3 00:00:12.800 --> 00:00:16.039 on my regular recording equipment. That were done on a 4 00:00:16.039 --> 00:00:19.079 little mobile device. But I saw a couple of stories 5 00:00:19.160 --> 00:00:23.480 that my editor had sent over over the email, and 6 00:00:23.719 --> 00:00:25.359 I just read them while I was on the road, 7 00:00:25.359 --> 00:00:28.600 So that's why they sound different. Thank you for being here. 8 00:00:28.800 --> 00:00:31.760 I appreciate you very much. I've got three stories in 9 00:00:31.800 --> 00:00:35.079 this podcast. If two of them sound different, you know why. 10 00:00:35.479 --> 00:00:50.759 All right, here we go. In nineteen sixty nine, in 11 00:00:50.880 --> 00:00:54.079 the summer before we started high school, a few friends 12 00:00:54.079 --> 00:00:56.799 and I would head out on our bicycles every chance 13 00:00:56.840 --> 00:01:01.240 we got to explore the forest in our area. We 14 00:01:01.280 --> 00:01:04.959 lived in Castle Rock. It was a quaint Americana town 15 00:01:05.159 --> 00:01:08.640 situated between Mount Saint Helen's to the east and the 16 00:01:08.640 --> 00:01:13.239 Columbia River leading into the Pacific to the west. We 17 00:01:13.239 --> 00:01:16.640 were fourteen years old then. My friend Randy had a 18 00:01:16.640 --> 00:01:21.239 brand new five speed shwind stingray bike with brake controls 19 00:01:21.319 --> 00:01:24.280 on the handlebars, and the rest of us had hand 20 00:01:24.280 --> 00:01:28.680 me down single speeds with coaster brakes. Randy led most 21 00:01:28.719 --> 00:01:32.760 of the adventures and we tried to keep up. West 22 00:01:32.760 --> 00:01:35.439 of Castle Rock was a two lane road known by 23 00:01:35.439 --> 00:01:39.040 the locals as the West Side Highway. I don't think 24 00:01:39.040 --> 00:01:41.840 any of the locals ever knew the highways number, and 25 00:01:41.879 --> 00:01:46.200 to this day I still don't. In that area was 26 00:01:46.359 --> 00:01:50.239 a wooded place called Whiskey Flats. It got the nickname 27 00:01:50.319 --> 00:01:53.079 because way out there, hidden in the thick brush and 28 00:01:53.120 --> 00:01:55.920 away from the unforgiving eyes of the sheriff and the 29 00:01:55.959 --> 00:01:59.959 game wardens, high schoolers would sneak out there and have keg. 30 00:02:01.879 --> 00:02:05.159 Despite the no trespassing signs posted on both sides of 31 00:02:05.200 --> 00:02:08.400 the highway and our parents' warnings to stay clear of 32 00:02:08.439 --> 00:02:12.039 the area, we hung out there on occasion. We weren't 33 00:02:12.120 --> 00:02:17.960 very good at following directions. We were only fourteen, after all. 34 00:02:18.000 --> 00:02:20.520 I don't think we ever knew who owned the property, 35 00:02:20.599 --> 00:02:22.800 but we knew about the sheriff and the game wardens 36 00:02:22.840 --> 00:02:26.800 patrolling the area for troublemakers and illegal fishing down by 37 00:02:26.840 --> 00:02:31.080 the Calitz River. The thing that kept us away from 38 00:02:31.080 --> 00:02:33.560 the area most of the time, though, was the thought 39 00:02:33.639 --> 00:02:37.360 of us slowly eighth graders accidentally trespassing on a high 40 00:02:37.439 --> 00:02:40.840 school party and getting our butts kicked by the other boys. 41 00:02:42.319 --> 00:02:45.000 Two weeks before school started, the four of us were 42 00:02:45.039 --> 00:02:48.199 riding our bicycles on West Side Highway when in a 43 00:02:48.240 --> 00:02:51.840 moment of bravery, we decided to check out Whiskey Flights. 44 00:02:52.479 --> 00:02:56.000 We looked ahead of and behind us to make sure 45 00:02:56.039 --> 00:02:59.319 there was no traffic coming from either direction that would 46 00:02:59.400 --> 00:03:02.520 catch us and ruin our big plans, and we made 47 00:03:02.520 --> 00:03:05.680 a quick turn past an o trespassing sign and we 48 00:03:05.840 --> 00:03:10.159 rushed down the hillside. The path going down the hill 49 00:03:10.280 --> 00:03:13.080 was loose gravel. We had to ride our brakes all 50 00:03:13.120 --> 00:03:16.199 the way. Randy, who made it to the bottom of 51 00:03:16.199 --> 00:03:19.120 the hill first, was already waiting for us, with a 52 00:03:19.159 --> 00:03:23.039 big grin plastered across his face. We came to a 53 00:03:23.080 --> 00:03:26.039 skid stop next to him and saw what put that 54 00:03:26.120 --> 00:03:29.680 smile there. It was a green and white nineteen fifty 55 00:03:29.680 --> 00:03:33.280 five Ford Sedan with a dark blue nineteen forty seven 56 00:03:33.360 --> 00:03:37.240 Plymouth Sedan, and both of them newly abandoned and ready 57 00:03:37.319 --> 00:03:42.439 to be explored. It wasn't unusual for people to ditch 58 00:03:42.479 --> 00:03:45.960 their old vehicles and Whiskey flights. They just removed the 59 00:03:46.039 --> 00:03:48.680 license plate in the cereal numbers and dump them there, 60 00:03:49.000 --> 00:03:52.840 and someone else would inevitably come by, strip the vehicles 61 00:03:52.840 --> 00:03:55.599 of all the usable parts and leave the frame for 62 00:03:55.759 --> 00:03:58.800 the forest to grow around. We had a good old 63 00:03:58.840 --> 00:04:01.759 time checking out the old vehicles and sitting behind the 64 00:04:01.840 --> 00:04:06.039 driver's wheel and pretending that we owned the world. The 65 00:04:06.039 --> 00:04:08.639 Plymouth had a single brake light in the center of 66 00:04:08.680 --> 00:04:11.840 the trunk with an old sailing ship molded into the 67 00:04:11.879 --> 00:04:17.360 glass lens, which I knew was most likely the Mayflower. Well, 68 00:04:17.399 --> 00:04:20.000 I wanted that lens, and I called DIBs on it, 69 00:04:20.079 --> 00:04:22.519 knowing all I had to do was come back with 70 00:04:22.639 --> 00:04:26.839 some tools and take it off, as if the sedans 71 00:04:26.920 --> 00:04:31.279 themselves weren't neat enough. Once we looked through into the windows, 72 00:04:31.600 --> 00:04:34.399 we saw something that made our jaws drop and our 73 00:04:34.480 --> 00:04:39.480 hearts flutter. There were stacks of Playboy magazines stashed in 74 00:04:39.560 --> 00:04:42.839 the cabs of both cars, where we looked at each 75 00:04:42.879 --> 00:04:45.279 other like we had won the lottery, and did the 76 00:04:45.319 --> 00:04:48.519 only logical thing any fourteen year old boy could have done. 77 00:04:49.199 --> 00:04:51.439 We split into groups of two and checked out the 78 00:04:51.519 --> 00:04:55.680 magazines and both sedans, and we weren't reading any articles. 79 00:04:57.360 --> 00:04:59.639 When we had seen all our eyes could handle, we 80 00:04:59.680 --> 00:05:02.319 switched cars with the other two and looked some more, 81 00:05:02.800 --> 00:05:05.519 and we thought about taking some of the magazines with us, 82 00:05:05.560 --> 00:05:08.120 but we realized some of the high school boys may 83 00:05:08.120 --> 00:05:10.680 have hidden them there, and we thought better of it. 84 00:05:12.079 --> 00:05:15.079 I swear we learned more from those magazines than we 85 00:05:15.160 --> 00:05:18.000 did in all of high school, and by the time 86 00:05:18.040 --> 00:05:23.480 we headed back home we felt enlightened. Those magazines matured us, 87 00:05:23.800 --> 00:05:26.399 and we bike back home and our heads swirling with 88 00:05:26.519 --> 00:05:30.160 glorious images of playboy women, and we decided to go 89 00:05:30.279 --> 00:05:34.040 back to Whiskey Flats on Saturday. We were men now, 90 00:05:34.240 --> 00:05:36.319 and when we came back, we would make it down 91 00:05:36.319 --> 00:05:38.639 to the river, no matter if the high schoolers were 92 00:05:38.720 --> 00:05:43.759 there or not. Saturday came and I packed a screwdriver 93 00:05:43.879 --> 00:05:46.920 in a crescent wrench into an old pillow case, figuring 94 00:05:46.959 --> 00:05:49.279 one of them would help me get the Mayflower lens 95 00:05:49.319 --> 00:05:52.759 off the car, and once again Randy and his Shwin 96 00:05:53.120 --> 00:05:55.920 led the way down the West Side Highway, and as 97 00:05:55.920 --> 00:05:58.399 soon as the coast was clear, we made that quick 98 00:05:58.439 --> 00:06:02.079 turn into Whiskey Flat and we disappeared down the hill. 99 00:06:03.639 --> 00:06:06.439 Randy was yet again waiting at the bottom for the 100 00:06:06.480 --> 00:06:09.360 rest of us, who had to coast cautiously down the 101 00:06:09.399 --> 00:06:13.079 loose gravel. He was wearing a big expression again, but 102 00:06:13.199 --> 00:06:17.480 this time he wasn't smiling. We skidded to a stop 103 00:06:17.519 --> 00:06:19.680 next to him and asked what was going on, but 104 00:06:19.759 --> 00:06:23.360 he was too scared to speak, and instead he pointed 105 00:06:23.399 --> 00:06:26.839 with a shaking hand toward the Plymouth. Maybe part of 106 00:06:26.920 --> 00:06:29.199 me hoped it was some of the high school boys 107 00:06:29.240 --> 00:06:33.120 having their look at the Playboy treasure trove. Maybe his 108 00:06:33.279 --> 00:06:36.199 terrified look was normal for a fourteen year old boy 109 00:06:36.240 --> 00:06:39.879 about to be knocked around by older kids. But when 110 00:06:39.920 --> 00:06:42.839 we turned our heads to see what he was pointing at, 111 00:06:43.360 --> 00:06:45.199 it took us a good minute to wrap our heads 112 00:06:45.240 --> 00:06:50.160 around what we were seeing. It was definitely not high schoolers, 113 00:06:50.399 --> 00:06:53.360 and it was about the furthest thing from a Playboy bunny. 114 00:06:53.480 --> 00:06:58.360 There could possibly be a female bigfoot with a hairless 115 00:06:58.399 --> 00:07:01.800 face and breast had gotten stuck in the door of 116 00:07:01.839 --> 00:07:05.560 the Plymouth. She was at least six feet tall, and 117 00:07:05.639 --> 00:07:09.439 her head jutted out of her torso. The brown hair 118 00:07:09.600 --> 00:07:12.000 under her arms was so long that it looked like 119 00:07:12.079 --> 00:07:15.399 the fringe on a motorcycle jacket, and as she tried 120 00:07:15.439 --> 00:07:18.720 to free her hair from the door latch, she saw us. 121 00:07:20.199 --> 00:07:22.000 I felt the hairs on the back of my neck 122 00:07:22.079 --> 00:07:24.800 stand straight up, and the smart thing to do at 123 00:07:24.800 --> 00:07:28.079 that time was to run, But fear had cemented our 124 00:07:28.160 --> 00:07:31.360 legs in place, and the four of us just stood there, 125 00:07:31.399 --> 00:07:36.319 frozen in shot and stared at this creature. She didn't 126 00:07:36.319 --> 00:07:39.360 appreciate having an audience, and she let us know, and 127 00:07:39.480 --> 00:07:42.199 she let out a blood curdling scream that sounded like 128 00:07:42.240 --> 00:07:46.360 a woman being brutally attacked. It rang through our ears 129 00:07:46.480 --> 00:07:49.360 like hells bells, and it shook us to our core, 130 00:07:50.199 --> 00:07:53.199 and being a mature men that we had become, we 131 00:07:53.240 --> 00:07:57.279 all wed our pants. It was only a matter of 132 00:07:57.319 --> 00:07:59.839 time before she would break free from the latch, and 133 00:08:00.079 --> 00:08:02.519 by the looks of the door, which she had started 134 00:08:02.560 --> 00:08:05.439 to bash and din up like a soda can, Tom 135 00:08:05.600 --> 00:08:09.319 was not on our side. We turned heel and got 136 00:08:09.360 --> 00:08:11.800 out of there as fast as we could, and we 137 00:08:11.879 --> 00:08:14.480 ran our bikes up that gravel hill, and when we 138 00:08:14.519 --> 00:08:17.480 got to the road, we peddled down West Side Highway 139 00:08:17.600 --> 00:08:21.040 faster than any kid ever had in the history of 140 00:08:21.120 --> 00:08:25.360 that area. Back near the safety of our homes, we 141 00:08:25.399 --> 00:08:28.560 agreed to never talk about what we had seen. No 142 00:08:28.600 --> 00:08:31.360 one would believe us anyway, and if our parents found 143 00:08:31.399 --> 00:08:34.440 out that we had been hanging around Whiskey Flats, we 144 00:08:34.480 --> 00:08:38.000 would only get into more trouble. And when I made 145 00:08:38.000 --> 00:08:41.159 it home, I threw my pants in the wash, believed 146 00:08:41.159 --> 00:08:44.080 to see that my mother was still in town grocery shopping, 147 00:08:44.480 --> 00:08:49.600 and relieved I didn't have to explain myself. Now, many 148 00:08:49.720 --> 00:08:52.720 years have passed since that day, and I've long since 149 00:08:52.799 --> 00:08:56.600 moved out of the area. Recently, though, I drove past 150 00:08:56.639 --> 00:09:00.440 the old Whiskey Flats and it's completely gone now, no 151 00:09:00.600 --> 00:09:03.399 downhill to the river and no downhill to the old 152 00:09:03.440 --> 00:09:07.519 abandoned cars. It was all filled with dredge boils from 153 00:09:07.600 --> 00:09:11.159 Mount Saint Helen's eruption and its level with the West 154 00:09:11.159 --> 00:09:15.559 Side Highway now and houses are built all over it. 155 00:09:15.559 --> 00:09:18.279 It would nearly be impossible for a bigfoot to hide 156 00:09:18.320 --> 00:09:21.679 out in that area, now, I knew that, But as 157 00:09:21.759 --> 00:09:25.480 I drove by, I heard that blood curdling scream echoed 158 00:09:25.559 --> 00:09:28.480 through my head, and I felt my hair stand up again. 159 00:09:29.440 --> 00:09:32.039 What would have been a pleasant drive down Memory Lane 160 00:09:32.080 --> 00:09:35.480 was suddenly tainted by a life changing memory that only 161 00:09:35.519 --> 00:09:38.840 seemed to worsen the older I got well, I sped 162 00:09:38.879 --> 00:09:40.639 up and got out of there, trying to put as 163 00:09:40.679 --> 00:09:44.000 much distance between me and that memory as I could, 164 00:09:44.639 --> 00:09:47.919 all the while remembering the feeling of peddling my bike 165 00:09:48.120 --> 00:09:51.639 so fast that I thought I might fly, and that's 166 00:09:51.679 --> 00:09:54.879 when it occurred to me it wasn't the playboys that 167 00:09:55.000 --> 00:09:58.320 stole away my childhood and made us men. That day, 168 00:09:58.840 --> 00:10:03.200 it was a terrifying realization that some monsters are real. 169 00:10:07.399 --> 00:10:09.919 Back in the nineteen nineties, my buddy and I headed 170 00:10:09.960 --> 00:10:13.960 to Paint Creek Lake in southern Ohio, that's where I'm from. 171 00:10:14.799 --> 00:10:17.120 We decided to walk off trail to go fishing in 172 00:10:17.120 --> 00:10:19.879 a honey hole I knew about where nobody else goes. 173 00:10:21.080 --> 00:10:23.720 Usually we would get there by boat, but this time 174 00:10:23.759 --> 00:10:26.720 we were walking, and we walked through a heavily forested 175 00:10:26.759 --> 00:10:30.080 area with only a lantern to light our way. We 176 00:10:30.159 --> 00:10:32.519 made it through the brush along the shoreline, and when 177 00:10:32.559 --> 00:10:34.879 we had gotten as far as we could go, we 178 00:10:35.000 --> 00:10:39.000 heard some dead falls snapping behind us. And we were 179 00:10:39.000 --> 00:10:42.200 in the forest after all. But the normal sounds of 180 00:10:42.279 --> 00:10:46.360 wildlife and nature quickly turned into an explosion of noise 181 00:10:46.840 --> 00:10:50.200 as something massive beat and battered the trees and earth 182 00:10:50.279 --> 00:10:54.440 and the shadows behind us. I couldn't help myself, and 183 00:10:54.480 --> 00:10:56.720 I found a rock and I threw it at the noise. 184 00:10:57.120 --> 00:11:01.320 Everything went abruptly quiet. Friend and I shrugged at each 185 00:11:01.320 --> 00:11:04.240 other and got back to fishing. But a few minutes later, 186 00:11:04.320 --> 00:11:08.679 that same rock came flying past my head. Well. I 187 00:11:08.759 --> 00:11:11.120 turned around to see who had done it, but everything 188 00:11:11.159 --> 00:11:14.720 had gone completely quiet again, and a little light from 189 00:11:14.720 --> 00:11:20.360 our lantern had no chance of penetrating, darkness blanketing the trees. Well, 190 00:11:20.399 --> 00:11:22.759 we stood there, dumb foundain, trying to figure out what 191 00:11:22.879 --> 00:11:27.039 it could possibly be. We were hardly comforted knowing there 192 00:11:27.120 --> 00:11:29.919 was a slim chance it had been a human since 193 00:11:29.960 --> 00:11:33.799 the area around Paint Creek Lake is completely forested with 194 00:11:34.159 --> 00:11:38.440 very few homes. Standing there in the darkness, and knowing 195 00:11:38.480 --> 00:11:41.399 something was out there watching us, so we decided to 196 00:11:41.519 --> 00:11:45.879 end our fishing trip. Early a month later, my dad 197 00:11:45.879 --> 00:11:48.360 and I were fishing out on his pontoon boat at 198 00:11:48.399 --> 00:11:51.559 the same spot. It was early in the morning, around 199 00:11:51.600 --> 00:11:54.679 three or four AM, and a thick fog clung to 200 00:11:54.759 --> 00:11:58.240 the lake, and the fish had finally stopped fighting. We 201 00:11:58.360 --> 00:12:01.879 decided to head home. The front of our boat was 202 00:12:01.919 --> 00:12:04.639 tied to a fallen tree that was half in the 203 00:12:04.639 --> 00:12:06.879 water and half on the shore, and the back of 204 00:12:06.960 --> 00:12:10.279 the boat was anchored. I pulled the anchor and I 205 00:12:10.320 --> 00:12:13.720 started doing my part by pulling the boat toward the tree, 206 00:12:14.080 --> 00:12:16.679 and when my dad started the boat. It was as 207 00:12:16.679 --> 00:12:19.519 if a light switch had been flipped and all hell 208 00:12:19.679 --> 00:12:23.679 broke loose on the bank next to the fallen tree. 209 00:12:24.039 --> 00:12:26.519 The fog was too thick to see what was causing 210 00:12:26.559 --> 00:12:28.919 the commotion, but I could see the rocks and the 211 00:12:28.960 --> 00:12:32.879 twigs flying everywhere. And then we heard something roar, and 212 00:12:32.919 --> 00:12:36.039 the rope in my hand began to vibrate as whatever 213 00:12:36.279 --> 00:12:39.159 was pummeling the old tree like an angry bull on 214 00:12:39.240 --> 00:12:44.960 a rampage. I stood there, frozen at the aggressive fury 215 00:12:45.039 --> 00:12:48.240 that I couldn't see, too taken off guard to consider 216 00:12:48.279 --> 00:12:51.080 what had been happening. My dad yelled at me to 217 00:12:51.080 --> 00:12:53.159 cut the rope, and I was glad to do that, 218 00:12:53.600 --> 00:12:55.840 and there was no way I was getting closer to 219 00:12:55.879 --> 00:12:58.840 that tree than I already was, so I cut it 220 00:12:58.879 --> 00:13:01.039 in a second and we headed back to the dock 221 00:13:01.120 --> 00:13:05.799 as fast as we could. Now that I'm older, I 222 00:13:05.840 --> 00:13:08.279 think it's important to know the truth about what is 223 00:13:08.360 --> 00:13:12.519 in our forests, and looking back on this experience, it 224 00:13:12.639 --> 00:13:15.000 terrifies me to think about what it could have been. 225 00:13:16.000 --> 00:13:18.960 Was it a bigfoot, was it a dog man? Or 226 00:13:19.000 --> 00:13:26.200 could it have been something worse. This event took place 227 00:13:26.279 --> 00:13:30.360 fifteen or so miles south of the Niangua River and 228 00:13:30.440 --> 00:13:33.039 a town so small the only thing in it is 229 00:13:33.080 --> 00:13:37.320 a Rundown post office at an intersection between state highways. 230 00:13:38.320 --> 00:13:40.799 In this part of the state, cows are much more 231 00:13:40.879 --> 00:13:44.519 numerous than people in the fields of crops and livestock 232 00:13:44.600 --> 00:13:49.039 and timber are expansive. It was four years ago in 233 00:13:49.120 --> 00:13:52.399 May that I was visiting my dad's house, shortly after 234 00:13:52.440 --> 00:13:57.639 graduating high school and accompanied by my then girlfriend. We 235 00:13:57.679 --> 00:13:59.919 had planned to stay a few days at his residents 236 00:14:00.120 --> 00:14:04.879 to celebrate and explore all the nearby natural areas. At 237 00:14:04.919 --> 00:14:08.000 the time, he had fifteen or so acres of woods 238 00:14:08.120 --> 00:14:11.240 that bordered the backyard and the shop near the house 239 00:14:11.320 --> 00:14:13.279 that the boys and I would walk through to get 240 00:14:13.320 --> 00:14:16.320 to the fence line of our neighbor's cow pasture to 241 00:14:16.480 --> 00:14:20.519 look at the stars some nights. Between the line of 242 00:14:20.559 --> 00:14:23.440 woods in the backyard and the fence was a small 243 00:14:23.559 --> 00:14:26.679 pond that was home to many frogs that sank throughout 244 00:14:26.759 --> 00:14:30.399 the night, and straight back behind the shop about forty 245 00:14:30.480 --> 00:14:33.320 yards was a pile of debris from a tornado some 246 00:14:33.519 --> 00:14:37.320 years ago that swept through that area and was bulldozed 247 00:14:37.360 --> 00:14:41.840 to that location. This same pile was used by my 248 00:14:42.039 --> 00:14:44.919 dad as a trash pile, and it doubled as a 249 00:14:44.960 --> 00:14:47.879 mountain of bear cans as he was a heavy drinker 250 00:14:47.919 --> 00:14:51.159 at the time. Well, we lived along the US Highway, 251 00:14:51.240 --> 00:14:55.679 close enough that certain semis passed and would rattle the windows, 252 00:14:55.679 --> 00:14:58.279 but far away enough that it was the only vehicle 253 00:14:58.320 --> 00:15:02.039 you could hear with the windows closed. Used well, after 254 00:15:02.080 --> 00:15:04.480 my dad went to sleep, my brothers and I went 255 00:15:04.519 --> 00:15:06.840 about trying to get as much wood as we could 256 00:15:06.879 --> 00:15:10.240 before the sun had totally set, and between the five 257 00:15:10.279 --> 00:15:13.480 of us we managed a pretty sizable stack that would 258 00:15:13.519 --> 00:15:17.480 keep an immense fire blazing throughout the night, and blaze 259 00:15:17.519 --> 00:15:21.200 it did. I pulled my car up on the side 260 00:15:21.320 --> 00:15:24.159 opposite of where my girlfriend and I were sitting in 261 00:15:24.240 --> 00:15:27.320 a kayak on the ground and played old rock tunes 262 00:15:27.360 --> 00:15:31.519 from it. We sat and laughed for hours, tossing around 263 00:15:31.679 --> 00:15:34.320 and shooting the bull and catching up and laughing the 264 00:15:34.440 --> 00:15:37.559 night away. The sounds of the woods were like a 265 00:15:37.639 --> 00:15:41.759 symphony behind me that were full of life and penetrating 266 00:15:41.799 --> 00:15:45.399 the cool air, with the coral sounds of crickets, frogs, 267 00:15:45.440 --> 00:15:49.159 and the occasional owl. It had been a long time 268 00:15:49.320 --> 00:15:52.000 since I had been privileged enough to be present in 269 00:15:52.080 --> 00:15:55.840 this kind of atmosphere living in Kansas City, and I 270 00:15:55.960 --> 00:15:59.600 was just elated the whole night. At two am, my 271 00:15:59.639 --> 00:16:03.440 two younger brothers went inside for a refill of their beverages. 272 00:16:04.000 --> 00:16:06.600 It was just a couple of minutes later, while talking 273 00:16:06.639 --> 00:16:09.159 to my older stepbrother, who was sitting next to me 274 00:16:09.240 --> 00:16:12.080 in a camp chair, that I heard sticks break in 275 00:16:12.120 --> 00:16:15.080 the woods over the music. Hey do you hear that? 276 00:16:15.559 --> 00:16:18.200 I asked my stepbrother, who was staring at his phone. 277 00:16:18.679 --> 00:16:21.200 I don't know what you're talking about, dude, he said, 278 00:16:21.559 --> 00:16:25.159 and he never looked up. I wrote it off as 279 00:16:25.200 --> 00:16:28.240 a deer, seeing so many walk through the backyard in 280 00:16:28.320 --> 00:16:31.399 the mornings, so I continued conversing with him for a 281 00:16:31.440 --> 00:16:34.559 little bit longer. When I noticed the frequency in the 282 00:16:34.639 --> 00:16:37.879 volume of these sticks cracking simply did not add up 283 00:16:37.919 --> 00:16:41.679 to a deer passing through. My experience as a hunter 284 00:16:41.759 --> 00:16:44.519 told me that something wasn't right, and I told my 285 00:16:44.559 --> 00:16:47.200 stepbrother to go turn off the music so I could 286 00:16:47.240 --> 00:16:51.320 hear it better. The first thing I noticed was how 287 00:16:51.360 --> 00:16:54.519 well I could hear these sticks breaking from what sounded 288 00:16:54.639 --> 00:16:57.200 like all the way to the fence, as the woods 289 00:16:57.200 --> 00:17:01.559 had gone silent. The three of us in silence tossing 290 00:17:01.600 --> 00:17:04.400 around ideas as to what could be making such a 291 00:17:04.480 --> 00:17:07.880 racket in the woods at this hour, Bears had been 292 00:17:07.920 --> 00:17:10.720 known to come through the area, and sitting with my 293 00:17:10.839 --> 00:17:14.079 back to the woods, I suddenly became uncomfortable at that thought. 294 00:17:14.720 --> 00:17:17.119 But boy do I wish I could have seen a bear, 295 00:17:17.599 --> 00:17:21.640 as I was not prepared for what came next. It 296 00:17:21.720 --> 00:17:24.960 dawned on me that the sounds were getting closer, close 297 00:17:25.079 --> 00:17:28.279 enough that I could hear individual footfalls on the leaves 298 00:17:28.480 --> 00:17:30.920 and the sticks on the ground, and I froze when 299 00:17:30.960 --> 00:17:35.079 it registered that these steps were being taken on two feet. 300 00:17:36.000 --> 00:17:39.200 I tried not to get ahead of myself, after all, 301 00:17:39.440 --> 00:17:43.160 I had two younger, mischievous brothers that had just gone inside, 302 00:17:44.200 --> 00:17:46.559 Nate and Joe. What the hell are y'all doing out there? 303 00:17:46.839 --> 00:17:50.119 Quit messing around? I called out to the woods behind me. 304 00:17:51.359 --> 00:17:53.680 I shot a grin at Michael, who had finally looked 305 00:17:53.759 --> 00:17:56.799 up from his phone listening to the sounds with concern 306 00:17:56.880 --> 00:18:00.640 on his face. I got no answer from j Nate, 307 00:18:00.920 --> 00:18:04.440 so I called out again, wondering if someone was trespassing 308 00:18:04.480 --> 00:18:08.079 on our property, whoever you are, you need to announce 309 00:18:08.119 --> 00:18:12.000 yourself a warning you and I remember the AK forty 310 00:18:12.000 --> 00:18:14.640 seven that had been used for target practice that day, 311 00:18:14.759 --> 00:18:18.799 was just inside the shop, and then the rustling paused. 312 00:18:20.200 --> 00:18:22.799 It was met with silence, and I thought that maybe 313 00:18:22.920 --> 00:18:27.720 they acknowledged my words. But then the walking continued, except 314 00:18:27.759 --> 00:18:31.960 it was now coming in our direction. My older brother 315 00:18:32.079 --> 00:18:35.400 and I exchanged glances of worry when my two younger 316 00:18:35.440 --> 00:18:38.039 brothers came walking around the corner of the house with 317 00:18:38.160 --> 00:18:41.720 drinks in their hands. Y'all better quit before dad wakes up? 318 00:18:42.079 --> 00:18:45.079 What's going on out here? And when I saw them 319 00:18:45.359 --> 00:18:49.119 and realized that whatever was walking toward us was not familiar, 320 00:18:49.839 --> 00:18:53.279 the potential danger of the situation was starting to set in. 321 00:18:54.200 --> 00:18:57.799 Who the hell was walking in the woods between properties 322 00:18:57.920 --> 00:19:01.920 at two am? Well? My girlfriend, who was sitting right 323 00:19:01.920 --> 00:19:05.200 in front of me, who had been quiet this entire time, asked, 324 00:19:05.559 --> 00:19:08.759 what are we gonna do? Just sit here? Well? I 325 00:19:08.759 --> 00:19:11.160 didn't have an answer, and I was the only person 326 00:19:11.319 --> 00:19:16.559 capable of operating a firearm in the group. Intense anxiety 327 00:19:16.599 --> 00:19:19.000 gripped me, and I thought of what it meant to 328 00:19:19.079 --> 00:19:22.960 possibly pull the trigger on somebody. I must have sat 329 00:19:23.000 --> 00:19:26.039 there for a good minute now. I was petrified, thoughts 330 00:19:26.160 --> 00:19:29.200 racing through my mind when it became apparent that the 331 00:19:29.200 --> 00:19:34.519 footsteps were closing in. Whoever this was was making deliberate 332 00:19:34.599 --> 00:19:37.759 steps with the full intention of walking right up on us, 333 00:19:38.240 --> 00:19:40.359 And I swear to you it must have only been 334 00:19:40.440 --> 00:19:43.440 ten yards or less away. When I stood up out 335 00:19:43.440 --> 00:19:47.279 of the kayak and I shouted as loud as I could, Hello, 336 00:19:47.400 --> 00:19:52.640 who goes there? The footsteps stopped dead, just out of 337 00:19:52.720 --> 00:19:56.000 you from the light of the campfire. The tension in 338 00:19:56.079 --> 00:19:59.400 the air was thick, and so was the silence, only 339 00:19:59.480 --> 00:20:02.880 ever broke by the crackle of the fire. We all 340 00:20:02.920 --> 00:20:07.920 sat there anticipating their next move. We were paralyzed. Just 341 00:20:07.960 --> 00:20:10.640 then they were treated toward the left of our viewing area. 342 00:20:11.359 --> 00:20:13.960 What the hell? I thought? And we all looked at 343 00:20:14.000 --> 00:20:17.039 each other in disbelief, and we listened to the footfalls 344 00:20:17.119 --> 00:20:19.839 go back and forth between our ten o'clock and our 345 00:20:19.880 --> 00:20:24.680 two o'clock. It seemed whoever this was decided they were 346 00:20:24.839 --> 00:20:27.359 going to stay just outside of our field of view, 347 00:20:27.880 --> 00:20:31.759 but just close enough to observe our group. I could 348 00:20:31.759 --> 00:20:34.799 see the look of astonishment creep across the faces of 349 00:20:34.839 --> 00:20:40.599 my siblings, except my younger brother, Nate. Nate, he was brave, 350 00:20:40.960 --> 00:20:43.279 and he grabbed sticks and rocks and whatever he could 351 00:20:43.279 --> 00:20:46.319 find laying on the ground, and he started chucking them 352 00:20:46.319 --> 00:20:49.799 into the woods, shouting at the bastard. I think his 353 00:20:49.920 --> 00:20:53.039 intentions were to taunt the guy into coming out, or 354 00:20:53.039 --> 00:20:55.480 at the very least, this was his attempt to run 355 00:20:55.519 --> 00:20:59.720 them off. But his actions, nor our knowledge of the 356 00:20:59.720 --> 00:21:04.200 figure year's presence, dissuaded them from running away. It simply 357 00:21:04.279 --> 00:21:07.400 moved from left to right, dodging the items that were 358 00:21:07.440 --> 00:21:11.720 being thrown. It was at this pivotal moment that I 359 00:21:11.799 --> 00:21:13.960 was wrestling with the thought of getting the gun and 360 00:21:14.000 --> 00:21:17.799 firing warning shots, when I realized that if this lunatic 361 00:21:17.960 --> 00:21:20.759 was armed, they would have already done what they had 362 00:21:20.799 --> 00:21:24.200 intended to do, so I told my brother to stop 363 00:21:24.559 --> 00:21:28.799 let them get close. It seemed their objective was to 364 00:21:28.839 --> 00:21:32.519 make their presence known but conceal themselves in the trees. 365 00:21:33.559 --> 00:21:35.720 I told my brothers to sit quietly and let this 366 00:21:35.759 --> 00:21:38.279 fellow get close enough while I was waiting in my 367 00:21:38.480 --> 00:21:40.640 car that I then pulled up to the edge of 368 00:21:40.680 --> 00:21:44.119 the tree line. When I thought they were close enough 369 00:21:44.119 --> 00:21:46.720 to be viewed, I would illuminate the woods with my 370 00:21:46.880 --> 00:21:50.559 brides and the perpetrator would come into full view. But 371 00:21:50.720 --> 00:21:54.240 in hindsight, this action seemed kind of strange, but the 372 00:21:54.319 --> 00:21:59.039 result was much more so. I waited there with my 373 00:21:59.200 --> 00:22:03.079 car on and my headlights off. I could hear this 374 00:22:03.160 --> 00:22:06.480 person getting closer and closer, and it occurred to me 375 00:22:06.599 --> 00:22:09.640 that the sight of an operated vehicle near the woods 376 00:22:09.920 --> 00:22:12.319 would have been enough reason to flee in fear of 377 00:22:12.480 --> 00:22:16.680 possibly getting run over. And yet here they were, meandering 378 00:22:16.880 --> 00:22:20.920 ever nearer to the edge. I heard the rustle of 379 00:22:20.960 --> 00:22:23.200 the leaves right in front of the car, some feet 380 00:22:23.240 --> 00:22:26.680 away when I decided to light up their world, and 381 00:22:26.720 --> 00:22:30.960 I shouted profanities as I flipped the switch. And this 382 00:22:31.039 --> 00:22:34.720 is the moment that I would never forget. As it 383 00:22:34.759 --> 00:22:37.240 would turn out, I wasn't close enough to see the 384 00:22:37.359 --> 00:22:41.079 damn thing thing is what it was, because when the 385 00:22:41.160 --> 00:22:44.079 lights came on, I only saw the movement of a 386 00:22:44.079 --> 00:22:47.000 single branch in the trees where it had just been 387 00:22:47.480 --> 00:22:51.079 accompanied by what sounded like a freaking car driving through 388 00:22:51.119 --> 00:22:54.880 the woods as this thing crashed through them, running away 389 00:22:54.920 --> 00:23:00.000 from me. Judging by how loud the snapping was this morning, 390 00:23:00.039 --> 00:23:02.920 munster had to have been a few hundred pounds on me, 391 00:23:03.599 --> 00:23:08.880 and my blood ran cold. My comprehension of what I 392 00:23:09.000 --> 00:23:12.640 thought lived in the woods was immediately defied, and when 393 00:23:12.640 --> 00:23:15.440 the trees were once again quiet, I turned to the 394 00:23:15.480 --> 00:23:18.559 rest of the group, who also had their jaws hanging open. 395 00:23:19.599 --> 00:23:22.599 My two younger brothers were the first to break the silence, 396 00:23:22.640 --> 00:23:26.480 announcing their departure indoors, and they wished us a good night, 397 00:23:26.559 --> 00:23:30.640 and they hurried inside, having no idea what to even 398 00:23:30.720 --> 00:23:34.079 think or feel. My older step brother and my girlfriend 399 00:23:34.160 --> 00:23:36.599 and I sat there trying to wrap our minds around 400 00:23:36.680 --> 00:23:40.319 what took place here, but we stayed out there, unsure 401 00:23:40.359 --> 00:23:43.240