1
00:00:10,560 --> 00:00:13,039
Speaker 1: I've been a National Park ranger for close to two decades.

2
00:00:13,640 --> 00:00:16,519
Protocols have changed a lot in that time. I write

3
00:00:16,519 --> 00:00:18,079
this just to try to keep people safe for the

4
00:00:18,160 --> 00:00:21,079
next time you venture to the big outdoors. Let me

5
00:00:21,120 --> 00:00:23,839
tell you about the last park I worked. I can't

6
00:00:23,879 --> 00:00:27,000
be too specific about the location for my job's sake. Anyway,

7
00:00:27,039 --> 00:00:29,399
we had clusters of campsites that we were heated annually.

8
00:00:29,920 --> 00:00:32,399
The idea was to prevent one group from getting overused

9
00:00:32,399 --> 00:00:35,039
and worn down, let nature regrow a little bit. The

10
00:00:35,079 --> 00:00:37,439
winter had just passed and our big summer season was

11
00:00:37,439 --> 00:00:39,799
a few months away. I'm sent out to check the

12
00:00:39,799 --> 00:00:42,000
suitability of the camp sets, to decide which ones need

13
00:00:42,039 --> 00:00:44,240
time to recover and which ones we can open up.

14
00:00:44,759 --> 00:00:47,880
Windows here are cold. Not too many people camp during

15
00:00:47,880 --> 00:00:50,600
the winter, aside from rugged mass kiss and boy scatchroops

16
00:00:50,640 --> 00:00:52,799
lead by people who believe they are rugged mass kists.

17
00:00:53,520 --> 00:00:55,560
I didn't expect to find much out of the ordinary.

18
00:00:56,079 --> 00:00:58,520
The first site was clear and ready to go. As

19
00:00:58,560 --> 00:01:00,719
I'm tracking to the next site, see what looks like

20
00:01:00,759 --> 00:01:03,000
some debris and junk down aways in a river valley.

21
00:01:03,600 --> 00:01:06,319
Looks like some jackasses set up an unofferous camp down there.

22
00:01:07,040 --> 00:01:10,959
Usually when that happens, they leave garbage and smoldering fires.

23
00:01:11,480 --> 00:01:13,159
This is going to be a pain to clear up.

24
00:01:13,840 --> 00:01:16,319
I approach, seeing the telltale wreckage of what must have

25
00:01:16,359 --> 00:01:19,000
been one hell of a party, two scattered everywhere. At

26
00:01:19,000 --> 00:01:22,840
the skeletons of tents still raised up and blood. I stop,

27
00:01:22,920 --> 00:01:25,480
and time stops with me. Pulls of blood ae bread

28
00:01:25,480 --> 00:01:27,799
out along the ground, next to signs of something heavy

29
00:01:27,840 --> 00:01:30,680
being dragged into the brush. I pull my radio off

30
00:01:30,680 --> 00:01:33,480
my belt and palls. I then pull my glock twenty

31
00:01:33,519 --> 00:01:36,040
two out of my holster and wreck one round. I'm

32
00:01:36,040 --> 00:01:38,480
a certified law enforcement officer, but I haven't had to

33
00:01:38,560 --> 00:01:40,959
use my gun in a long time. I quickly look

34
00:01:41,000 --> 00:01:43,040
around for any movement, then get on my radio and

35
00:01:43,079 --> 00:01:46,920
call in for backup. While I wait, I listen silence.

36
00:01:47,680 --> 00:01:50,959
Silence in nature isn't good. Pray get quiet when they

37
00:01:50,959 --> 00:01:53,359
sense a predator. I hope all the birds are being

38
00:01:53,400 --> 00:01:56,560
still on my account. I edge forward, slowly looking for

39
00:01:56,599 --> 00:02:00,480
anyone or anything. A shredded plastic coller tent that has

40
00:02:00,480 --> 00:02:03,480
been annihilated with more blood splash in the walls and inside.

41
00:02:04,079 --> 00:02:07,239
People died here. I know it. He can't lose that

42
00:02:07,319 --> 00:02:11,039
much blood and just walk off, but no people. Shreds

43
00:02:11,039 --> 00:02:13,360
of clothes and a little visser drawing all the goddam

44
00:02:13,439 --> 00:02:17,240
flies here, but no people. I've seen bearers rummage through

45
00:02:17,280 --> 00:02:20,280
camps and destroy anything that look gettable. There are wild

46
00:02:20,319 --> 00:02:22,520
hogs here that contrails through the deep brush and are

47
00:02:22,520 --> 00:02:25,520
even more dangerous than the bears. But this isn't either

48
00:02:25,560 --> 00:02:29,199
of them. The devastation here is just too much. Some

49
00:02:29,360 --> 00:02:31,520
scourge of God came through here and just ripped to

50
00:02:31,560 --> 00:02:34,360
everything to pieces. Finally, beck Up arrives and I am

51
00:02:34,400 --> 00:02:37,080
sent to report to h Q. They even brought Meddix

52
00:02:37,120 --> 00:02:39,599
out here. I don't know why. There's no one here

53
00:02:39,639 --> 00:02:42,599
to save one of the new recruit's vomits at the scene.

54
00:02:43,199 --> 00:02:45,360
I'm glad to get the hell out of here. I

55
00:02:45,439 --> 00:02:48,319
get back and eight shoes a buzz. Only four people

56
00:02:48,360 --> 00:02:50,439
work here, but coals a ringing print of printing in

57
00:02:50,479 --> 00:02:53,639
the air. Feels electrified. The manager sees me and signals

58
00:02:53,680 --> 00:02:57,319
me to his office. He's pale ashen looking with bloodshot eyes.

59
00:02:57,960 --> 00:02:59,759
I sit down by his desk and he goes to

60
00:02:59,800 --> 00:03:02,280
the door or unlocks it. I've never seen him lock

61
00:03:02,319 --> 00:03:05,719
that door. He asks me what I saw, I tell

62
00:03:05,759 --> 00:03:09,199
him uninterrupted. He looks even paler afterward, and his hands

63
00:03:09,240 --> 00:03:11,879
tremble a bit. There's a very long pause, and I

64
00:03:11,919 --> 00:03:15,719
expect more questions. He doesn't ask any. I leave than

65
00:03:15,800 --> 00:03:18,400
hear the door lock behind me. After a few minutes,

66
00:03:18,400 --> 00:03:20,080
I hear him call some one up and a long,

67
00:03:20,120 --> 00:03:24,240
low conversation ensues. I never see him again. Ward comes

68
00:03:24,280 --> 00:03:27,039
down from on high. We are assigned a new manager,

69
00:03:27,159 --> 00:03:30,240
one who excels at what he calls crises. His first

70
00:03:30,319 --> 00:03:33,000
order of business a control burn of unauthor as camp,

71
00:03:33,000 --> 00:03:35,560
and that sits closest to it. I'm not arguing. I

72
00:03:35,639 --> 00:03:37,520
watch the smoke rise in the distance and pray that's

73
00:03:37,560 --> 00:03:40,560
the end of it. New orders relocate the existing camp

74
00:03:40,599 --> 00:03:43,280
site closer to h HU. Before we do that, we

75
00:03:43,360 --> 00:03:45,479
stake out of futrail cameras at the new locations, just

76
00:03:45,560 --> 00:03:46,879
to make sure it's not in the middle of a

77
00:03:46,960 --> 00:03:49,840
nesting ground. We put up a few cameras pointed at

78
00:03:49,840 --> 00:03:52,520
hob trails through the brush for good measure. A couple

79
00:03:52,560 --> 00:03:54,840
of days pass and we go out to collect the footage.

80
00:03:55,319 --> 00:03:57,400
The new manager takes it all and starts studying it

81
00:03:57,400 --> 00:04:00,879
in his office. A couple hours into review, He freaks out,

82
00:04:01,599 --> 00:04:04,560
start screaming and yelling, gets on the phone, COLLI up

83
00:04:04,560 --> 00:04:07,639
the line, spitting more obscenities. He spends the rest of

84
00:04:07,680 --> 00:04:09,639
the day and that night in the office calling up

85
00:04:09,639 --> 00:04:13,000
specialists and planners. Next morning I show up for a meeting.

86
00:04:13,560 --> 00:04:17,600
Manager doesn't look like he slept. Massive changes afoot. He

87
00:04:17,680 --> 00:04:20,680
lays out our new plans, including massively bright lampus circling

88
00:04:20,680 --> 00:04:22,560
the park border, as well as flood light around the

89
00:04:22,639 --> 00:04:25,720
rangers station. Camp sites need to be moved even closer

90
00:04:25,759 --> 00:04:28,399
in clear lines of sight from the light if possible.

91
00:04:29,120 --> 00:04:30,879
A bud in telling him that defeats the point of

92
00:04:30,879 --> 00:04:33,519
going camping, if you're just going on a short walk

93
00:04:33,560 --> 00:04:35,319
through the grass, then setting up so close you can

94
00:04:35,360 --> 00:04:37,879
see a parking lot. He tells me to shut up,

95
00:04:37,920 --> 00:04:42,439
that it's just the start. The park now closes at sundown. Shop. Also,

96
00:04:42,600 --> 00:04:44,279
we're now required to have a long gun on our

97
00:04:44,319 --> 00:04:47,680
person at all times. Now it isn't uncommon for ranges

98
00:04:47,680 --> 00:04:49,519
to carry an arminus fifteen or a romain to in

99
00:04:49,600 --> 00:04:52,160
eight hundred seventy shot can going out in the deep woods.

100
00:04:52,720 --> 00:04:55,759
There are wild and rabid animals out there. The real

101
00:04:55,800 --> 00:04:59,079
concern are massive pot growers. These aren't your chill neighbor

102
00:04:59,079 --> 00:05:01,879
who hides a few plants behind the tomatoes. They run

103
00:05:01,920 --> 00:05:04,560
the spectrum from large scale supplies who like their privacy

104
00:05:04,560 --> 00:05:07,160
and dislike law enforcement to untake government crazes who think

105
00:05:07,199 --> 00:05:09,879
we have no right over them, the true patriots. Both

106
00:05:09,920 --> 00:05:12,680
groups have a few common points. They tend to be

107
00:05:12,680 --> 00:05:14,560
well armed, They do not like wall men, and they

108
00:05:14,560 --> 00:05:16,199
won't shy away from taking a pot shot at some

109
00:05:16,279 --> 00:05:19,439
dumpoor ranger who finds himself in the fields. Peep in

110
00:05:19,480 --> 00:05:22,519
mind eliotness, mister a fotockapohene and one got scared off,

111
00:05:22,560 --> 00:05:25,439
but in APPOPLLATIONI mungeners because they constantly sniped at him

112
00:05:25,439 --> 00:05:28,399
in the foothills. They shoot to kill. Those are the

113
00:05:28,439 --> 00:05:31,800
reasons we keep the big guns around, not routine patrols.

114
00:05:32,480 --> 00:05:34,519
I drew the short straw and got the overnight shift.

115
00:05:35,199 --> 00:05:37,680
Manager tells me more changes to protocol will be listed

116
00:05:37,680 --> 00:05:41,319
when I return overnights. She used to be easy. Monitor

117
00:05:41,319 --> 00:05:43,319
the radios, what's up the part as if needed, to

118
00:05:43,399 --> 00:05:45,680
check for poachers if they are operating thereby, make sure

119
00:05:45,720 --> 00:05:48,759
the forest doesn't burn down. I cocking and per instructions.

120
00:05:48,800 --> 00:05:52,360
Go to the gun cage my things have changed. Our

121
00:05:52,399 --> 00:05:54,959
shotguns have new rifle barrels so they can handle the

122
00:05:55,000 --> 00:05:57,879
solid slugs we've been issued. That's the kind of fire

123
00:05:57,879 --> 00:05:59,959
proyery you want to take down a charging bear. God

124
00:06:00,040 --> 00:06:02,480
forbid you ever need it. The off of teens have

125
00:06:02,519 --> 00:06:05,439
been stepped up too. The old fifteen round magazines have

126
00:06:05,480 --> 00:06:08,879
been replaced by thirty round ones. Someone evens knock us

127
00:06:08,879 --> 00:06:12,879
in hollow point rounds makes no damn sense shooting in

128
00:06:12,879 --> 00:06:14,759
the woods. You need full metal jacket amos so the

129
00:06:14,839 --> 00:06:17,519
rounds don't go wild when they touch a twig. Hollow

130
00:06:17,519 --> 00:06:21,120
points just exist to do more tissue damage. This is ridiculous.

131
00:06:21,759 --> 00:06:25,120
This is overkill. We're not a war zone. We don't

132
00:06:25,120 --> 00:06:28,800
need this firepower. Next to the radio, there are new instructions.

133
00:06:29,399 --> 00:06:32,199
Now we're not allowed to directly respond to emergency calls.

134
00:06:32,839 --> 00:06:34,879
We can reply, figure out what the issue is, then

135
00:06:34,920 --> 00:06:37,199
we report to a new phone number. I don't recognize.

136
00:06:37,800 --> 00:06:40,160
Time passes slowly to night and not even allowed to

137
00:06:40,199 --> 00:06:42,639
leave the building until sun up. A few in eventful

138
00:06:42,720 --> 00:06:46,160
nights pass. The new floodlights and lampos solf frying my eyes.

139
00:06:46,800 --> 00:06:48,920
It's so bright out that a blind man could see

140
00:06:49,439 --> 00:06:52,199
a week later, some kids roll into the lot. They

141
00:06:52,240 --> 00:06:55,360
grab their backpacks and start hiking up the ridge. I

142
00:06:55,399 --> 00:06:57,000
know what they are up to. No one has booked

143
00:06:57,000 --> 00:06:59,519
a campsite that night. Cheap young ones going on a

144
00:06:59,560 --> 00:07:02,000
camp at that will be a raging party. I wait

145
00:07:02,040 --> 00:07:04,199
for the sun to go down, confirming they not out

146
00:07:04,240 --> 00:07:07,680
for a dhike. I call my manager to report. He

147
00:07:07,720 --> 00:07:09,920
instructs me to call the new number. I report up

148
00:07:09,920 --> 00:07:13,120
to them now. A curt voice answers the phone. He

149
00:07:13,160 --> 00:07:17,160
asks my park, then pauses. He asks the issue. Bunch

150
00:07:17,199 --> 00:07:19,160
of kids on in an authorized sight? Do I go

151
00:07:19,240 --> 00:07:21,600
break it up? I can see the campfire at the

152
00:07:21,639 --> 00:07:24,920
ridge right now? No? Do you not leave the building?

153
00:07:25,519 --> 00:07:29,319
Do not attempt communication? That is all. Report if there

154
00:07:29,360 --> 00:07:32,959
are any developments. Right after daybreak, the manager rides up.

155
00:07:33,439 --> 00:07:37,720
It's real early. Have you seen them? Did they leave? No,

156
00:07:38,600 --> 00:07:42,399
the car's still there. Let them rest. They're probably all

157
00:07:42,480 --> 00:07:46,279
hung over. He curses non stop. He then goes inside

158
00:07:46,319 --> 00:07:48,759
to make a call. I'm outside looking up the ridge.

159
00:07:48,759 --> 00:07:52,079
When he exits the station, one arminus fifteen in his hand,

160
00:07:52,199 --> 00:07:55,480
another one strap across his back block on his hip.

161
00:07:55,879 --> 00:07:59,040
He marches single mindedly toward his car. I try to

162
00:07:59,079 --> 00:08:01,040
ask him what in God's name he is doing? But

163
00:08:01,120 --> 00:08:04,000
he isn't listening or responding. He takes a jerrykin of

164
00:08:04,040 --> 00:08:06,839
gasoline from his car and marches up the ridge. I

165
00:08:06,920 --> 00:08:10,240
yell after him, to no reply. I consider following him,

166
00:08:10,399 --> 00:08:12,839
but that doesn't seem like a good idea. I go

167
00:08:12,959 --> 00:08:16,240
back and side and call the number. The same crub voice,

168
00:08:16,839 --> 00:08:19,920
the same direct questions, Yeah, the manager went up to

169
00:08:19,959 --> 00:08:23,879
that campsite, armed to the teeth and carrying gasolene. What

170
00:08:24,000 --> 00:08:27,639
the F do I do? Stay there? Do not interfere?

171
00:08:28,240 --> 00:08:31,600
Back up is inbound? Report if there are any developments.

172
00:08:32,279 --> 00:08:34,399
About the same time I start to see smoke wafting

173
00:08:34,440 --> 00:08:37,080
off the ridge, two vounds ride into the lot at

174
00:08:37,120 --> 00:08:40,320
a screaming speed. A dozen men, heavily armed and armored

175
00:08:40,320 --> 00:08:43,600
eggs ait quickly. I go out to check. Who are

176
00:08:43,639 --> 00:08:46,960
you guys? What's going on? The men are all lined

177
00:08:47,000 --> 00:08:50,240
up with that impeccable military precision. One of them, a commander,

178
00:08:50,279 --> 00:08:53,799
I assume, exists the vehicle last, he says, which to Russian?

179
00:08:53,840 --> 00:08:56,960
Did he go? I mean he's up there? I point

180
00:08:56,960 --> 00:08:59,720
at the increasing smoke. The men find out and stock

181
00:08:59,799 --> 00:09:03,120
job up the ridge. I hear rifles cocking. As they leave.

182
00:09:03,799 --> 00:09:07,320
I try to shout after them, but no response. I

183
00:09:07,360 --> 00:09:10,480
look at the vans they came in, large, non script.

184
00:09:11,120 --> 00:09:13,440
They just say deal. I response team on the side.

185
00:09:14,000 --> 00:09:16,600
Half an hour or later they return, dragging the manager

186
00:09:16,600 --> 00:09:20,200
with them. He has abandoned sip ties. He screams, I

187
00:09:20,240 --> 00:09:23,480
did what needed to be done. Trust me, it's worse

188
00:09:23,519 --> 00:09:26,879
than they thought. We can't stop this, burn it all.

189
00:09:27,440 --> 00:09:29,679
They throw him in the back and sedate him. The

190
00:09:29,720 --> 00:09:32,600
commander approaches me. My neck has bristle and coal fear.

191
00:09:33,200 --> 00:09:36,320
I need to see the office, all computers and anything

192
00:09:36,320 --> 00:09:39,519
that the hard drive is coming with me. He mentioned videotapes.

193
00:09:40,200 --> 00:09:42,759
I need those two. I unlocked the doors and they

194
00:09:42,799 --> 00:09:46,960
ransack the place. Everything gets taken. Printed reports from the

195
00:09:47,039 --> 00:09:50,759
last few years disappear into those fans. The videotapes get

196
00:09:50,799 --> 00:09:54,000
bout up and held by the commander himself. He studies

197
00:09:54,039 --> 00:09:59,799
the gun cage. Cute, you're out of your league, he scoffs. Finally,

198
00:09:59,879 --> 00:10:02,840
the found everything they looked for. The commander tells me

199
00:10:03,080 --> 00:10:06,600
call the number, tell them it's contained. You need a

200
00:10:06,600 --> 00:10:10,320
new superior. Also, don't talk about this to anyone. They

201
00:10:10,399 --> 00:10:12,440
leave and just on key the fire brigade and a

202
00:10:12,440 --> 00:10:15,200
few news vans show up. The fires contained. The news

203
00:10:15,240 --> 00:10:19,080
reports say rumors of missing campers are unsubstantiated at this time.

204
00:10:19,639 --> 00:10:21,440
Still the room is alone are enough to scare of

205
00:10:21,519 --> 00:10:24,440
this season's campers. The quick change up of managers is

206
00:10:24,480 --> 00:10:27,240
dropped up to bureaucracy. The press dies down after a

207
00:10:27,279 --> 00:10:29,960
week or two. The new manager is very good at

208
00:10:29,960 --> 00:10:32,720
dealing with them. Thankfully, with no new campers and are

209
00:10:32,759 --> 00:10:34,960
now even shorter open hours, we can get more work

210
00:10:35,000 --> 00:10:38,159
done around here. Rebuilding the station took some time, and

211
00:10:38,200 --> 00:10:40,759
we just set up the new campsites. They are practically

212
00:10:40,799 --> 00:10:43,919
spitting distance from the station. Nothing dramatic happens for a

213
00:10:43,919 --> 00:10:46,720
few days. Then, on a whim, the manager tells us

214
00:10:46,720 --> 00:10:49,200
to set up some cameras around the station and the campsites.

215
00:10:49,799 --> 00:10:52,480
There's usually so much human activity around here. Only see

216
00:10:52,480 --> 00:10:55,120
your some raccoons, maybe the rare hungry bab, but we

217
00:10:55,240 --> 00:10:58,159
humor him and set them up all around. A couple

218
00:10:58,240 --> 00:11:01,159
of days past, we collect the footage I play poko

219
00:11:01,279 --> 00:11:03,279
with one of the rookies while the manager watches eyew

220
00:11:03,320 --> 00:11:06,120
is a footage of an empty but brilliantly illuminated parking lot.

221
00:11:06,720 --> 00:11:09,600
Then he gets to the footage around the station. Screams

222
00:11:09,600 --> 00:11:12,480
come from the office. We bargein and he's stamping on

223
00:11:12,519 --> 00:11:15,919
the camera, hard drives, gibbering things I can't understand along

224
00:11:15,960 --> 00:11:18,320
the lines. Have told me it was clean, safe, no

225
00:11:18,440 --> 00:11:21,200
recent activity. B yes here, I'm not going to do it.

226
00:11:21,919 --> 00:11:24,519
He barks at us to leave. Later, he makes a

227
00:11:24,559 --> 00:11:26,879
call Orke goes up to the door and listens in.

228
00:11:27,639 --> 00:11:31,320
Rookie comes back reporting yea, he's demanding a transfer. Says

229
00:11:31,320 --> 00:11:33,879
they lie to him, something about they didn't do their

230
00:11:33,919 --> 00:11:37,559
job properly. He's not prepared or crypt here. Then I

231
00:11:37,720 --> 00:11:40,879
just heard the phone click and some sobbing iurs. Later,

232
00:11:41,039 --> 00:11:44,879
my manager exits the office. His shoulders are slumped, defeated.

233
00:11:45,519 --> 00:11:48,759
We cut our eyes even further. Practically open on weekends only.

234
00:11:49,360 --> 00:11:51,399
We'll have a full staff ready those days, but a

235
00:11:51,440 --> 00:11:54,159
skeleton crewd of rest of the time. Campers are required

236
00:11:54,200 --> 00:11:57,080
to check into one of the closest sites no campsite,

237
00:11:57,120 --> 00:11:58,960
and they are to all to leave. We are not

238
00:11:59,039 --> 00:12:01,919
authorized to leave the state after dark under any circumstances.

239
00:12:02,519 --> 00:12:05,360
In an emergency, do not call nine hundred eleven. Call

240
00:12:05,399 --> 00:12:08,039
the number and do exactly what they say. We draw

241
00:12:08,080 --> 00:12:11,000
straws for who gets over night shifts. Why we need

242
00:12:11,039 --> 00:12:12,799
to stay over night if we can't do anything is

243
00:12:12,840 --> 00:12:14,919
beyond me. I asked the manager about it, and he

244
00:12:15,000 --> 00:12:16,879
just said that stand up protocoll is to have someone

245
00:12:16,919 --> 00:12:19,840
on hand to report any irregularities of a night. I

246
00:12:19,919 --> 00:12:22,919
have to work my overnight shift. I keep my phone close,

247
00:12:23,000 --> 00:12:25,039
the number dialed in ready if I need to call.

248
00:12:25,720 --> 00:12:28,240
It is a bad night. I just wind up pacing

249
00:12:28,240 --> 00:12:30,840
around with my shotgun, glancing into the bright floodlights, trying

250
00:12:30,840 --> 00:12:33,559
to see what passed them. I hear crickets and it

251
00:12:33,600 --> 00:12:37,240
relaxes me. Pray is quiet when predators are around. It

252
00:12:37,360 --> 00:12:40,200
is a long night. The next night, my manager draws

253
00:12:40,200 --> 00:12:43,679
a short straw. He seems resigned. In the end, we

254
00:12:43,720 --> 00:12:46,000
all have to take a turn. He brings the bright

255
00:12:46,159 --> 00:12:49,320
damn tactical flashlight i've ever seen. Said he bought it

256
00:12:49,399 --> 00:12:52,080
just because he's afraid of the dark. He isn't, really,

257
00:12:52,759 --> 00:12:55,080
he's afraid of the things in the dark. I get

258
00:12:55,080 --> 00:12:58,159
a phone call up three him. It's him, get over

259
00:12:58,200 --> 00:13:02,440
here now and bring guns. Whah, you have a damn

260
00:13:02,559 --> 00:13:07,120
arsenal now. Oh, I swear to god, I'm messed up. Oh, man,

261
00:13:07,200 --> 00:13:09,559
I think they were attracted to the light. I called

262
00:13:09,600 --> 00:13:11,320
that number and all they said was back up would

263
00:13:11,360 --> 00:13:14,480
be here in the morning. Oh god, Dawn, I hear

264
00:13:14,519 --> 00:13:21,240
the piercing scacatto of gunshots. But pause, more gunshots, screaming, scuffling,

265
00:13:21,919 --> 00:13:25,320
The lingo is dead. I called the number. A new

266
00:13:25,399 --> 00:13:29,000
terse voice answers, Look, I work at X park. I

267
00:13:29,120 --> 00:13:30,879
just got off the phone with X. I just spoke

268
00:13:30,919 --> 00:13:35,440
with X. What can you report. Something bad happened. It's serious.

269
00:13:36,120 --> 00:13:38,720
I heard gunshots. We will have back up there as

270
00:13:38,759 --> 00:13:43,000
soon as possible. Did he say anything else? Yeah, he

271
00:13:43,000 --> 00:13:45,720
said he thought they were attracted to the light. Doesn't

272
00:13:45,720 --> 00:13:49,480
make sense to me. Interesting. Thank you for your report.

273
00:13:50,120 --> 00:13:56,240
The park is now closed. You will be reassigned. Good bye. Click. Officially,

274
00:13:56,279 --> 00:13:58,679
the park was closed to be scheduled for a controlled burn,

275
00:13:58,799 --> 00:14:00,879
let the old trees die and make room for new ones.

276
00:14:01,480 --> 00:14:03,559
There was nothing in the official report about what happened

277
00:14:03,559 --> 00:14:06,879
to the manager on duty. The public understanding was bureaucracy's

278
00:14:06,919 --> 00:14:09,240
need to be shaken up on occasion. No one asked

279
00:14:09,240 --> 00:14:12,039
any more questions. I get to transferred to a new park

280
00:14:12,159 --> 00:14:15,320
half way across the country. Change of sceniory and beautiful.

281
00:14:15,879 --> 00:14:18,639
They've got some odd rules here too, don't go far

282
00:14:18,679 --> 00:14:22,159
after dark and don't carry a flashlight. I'm concerned about

283
00:14:22,159 --> 00:14:24,559
why why can't you use a flask light at night

284
00:14:24,600 --> 00:14:27,720
when you need one? They won't tell me be safe

285
00:14:27,720 --> 00:14:29,919
every one. When I was a park ranger, they were

286
00:14:29,960 --> 00:14:32,320
hiding something from the public behind a barbed wi fence

287
00:14:32,960 --> 00:14:35,039
and a park ranger for a national park in the US,

288
00:14:35,039 --> 00:14:36,480
and this story and going to tell you has been

289
00:14:36,519 --> 00:14:38,600
hidden for years by my superiors, but now I shall

290
00:14:38,639 --> 00:14:41,399
finally bring it to the light. When a first got

291
00:14:41,399 --> 00:14:43,840
this job, they were very straightforward with answering all of

292
00:14:43,840 --> 00:14:45,960
my questions until we were driving along one of the

293
00:14:45,960 --> 00:14:48,840
dirt roads. Off in the distance, I spot a barb

294
00:14:48,879 --> 00:14:50,879
why fence surrounding an area of land on the side

295
00:14:50,919 --> 00:14:53,600
of a mountain. What's that fence for, I asked, while

296
00:14:53,600 --> 00:14:56,159
observing it from a var The park ranger that was

297
00:14:56,200 --> 00:14:58,120
showing me around looked to where I was pointing, and

298
00:14:58,159 --> 00:14:59,960
I could sense feared by the way his eye slightly

299
00:15:00,000 --> 00:15:02,720
it grew wider. He focused back on the road and said,

300
00:15:02,799 --> 00:15:05,360
that's nothing, just a place to protect the wild life

301
00:15:05,399 --> 00:15:07,840
and plants that live there from getting trampled on by hikers.

302
00:15:08,480 --> 00:15:10,519
His response made sense to me because I've heard of

303
00:15:10,519 --> 00:15:12,840
other areas being blocked off to protect the plants and such,

304
00:15:12,879 --> 00:15:16,120
but his body language was holding something for me. However,

305
00:15:16,200 --> 00:15:17,799
I didn't want to be annoying you guys, so I

306
00:15:17,879 --> 00:15:20,679
just replied with, OK, makes sense to me. The man

307
00:15:20,720 --> 00:15:23,120
tightened his grip on the steering wheel as he stated, yeah,

308
00:15:23,279 --> 00:15:25,320
just make sure to keep people in yourself far away

309
00:15:25,320 --> 00:15:29,120
from that area entirely, you know, to protect the plants.

310
00:15:29,799 --> 00:15:32,080
Feeling a sword of awkward silence between us, I replied

311
00:15:32,120 --> 00:15:35,039
saying we'll do, but if I may ask, what plants

312
00:15:35,039 --> 00:15:37,840
be sesarly trying to protect an the fence. The man's

313
00:15:37,840 --> 00:15:39,720
face scrunched up as he thought about how to respond.

314
00:15:40,279 --> 00:15:42,320
He then just said to me, you'll find out later

315
00:15:42,360 --> 00:15:44,279
what's back there, but you haven't been here long enough

316
00:15:44,320 --> 00:15:46,279
for us to trust that you won't tell anyone about it,

317
00:15:46,360 --> 00:15:49,480
so just hold your horses. After hearing as, I slumped

318
00:15:49,480 --> 00:15:50,919
in my seat and listened to the rest of the

319
00:15:50,960 --> 00:15:53,159
tour of the area. When we got back to the

320
00:15:53,240 --> 00:15:56,000
ranger's station, everyone was welcoming me and introducing themselves. On

321
00:15:56,039 --> 00:15:58,519
One man in particular stood out to me. He had

322
00:15:58,559 --> 00:16:01,080
sort of Santa Claus physique with especially white beard that

323
00:16:01,080 --> 00:16:03,080
had own his small remnants of a gray color to it.

324
00:16:03,759 --> 00:16:05,480
When I shook his firm hand, he told me his

325
00:16:05,559 --> 00:16:07,639
name was poor Jeere, but he goes by Ranger Paul.

326
00:16:08,240 --> 00:16:10,000
He was the main one in charge of foreseeing this

327
00:16:10,080 --> 00:16:12,440
particular national park. Sir. He took me into his office

328
00:16:12,440 --> 00:16:13,840
to give me all of the gear that I would need,

329
00:16:13,840 --> 00:16:16,080
along with a schedule. What made you want to be

330
00:16:16,080 --> 00:16:18,759
a park ranger, kiddo, he asked as he signed some

331
00:16:18,799 --> 00:16:21,600
documents that laid on top of his desk. Taking a

332
00:16:21,639 --> 00:16:23,720
second to think about how to respond, I then said,

333
00:16:23,879 --> 00:16:26,080
you know, I enjoyed the odors and thought it would

334
00:16:26,120 --> 00:16:28,000
be both fun and interesting to be a park ranger.

335
00:16:28,559 --> 00:16:30,840
He looked up from signing papers and said, are you

336
00:16:30,879 --> 00:16:34,000
easily scared? This question caught me off guard and wondered

337
00:16:34,000 --> 00:16:36,799
why he was asking me that anyway, and I had

338
00:16:36,799 --> 00:16:38,919
to respond, so I said, I'm not really scared of

339
00:16:38,960 --> 00:16:43,360
that much. Maybe bears. Ranger poulskoughed after hearing the saying,

340
00:16:43,440 --> 00:16:46,279
bears bears are the least bit of your warriors. Here

341
00:16:47,000 --> 00:16:49,039
we lose far more people who've gotten lost in the

342
00:16:49,039 --> 00:16:52,200
woods than people who've been mauled by bears. He pauses

343
00:16:52,240 --> 00:16:54,080
and looks out the window as he continues, it's the

344
00:16:54,080 --> 00:16:56,919
woods you have to worry about. How many people go

345
00:16:56,960 --> 00:16:59,960
missing here a year, I asked, trying to avoid an awkwards.

346
00:17:01,200 --> 00:17:03,639
Too many is all I can say. If it was

347
00:17:03,759 --> 00:17:06,480
for that dawn pull stop mid sentence and turned to me.

348
00:17:07,160 --> 00:17:09,200
You'll see, he muttered, as the park ranger who was

349
00:17:09,240 --> 00:17:11,480
showing me around previously walked into the room and pulled

350
00:17:11,480 --> 00:17:13,480
me out, taking me to sign all of the required

351
00:17:13,480 --> 00:17:17,119
paperwork work. As I was signing, I could barely hear

352
00:17:17,200 --> 00:17:19,359
him talking to range a Pole saying something along the

353
00:17:19,359 --> 00:17:21,480
lines of he nearly told him what's out there before

354
00:17:21,480 --> 00:17:24,480
he even signed the non disclosure agreement. The rest of

355
00:17:24,480 --> 00:17:27,799
their conversation got muffled after the door closed completely. I

356
00:17:27,880 --> 00:17:30,119
was honestly intrigued to figure out what they were hiding

357
00:17:30,160 --> 00:17:33,119
beyond that fence. After that, I took every chance I

358
00:17:33,160 --> 00:17:34,720
could get to find out as much as I could

359
00:17:34,720 --> 00:17:36,640
about it, but no one budged on what they originally

360
00:17:36,640 --> 00:17:38,920
told me until I had worked there for about three months.

361
00:17:39,640 --> 00:17:41,799
That's when Ranger Paul decided I should know what was

362
00:17:41,799 --> 00:17:44,599
behind fence. He pulled me into his office on the

363
00:17:44,640 --> 00:17:46,680
stormy day when we weren't checking if people had paid

364
00:17:46,680 --> 00:17:48,559
for the camp and tickets, and said, I know you've

365
00:17:48,559 --> 00:17:50,599
been interested to figure out what was behind at fence,

366
00:17:50,640 --> 00:17:52,160
and you will, but promise me that you will never

367
00:17:52,160 --> 00:17:55,279
tell another soul about it. I promised, and he continued,

368
00:17:55,359 --> 00:17:56,960
You're not going to like what I'm going to tell

369
00:17:57,000 --> 00:18:00,039
you because it's quite anticlimactic. The reason we have the

370
00:18:00,119 --> 00:18:01,599
fence to keep people out is that there is a

371
00:18:01,640 --> 00:18:03,359
stream of water up there that just pops out of

372
00:18:03,359 --> 00:18:05,480
the ground from some source within the mountain itself and

373
00:18:05,519 --> 00:18:08,119
flows for about twenty feet before it again disappears back

374
00:18:08,119 --> 00:18:11,759
into the mountain. I interrupted, saying, that's really not that unusual.

375
00:18:11,839 --> 00:18:13,400
I mean, it could just be a spring popping out

376
00:18:13,400 --> 00:18:15,839
from the ground. Paul raised his hand up to quite

377
00:18:15,880 --> 00:18:18,039
me as he continued saying, you're right, but that's not

378
00:18:18,079 --> 00:18:23,240
what's unusual about this. The water, it flows a stream.

379
00:18:23,559 --> 00:18:26,000
It goes against gravity and all other forces of nature

380
00:18:26,000 --> 00:18:28,039
as it flows upward in the mountain for twenty feet.

381
00:18:28,720 --> 00:18:31,599
But Blaxton intrigued at the same time, I said, really,

382
00:18:32,200 --> 00:18:33,880
if it does wipe put a fence around such a

383
00:18:33,920 --> 00:18:37,039
scientific marvel, people would come across the world to see it.

384
00:18:37,759 --> 00:18:40,000
Ranger Paul smiled as he said, that's what they first

385
00:18:40,039 --> 00:18:43,799
insisted on doing. But that place ain't right. It's cursed

386
00:18:43,839 --> 00:18:46,119
or something. I asked him what he meant, and he

387
00:18:46,200 --> 00:18:49,119
responded by saying most of the people who discovered went

388
00:18:49,160 --> 00:18:52,079
missing and were never found. Those were the lucky ones.

389
00:18:52,720 --> 00:18:54,559
For the ones that didn't go missing, they somehow were

390
00:18:54,559 --> 00:18:58,400
morphed into deformed humanoids without the capability to speak. One, however,

391
00:18:58,680 --> 00:19:01,039
could slightly speak, and all he said was Hell's Entry.

392
00:19:01,680 --> 00:19:03,400
After he said this, I knew he had have been

393
00:19:03,440 --> 00:19:05,359
playing a prank on me, to haze me or something,

394
00:19:05,400 --> 00:19:07,640
but his expression never changed as he said that water

395
00:19:07,720 --> 00:19:10,519
going against gravity is some sort of an enigma. The

396
00:19:10,559 --> 00:19:13,240
place is like the Bermuda Triangle, a sort of place

397
00:19:13,279 --> 00:19:17,200
trapped between dimensions, prap like that. The government tried to

398
00:19:17,200 --> 00:19:19,400
study it, but after losing half of the scientists who

399
00:19:19,440 --> 00:19:21,400
were researching it, they gave up on it, leaving it

400
00:19:21,400 --> 00:19:24,000
locked up behind that fence. As he went on, I

401
00:19:24,039 --> 00:19:25,640
didn't know if I should have believed him or not,

402
00:19:25,720 --> 00:19:28,319
because it was so outlandish of an idea. When a

403
00:19:28,400 --> 00:19:30,799
storm clouds moved out of the area. Ranger Paul sent

404
00:19:30,839 --> 00:19:32,440
me back out to check if people had paid for

405
00:19:32,480 --> 00:19:35,119
the campgrounds, leaving me with this last sentence to endeavor

406
00:19:35,160 --> 00:19:37,960
go over that fence. A few days Sin passed by

407
00:19:38,000 --> 00:19:39,880
after this, and I couldn't deal with the explanation that

408
00:19:39,880 --> 00:19:42,279
Paul gave to me. It just didn't make sense, and

409
00:19:42,359 --> 00:19:44,160
so one night I snuck out and decided to heck

410
00:19:44,200 --> 00:19:46,440
over to the fenced area. I took a pair of

411
00:19:46,440 --> 00:19:48,319
wire cutters to cut through the fence because I didn't

412
00:19:48,359 --> 00:19:50,039
want to try and climb over the bob wire that

413
00:19:50,119 --> 00:19:52,440
was wrapped around the top of it. When I finished

414
00:19:52,440 --> 00:19:54,119
cutting out a small hole I would be able to

415
00:19:54,119 --> 00:19:56,039
fit in, I brightened my flashlight as I heard the

416
00:19:56,039 --> 00:19:59,279
trickling of water. Following the sound, I sin stumbled upon

417
00:19:59,279 --> 00:20:02,039
the stream at its men magnificent beauty. When I shine

418
00:20:02,079 --> 00:20:04,279
my flashlight at the water, it was almost as transparren

419
00:20:04,319 --> 00:20:07,119
as glass. Ranger Paul was making the whole thing up

420
00:20:07,119 --> 00:20:09,960
when he said the water went backward against gravity. To

421
00:20:09,960 --> 00:20:12,039
my utter amazement, I reached my hand down into the

422
00:20:12,039 --> 00:20:13,720
stream and felt the push of the water towards the

423
00:20:13,720 --> 00:20:16,400
top of the mountain. I was elated due to abuseful

424
00:20:16,480 --> 00:20:18,160
it was, and wondering why any one would ever want

425
00:20:18,160 --> 00:20:21,079
to hide something like this. As I was touching the water,

426
00:20:21,160 --> 00:20:23,319
I heard something splash in the water, and glancing over,

427
00:20:23,400 --> 00:20:25,160
I saw a man crouched over on all fours with

428
00:20:25,240 --> 00:20:28,039
his back to me. Startled by the man's presence and

429
00:20:28,079 --> 00:20:29,599
wondered if he was lost, I got back on my

430
00:20:29,640 --> 00:20:32,200
feet and walked toward to him. Are you lost, sir,

431
00:20:32,880 --> 00:20:34,759
I asked? As I placed my hand on his shoulder.

432
00:20:35,319 --> 00:20:37,039
His head turned around to meet my gaze, and my

433
00:20:37,079 --> 00:20:39,880
hat stopped. All he had done. His pale, blank face

434
00:20:39,920 --> 00:20:42,839
was a mab full of sharp edged teeth. Stumbling backward,

435
00:20:42,880 --> 00:20:44,519
I fell into the stream, which felt strange as he

436
00:20:44,559 --> 00:20:46,240
tried to push me up the mountain until I pulled

437
00:20:46,240 --> 00:20:48,920
myself out. The thing didn't move at all, but just

438
00:20:48,920 --> 00:20:52,359
sat there, mumbling fragmented sentences. Freaked out, A dotted to

439
00:20:52,400 --> 00:20:54,359
where I came, and the thing somehow since my sudden

440
00:20:54,400 --> 00:20:57,440
movements and inhumanly crawled after me. He climbed into a

441
00:20:57,480 --> 00:20:59,039
nearby tree and tried to pounce on me. All the

442
00:20:59,039 --> 00:21:00,799
while I could hear it say in an uneven tone,

443
00:21:00,799 --> 00:21:05,000
and save me, ell Eates freaking out. I noticed that

444
00:21:05,039 --> 00:21:07,400
the ground underneath me was shifting and gravity was coming

445
00:21:07,440 --> 00:21:10,039
in and out. The world around me seemed to change

446
00:21:10,079 --> 00:21:12,119
back and forth, but I kept in the same direction

447
00:21:12,200 --> 00:21:13,720
and saw the fence ahead of me where I cut

448
00:21:13,759 --> 00:21:16,119
the hole out of. It kept changing from a fiery

449
00:21:16,160 --> 00:21:18,079
cave wall back to the fence until I quickly made

450
00:21:18,079 --> 00:21:19,519
it there, but it was a cave wall by then.

451
00:21:20,039 --> 00:21:21,920
There was no way for me to escape now until

452
00:21:21,920 --> 00:21:24,000
it swiftly changed back for a fragment of a second.

453
00:21:24,640 --> 00:21:26,880
Taking the opportunity, I jumped through the hall and the fence,

454
00:21:26,880 --> 00:21:28,839
and the thing tried to follow after meat, but didn't

455
00:21:28,839 --> 00:21:31,240
make it through the screen. Still keep me awake at

456
00:21:31,359 --> 00:21:34,079
night after this range of Paul later found out about it,

457
00:21:34,079 --> 00:21:36,799
but didn't fire me on the spot. Instead, he said,

458
00:21:36,839 --> 00:21:38,720
after being in there, you are the last person on

459
00:21:38,759 --> 00:21:40,359
earth who would ever want to go back in, so

460
00:21:40,400 --> 00:21:43,039
I'm not going to fire you. He did instead gave

461
00:21:43,079 --> 00:21:45,119
me all of the crappy jobs for two months afterward.

462
00:21:45,799 --> 00:21:48,000
That happened around four years ago. But still, I'm not

463
00:21:48,039 --> 00:21:49,960
supposed to be pushing this story here due to the

464
00:21:50,000 --> 00:21:53,160
non disclosure agreement I signed. I guess I just broke

465
00:21:53,200 --> 00:21:55,160
that agreement because I need to warn everyone that if

466
00:21:55,200 --> 00:21:57,200
you find a random area in the woods fenced off,

467
00:21:57,240 --> 00:21:59,759
whatever you do, don't try to break into it. You

468
00:22:00,200 --> 00:22:02,880
might not make it back. Hello. My name is Ashki,

469
00:22:02,920 --> 00:22:04,680
and I'm a Native American who has taken of a

470
00:22:04,720 --> 00:22:06,920
park ranger from my father who passed away from cancer.

471
00:22:07,599 --> 00:22:10,559
A family has lived in this region of Tennessee for generations. Hell,

472
00:22:10,559 --> 00:22:12,160
it was my great x four grand ad who was

473
00:22:12,200 --> 00:22:14,119
the park ranger here in the first place, so getting

474
00:22:14,160 --> 00:22:17,039
the jaw as easy for his descendants. When I was little,

475
00:22:17,079 --> 00:22:19,240
my great grandad used to tell me bedtime stories of

476
00:22:19,279 --> 00:22:21,000
how him and his father used to go out into

477
00:22:21,039 --> 00:22:23,000
the forest and hun dun creatures not of this earth.

478
00:22:23,519 --> 00:22:25,400
I thought it nothing but tall tales, and I just

479
00:22:25,400 --> 00:22:27,440
wrote them off. It wasn't until I was seventeen when

480
00:22:27,440 --> 00:22:30,440
I first saw something truly unexplainable. It was the middle

481
00:22:30,440 --> 00:22:31,759
of the night. I had woken up to a loud

482
00:22:31,799 --> 00:22:33,400
crashing into what was next to our house. I looked

483
00:22:33,480 --> 00:22:36,079
up my window to see something terrifying. What I saw

484
00:22:36,119 --> 00:22:38,519
showed my perception on reality. It appeared to be a gorilla,

485
00:22:38,559 --> 00:22:40,279
but this thing was about ten feet tall and had

486
00:22:40,279 --> 00:22:42,640
to weigh about four hundred fifty pounds. It had monstrous

487
00:22:42,640 --> 00:22:44,839
hands and was covered head to toe in black, matted hair.

488
00:22:44,920 --> 00:22:46,599
But the most shocking thing was it was walking on

489
00:22:46,680 --> 00:22:49,880
two feet behind it it dragged a gigantic brown bear

490
00:22:49,960 --> 00:22:51,960
that the spear had to been beaten and bloody, as

491
00:22:51,960 --> 00:22:53,519
if the thing beat it with its bare hands, and

492
00:22:53,559 --> 00:22:55,279
dragged it as if it was a ragged all through

493
00:22:55,319 --> 00:22:58,359
the edge of the forest before went deeper into the forest.

494
00:22:58,359 --> 00:23:00,440
It looked directly at me with this amber glas growing eyes,

495
00:23:00,480 --> 00:23:02,000
and in a midlight, I could tell that its teeth

496
00:23:02,039 --> 00:23:05,079
were sharp and jagged. I quickly ducked under my window seal,

497
00:23:05,160 --> 00:23:06,559
but in you it had saw me. I didn't sleep

498
00:23:06,599 --> 00:23:08,559
that night. I stayed up all night watching my window

499
00:23:08,640 --> 00:23:10,319
just to make sure it didn't come back to get me.

500
00:23:10,519 --> 00:23:12,240
I didn't tell anybody what is or do to me,

501
00:23:12,319 --> 00:23:14,519
thinking it being nothing more than a dream. The next morning,

502
00:23:15,119 --> 00:23:17,640
but it changed when I overheard a conversation between my

503
00:23:17,640 --> 00:23:19,759
great grandad and granded saying that they found the skull

504
00:23:19,799 --> 00:23:21,920
and a monster of skeleton of a giant bare twenty

505
00:23:21,960 --> 00:23:24,759
three miles into the woods. That was two years ago.

506
00:23:24,759 --> 00:23:26,680
I amanteen, and I've taken up the job as a

507
00:23:26,680 --> 00:23:28,799
pock ranger. Ever since I took the job at a teen,

508
00:23:28,839 --> 00:23:30,880
strange things have happened. For instance, last night, I went

509
00:23:30,920 --> 00:23:33,039
out for expedition into the forest just to look around

510
00:23:33,039 --> 00:23:35,480
the area. I did this at a bad time, because

511
00:23:35,519 --> 00:23:37,440
before I knew it, it was pitch black outside. I

512
00:23:37,519 --> 00:23:39,440
was ten miles into the woods when I noticed glowing

513
00:23:39,480 --> 00:23:41,440
red ops watching me from the trees. I quickly took

514
00:23:41,440 --> 00:23:43,440
out my rifle and took cover behind some fallen lumber.

515
00:23:43,480 --> 00:23:45,200
When I heard a distinct humming noise. That was when

516
00:23:45,200 --> 00:23:48,440
the glowing red robed multiplied. Didn't sex jobbins. My father

517
00:23:48,559 --> 00:23:50,400
used to tell me stories of these creatures there. As

518
00:23:50,440 --> 00:23:52,720
peaceful as it can be, they are almost kind. In fact,

519
00:23:53,400 --> 00:23:56,359
the humming noise was a song. I quickly plugged my

520
00:23:56,400 --> 00:23:58,319
ears because the song, the singing, will enable you to

521
00:23:58,400 --> 00:24:00,880
enter sleep, or if you're already sleeping, you'll be unable

522
00:24:00,880 --> 00:24:03,640
to wake up. My father theorized that the frequency to

523
00:24:03,640 --> 00:24:05,160
give off lock your brain state of a waight. To

524
00:24:05,160 --> 00:24:07,960
avoid any one from following this fate, I led a

525
00:24:08,000 --> 00:24:09,559
stick and waved it around in the air to make

526
00:24:09,599 --> 00:24:12,400
them know that the presence was not needed. Here, and

527
00:24:12,480 --> 00:24:14,839
so this scatter glowing quite beautifully in the starry night.

528
00:24:15,480 --> 00:24:17,599
The other reason why I added was because not only

529
00:24:17,599 --> 00:24:19,400
could they put you in a coma, but although let's say,

530
00:24:19,440 --> 00:24:22,599
creatures of this region find the jabins very delicious, and

531
00:24:22,640 --> 00:24:24,200
wouldn't you know it, as soon as I was about

532
00:24:24,240 --> 00:24:26,079
to leaf cover, there was a rumbling coming from four

533
00:24:26,079 --> 00:24:28,839
miles into the woods. I put on my night vision

534
00:24:28,839 --> 00:24:31,720
goggles and spotted a boulder bear I could the thought

535
00:24:31,720 --> 00:24:34,599
to be extinct short face bear. The short face bear

536
00:24:34,680 --> 00:24:37,279
was the largest and most powerful uncarnivore in North America

537
00:24:37,400 --> 00:24:40,079
during the Ice Age. This thing must have have weighed

538
00:24:40,079 --> 00:24:42,519
about fifteen forty pounds and stood about ten feet on

539
00:24:42,599 --> 00:24:45,119
two feet. It sported a deep red claw mark on

540
00:24:45,160 --> 00:24:47,079
its face and had teeth the size of steak knives

541
00:24:47,079 --> 00:24:49,559
and fur as dark as the night sky. I was

542
00:24:49,559 --> 00:24:52,440
in deep pouh. Here this thing could run circles around

543
00:24:52,480 --> 00:24:55,279
any horse. I had no chance of escaping, or so

544
00:24:55,440 --> 00:24:58,240
I thought, slowly lumbering toward the bear was a monster

545
00:24:58,279 --> 00:25:00,799
of a bigfoot. This thing was about eight feet tall

546
00:25:01,359 --> 00:25:03,400
weight could have weighed about eight hundred pounds. And if

547
00:25:03,440 --> 00:25:05,319
you want to know about bayfoot's know this and remember

548
00:25:05,359 --> 00:25:08,920
it well. They are very territorial. What happened next was

549
00:25:08,920 --> 00:25:11,599
a scene right out of a King Con movie. The Bigfoot,

550
00:25:11,599 --> 00:25:13,799
while beating his chest, let out a howl of intimidation,

551
00:25:13,880 --> 00:25:15,640
and the base stood on two feet and roared a

552
00:25:15,720 --> 00:25:18,559
roar that shook the forest and silenced any crickets for

553
00:25:18,640 --> 00:25:21,440
in six singing a nightly song. They charged at each other,

554
00:25:21,440 --> 00:25:23,119
but before I could see anything else, I booked it.

555
00:25:23,759 --> 00:25:25,880
I took one look back and saw the Bigfoot tossed

556
00:25:26,000 --> 00:25:28,880
monster of the bay through four trees. That only made

557
00:25:28,920 --> 00:25:31,480
me run faster. I made it back to my cabin

558
00:25:31,519 --> 00:25:34,319
at five hundred. I stayed up that whole morning, sitting

559
00:25:34,359 --> 00:25:36,440
on my couch with my shotgun and pistol loaded in

560
00:25:36,440 --> 00:25:37,960
my hand and pointing at the door in case the

561
00:25:38,039 --> 00:25:40,039
victor of that match was looking for a new opponent.

562
00:25:40,720 --> 00:25:42,400
The next day was when I got the radio call

563
00:25:42,440 --> 00:25:44,559
about the missing campers and hikers that have gone missing

564
00:25:44,599 --> 00:25:47,160
in my area of the woods. I packed my bags

565
00:25:47,160 --> 00:25:49,279
for a long tip into the wilderness, expecting to find

566
00:25:49,279 --> 00:25:51,200
what was behind the current of hikers and campers not

567
00:25:51,279 --> 00:25:54,160
coming back. I planned to a hike thirty miles into

568
00:25:54,200 --> 00:25:57,000
the forest on the first ten miles, I started to

569
00:25:57,039 --> 00:25:59,640
find back backs ripped to shreds, intents reduced to nothing.

570
00:25:59,680 --> 00:26:02,519
But I took out my pistols and started to walk

571
00:26:02,559 --> 00:26:04,440
further into the forest, keeping my head on a swibble.

572
00:26:04,960 --> 00:26:07,920
Fifty miles and I started to find body parts, arms,

573
00:26:07,920 --> 00:26:10,000
and legs littered the trails, but one blood trail stood

574
00:26:10,000 --> 00:26:12,039
out to me. I followed it about three miles into

575
00:26:12,039 --> 00:26:14,799
the woods and found a horrible sight. It was a man.

576
00:26:15,440 --> 00:26:17,400
He had been skinned alive and as I were missing

577
00:26:17,880 --> 00:26:19,759
from what I could tell, his legs had been broken

578
00:26:19,799 --> 00:26:22,440
and he had been crucified on a makeshift cross. He

579
00:26:22,480 --> 00:26:24,119
had been cut in the corners of his mouth to

580
00:26:24,119 --> 00:26:26,240
display a sadistic smile, and he had been held up

581
00:26:26,279 --> 00:26:27,559
by some sting to make it look at if he

582
00:26:27,599 --> 00:26:29,720
were looking at me. I slowly walked away from the man,

583
00:26:29,799 --> 00:26:32,559
not wanting to get any closer. The thing that bothers

584
00:26:32,640 --> 00:26:34,200
me the most was that every time I turned my

585
00:26:34,200 --> 00:26:36,039
back to him, I would hear a twisted child's giggle

586
00:26:36,079 --> 00:26:38,799
coming from the corpse. I walked further into the woods

587
00:26:38,839 --> 00:26:40,680
and decided to make a makeshift camp in a cave

588
00:26:40,720 --> 00:26:42,599
close by a water source so I could bath and

589
00:26:42,640 --> 00:26:45,839
possibly fish for more food. After two rows of fishing,

590
00:26:45,839 --> 00:26:48,480
I had caught some meaty catches and prepared them and

591
00:26:48,519 --> 00:26:50,480
cooked them on the roaring flame of my camp fire.

592
00:26:51,079 --> 00:26:53,119
But even though I was concentrating on not burning, the

593
00:26:53,119 --> 00:26:55,720
fisher could tell that I was being watched. I looked

594
00:26:55,799 --> 00:26:57,400
up from the flame and saw a man, but an

595
00:26:57,480 --> 00:27:00,279
ordinary man. He would be a man of first golfe ants.

596
00:27:00,279 --> 00:27:02,759
But as I studded him more, I noticed his twisted features.

597
00:27:03,400 --> 00:27:05,680
He was tall and had long hair passed his shoulders.

598
00:27:06,279 --> 00:27:08,240
His eyes glowed a bright yellow, and his hands were

599
00:27:08,279 --> 00:27:10,960
massive with and trim nails. He smiled at me, and

600
00:27:11,000 --> 00:27:12,920
his teeth were sharp and yellow as a stick of butter.

601
00:27:13,519 --> 00:27:15,240
He called to me, a little lost AUNTYA, why don't

602
00:27:15,279 --> 00:27:16,839
you put up that camp? I saw, I can help

603
00:27:16,880 --> 00:27:18,920
you find your way out in a raspy cigarette smoke

604
00:27:18,960 --> 00:27:21,519
of voice. His voice was deep, and I felt it

605
00:27:21,559 --> 00:27:24,000
in my bowels. I liked him in the eyes, and

606
00:27:24,000 --> 00:27:25,559
threw down a log on the fire, which made it

607
00:27:25,640 --> 00:27:27,319
roar and grow baker, and the creature let out a

608
00:27:27,319 --> 00:27:30,079
cry and stumbled back. Thank God, I took a fish

609
00:27:30,079 --> 00:27:32,359
off where it would have been burned. I thought, why

610
00:27:32,400 --> 00:27:34,039
don't you just come and sit at the camp fire

611
00:27:34,079 --> 00:27:35,680
with me, I said, as I patted in the empty

612
00:27:35,680 --> 00:27:38,400
place in the lock. Next time, while sporting a grin,

613
00:27:38,920 --> 00:27:40,759
You're a call for coming out here to steep into

614
00:27:40,759 --> 00:27:42,799
the forest alone, and I'll make you realize that, sinner

615
00:27:42,920 --> 00:27:45,680
or later, the creature said, in voice full of hate,

616
00:27:45,720 --> 00:27:47,920
and then he left, walking with an unnatural gait into

617
00:27:47,960 --> 00:27:50,720
the forest. I stayed awake all night, keeping the fire

618
00:27:50,759 --> 00:27:53,240
alive and my shot gun loaded in my lap. I

619
00:27:53,319 --> 00:27:54,880
knew that if it had gone out, I wouldn't be

620
00:27:54,920 --> 00:27:57,559
making it. The next morning, when sunset came, I went

621
00:27:57,599 --> 00:27:59,599
into my tent and fell asleep, keeping an ear out

622
00:27:59,599 --> 00:28:02,440
for any nights. There have been stores of wild men

623
00:28:02,519 --> 00:28:04,359
roaming deep in the forest, but to meet one is

624
00:28:04,400 --> 00:28:06,920
a whole different feeling of fear. I woke up at

625
00:28:06,920 --> 00:28:09,279
twelve hundred p m and continued hiking. At mile twenty,

626
00:28:09,960 --> 00:28:12,680
I have found an abandoned cabin. Nothing seemed to be

627
00:28:12,680 --> 00:28:14,480
wrong with it, and when I went inside of it,

628
00:28:14,480 --> 00:28:17,519
it appeared to be normal and untouched. Besides being covered

629
00:28:17,559 --> 00:28:19,759
in cubbobed saw. I made base here. It was a

630
00:28:19,759 --> 00:28:22,599
small cabin, just one bed and one bathroom and a

631
00:28:22,599 --> 00:28:24,440
half kitchen. I sat at the table and took out

632
00:28:24,480 --> 00:28:26,200
a field guide to the area and started to read

633
00:28:26,279 --> 00:28:28,400
up on the other creatures that could be looking around here.

634
00:28:29,000 --> 00:28:30,799
It was night when I finished, and heard a weird

635
00:28:30,799 --> 00:28:33,440
nose outside of the window. Thank god I turned the

636
00:28:33,519 --> 00:28:36,559
lights off before it got to dark, because right outside

637
00:28:36,559 --> 00:28:39,400
my window I saw old man wandering the forest. I

638
00:28:39,440 --> 00:28:41,279
thought it to be strange that any one besides me

639
00:28:41,359 --> 00:28:43,799
to be this deep out here. I wanted to open

640
00:28:43,799 --> 00:28:45,559
the door and offer to help, But then notice this

641
00:28:45,680 --> 00:28:47,480
was a very tall old man and was wearing the

642
00:28:47,480 --> 00:28:50,160
skin of a mountain, lying on his back, and was

643
00:28:50,200 --> 00:28:53,359
dragging a human body behind him. He was walking towards

644
00:28:53,359 --> 00:28:55,759
the cabin mine, I thought. I hid under the couch

645
00:28:55,759 --> 00:28:57,559
with my pistol in hand and threw my stuff in

646
00:28:57,599 --> 00:29:00,000
the bathroom and closed the door. He opened the door

647
00:29:00,200 --> 00:29:02,519
in slander shut He was sniffing the air like a

648
00:29:02,559 --> 00:29:05,240
dog who smells feud. He knows I'm here, I thought,

649
00:29:05,279 --> 00:29:07,160
But then he growled and just walked toward the table,

650
00:29:07,200 --> 00:29:10,079
dragging a mangled human body behind him. I wanted to

651
00:29:10,160 --> 00:29:11,640
let out a breathe of relief, but I knew that

652
00:29:11,680 --> 00:29:13,799
if I did he find me, he then threw the

653
00:29:13,799 --> 00:29:15,720
corpse and the table I was reading at, and I

654
00:29:15,720 --> 00:29:19,079
started to hear sounds of gnawing, ripping, and tearing. From

655
00:29:19,079 --> 00:29:20,920
what I could see, he was eating the human body.

656
00:29:21,000 --> 00:29:22,640
And when he was done, he stood in the middle

657
00:29:22,680 --> 00:29:25,480
of the cabin and started brooding heavily. He fell on

658
00:29:25,480 --> 00:29:27,559
his knees and started shifting into a monster of a

659
00:29:27,559 --> 00:29:31,119
mountain lion. His once human hands turned into gigantic, terrible

660
00:29:31,119 --> 00:29:33,839
paws with arth that could cut through diamond. His fur

661
00:29:33,960 --> 00:29:35,759
was jet black with what appeared to be red stripes

662
00:29:35,759 --> 00:29:38,720
in the ankles of his massive mountain lion legs. He

663
00:29:38,759 --> 00:29:40,759
cracked a wood four of the cabin as he walked in.

664
00:29:40,799 --> 00:29:42,920
When he roared, he shattered every window in the cabin.

665
00:29:43,480 --> 00:29:45,640
He ran out the door, shattering it into pieces and

666
00:29:45,680 --> 00:29:48,160
talking off into a tree deep in the woods. That

667
00:29:48,279 --> 00:29:50,279
was four hours ago, and ever since then, I've been

668
00:29:50,319 --> 00:29:53,200
sitting on this couch and shark every once in a while,

669
00:29:53,240 --> 00:29:56,160
looking at the poor campers body, his poor mangled body.

670
00:29:56,160 --> 00:29:58,680
The skin walker had eaten every organ and it left

671
00:29:58,680 --> 00:30:01,079
it a husk. I know what must be done, but

672
00:30:01,119 --> 00:30:02,680
the question is do I have the gust to do

673
00:30:02,759 --> 00:30:04,960
it right now? I've made a plan to take the

674
00:30:04,960 --> 00:30:06,920
skinwalker out, but I don't know if I could possibly

675
00:30:06,960 --> 00:30:09,920
defeat something so evil and ancient. The stor is that

676
00:30:09,960 --> 00:30:12,279
my family have told me of skinwalkers, have made them

677
00:30:12,279 --> 00:30:14,559
seem like an unstoppable force of the evils of this world.

678
00:30:14,599 --> 00:30:16,519
But there is a way to kill it. When the

679
00:30:16,519 --> 00:30:18,000
sun was in the middle of the sky, I went

680
00:30:18,039 --> 00:30:20,720
to go find some wolf's pain. I then liquefied it

681
00:30:20,759 --> 00:30:23,000
to saturate my bulletin and sharpened and then coated my

682
00:30:23,039 --> 00:30:25,640
MACHETI in it. I thank god my father for only

683
00:30:25,720 --> 00:30:28,000
using silver round and silver machete for when he was

684
00:30:28,000 --> 00:30:30,799
in charge, but the cost must have been very expensive.

685
00:30:31,440 --> 00:30:33,519
I got my pistol and shotgun at the ready, and

686
00:30:33,559 --> 00:30:36,160
I am hiding under the bed of the cabin. Everything's

687
00:30:36,200 --> 00:30:38,480
in place. I don't know if I'll make it, but

688
00:30:38,559 --> 00:30:40,920
just in case, I don't agin oppose this now, and

689
00:30:41,000 --> 00:30:43,319
it's a good thing I'm posting this now too. I

690
00:30:43,480 --> 00:30:45,680
just heard the silver bear trap coated in wolf spain

691
00:30:46,319 --> 00:30:47,960
I placed in the living room go off in a

692
00:30:48,039 --> 00:30:49,799
roar of a creature that's not too happy that some

693
00:30:49,839 --> 00:30:53,680
one has found its lair. Hat to Hello, it's me again,

694
00:30:53,720 --> 00:30:55,519
ask ye. Now, I bet you wondering how the hell

695
00:30:55,559 --> 00:30:58,079
did I make it out alive? Well, I'll tell you.

696
00:30:58,200 --> 00:31:00,440
After the Skinwalker had fallen for the silver bear trap,

697
00:31:00,440 --> 00:31:02,240
I busted up from my hiding place and loaded it

698
00:31:02,279 --> 00:31:05,119
with the special bullets I made. But it still had fight,

699
00:31:05,200 --> 00:31:07,039
and it had grabbed me and threw me through a window.

700
00:31:07,680 --> 00:31:10,480
I wrapped around a tree. I got my arm impaled

701
00:31:10,519 --> 00:31:11,920
on the shop rock, but I could tell it to

702
00:31:11,960 --> 00:31:14,880
coal with its strength. Silver and wolfspin are excellent for

703
00:31:14,920 --> 00:31:18,119
fighting monsters such as these. It drains this stamina, and

704
00:31:18,160 --> 00:31:20,200
if they have a healing factor, it's no longer able

705
00:31:20,200 --> 00:31:22,119
to use it. He then rushed me and with the

706
00:31:22,119 --> 00:31:23,720
branch I took out of my arm, I swung it

707
00:31:23,759 --> 00:31:27,279
and it connected with its chin, dazing it. After I

708
00:31:27,359 --> 00:31:29,640
got up, I saw the skin Walker sluggishly crawling into

709
00:31:29,680 --> 00:31:32,279
the forest. I limped over and out a bullet right

710
00:31:32,319 --> 00:31:33,839
into its brain. But I knew that wouldn't be a

711
00:31:33,839 --> 00:31:36,039
definite way to kill it. I had to take out

712
00:31:36,039 --> 00:31:37,799
the heart and burn it on a fire, or else

713
00:31:37,799 --> 00:31:40,079
it would come back for round. After I did that,

714
00:31:40,119 --> 00:31:41,880
it turned to dust and blew away into the night.

715
00:31:42,559 --> 00:31:45,880
After that, IKES haled deeply, and limped back to the cabin, closed,

716
00:31:45,920 --> 00:31:48,480
unlocked the door, and passed out on the couch. I

717
00:31:48,480 --> 00:31:51,400
woke up nine hours later, tended it to my wounds,

718
00:31:51,440 --> 00:31:53,319
and headed back to my main base, noting that this

719
00:31:53,400 --> 00:31:55,960
cabin could be of use in the future. About ten

720
00:31:56,000 --> 00:31:58,559
miles into my walk, I was approached by hiker. We

721
00:31:58,640 --> 00:32:01,480
exchanged greetings, had to come, and I even decided to

722
00:32:01,559 --> 00:32:04,680
let him walk with me. His name was Bal. After

723
00:32:04,759 --> 00:32:07,319
ten minutes of walking, he offered me some food. It

724
00:32:07,359 --> 00:32:10,440
looked delicious, almost to delicious. I looked at it and

725
00:32:10,480 --> 00:32:12,720
looked at him, and he was grinning. I then took

726
00:32:12,720 --> 00:32:14,720
out some silver powder and blew it in his face.

727
00:32:15,440 --> 00:32:18,400
It relieved his true form of Baqua back was office

728
00:32:18,400 --> 00:32:20,680
ghost food out of cockle shells to human stranded in

729
00:32:20,720 --> 00:32:23,400
the woods. If they accept a need the offered food,

730
00:32:23,519 --> 00:32:26,240
then the two become a ghostly being like backwards. I

731
00:32:26,279 --> 00:32:28,240
pointed my pistol at the monster, who took the form

732
00:32:28,240 --> 00:32:29,880
of a tall old man and threatened that if I

733
00:32:29,920 --> 00:32:31,839
ever saw him again, he would die and he wouldn't

734
00:32:31,880 --> 00:32:34,400
have to be worried offering food any more. He took

735
00:32:34,400 --> 00:32:36,680
off deep into the woods to never be seen by me. Again,

736
00:32:36,799 --> 00:32:40,119
and I kept walking, finally reaching my cabin and retiring

737
00:32:40,119 --> 00:32:42,960
to my bed to rest. The next morning, I got

738
00:32:43,000 --> 00:32:45,519
a call from an unknown radio signal about strange sighting

739
00:32:45,559 --> 00:32:47,599
about a man wearing a moose skull as a mask.

740
00:32:48,359 --> 00:32:50,000
I took it to be tweaker who found a dead

741
00:32:50,000 --> 00:32:52,200
moose and head out to take care of it. The

742
00:32:52,240 --> 00:32:54,359
location the man was sighted was in a map of

743
00:32:54,440 --> 00:32:55,880
region of the woods, so I thought it odd that

744
00:32:55,920 --> 00:32:58,480
he had gotten that far. As soon as I got there,

745
00:32:58,480 --> 00:33:00,519
I found a hiding place behind the log come waited

746
00:33:00,519 --> 00:33:03,359
for him to come. About ten s European. The man

747
00:33:03,400 --> 00:33:05,720
showed up in the midlight. I could see this was

748
00:33:05,759 --> 00:33:08,359
no man. It was a wendigo. This thing was extremely

749
00:33:08,359 --> 00:33:12,039
gaunt and emisiated, with gray skin, sunken red eyes, tattered lips,

750
00:33:12,119 --> 00:33:15,319
and possessed a deathly odor. A wendigo greedily feet on

751
00:33:15,440 --> 00:33:19,319
human flesh. However, for each person it consumes, the monster

752
00:33:19,400 --> 00:33:21,400
grows ever larger, and this thing had to be at

753
00:33:21,480 --> 00:33:23,480
least nine feet tall, with long hair reaching to the

754
00:33:23,519 --> 00:33:27,240
middle of its back and sharp, blood drenched claws. It

755
00:33:27,359 --> 00:33:30,839
sniffed there it knew I was here. I thanked God

756
00:33:30,839 --> 00:33:33,160
that I had mus shotgun. I then jumped out my

757
00:33:33,240 --> 00:33:36,200
hiding spot and let it up a silver buck shot

758
00:33:36,240 --> 00:33:39,240
it scared in agony. It sounded like a woman's scream

759
00:33:39,279 --> 00:33:41,839
mix with an angry cat. It then took a small

760
00:33:41,880 --> 00:33:44,799
tree and hit me like a batter hitting a baseball Vaughn.

761
00:33:45,599 --> 00:33:47,559
I flew fifteen feet and landed on a pile of

762
00:33:47,599 --> 00:33:50,720
human bones. This thing needed to be killed. If left alive,

763
00:33:50,759 --> 00:33:53,279
it would go on to eat and grow stronger. So

764
00:33:53,400 --> 00:33:55,119
as it came charging me, I ducked and it hit

765
00:33:55,160 --> 00:33:56,839
the sit of a large rock, cracking at skull and

766
00:33:56,880 --> 00:33:59,200
stunning it. I took the chance to pick up and

767
00:33:59,240 --> 00:34:01,720
slam it on its head, lowered its heart full of

768
00:34:01,759 --> 00:34:04,359
silver shotgun shells, and then poured the liquid wolfbin into

769
00:34:04,400 --> 00:34:07,359
its opening chest cavity. I thought this thing smelled bad

770
00:34:07,400 --> 00:34:09,119
when it was alive, but when it died few this

771
00:34:09,199 --> 00:34:12,039
thing smell terrible. I made a large fire and burned

772
00:34:12,039 --> 00:34:14,519
what was left. That night, I was pretty far into

773
00:34:14,519 --> 00:34:16,639
the forest, so I made camp near water and started

774
00:34:16,679 --> 00:34:19,519
to fish. I caught some pretty big fish and took

775
00:34:19,519 --> 00:34:22,199
care of my wounds from the previous night. I even

776
00:34:22,239 --> 00:34:25,199
decided to take a bath. Smelling later at sunset. I

777
00:34:25,239 --> 00:34:26,920
started to get the fish when a rustling came from

778
00:34:26,960 --> 00:34:28,840
the woods. Before I could react, it while jumped out

779
00:34:28,840 --> 00:34:30,840
of the brush and snarled at me. I was defenseless.

780
00:34:31,519 --> 00:34:33,480
This thing was ten feet on two legs and on

781
00:34:33,559 --> 00:34:36,119
all fours, stood six feet tall. It had a large

782
00:34:36,199 --> 00:34:38,840
mouth and black foe with white marking on it. Its

783
00:34:38,920 --> 00:34:41,159
piercing yellow eyes started into my soul, and then it

784
00:34:41,199 --> 00:34:43,000
took three of the big fish I caught, and ran

785
00:34:43,079 --> 00:34:45,840
into the woods, badder me than the fish. I thought

786
00:34:46,480 --> 00:34:48,599
at this was Willa territory. Then I didn't want to

787
00:34:48,599 --> 00:34:50,360
be around here, so I packed my bats out of

788
00:34:50,360 --> 00:34:52,079
my fire and took off from my camp. At night.

789
00:34:52,639 --> 00:34:55,760
On my walk, I heard strange noises. I heard whispers

790
00:34:55,760 --> 00:34:57,639
in the night, and I even heard a woman's scream

791
00:34:58,079 --> 00:34:59,920
from above me. I heard a child's scream help me,

792
00:35:00,559 --> 00:35:03,360
and then added something I shouldn't have. I looked up

793
00:35:03,360 --> 00:35:05,679
and I saw it a stick Indian. It had been

794
00:35:05,679 --> 00:35:07,880
following me for myles, just waiting for me to notice it.

795
00:35:08,559 --> 00:35:12,280
Stick Indians are seldom seen. They are almost completely nocturnal,

796
00:35:12,320 --> 00:35:14,079
and it is said that their language does not mimic

797
00:35:14,119 --> 00:35:16,960
human speech, but instead sounds like birds. And other animals.

798
00:35:17,559 --> 00:35:20,639
They also have powers to paralyze, hypnotize, or cause insanity

799
00:35:20,639 --> 00:35:23,719
and hapless humans, while another's they merely lead people astray

800
00:35:23,719 --> 00:35:25,679
by making newer sounds of whisting all after in the

801
00:35:25,679 --> 00:35:28,320
woods at night. In some stories, stick Indians may eat

802
00:35:28,320 --> 00:35:31,280
people who fulpary to them, kidnap children. They also take

803
00:35:31,280 --> 00:35:33,880
aggress of revenge against people who injure or disrespect them,

804
00:35:34,000 --> 00:35:37,199
no matter how unintentionally. This thing was tall, had long

805
00:35:37,320 --> 00:35:39,320
arms with big hands that ended with long claws, and

806
00:35:39,360 --> 00:35:42,039
red eyes. It had a face like a tote and pole,

807
00:35:42,239 --> 00:35:44,760
and had a hepnoty going on with its eyes. I

808
00:35:44,800 --> 00:35:47,039
knew I was in trouble. I took off as fast

809
00:35:47,079 --> 00:35:49,000
as I could, and the stick Indian was close behind me,

810
00:35:49,039 --> 00:35:51,719
swinging in the trees, branch to branch. It swung at

811
00:35:51,760 --> 00:35:52,960
me and got the back of my neck, but I

812
00:35:53,000 --> 00:35:55,719
ket running. Luckily, I was by my old cabin and

813
00:35:55,719 --> 00:35:57,920
took cover and locked the door. It was beating on

814
00:35:57,960 --> 00:36:00,440
the door in time was running out. I had dropped

815
00:36:00,440 --> 00:36:02,519
my weapons while running from this thing and had nothing

816
00:36:02,559 --> 00:36:05,320
to defend myself. I then remembered that I had left

817
00:36:05,320 --> 00:36:08,719
some silver brass knuckles in the night stand in a bedroom. Also,

818
00:36:08,719 --> 00:36:10,840
I had found old tomahawk, but it was still sharp.

819
00:36:11,440 --> 00:36:13,239
I took out the last of my liquid Wolf Spain

820
00:36:13,280 --> 00:36:15,599
and coated the knuckles and the tomahawk with it. I

821
00:36:15,639 --> 00:36:17,400
have a slim chance of beating this thing, so I

822
00:36:17,440 --> 00:36:20,280
decided to post this before fight night went down. The

823
00:36:20,320 --> 00:36:22,280
door just slammed open and the locks of rolling on

824
00:36:22,320 --> 00:36:24,800
the floor. If I make it, I'll post Hollas arrive

825
00:36:24,880 --> 00:36:26,519
this fight, but if I don't, you'll know fare well

826
00:36:26,519 --> 00:36:30,000
be safe. My son disappeared under odd circumstances, and he

827
00:36:30,079 --> 00:36:33,360
left this journal behind. My son is was a regular

828
00:36:33,400 --> 00:36:35,119
here and I'm hoping you'll be able to help me.

829
00:36:35,199 --> 00:36:37,039
I really don't know what else to do at this point.

830
00:36:37,599 --> 00:36:40,079
Allow me to explain. My son Zac was irregular here

831
00:36:40,119 --> 00:36:43,159
for several years. Judging from his post history, he spent

832
00:36:43,239 --> 00:36:45,280
a lot of time reading stories and submitting his own

833
00:36:45,280 --> 00:36:48,039
on occasion. He disappeared almost a month ago, and no

834
00:36:48,079 --> 00:36:50,599
one really knows what to make of it. He departed

835
00:36:50,599 --> 00:36:53,280
for a solo hunting trip on September twelve, twenty twenty one,

836
00:36:53,360 --> 00:36:56,519
in an isolated area inside Grant Head and National Park, Wyoming.

837
00:36:57,119 --> 00:36:59,960
That was the last time he's been seen. His chevista

838
00:37:00,199 --> 00:37:02,559
was found part along Lupan Meadow's Road just south of

839
00:37:02,599 --> 00:37:05,679
Jenny Lake. His camp site was found some five miles

840
00:37:05,679 --> 00:37:08,079
east of his truck. His tent was torn and a

841
00:37:08,119 --> 00:37:10,079
lot of his supplies were rants at by what police

842
00:37:10,119 --> 00:37:13,360
belief wildlife or possibly done by Zach himself. A search

843
00:37:13,400 --> 00:37:15,559
team sky at that area for weeks, and my ex

844
00:37:15,639 --> 00:37:17,920
husband and I went down to search as well. We

845
00:37:18,000 --> 00:37:20,039
never found any trace of him outside of his camp,

846
00:37:20,079 --> 00:37:22,679
and no one has an explanation for what happened to him.

847
00:37:22,840 --> 00:37:25,159
A lot of people believe he was dragged off by animals,

848
00:37:25,280 --> 00:37:27,280
but I think it may be something far stranger than that.

849
00:37:28,079 --> 00:37:30,280
Zack kept a handriton journal which was found inside his

850
00:37:30,320 --> 00:37:33,239
knapsack in a tent. Police think he suffered some kind

851
00:37:33,280 --> 00:37:35,400
of mental breakdown, and I'll be the first to admit

852
00:37:35,400 --> 00:37:37,440
that the things he wrote about are not easily believed.

853
00:37:38,119 --> 00:37:40,840
Sax struggled with anxiety and depression, but as far as

854
00:37:40,840 --> 00:37:42,639
I were any one as aware, he never had any

855
00:37:42,639 --> 00:37:46,360
conditions that could induce something like psychosis. I also wholeheartedly

856
00:37:46,360 --> 00:37:48,880
believed that he wouldn't kill himself, as he's seen firsthand

857
00:37:48,920 --> 00:37:52,199
how devastating that can be. His cousin tragically committed suicide

858
00:37:52,199 --> 00:37:54,280
a few years ago, and Zach had the horrific duty

859
00:37:54,320 --> 00:37:56,679
of being a first person to find him. He's always

860
00:37:56,679 --> 00:37:59,320
been open with me about his struggles, and after that happened,

861
00:37:59,360 --> 00:38:00,960
he swore he would never put me or any one

862
00:38:00,960 --> 00:38:04,000
else through that. I realized that life is how sometimes,

863
00:38:04,159 --> 00:38:05,880
and there's always a chance that he went back on

864
00:38:05,960 --> 00:38:07,960
their promise. But I believe that he wouldn't do that.

865
00:38:08,639 --> 00:38:11,199
I think something happened to him, something that none of

866
00:38:11,239 --> 00:38:14,599
us yet understand. Authorities have called off the search now,

867
00:38:14,679 --> 00:38:18,320
and Zak's disappearance remains an unsolved case. I don't know

868
00:38:18,320 --> 00:38:20,440
where else to turn at this point. But since Sach

869
00:38:20,519 --> 00:38:22,239
spent so much time on the site, I thought it

870
00:38:22,280 --> 00:38:24,320
only appropriate to share what he wrote in his journal.

871
00:38:24,840 --> 00:38:26,320
I think it's what he would have wanted, but I

872
00:38:26,320 --> 00:38:29,360
cannot verify any of its content. Maybe someone out there

873
00:38:29,400 --> 00:38:32,039
can connect the dots. But if nothing else, maybe Zac's

874
00:38:32,119 --> 00:38:34,719
journal can entertain you all one last time. I like

875
00:38:34,800 --> 00:38:38,519
to think it's what he would have wanted. Entry one. Finally,

876
00:38:38,559 --> 00:38:41,280
it's here, and not a godamn moment too soon. I

877
00:38:41,320 --> 00:38:43,039
swear to God, if I had to hear Jennifer ask

878
00:38:43,159 --> 00:38:44,960
me to stay late for another p M order I

879
00:38:44,960 --> 00:38:47,079
would have put on her desk at the next budget meeting.

880
00:38:47,639 --> 00:38:49,880
I've been looking forward to this trip for months, and

881
00:38:49,960 --> 00:38:52,199
my therapist suggested keeping this key the little journal to

882
00:38:52,239 --> 00:38:55,079
document my trip. They keep saying I have anger issues,

883
00:38:55,239 --> 00:38:56,920
but they really wouldn't be so much of a niche

884
00:38:56,920 --> 00:38:59,639
if people want so stupid. But whatever, Time to forget

885
00:38:59,679 --> 00:39:02,159
about all all that for a few days. Hopefully I'll

886
00:39:02,199 --> 00:39:03,719
be able to look back on this in the future

887
00:39:03,760 --> 00:39:06,440
rather than fantasizing about jumping in a trash compactor during

888
00:39:06,480 --> 00:39:09,119
another work week. Then was supposed to be with me

889
00:39:09,199 --> 00:39:11,199
on this trip, but of course he got wrangled into

890
00:39:11,199 --> 00:39:14,400
dealing with his kid instead. Yet another reason I'm glad

891
00:39:14,400 --> 00:39:17,480
to be single. I'll be out snagging myself a trophy buck. Wow,

892
00:39:17,519 --> 00:39:21,840
he's at home changing diapers his loss, I guess. Anyways,

893
00:39:21,880 --> 00:39:23,880
I don't even know why I started writing this now

894
00:39:23,920 --> 00:39:26,800
and not even there yet. Probably got at least another

895
00:39:26,800 --> 00:39:28,760
five hours to go at I give a two max

896
00:39:28,840 --> 00:39:31,360
until that Carl's Junior Burger is knocking at the back door.

897
00:39:31,880 --> 00:39:34,360
Here's to finally getting away for a bit and hopefully

898
00:39:34,400 --> 00:39:38,199
being able to relax. Entry two, Well, I think I

899
00:39:38,320 --> 00:39:41,159
finally managed to find myself a good spot. It's a

900
00:39:41,239 --> 00:39:43,960
nice little place too, flops like I think they call

901
00:39:44,039 --> 00:39:46,679
it kind of a weird name, but it's a serene

902
00:39:46,719 --> 00:39:49,519
little spot. Son's just going done now, and I've got

903
00:39:49,519 --> 00:39:51,880
my tent all set up. Nothing to do now but

904
00:39:51,920 --> 00:39:54,559
puff on the cigar and drink a couple beers. My

905
00:39:54,639 --> 00:39:56,920
buddy Tim says this place is an excellent area to

906
00:39:56,920 --> 00:39:59,480
get some deer. He pointed me to a spot about

907
00:39:59,480 --> 00:40:01,679
five miles northeast and claims it's where he got the

908
00:40:01,719 --> 00:40:04,920
ten point rack over his firebla's mantle. Tomorrow, I'm going

909
00:40:04,960 --> 00:40:07,159
to start my hike in that direction and see what happens.

910
00:40:07,800 --> 00:40:12,719
Wish me luck. Entering three. I officially hate ducks, not

911
00:40:12,840 --> 00:40:14,599
that I ever really was a huge fan of them

912
00:40:14,599 --> 00:40:18,360
to begin with, but now our relationship is truly unsalvageable. Tierman,

913
00:40:18,400 --> 00:40:20,079
I'm trying to get some sleep when all I hear

914
00:40:20,199 --> 00:40:22,760
is a ruckus of quacks coming from the lake. Bok

915
00:40:22,800 --> 00:40:26,199
those fety bastard's ever sleep. I tried ignoring it, but

916
00:40:26,280 --> 00:40:28,559
the noise was like nails on the chalkboard of my brain.

917
00:40:29,159 --> 00:40:31,159
Something about it just reallyer at me, and I couldn't

918
00:40:31,159 --> 00:40:33,960
blot it at. After like five minutes of the onslaught,

919
00:40:34,000 --> 00:40:37,039
I finally stepped outside the tent. The moonbeamed a pearly

920
00:40:37,079 --> 00:40:39,360
glowed down from the heavens, reflected off the surface of

921
00:40:39,360 --> 00:40:42,239
the lake like one giant effervescentt mirror in the misty

922
00:40:42,280 --> 00:40:44,559
early morning haze. I just managed to see the little

923
00:40:44,559 --> 00:40:47,159
silhouetes that the flock of flagrant fowl happily putting across

924
00:40:47,159 --> 00:40:50,000
the lake. I looked to my side, planning to grab

925
00:40:50,039 --> 00:40:51,880
a rock and lobb it in their general direction in

926
00:40:51,880 --> 00:40:54,920
hopes of scaring them off. I pause when something caught

927
00:40:54,920 --> 00:40:57,559
my eye on top of my stoved up something sat.

928
00:40:58,119 --> 00:41:00,239
It's long neck shimmered in the dew, and it's edy

929
00:41:00,280 --> 00:41:02,840
little black eye stared back contemptiously, as if challenging me

930
00:41:02,880 --> 00:41:06,960
to a duel. Clack, the nerve of the sky comes

931
00:41:07,039 --> 00:41:09,079
right up into my camp while his belligerent flock are

932
00:41:09,119 --> 00:41:11,159
out vaulting around the lake, and sits right on my

933
00:41:11,239 --> 00:41:14,280
damp stove top. Damn bird's got balls of steel, I'll

934
00:41:14,280 --> 00:41:18,119
give him there. Clack duck soups started sounding like an

935
00:41:18,119 --> 00:41:21,119
excellent breakfast. Then I slowly crept back to my tent,

936
00:41:21,199 --> 00:41:23,960
retrieving the nineum from my back. I drew it out,

937
00:41:24,000 --> 00:41:26,079
but before I could take aim, the bird suddenly took flight.

938
00:41:26,719 --> 00:41:28,400
I heard it flap and quacked fat lad as it

939
00:41:28,440 --> 00:41:31,400
sowed back to join the rest of the water chickens. Yes,

940
00:41:31,480 --> 00:41:34,079
his balls ain't so big after all. By that point,

941
00:41:34,119 --> 00:41:35,960
I knew sleep was no longer an option, and I

942
00:41:35,960 --> 00:41:38,039
would be up for dawn in an hour or two anyways,

943
00:41:38,079 --> 00:41:40,079
so I decided to just brew some coffee and start

944
00:41:40,119 --> 00:41:43,000
the day. Sun's about to rise now, so I should

945
00:41:43,000 --> 00:41:47,199
probably get moving and pry for well. I'm a pretty

946
00:41:47,199 --> 00:41:49,880
good time to day. I got blisters on my feet,

947
00:41:50,039 --> 00:41:53,079
soars on my shoulders, and my coveralls are filthy. Took

948
00:41:53,079 --> 00:41:54,639
a gnarly face blend in the mud as I was

949
00:41:54,639 --> 00:41:57,199
crossing the creek, but no worse for the wear my

950
00:41:57,280 --> 00:41:59,599
three hundred. It got a little drench but it'll dry out,

951
00:42:00,239 --> 00:42:02,800
I hope. The important thing is that I think I've

952
00:42:02,800 --> 00:42:05,719
found the spot that Tin told me about. Trail crests

953
00:42:05,760 --> 00:42:07,679
right on top of this hill, leaving a wide open

954
00:42:07,719 --> 00:42:10,239
grove down in front of me. The field stretches for

955
00:42:10,280 --> 00:42:12,559
at least a couple hundred yards and the hill gives

956
00:42:12,599 --> 00:42:15,599
me the perfect vantage point. It's a beautiful spot. Now,

957
00:42:15,599 --> 00:42:17,280
if I can just get some bucks to show up,

958
00:42:17,280 --> 00:42:20,639
I'll be in business. I thought this spot was absolutely perfect,

959
00:42:20,719 --> 00:42:22,920
but not long after I arrived, some old friends came

960
00:42:22,960 --> 00:42:25,360
and found me. I heard the commotion of crackslawn before

961
00:42:25,360 --> 00:42:27,280
I saw them, as sure enough, the flock landed ride

962
00:42:27,280 --> 00:42:30,239
in the field, done beyond a hill. Little feathery bastards

963
00:42:30,280 --> 00:42:32,159
just at the quacking up a storm now like they

964
00:42:32,159 --> 00:42:35,159
own the damp place. This may sound crazy, but I

965
00:42:35,199 --> 00:42:37,760
swear one of them is staring at me. It looks

966
00:42:37,800 --> 00:42:39,880
like the others, brown and white with a green head,

967
00:42:39,920 --> 00:42:41,639
but this one has a black strip running down its

968
00:42:41,719 --> 00:42:44,679
left side. Its beady, little black eyes don't even seem

969
00:42:44,719 --> 00:42:47,199
to blink. I swear it's the same exact when that

970
00:42:47,280 --> 00:42:50,159
landed on my stove up early this morning. Hopefully they

971
00:42:50,239 --> 00:42:52,480
just leave before morning, otherwise this dear hunt is going

972
00:42:52,559 --> 00:42:55,199
to quickly turn into a duck hunt. Count risks them

973
00:42:55,199 --> 00:42:59,320
spooking the real prize entry five. Damma. I feel like

974
00:42:59,360 --> 00:43:01,199
such an idiot, but at the same time it's kind

975
00:43:01,199 --> 00:43:04,079
of hilarious. I won't lie so last night I ate

976
00:43:04,119 --> 00:43:05,880
some dinner and then crawled into my tent to get

977
00:43:05,880 --> 00:43:08,559
some shut eye. Fell asleep for a while, but part

978
00:43:08,599 --> 00:43:11,280
way through the night I randomly woke up. I checked

979
00:43:11,320 --> 00:43:13,480
my phone and realized they could sleep a bit longer.

980
00:43:14,079 --> 00:43:15,599
I was on the verge of doing just that when

981
00:43:15,599 --> 00:43:18,519
I heard something outside my tent. It sounded like the

982
00:43:18,519 --> 00:43:21,760
slight pitt patter of footsteps. I tried telling myself it

983
00:43:21,800 --> 00:43:24,079
was just normal for ust ambience, but it kept going.

984
00:43:24,639 --> 00:43:26,719
I started to grow nervous and was about to reach

985
00:43:26,719 --> 00:43:29,400
for my gun when something suddenly struck my tent. The

986
00:43:29,440 --> 00:43:31,840
tent rippled from the impact, and something fluttered away into

987
00:43:31,880 --> 00:43:34,480
the distance. I was on the verge of pissing myself

988
00:43:34,480 --> 00:43:36,559
and turning the tent into Swiss cheese with my nainum,

989
00:43:36,639 --> 00:43:40,639
when suddenly I heard something familiar clack. A wave of

990
00:43:40,679 --> 00:43:47,599
conflicting emotions rolled over me, confusion, talk, angha, disbelief. But

991
00:43:47,679 --> 00:43:52,360
one then circumvented them all Carmody commddy. All I could

992
00:43:52,400 --> 00:43:54,880
do was laugh at that point. I mean, I could

993
00:43:54,880 --> 00:43:57,320
have ran outside and unloaded my clip on that damn goose,

994
00:43:57,440 --> 00:44:00,159
but that definitely would have scared off the deer. I'm

995
00:44:00,199 --> 00:44:02,000
willing to bet it's the same exact one that tried

996
00:44:02,039 --> 00:44:04,960
stabbing me down all or two whatever. I'm going back

997
00:44:04,960 --> 00:44:08,800
to bed now. Entrying six to day. Started out great

998
00:44:09,519 --> 00:44:11,360
walk up just before the break of dawn and got

999
00:44:11,360 --> 00:44:12,960
to my prime spot on the top of the hill.

1000
00:44:13,519 --> 00:44:16,000
The sunset crested over the valley about half an hour later,

1001
00:44:16,119 --> 00:44:18,079
and I was finally where I always want to be.

1002
00:44:18,719 --> 00:44:21,280
Cracked a beer and saluted the early morning sun, considering

1003
00:44:21,320 --> 00:44:24,199
it was already five o'clock a m. That is. But whatever,

1004
00:44:24,880 --> 00:44:27,079
a bit of booze always helped steady my hand. Anyways,

1005
00:44:27,880 --> 00:44:30,519
sat up there until well pass noon, keeping myself occupied

1006
00:44:30,559 --> 00:44:32,920
with the steady diet of beef, jerky, sunflower seeds and

1007
00:44:32,960 --> 00:44:35,719
miller light. That's when I saw the grass rustling on

1008
00:44:35,760 --> 00:44:38,000
the far end of the prairie. I slumped down and

1009
00:44:38,039 --> 00:44:40,719
clutched my rifle, stirring out as several figures stepped out

1010
00:44:40,760 --> 00:44:43,559
from the trees. I counted three dozen five fns that

1011
00:44:43,599 --> 00:44:46,480
slowly sauntered out from the thicket. They began grazing on

1012
00:44:46,519 --> 00:44:48,599
the far side of the pasture, about two hundred yards

1013
00:44:48,599 --> 00:44:50,800
from my position. I prayed for a buck to be

1014
00:44:50,880 --> 00:44:53,760
leading their herd and hunkered down. As I watch, they

1015
00:44:53,800 --> 00:44:56,400
grazed for a solid three irows, but the buck never showed.

1016
00:44:56,960 --> 00:44:59,119
One of the others then suddenly drooped her ears, and

1017
00:44:59,159 --> 00:45:02,280
the entire herd suddenly dashed back into the woods. I

1018
00:45:02,280 --> 00:45:04,639
guess something spooked em, and that pretty much marked the

1019
00:45:04,719 --> 00:45:06,960
end of my day. I got back down to my

1020
00:45:07,000 --> 00:45:09,239
camp and prepared to cook myself a nice hearty, chilly

1021
00:45:09,280 --> 00:45:12,480
and drum my frustrations in Jack Daniel's. Only problem was

1022
00:45:12,519 --> 00:45:15,320
I couldn't find my stove top anywhere. I spent at

1023
00:45:15,360 --> 00:45:17,679
least an hour looking for it, but it's just not here.

1024
00:45:18,360 --> 00:45:20,519
I don't get it. I used it early this morning

1025
00:45:20,519 --> 00:45:23,239
to cook breakfast. I'm too tired to worry about it

1026
00:45:23,280 --> 00:45:27,000
at this point. It's getting dark and I'm exhausted. At

1027
00:45:27,039 --> 00:45:28,880
least if I can't go to bed on a full belly,

1028
00:45:28,920 --> 00:45:32,960
I can knock myself out with some lequer entry seven. Okay,

1029
00:45:33,000 --> 00:45:35,320
so I'm trying not to freak out here. I know

1030
00:45:35,400 --> 00:45:37,840
I'm probably just being ridiculous, but I really just can't

1031
00:45:37,840 --> 00:45:41,079
seem to calm myself down. That bird won't leave me alone.

1032
00:45:41,559 --> 00:45:43,960
I didn't sleep at all last night. Every time I

1033
00:45:43,960 --> 00:45:46,519
felt I was getting close out here, that familiar, lonesome quack.

1034
00:45:47,199 --> 00:45:49,000
It was like that dawn bounee when I was about

1035
00:45:49,000 --> 00:45:51,280
to finally fall asleep, and interrupted it just to piss

1036
00:45:51,280 --> 00:45:54,360
me off. I finally grabbed my pistol and stomped out

1037
00:45:54,360 --> 00:45:57,239
of my tent, but I didn't see it anywhere. Things

1038
00:45:57,239 --> 00:46:00,599
haven't gotten much better since then. When dawn finally I

1039
00:46:00,639 --> 00:46:04,000
decided to abandon any notion of sleep altogether, I hobbled

1040
00:46:04,000 --> 00:46:05,840
out of the tent and kindled a fire to brew

1041
00:46:05,840 --> 00:46:09,440
myself some coffee. That's when I first noticed it. Now,

1042
00:46:09,519 --> 00:46:11,719
I'm not one hundred percent sure about this, but I'm

1043
00:46:11,760 --> 00:46:14,599
down close. That's where my tent had moved, about ten

1044
00:46:14,639 --> 00:46:16,880
feet away from where I had set it up. It

1045
00:46:16,960 --> 00:46:18,920
was staked down and on flat ground, so it didn't

1046
00:46:18,920 --> 00:46:21,559
slide down all or something. Not to mention the fact

1047
00:46:21,599 --> 00:46:23,480
that I had literally been awake the entire night and

1048
00:46:23,559 --> 00:46:26,719
hadn't felt it move. Part of me thinks I'm just crazy,

1049
00:46:26,800 --> 00:46:30,320
but another, even louder parts says I'm not. I don't understand,

1050
00:46:30,400 --> 00:46:31,840
but as of right now, I'm going to just chalk

1051
00:46:31,880 --> 00:46:34,480
it up to exhaustion and me not remembering properly, which

1052
00:46:34,480 --> 00:46:36,960
has been known to happen. Got three more days out

1053
00:46:37,000 --> 00:46:39,159
here before I got a start heading back, but I'm

1054
00:46:39,199 --> 00:46:40,760
not even going to try and get a buck to day.

1055
00:46:41,400 --> 00:46:43,400
My head is throbbing, and I keep nodding my head

1056
00:46:43,400 --> 00:46:46,199
as I'm trying to write this. I really need a nap.

1057
00:46:46,880 --> 00:46:49,639
Entry it some one is out here messing with me.

1058
00:46:49,760 --> 00:46:52,480
I'm almost sure of it now. It would honestly explain

1059
00:46:52,480 --> 00:46:54,840
a lot of what's been happening. The missing stove, to

1060
00:46:54,880 --> 00:46:57,519
up the moved tent. I don't know how they're doing it,

1061
00:46:57,599 --> 00:46:59,239
but I'm down near positive that all of this is

1062
00:46:59,239 --> 00:47:02,599
more than coincidence. Shortly after my last entry, I passed

1063
00:47:02,639 --> 00:47:05,480
out in my camping chair by the fire. Some hours later,

1064
00:47:05,480 --> 00:47:07,159
I woke up and gulfed by the caustic smoke of

1065
00:47:07,199 --> 00:47:10,079
smoldering ashes. I broke into a fit of coughs and

1066
00:47:10,119 --> 00:47:12,719
quickly rolled out of the line of fire. After my

1067
00:47:12,760 --> 00:47:15,199
eyes finally stopped watering and for it stopped burning, I

1068
00:47:15,239 --> 00:47:19,039
managed to a climate quake. There he was again, only

1069
00:47:19,039 --> 00:47:22,079
about twenty yards away from me, staring contemptuously with beady

1070
00:47:22,079 --> 00:47:26,119
black eyes. That was the final straw. My former irritation

1071
00:47:26,199 --> 00:47:29,440
gave way to upright rage with my pistol at my side.

1072
00:47:29,480 --> 00:47:31,800
I quickly whipped it out and named towards his silhouette.

1073
00:47:32,119 --> 00:47:34,800
He didn't flinch, and I pulled the trigger. My nine

1074
00:47:34,880 --> 00:47:37,320
arms enstried into that little winged demon, erupting with a

1075
00:47:37,320 --> 00:47:40,119
plume of feathers. He fell off the log, flapping and

1076
00:47:40,159 --> 00:47:43,199
quacking in distress, before falling silent. A moment later, a

1077
00:47:43,280 --> 00:47:45,320
sense of triumph washed over me, and I jumped to

1078
00:47:45,320 --> 00:47:47,559
my feet, relieved and proud that I had finally vanquished

1079
00:47:47,559 --> 00:47:50,239
my harasser. I walked over to where he had fallen,

1080
00:47:50,320 --> 00:47:53,639
and the feeling evaporated, replaced without a confusion. The bullet

1081
00:47:53,639 --> 00:47:55,599
appeared to have struck the creature in the low abdomen,

1082
00:47:55,599 --> 00:47:58,679
tearing a hole in its gut. Its intestines were dangling

1083
00:47:58,719 --> 00:48:01,400
out of it in little coils. At last, that's what

1084
00:48:01,440 --> 00:48:03,880
I thought they were. I moved him for a closer

1085
00:48:03,960 --> 00:48:06,639
look and could scarcely believe what I was seeing. It

1086
00:48:06,679 --> 00:48:09,679
wasn't entry ill's hanging out, it was wires. I poked

1087
00:48:09,679 --> 00:48:11,159
it with a stick, and so all manner of l

1088
00:48:11,239 --> 00:48:13,719
ed in circus within the duck, which had to ask me,

1089
00:48:13,960 --> 00:48:16,599
was a damn robot. Screw this trip, I think it's

1090
00:48:16,639 --> 00:48:20,599
time to leave. Entry nine. Well, I'm still here, still

1091
00:48:20,639 --> 00:48:23,960
haven't left. It's been probably three hours since I wrote

1092
00:48:24,000 --> 00:48:26,599
my last entry. The sun has gone down now, so

1093
00:48:26,760 --> 00:48:29,360
that's not great. Not that I'll even be able to

1094
00:48:29,360 --> 00:48:31,199
sleep at this point, that's just what they want me

1095
00:48:31,280 --> 00:48:33,639
to do. These last few hours have allowed me to

1096
00:48:33,639 --> 00:48:36,199
contemplate my situation, and I think I've figured it, at

1097
00:48:36,840 --> 00:48:39,760
at least part of it. That thinner shot was obviously

1098
00:48:39,800 --> 00:48:41,480
not a duck, and I realized it's got to be

1099
00:48:41,480 --> 00:48:44,159
some kind of drone, a surveillance robot designed to look

1100
00:48:44,239 --> 00:48:45,880
just like a normal duck in order to blend in

1101
00:48:45,880 --> 00:48:48,559
an observe And since it is a drone, that means

1102
00:48:48,559 --> 00:48:51,400
someone had to have built it. Drawing technology has obviously

1103
00:48:51,440 --> 00:48:53,440
advanced quite a lot in the last few years, but

1104
00:48:53,519 --> 00:48:55,760
I had no idea it had gotten this good. The

1105
00:48:55,840 --> 00:48:58,199
thing behaved exactly like a normal duck, would have no

1106
00:48:58,360 --> 00:49:01,880
jerry robotic movements or anything to give it away. Obviously,

1107
00:49:01,920 --> 00:49:04,480
the government's got secret programs and technology at the Wazir

1108
00:49:04,559 --> 00:49:06,320
that they never tell us about, so it could be them,

1109
00:49:06,320 --> 00:49:10,320
But even that explanation has holes. This thing was seriously advanced,

1110
00:49:10,519 --> 00:49:13,000
like something straight out of cyberpunk, so maybe it wasn't

1111
00:49:13,000 --> 00:49:15,519
even built by humans at all. I know that may

1112
00:49:15,559 --> 00:49:17,639
sound crazy, but there are a lot of stories about

1113
00:49:17,679 --> 00:49:20,800
mysterious lights and sky around this area. I'm not saying

1114
00:49:20,800 --> 00:49:23,599
its aliens, but I'm not saying it isn't either. I

1115
00:49:23,679 --> 00:49:26,639
realize this probably isn't the smartest decision, but I'm not leaving,

1116
00:49:26,840 --> 00:49:30,440
not yet. I need to figure out the truth Entry

1117
00:49:31,079 --> 00:49:33,920
ten Bouquet. I'm leaving eth this thing. This is some

1118
00:49:33,960 --> 00:49:37,199
seriously creepy stuff. I've watched enough four Moves to know

1119
00:49:37,199 --> 00:49:40,840
where this is going, and I don't plan on being probe. Unfortunately,

1120
00:49:40,880 --> 00:49:42,599
it's night now and there ain't no way in hell

1121
00:49:42,639 --> 00:49:44,159
I'm walking all the way back to my truck and

1122
00:49:44,239 --> 00:49:47,199
pitch black, especially with that thing out there, I got

1123
00:49:47,199 --> 00:49:49,360
no choice but to wait till morning, so I might

1124
00:49:49,360 --> 00:49:51,760
as well write out what I saw. I really hope

1125
00:49:51,800 --> 00:49:54,440
this isn't going to be a found footage situation. So

1126
00:49:54,599 --> 00:49:57,199
after writing my previous entry, I realized I should try

1127
00:49:57,199 --> 00:50:00,119
and take a closer examination of the duck slashtro I

1128
00:50:00,119 --> 00:50:01,760
went back out to the spot where I shot it,

1129
00:50:01,880 --> 00:50:04,440
but it wasn't there. It was only like twenty feet

1130
00:50:04,440 --> 00:50:07,000
from my tent earlier, but it was just gone. Never

1131
00:50:07,039 --> 00:50:09,519
heard any noise from that spot, and obviously it never

1132
00:50:09,519 --> 00:50:11,559
got up on its own, as it was way too damaged.

1133
00:50:12,159 --> 00:50:14,639
I still don't know how to explain that. I figured

1134
00:50:14,679 --> 00:50:16,239
I might as well go out and try and scout

1135
00:50:16,280 --> 00:50:18,000
around a bit and keep an eye out for any

1136
00:50:18,159 --> 00:50:21,079
two pranksters or other shenanigans. I got to my same

1137
00:50:21,079 --> 00:50:22,920
spot as the previous day and proceeded to see a

1138
00:50:22,960 --> 00:50:25,679
whole lot of nothing. I sat there for ires and

1139
00:50:25,800 --> 00:50:28,039
must have still been exhausted from the previous night, because

1140
00:50:28,079 --> 00:50:30,920
at some point I dozed off. You know that feeling

1141
00:50:30,920 --> 00:50:32,679
you get when you take a nap, wake up and

1142
00:50:32,760 --> 00:50:34,599
for no apparent reason or kind of panic When you

1143
00:50:34,639 --> 00:50:37,320
wake up, like it takes your moment to remember what

1144
00:50:37,400 --> 00:50:40,480
happened and where you are. Yees, So picture that times

1145
00:50:40,519 --> 00:50:42,400
like a thousand and maybe you'll get the feeling I

1146
00:50:42,400 --> 00:50:44,519
had when I woke up. When I woke up on

1147
00:50:44,559 --> 00:50:47,599
that twilight hill, nothing made sense any more. The sun

1148
00:50:47,679 --> 00:50:49,599
hung low in the sky, painting a landscape with a

1149
00:50:49,639 --> 00:50:52,760
skarl atting eclipsed in a distance by purple clouds. That

1150
00:50:52,880 --> 00:50:55,320
familiar and a malcomed sense of a panic attack looming

1151
00:50:55,360 --> 00:50:57,719
then struck me. I got up and began to saunter around,

1152
00:50:57,760 --> 00:51:00,239
as is my usual tactic of trying toward those down things.

1153
00:51:01,039 --> 00:51:03,119
It was then I realized I had no idea where

1154
00:51:03,159 --> 00:51:06,039
I was. It got fas scarier than that, though, because I,

1155
00:51:06,079 --> 00:51:08,239
for the life of me, suddenly couldn't even remember my

1156
00:51:08,280 --> 00:51:10,800
own name if it wasn't for my rifle beside me

1157
00:51:10,840 --> 00:51:13,000
and wallowed in my back pocket. I swear on everything

1158
00:51:13,000 --> 00:51:14,320
I could not have told you who I was, all

1159
00:51:14,360 --> 00:51:17,199
what I was doing out there. On the brink of panic,

1160
00:51:17,320 --> 00:51:19,480
I grabbed my supplies and trudged back down the hill.

1161
00:51:19,519 --> 00:51:22,800
Spotting my foreign campsat further down the grove, I assumed

1162
00:51:22,840 --> 00:51:25,039
it must have been mine, although I had no conscious

1163
00:51:25,039 --> 00:51:27,440
memory of setting it up. It was there. I found

1164
00:51:27,440 --> 00:51:30,639
this journal, though, and things started coming back. After re

1165
00:51:30,760 --> 00:51:33,480
reading the previous interest and taking some time to reevaluate

1166
00:51:33,519 --> 00:51:35,639
my memory, I feel as though I stumbled upon something

1167
00:51:35,760 --> 00:51:39,280
very strange out here, paranormal even that's stupid, duck. My

1168
00:51:39,360 --> 00:51:43,480
disappearing supplies the random apparent Anesia. Something is doing this

1169
00:51:43,559 --> 00:51:45,320
to me. I don't know what, but I am a

1170
00:51:45,320 --> 00:51:48,679
guinea pig in someone of Something's little psychological experiment. It's

1171
00:51:48,760 --> 00:51:51,159
dark again, but as soon as dawn breaks, I'm leading

1172
00:51:51,960 --> 00:51:55,639
entry the leaven. I can't leave. It's no longer an option.

1173
00:51:55,800 --> 00:51:57,239
But don't take that to mean that I don't want

1174
00:51:57,280 --> 00:51:59,719
to leave. I'd give just about anything at this point

1175
00:51:59,760 --> 00:52:02,159
to his escaped this god forsaken grove. But whoever or

1176
00:52:02,199 --> 00:52:04,719
whatever is during this word allow it. I woke up

1177
00:52:04,760 --> 00:52:07,119
at the crack of dawn, and thankfully things seemed pretty

1178
00:52:07,159 --> 00:52:09,920
much normal. I packed my stuff up and again walking

1179
00:52:09,960 --> 00:52:12,719
down the trail back to my truck. Everything was going

1180
00:52:12,760 --> 00:52:15,239
fine until I hit a wall, and I mean that literally.

1181
00:52:15,840 --> 00:52:17,800
I was walking along when all of a sudden, my

1182
00:52:17,880 --> 00:52:20,599
nose smack right into something. I paused and took a

1183
00:52:20,599 --> 00:52:22,880
step back as blood began to trickle from my nostril.

1184
00:52:23,440 --> 00:52:25,440
I stared in disbelief because there was nothing in front

1185
00:52:25,440 --> 00:52:27,400
of me. I put my han out and felt something there,

1186
00:52:28,079 --> 00:52:32,119
something completely invisible but unbreachable, like some kind of force field.

1187
00:52:32,639 --> 00:52:34,239
I struck it with my fists, kicked it, but to

1188
00:52:34,280 --> 00:52:36,719
no avail. I then dropped all of my supply to

1189
00:52:36,760 --> 00:52:38,800
pulled the rifle off my back and fired a shot.

1190
00:52:39,360 --> 00:52:42,079
The boat struck the invisible wall, shattering on impact and

1191
00:52:42,119 --> 00:52:45,440
sending fragments flying all over. I ducked back, feeling that

1192
00:52:45,480 --> 00:52:48,400
familiar sense of panic strike again. I can't leave. I'm

1193
00:52:48,440 --> 00:52:50,760
not allowed to leave. The only choice I had was

1194
00:52:50,760 --> 00:52:53,599
to return to my previous camp site. I've just been

1195
00:52:53,639 --> 00:52:56,000
sitting in my camp chair for eyes now, watching the

1196
00:52:56,000 --> 00:52:58,760
sun travel across the sky. It'll be going down soon

1197
00:52:58,840 --> 00:53:01,519
once more, and I don't know what that means. I'm

1198
00:53:01,519 --> 00:53:04,960
trying to think rationally, but that's easier said than done. Clearly,

1199
00:53:05,039 --> 00:53:08,079
something wants me here, something that is much more powerful

1200
00:53:08,119 --> 00:53:10,840
than me. Whether it God or aliens or government, I

1201
00:53:10,880 --> 00:53:13,599
don't know. For all, I know that Roberduck could have

1202
00:53:13,599 --> 00:53:16,320
been the avatar of some eldritch monstrosity that enjoys watching

1203
00:53:16,360 --> 00:53:19,440
me suffer. Whatever the reasoning behind all this, I'm here

1204
00:53:19,480 --> 00:53:22,119
for a reason. It could be punishment, but I figure

1205
00:53:22,239 --> 00:53:24,280
something was trying to punish me. It would have just

1206
00:53:24,360 --> 00:53:27,320
killed me already. I mean, if me shooting that duck

1207
00:53:27,360 --> 00:53:29,480
thing with such an egregious sin, then surely they would

1208
00:53:29,480 --> 00:53:32,639
have smited me. Or is it mote what's the plural

1209
00:53:32,679 --> 00:53:35,800
for smite? Anyways, whatever, since I can't leave, I guess

1210
00:53:35,800 --> 00:53:39,320
the only option I have is to weigh entry twelve.

1211
00:53:39,440 --> 00:53:42,000
I think I know what this place is now. Something

1212
00:53:42,039 --> 00:53:43,920
one of my former co workers said has been echoing

1213
00:53:44,000 --> 00:53:46,920
endlessly in my mind for iOS. He was an older

1214
00:53:47,360 --> 00:53:49,920
Native American guy, very in tune with folk or in

1215
00:53:50,039 --> 00:53:53,039
urban legends and what not. Things I once regarded a

1216
00:53:53,119 --> 00:53:56,400
superstitious huea that I've now been forced to reconsider. He

1217
00:53:56,480 --> 00:53:58,159
knew I was a hunter, and he once told me

1218
00:53:58,199 --> 00:54:01,199
to beware the lonely places. He said, places devoid of

1219
00:54:01,239 --> 00:54:04,400
humans are dangers in ways we cannot yet comprehend. Not

1220
00:54:04,440 --> 00:54:06,719
because of predators or whether or anything like that, but

1221
00:54:06,719 --> 00:54:09,679
because of someone forgetting they exist. I never knew what

1222
00:54:09,719 --> 00:54:11,480
he meant by that, but after my previous botut of

1223
00:54:11,519 --> 00:54:14,199
on Nietia, I think that what happened to me. It's

1224
00:54:14,199 --> 00:54:16,440
got me thinking about the particle slit test and how

1225
00:54:16,440 --> 00:54:18,920
the results of that essentially reinforced the notion that reality

1226
00:54:18,960 --> 00:54:21,679
is altered by observing it. Maybe the same is true

1227
00:54:21,679 --> 00:54:24,360
on a larger scale as well. I won't sit here

1228
00:54:24,360 --> 00:54:26,280
and claim to have the answers, but there's a lot

1229
00:54:26,320 --> 00:54:28,840
we don't know about perception. It reminds me of the

1230
00:54:28,840 --> 00:54:31,519
old question if a tree falls in the woods and

1231
00:54:31,559 --> 00:54:33,199
no one is around to hear it, Does it make

1232
00:54:33,239 --> 00:54:35,639
a sound? I think the better question is if a

1233
00:54:35,679 --> 00:54:37,519
tree falls in the wood and no one is around

1234
00:54:37,559 --> 00:54:40,519
to perceive it, does the tree even exist? I heard

1235
00:54:40,519 --> 00:54:42,639
things last night, things I don't know how to explain.

1236
00:54:43,239 --> 00:54:45,320
It started with a loud, whirring sound, which to me

1237
00:54:45,440 --> 00:54:48,039
sounded like a helicopter. I burst out of my tent,

1238
00:54:48,079 --> 00:54:50,079
thinking for a moment someone had come to rescue me,

1239
00:54:50,280 --> 00:54:53,000
or at least I could fly at them down. Once outside,

1240
00:54:53,079 --> 00:54:54,559
I looked around to see if there were lights in

1241
00:54:54,599 --> 00:54:57,199
the sky, but I saw nothing. I spent a couple

1242
00:54:57,320 --> 00:55:00,039
minutes looking around, but there was nothing there. It's it

1243
00:55:00,039 --> 00:55:02,039
sounded like it was literally right above me, but after

1244
00:55:02,079 --> 00:55:04,800
a few minutes it just faded away entirely. I was

1245
00:55:04,840 --> 00:55:07,599
about to return to my tent when a sudden immenspom

1246
00:55:07,679 --> 00:55:10,960
thundered through the landscape. A bright orange flash illuminated the

1247
00:55:11,000 --> 00:55:13,679
sky from somewhere in the distance. The noise was so

1248
00:55:13,760 --> 00:55:16,800
loud I fell flat on my ass. A chorus of shouts,

1249
00:55:16,920 --> 00:55:19,960
canfire and roaring then emerged, going on for another few minutes.

1250
00:55:20,679 --> 00:55:22,880
It stopped as suddenly as it began, as if someone

1251
00:55:23,000 --> 00:55:25,840
just flipped a ganswitch. The light faded and I was

1252
00:55:25,920 --> 00:55:29,039
left alone in silence and darkness once more. It didn't

1253
00:55:29,079 --> 00:55:31,679
last long until a familiar and un welcome my shot

1254
00:55:31,760 --> 00:55:34,880
chills down my spine quak. Though he was on top

1255
00:55:34,920 --> 00:55:36,480
of a hill, looking down at me as if I

1256
00:55:36,519 --> 00:55:39,159
were some peasant in his diabolic regime, the look of

1257
00:55:39,239 --> 00:55:42,800
arrogance on his face was unmistakable. Those beady little obsidian

1258
00:55:42,840 --> 00:55:45,519
eyes and the stoic, beaked expressions spewed the unmistakable contempt

1259
00:55:45,559 --> 00:55:48,559
of kings and gods from eons past. It's seem it

1260
00:55:48,599 --> 00:55:50,880
always has been. He's the one doing this to me,

1261
00:55:51,000 --> 00:55:52,920
toying with me, trying to drive me mad. But I

1262
00:55:52,960 --> 00:55:55,360
wasn't about to submit. The two of us just stared

1263
00:55:55,360 --> 00:55:57,599
at each other for several moments, and I tried to

1264
00:55:57,599 --> 00:56:00,159
figure out what I should do since murturing him. While

1265
00:56:00,199 --> 00:56:01,920
it didn't seem to end it, I figured I only

1266
00:56:01,920 --> 00:56:04,480
had one option. I took a step towards him, and

1267
00:56:04,519 --> 00:56:07,519
he didn't budge. Seconds later and I had reached him

1268
00:56:07,519 --> 00:56:09,920
atop the grassy hill. It was like he was waiting

1269
00:56:09,920 --> 00:56:12,719
for me to join him. I stepped beside him and

1270
00:56:12,760 --> 00:56:15,159
peered over the hill. That overlooked my former hunting grounds,

1271
00:56:15,159 --> 00:56:18,199
only this time it wasn't the same. Down below us

1272
00:56:18,440 --> 00:56:22,239
was an alien landscape, a bleak, scorched desert with scarlet sounds,

1273
00:56:22,280 --> 00:56:25,239
illuminated by the efferveescence of an enormous, gleaming moon. Above us,

1274
00:56:25,880 --> 00:56:28,800
the field was littered with debris, mostly broken down machinery

1275
00:56:28,840 --> 00:56:31,559
in various states of decay. I spotted a few guns

1276
00:56:31,559 --> 00:56:34,719
amongst the wreckage, and something else. The things I glimpsed

1277
00:56:34,719 --> 00:56:37,039
in the next passing minutes are things I will not scribe.

1278
00:56:37,480 --> 00:56:39,719
I will only that I will shown the secrets of reality,

1279
00:56:40,360 --> 00:56:42,880
how it works, and how the natural order truly behaves.

1280
00:56:43,519 --> 00:56:45,679
This place is not my prison, it is in excess.

1281
00:56:46,400 --> 00:56:49,320
It made sense then the weird helicopter noises the force field.

1282
00:56:49,360 --> 00:56:51,639
They weren't things that had been deliberately placed to impede me.

1283
00:56:51,840 --> 00:56:55,480
They were boundaries, various pockets of reality which had intersected

1284
00:56:55,480 --> 00:56:59,400
and defined but simultaneously convoluted ways. The human mind isn't

1285
00:56:59,400 --> 00:57:02,480
meant to understand and how it works. Our senses are

1286
00:57:02,480 --> 00:57:04,880
not built to travel in directions beyond the third dimension.

1287
00:57:04,960 --> 00:57:08,079
But there are those that know how. After thoroughly ingesting

1288
00:57:08,119 --> 00:57:10,360
all the horrific and beautiful size before me. I turned

1289
00:57:10,400 --> 00:57:13,079
to my feather compatriot. No longer was he a nuisance

1290
00:57:13,159 --> 00:57:15,599
or my enemy. He was a teacher. Is it possible

1291
00:57:15,599 --> 00:57:18,719
to learn this power? I asked, ripping the question directly

1292
00:57:18,719 --> 00:57:21,800
from Anakin skywalker himself. The dock turned to me and

1293
00:57:21,840 --> 00:57:27,440
I finally understood clack entry thirteen. This entry didn't actually

1294
00:57:27,480 --> 00:57:30,159
contain any words. The only thing on it was the

1295
00:57:30,159 --> 00:57:33,280
web footprint of what everyone assumes was a duck. That's it.

1296
00:57:33,440 --> 00:57:36,360
That's all he wrote. After Zac failed to return to

1297
00:57:36,400 --> 00:57:38,920
work the following Monday, his employer's contact of me asking

1298
00:57:38,960 --> 00:57:41,679
if I had heard from him. Shortly after that, we

1299
00:57:41,719 --> 00:57:44,400
realized no one had heard from him, and the investigation began.

1300
00:57:45,039 --> 00:57:47,719
The local park ranges organized the search team and skyared

1301
00:57:47,760 --> 00:57:50,199
the area. My ex husband and I flew down to

1302
00:57:50,280 --> 00:57:53,599
join the effort as well. We found his truck, his campsite,

1303
00:57:53,599 --> 00:57:55,960
and even the grove he had written about. We did

1304
00:57:55,960 --> 00:57:59,000
not find him, however, search dogs were able to follow

1305
00:57:59,039 --> 00:58:00,599
his scent to the top of a small hill just

1306
00:58:00,599 --> 00:58:03,360
beyond this camp site, but no further. That's where we

1307
00:58:03,360 --> 00:58:06,400
found the aforementioned journal, lying in the dirt. As I said,

1308
00:58:06,400 --> 00:58:08,239
at the beginning. I cannot claim to speak for the

1309
00:58:08,239 --> 00:58:11,559
authenticity of Zak's journal. If I'm honest, I don't even

1310
00:58:11,559 --> 00:58:14,320
think I fully understand what he meant. All I really

1311
00:58:14,360 --> 00:58:16,000
know is that my son is still missing and no

1312
00:58:16,039 --> 00:58:18,679
one has seen him since he left for his trip. Dak,

1313
00:58:18,880 --> 00:58:21,599
If somehow you're reading this, please come home. I wasn't

1314
00:58:21,599 --> 00:58:24,360
going to add this part, but maybe it's significant. Like

1315
00:58:24,400 --> 00:58:27,039
I said, I cannot confirm the validity of Szaka's journal.

1316
00:58:27,159 --> 00:58:29,000
But last night, as I was trying to force myself

1317
00:58:29,039 --> 00:58:32,000
to sleep, I was so woken by noise. I tried

1318
00:58:32,039 --> 00:58:34,159
looking around, but I couldn't find the source of it.

1319
00:58:34,679 --> 00:58:36,679
I'm not even one hundred percent sure I heard it,

1320
00:58:36,760 --> 00:58:38,719
but every once in a while I swear I hear

1321
00:58:38,760 --> 00:58:42,360
that sound again. Clack. Do you ever notice how many

1322
00:58:42,360 --> 00:58:44,880
trees there are? I've heard it said there are more

1323
00:58:44,880 --> 00:58:48,199
trees than stars in our galaxy. Amazing to think about,

1324
00:58:48,320 --> 00:58:50,960
isn't it. That's something as big as a star should

1325
00:58:50,960 --> 00:58:53,280
be unumbered by the trees on our planet. In our galaxy,

1326
00:58:53,280 --> 00:58:55,920
at least, that's a lot of trees. And they are

1327
00:58:55,960 --> 00:59:00,159
all very old, aren't they so very old? Older than us?

1328
00:59:00,840 --> 00:59:03,639
Maybe Somewhere out there is a tree older than the dinosaurs,

1329
00:59:03,719 --> 00:59:06,599
buried in a mountain somehow, having survived millions of years.

1330
00:59:07,320 --> 00:59:09,360
I know we find fossils of trees, but what if

1331
00:59:09,360 --> 00:59:13,360
this fossils weren't dead. It's interesting to think about that

1332
00:59:13,360 --> 00:59:14,960
there could be a tree out there older than all

1333
00:59:15,000 --> 00:59:18,880
of mankind's history. Do you think trees have thoughts? After

1334
00:59:19,159 --> 00:59:21,480
trees are alive and every living thing has some kind

1335
00:59:21,480 --> 00:59:24,719
of mind and intelligence driving it? And if so, what

1336
00:59:24,800 --> 00:59:27,199
do they think of us? I've got a fair idea

1337
00:59:27,199 --> 00:59:29,440
of what they think about human kind. I'm a park

1338
00:59:29,559 --> 00:59:33,159
ranger and this is my story. It all began when

1339
00:59:33,159 --> 00:59:35,199
we got call. None of us had been wanting to receive.

1340
00:59:35,960 --> 00:59:39,559
A child had gone missing. This wasn't unusual. People go

1341
00:59:39,639 --> 00:59:42,559
missing all the time in the parks. However, what made

1342
00:59:42,599 --> 00:59:45,639
this one unusual was how it happened. Maxi Patton had

1343
00:59:45,639 --> 00:59:48,119
been out with his mother on a picnic at thirteen

1344
00:59:48,199 --> 00:59:51,239
years old. He was a wild and rambunctious child, and

1345
00:59:51,320 --> 00:59:52,960
if there was one thing he loved doing more than

1346
00:59:53,000 --> 00:59:55,800
any other, it was climbing trees. If only he'd been

1347
00:59:55,800 --> 00:59:57,800
more of a video gain kid than an outdoors kind

1348
00:59:58,360 --> 01:00:01,159
perhaps all this could have been avoided. He see, it

1349
01:00:01,239 --> 01:00:03,320
was when he was climbing a tree that he disappeared.

1350
01:00:03,960 --> 01:00:06,920
His mother recounted everything in detail. They picked out a

1351
01:00:06,960 --> 01:00:09,079
nice clearing on the edge of the woods, near a

1352
01:00:09,119 --> 01:00:11,480
large clump of trees. Maxie could climb on as he pleased.

1353
01:00:11,480 --> 01:00:13,440
We set up to the blanket right here. Maxey wanted

1354
01:00:13,440 --> 01:00:15,079
to climb that big pine tree. She pointed it. I

1355
01:00:15,119 --> 01:00:16,880
took my eyes off him for only a moment. She

1356
01:00:16,920 --> 01:00:18,880
sobbed just one moment, and when I looked back, he

1357
01:00:19,000 --> 01:00:20,679
was Then she utterly broke down the fust. Then we

1358
01:00:20,719 --> 01:00:23,039
did was check out the tree in question. It was

1359
01:00:23,039 --> 01:00:26,000
a pine tree, one of the toast I'd ever seen. Clearly,

1360
01:00:26,079 --> 01:00:28,519
it was very old. How high up was he when

1361
01:00:28,559 --> 01:00:31,760
he vanished? I asked his mother, a little skeptical kid

1362
01:00:31,760 --> 01:00:34,039
could just disappear without a trace while climbing a tree.

1363
01:00:34,440 --> 01:00:40,079
He was half way up. Then she continued sobbing. After

1364
01:00:40,119 --> 01:00:42,079
that it was obvious we weren't going to get anything

1365
01:00:42,119 --> 01:00:44,840
else out of her. Still, I walked around the tree twice,

1366
01:00:44,840 --> 01:00:47,039
and I could clearly see the snap branches and twigs.

1367
01:00:47,039 --> 01:00:49,880
When Maxie had climbed up. They ended out about half

1368
01:00:49,880 --> 01:00:52,360
way up. It was like he just stopped climbing then

1369
01:00:52,400 --> 01:00:55,280
disappeared completely. We did a thorough search of the area

1370
01:00:55,360 --> 01:00:59,599
first and found nothing, well almost nothing. See about fifty

1371
01:00:59,679 --> 01:01:02,280
yards and the pine tree. I found a shoe covered

1372
01:01:02,280 --> 01:01:05,199
in pine needles and tree sap. It was red and blue,

1373
01:01:05,199 --> 01:01:07,880
a Nicky Bran's symbol on the side. It seemed to

1374
01:01:07,880 --> 01:01:09,800
have been there for a long while. But when I

1375
01:01:09,800 --> 01:01:11,880
bent down and picked it up, what I found inside

1376
01:01:11,880 --> 01:01:13,639
planted a first seat of doubt that this wasn't just

1377
01:01:13,679 --> 01:01:15,599
a case of a woman losing track of her child.

1378
01:01:16,239 --> 01:01:20,239
There written in black permanent marker was a name, Maxi Patten.

1379
01:01:20,840 --> 01:01:23,880
So how did it get here? Maxie's mother was hysterical

1380
01:01:23,880 --> 01:01:25,679
and became even more so when I brought the shoe

1381
01:01:25,679 --> 01:01:29,960
to her. That's it, that's my Maxi shoe. She grabbed it,

1382
01:01:30,039 --> 01:01:32,320
clutching it close to her chest as shoe ill and whaled.

1383
01:01:32,960 --> 01:01:35,599
We had to take her away. Taking the shoe from

1384
01:01:35,599 --> 01:01:38,960
her was difficult, both physically and emotionally. That woman held

1385
01:01:38,960 --> 01:01:41,039
a shoe to chest like it was a baby. I'll

1386
01:01:41,039 --> 01:01:42,920
never forget how much that woman cried as she was

1387
01:01:42,920 --> 01:01:45,599
taken away. Sad to say, but the shoe was the

1388
01:01:45,639 --> 01:01:48,360
only evidence we had of Maxi and where he gone.

1389
01:01:48,440 --> 01:01:50,559
She was escorted to the park center, where she'd wait

1390
01:01:50,599 --> 01:01:53,320
for the paramedics. We know that she wanted to help,

1391
01:01:53,400 --> 01:01:56,360
but in her condition she'd only be a hindrance. The

1392
01:01:56,440 --> 01:01:58,719
moment she was out of sight, however, was when one

1393
01:01:58,719 --> 01:02:00,679
of my partners bought at Maxie's blue shirt at the

1394
01:02:00,679 --> 01:02:02,920
top of another pine tree, hanging from a branch by

1395
01:02:02,920 --> 01:02:05,119
the collar, a hundred yard in the opposite direction of

1396
01:02:05,159 --> 01:02:07,559
where we found a shoe. He swore up and down

1397
01:02:07,599 --> 01:02:09,480
that the shirt hadn't been there when we'd first looked,

1398
01:02:09,519 --> 01:02:11,480
and did so with such conviction that none of us

1399
01:02:11,480 --> 01:02:13,920
doubted him, even if we wanted to. We knew we

1400
01:02:13,960 --> 01:02:16,800
had to get that shirt down somehow. It was evidence.

1401
01:02:17,519 --> 01:02:19,800
But then again, how had the shirt gotten up there.

1402
01:02:20,480 --> 01:02:23,000
Unlike the pine tree Maxie had disappeared from, this one

1403
01:02:23,000 --> 01:02:25,639
had no sign of anyone having claned on it, no

1404
01:02:25,760 --> 01:02:28,159
broken twigs and branches slightly bent from where someone had

1405
01:02:28,159 --> 01:02:30,639
climbed up and left the shirt. There were five of

1406
01:02:30,719 --> 01:02:33,159
us when we went to first look for Maxie, excluding myself.

1407
01:02:33,679 --> 01:02:36,280
We didn't think we need that many, because frankly, people

1408
01:02:36,280 --> 01:02:39,079
go missing in the parks all the time. Often they'd

1409
01:02:39,079 --> 01:02:41,679
turn up in about a few hours, but we'd never

1410
01:02:41,760 --> 01:02:44,800
dealt with something like this. Starring up at that shirt

1411
01:02:44,920 --> 01:02:47,119
covered in pine needles, I think it began to dawn

1412
01:02:47,199 --> 01:02:48,719
on all of us that we were dealing with something

1413
01:02:48,719 --> 01:02:51,480
we weren't trained for. We radioed for backup, all trying

1414
01:02:51,480 --> 01:02:53,519
to figure out how to get the shirt down. I

1415
01:02:53,599 --> 01:02:56,960
volunteered to climb up the very first branch. I grot, however,

1416
01:02:57,039 --> 01:03:00,559
broken half instantly in the process, scratching me across the hand.

1417
01:03:01,119 --> 01:03:03,239
I cried out, looking at the gash across my palm.

1418
01:03:03,800 --> 01:03:06,480
It wasn't deep, but the skin had been broken. Blood

1419
01:03:06,519 --> 01:03:09,280
was already pulling in it. Groaning at the sharp pane,

1420
01:03:09,320 --> 01:03:11,280
I clenched my hand into her fists, trying to stifle

1421
01:03:11,280 --> 01:03:14,400
a bleeding. I glared, stunned at the large breach, which

1422
01:03:14,400 --> 01:03:16,760
had just snapped when I touched it. My blood was

1423
01:03:16,800 --> 01:03:18,920
already seeping down it and towards the ground, where it

1424
01:03:19,000 --> 01:03:22,039
dripped on to the exposed roots of the pine tree below. Crap.

1425
01:03:22,159 --> 01:03:24,480
I cried, turning back around to the others while clutching

1426
01:03:24,480 --> 01:03:27,239
my wounded hand and my still healthy one. Park rangers

1427
01:03:27,280 --> 01:03:29,199
always carry a first a chret on hand, and they

1428
01:03:29,280 --> 01:03:32,000
quickly helped me apply bandages to it, wrapping my hand

1429
01:03:32,000 --> 01:03:35,639
in cotton. What happened, one of the other park rangers

1430
01:03:35,639 --> 01:03:39,119
asked me, looking at the broken branch. Ludicrous, it just broke,

1431
01:03:39,360 --> 01:03:42,639
I snapped back, despite myself. My agitation at having been

1432
01:03:42,679 --> 01:03:44,599
cut by the tree branch when it broke was severe.

1433
01:03:44,639 --> 01:03:47,239
But then something else dawned on me. How did that

1434
01:03:47,280 --> 01:03:49,880
tree branch cut me? It broke in the grip of

1435
01:03:49,920 --> 01:03:51,599
my hand, and shouldn't have been able to move in

1436
01:03:51,679 --> 01:03:54,639
such a way as to leave a mark this painful. Invertently,

1437
01:03:54,719 --> 01:03:57,719
a shiver went down my spine. I became acutely aware

1438
01:03:57,719 --> 01:04:00,639
of how many trees were around us. Was I mistaken

1439
01:04:00,800 --> 01:04:03,480
or had the number increased since I last checked. I

1440
01:04:03,559 --> 01:04:05,920
had to be mistaken. We need to split up and

1441
01:04:05,960 --> 01:04:09,519
find MAXI, another park ranger said. I was thankful given

1442
01:04:09,559 --> 01:04:11,159
it meant I didn't have to focus on the trees

1443
01:04:11,199 --> 01:04:14,880
any more. What about the shirt, another said, indicating the

1444
01:04:14,920 --> 01:04:17,159
garment at the top of the tree. We'll come back

1445
01:04:17,159 --> 01:04:20,000
for it later, the first one said, dismissively. You know,

1446
01:04:20,119 --> 01:04:23,079
it's strange. For the life of me, I cannot remember

1447
01:04:23,119 --> 01:04:26,000
their names. See, I was still new at the time,

1448
01:04:26,039 --> 01:04:28,559
the rookie. Really I barely knew what I was doing

1449
01:04:28,599 --> 01:04:30,880
at the time. I never saw any of the other

1450
01:04:30,920 --> 01:04:33,440
park rangers involved in the search for Maxi Patten again.

1451
01:04:34,039 --> 01:04:36,400
Most of the retired or transferred to a different park,

1452
01:04:37,119 --> 01:04:39,280
But sometimes I do wonder if we all came back

1453
01:04:39,280 --> 01:04:42,480
from that search. We split up into three pairs, moving

1454
01:04:42,519 --> 01:04:46,280
in a perimeter from Maxi's last known location, the Pine Tree.

1455
01:04:46,360 --> 01:04:48,400
I was paired up with a man whose name escapes me.

1456
01:04:48,519 --> 01:04:50,400
I just know he was Hispanic, and that's all I

1457
01:04:50,400 --> 01:04:53,239
can ever remember about him. We were sent north in

1458
01:04:53,280 --> 01:04:55,800
case Maxi or whatever was left of him, had somehow

1459
01:04:55,840 --> 01:04:59,159
gotten there. The others went east and west. If we

1460
01:04:59,239 --> 01:05:01,480
found anything, we had to radio it in and then

1461
01:05:01,480 --> 01:05:04,119
come back. If we found a body, we had to

1462
01:05:04,199 --> 01:05:07,119
leave it disturbed. That was obvious, of course, but I

1463
01:05:07,159 --> 01:05:10,039
really hoped we wouldn't find anything, because what we'd found

1464
01:05:10,039 --> 01:05:12,400
so far just didn't sit right with me. How did

1465
01:05:12,400 --> 01:05:14,519
his shoe get fifty yards from his last known location?

1466
01:05:15,159 --> 01:05:16,679
As I thought back to the moment when I had

1467
01:05:16,679 --> 01:05:18,639
found that shoe, I began playing it over and over

1468
01:05:18,679 --> 01:05:22,920
in my head. Something was nagging me about it. Hey, pal,

1469
01:05:23,039 --> 01:05:27,400
said my partner what, I replied, he had ever climbed

1470
01:05:27,400 --> 01:05:30,719
trees as a kid. I nodded. My face was beaming

1471
01:05:30,719 --> 01:05:33,280
as I thought back to those happy days. When my

1472
01:05:33,320 --> 01:05:38,159
partner's grimaced. However, a blink confused what's wrong? Shaking his head,

1473
01:05:38,280 --> 01:05:40,800
my partner muttered something in Spanish under his breath before

1474
01:05:40,840 --> 01:05:45,840
he answered. I did too a few times, but he

1475
01:05:45,920 --> 01:05:48,840
stopped walking and turned to face me. One time, when

1476
01:05:48,840 --> 01:05:52,960
I was climbing a tree, something happened. What, I asked,

1477
01:05:53,000 --> 01:05:55,239
curious if this had anything to do with our current search.

1478
01:05:55,920 --> 01:05:58,320
It was back in Mexico, before my family emigrated to

1479
01:05:58,360 --> 01:06:01,360
the States. There was a tree in my bulo's backyard.

1480
01:06:01,920 --> 01:06:04,559
I climbed it every time I went over. One day,

1481
01:06:04,599 --> 01:06:06,519
when I climbed to the very top, I was looking

1482
01:06:06,519 --> 01:06:09,480
out over the entire land around my Abulo's house. I

1483
01:06:09,519 --> 01:06:11,840
felt like I was king of the world. Then I

1484
01:06:11,880 --> 01:06:16,320
saw it, saw what. My partner didn't answer. He opened

1485
01:06:16,360 --> 01:06:18,920
his mouth, paused, then slowly closed it, shaking his head.

1486
01:06:19,480 --> 01:06:23,239
You wouldn't believe me, try me, I replied. He sighed,

1487
01:06:23,239 --> 01:06:26,039
then opened his mouth to say something. When his eyes

1488
01:06:26,039 --> 01:06:28,719
widened so large he looked like a fish. He was

1489
01:06:28,760 --> 01:06:31,800
looking at something behind me, furrowing my brow. I began

1490
01:06:31,840 --> 01:06:33,400
to turn around when he grabbed my arm in a

1491
01:06:33,480 --> 01:06:37,559
vicelike grip. Don't he hissed, or clenched teeth. Don't look.

1492
01:06:38,360 --> 01:06:41,519
I couldn't help myself. I wished I had taken his advice.

1493
01:06:41,519 --> 01:06:42,960
When my eyes found the blue shirt off for a

1494
01:06:43,000 --> 01:06:44,719
young boy hanging from the bottom branches of a tree

1495
01:06:44,760 --> 01:06:47,440
with a broken branch, probably about a hundred meters away.

1496
01:06:47,960 --> 01:06:49,960
Blood was dropping from it on to the roots below.

1497
01:06:50,599 --> 01:06:52,599
My heart began beating in my chest so fast I

1498
01:06:52,599 --> 01:06:55,920
thought it would burst. That's impossible, I muttered, then blinked

1499
01:06:56,519 --> 01:06:58,320
what I saw the moment my eyes open will forever

1500
01:06:58,360 --> 01:07:01,400
halp me. The tree had come close, sir. My partner

1501
01:07:01,440 --> 01:07:03,920
began cursing, letting go of my arm and stumbling back.

1502
01:07:04,559 --> 01:07:07,679
He crossed himself, saying silent prayers. We have to go,

1503
01:07:07,800 --> 01:07:11,880
he said, with a shaking breath. Now I didn't argue. Instead,

1504
01:07:11,960 --> 01:07:14,320
I began running my partner right next to me. The

1505
01:07:14,360 --> 01:07:17,119
whole time. I didn't dare look back once, and neither

1506
01:07:17,159 --> 01:07:20,519
did he. All thought of finding Maxy was gone. For

1507
01:07:20,599 --> 01:07:22,920
all intents and purposes. He might as well not exist

1508
01:07:23,599 --> 01:07:25,599
at that moment. All that mattered was getting away from

1509
01:07:25,639 --> 01:07:28,599
that tree. Exhaustion caught up with us eventually, though, and

1510
01:07:28,679 --> 01:07:30,920
we stopped panting as we tried to catch our breath.

1511
01:07:31,400 --> 01:07:34,199
Did that just happen? I said, through my painful gasps

1512
01:07:34,199 --> 01:07:37,639
of air. Did that actually just happen? I don't know, Migeo, said,

1513
01:07:37,679 --> 01:07:41,639
my partner. Did you see it move? I asked him, no,

1514
01:07:41,880 --> 01:07:45,199
he answered, but I saw the others moving? What their

1515
01:07:45,239 --> 01:07:49,079
branches and leaves were moving? He answered, you heard that right?

1516
01:07:49,920 --> 01:07:53,239
I nodded. By this point, I was thoroughly done with everything.

1517
01:07:53,280 --> 01:07:56,119
For lack of a better term, this was just too crazy.

1518
01:07:56,679 --> 01:07:59,280
I was watching them for a while, he continued, wondering

1519
01:07:59,280 --> 01:08:02,360
why they were moving? No wind about? Then? Then? What

1520
01:08:03,280 --> 01:08:05,920
I asked him? He looked me grimly in the eyes.

1521
01:08:06,559 --> 01:08:08,840
I saw a boy, he said. The branches moved aside,

1522
01:08:08,960 --> 01:08:11,320
only briefly, but I saw the body of a little boy.

1523
01:08:11,880 --> 01:08:15,400
He couldn't have been more than their teen. But a migo,

1524
01:08:15,519 --> 01:08:18,479
we mustn't find that body. I didn't want to ask,

1525
01:08:19,199 --> 01:08:22,600
but curiosity got the better of me. Why Because that

1526
01:08:22,720 --> 01:08:25,760
thing could never be called human, not after they've finished

1527
01:08:25,760 --> 01:08:28,479
with it. What do you mean finished with it? My

1528
01:08:28,560 --> 01:08:31,840
partner didn't answer. Instead, he began praying again, in a

1529
01:08:31,840 --> 01:08:35,479
shaking voice, crossing himself over and over. What was happening

1530
01:08:35,520 --> 01:08:39,560
to Maxi's body? I pressed, not consciously. He didn't answer

1531
01:08:39,600 --> 01:08:43,439
me at first. Instead, he licked his lips, looking around us,

1532
01:08:43,479 --> 01:08:46,079
eyes darting from one spot to another. When he spoke,

1533
01:08:46,199 --> 01:08:48,720
his voice was lone, shaking, the same thing I saw

1534
01:08:48,760 --> 01:08:50,560
in my Abulau's back out when I was a child.

1535
01:08:51,199 --> 01:08:53,720
I didn't say anything to that. I just sat on

1536
01:08:53,800 --> 01:08:56,560
a stone, leaning backward until my partner grabbed my shoulder.

1537
01:08:57,119 --> 01:08:59,840
Don't he whispered, there's a tree behind you. I didn't

1538
01:08:59,840 --> 01:09:02,760
need look to know he was right. It was obvious anyway.

1539
01:09:03,399 --> 01:09:06,119
We hadn't left the forest after all. What do we do?

1540
01:09:06,880 --> 01:09:09,680
I asked him. I kept my eyes on his face intently,

1541
01:09:09,680 --> 01:09:12,800
because looking anywhere else meant seeing a tree. Ignore them,

1542
01:09:12,840 --> 01:09:14,840
he answered firmly. They might leave us alone if we

1543
01:09:14,920 --> 01:09:17,920
do so. We did. We just sat on the ground,

1544
01:09:17,960 --> 01:09:20,720
facing each other, catching our breath. I could hear the

1545
01:09:20,760 --> 01:09:23,199
singing of birds, the gentle flow of a stream nearby,

1546
01:09:23,319 --> 01:09:25,000
but the only thing I could pay attention to was

1547
01:09:25,039 --> 01:09:27,800
the sounds of trees made, the soft creaking of wood,

1548
01:09:27,880 --> 01:09:29,960
the swaying of leaves and bunches on this windless day,

1549
01:09:30,000 --> 01:09:33,199
the trees brushing against each other. Neither of us said anything,

1550
01:09:33,439 --> 01:09:35,239
just looked at the ground to avoid the awkwardness of

1551
01:09:35,279 --> 01:09:37,520
staring at each other's faces. For who knows how long,

1552
01:09:38,119 --> 01:09:40,720
the silence between us was marked by our tense patients.

1553
01:09:41,359 --> 01:09:44,159
Something was going to happen. We could feel it. Even

1554
01:09:44,199 --> 01:09:46,439
after after running from that thing for god knows how long,

1555
01:09:46,479 --> 01:09:50,439
I didn't believe we'd escaped it. It was still out there, waiting,

1556
01:09:50,600 --> 01:09:53,399
just like us. I've heard stories about how some hunter

1557
01:09:53,479 --> 01:09:56,760
struck their prey. They shot at first, critically winding it,

1558
01:09:56,800 --> 01:09:59,079
then followed the blood trail at least behind, waiting for

1559
01:09:59,119 --> 01:10:01,520
it to collapse from exult Austin. Why bother letting it

1560
01:10:01,560 --> 01:10:03,439
put up a struggle when you can wait it out,

1561
01:10:03,720 --> 01:10:05,720
I remembered the stores. When I looked at my hand,

1562
01:10:06,359 --> 01:10:08,560
the cotton around my palm was soaked, the crimson red.

1563
01:10:09,159 --> 01:10:12,920
Why is this happening, I asked my companion. He said nothing,

1564
01:10:13,159 --> 01:10:15,960
just stared at the ground. I've never heard of this before,

1565
01:10:16,000 --> 01:10:19,119
I continued, my voice, dull and tired. I've heard stories

1566
01:10:19,119 --> 01:10:22,439
of bigfoot mouthman, even freaking dog men. In Michigan. Some

1567
01:10:22,479 --> 01:10:26,439
people say they've seen aliens, others, goblins, and fairies, and

1568
01:10:26,479 --> 01:10:29,199
they always say they see them in the woods, peeking

1569
01:10:29,199 --> 01:10:32,520
around a corner, watching them hiding behind something like a

1570
01:10:32,600 --> 01:10:36,039
rock or ey ey. I couldn't say it because they

1571
01:10:36,039 --> 01:10:39,800
were still all around us, listening. But I've never heard

1572
01:10:39,840 --> 01:10:42,479
of any one being hunted by tree. When I said that,

1573
01:10:43,279 --> 01:10:45,800
I don't know why I did. I guess accepting the

1574
01:10:45,800 --> 01:10:48,840
reality of what was happening would make it easier. It didn't,

1575
01:10:49,479 --> 01:10:51,520
because when my powder looked up at me, suddenly I

1576
01:10:51,560 --> 01:10:54,359
could see it in his eyes. He was disappointed in me.

1577
01:10:54,439 --> 01:10:57,119
I was talking in the presence of other trees. I

1578
01:10:57,159 --> 01:11:01,000
didn't care. This was just too weird. Any rational part

1579
01:11:01,000 --> 01:11:03,279
of my brain was long since dead, unable to deal

1580
01:11:03,319 --> 01:11:05,800
with how his others was. I wondered if my partner

1581
01:11:05,880 --> 01:11:08,560
was going through the same thing. Then again, he claimed

1582
01:11:08,560 --> 01:11:11,079
to have experienced this thing before. Are we sure of

1583
01:11:11,119 --> 01:11:14,199
they are trees? He said, slowly, like he was talking

1584
01:11:14,199 --> 01:11:18,720
to a child. What I answered, and eyes narrowed. My

1585
01:11:18,800 --> 01:11:21,159
father once told me a story. It was about a

1586
01:11:21,159 --> 01:11:24,000
demon possessing a woman he knew as a child. He said,

1587
01:11:24,039 --> 01:11:26,960
she went stark raving mad, biting people and scratching her face.

1588
01:11:27,680 --> 01:11:29,920
When he finished, I couldn't help. But wonder if demons

1589
01:11:29,960 --> 01:11:32,840
only possess people? Are you saying a demon has possessed

1590
01:11:32,840 --> 01:11:36,479
a tree and is hunting us? Maybe? He answered, who knows?

1591
01:11:37,239 --> 01:11:40,000
I mean, how do we even know if that thing

1592
01:11:40,119 --> 01:11:42,560
was a tree? Look like one to me, I replied,

1593
01:11:42,600 --> 01:11:44,279
trying not to peek over my shoulder to see if

1594
01:11:44,279 --> 01:11:47,239
it was behind me. But trees don't move that fast,

1595
01:11:47,520 --> 01:11:50,199
and they don't carry a round pieces of clothing. They

1596
01:11:50,239 --> 01:11:52,560
don't chase people. You said you saw them with a

1597
01:11:52,600 --> 01:11:56,479
boy's body, I pointed out. My partner swallowed, crossing himself.

1598
01:11:57,000 --> 01:11:59,479
I did, I did. I wish I hadn't, but I did.

1599
01:12:00,079 --> 01:12:02,520
And let me tell you, migo, trees aren't capable of

1600
01:12:02,520 --> 01:12:05,520
doing what was happening to that boy. I didn't say anything.

1601
01:12:06,039 --> 01:12:08,439
The sun broke through the leaf canopy above us, and

1602
01:12:08,479 --> 01:12:11,880
as quinted from the glare, so did my partner. Part

1603
01:12:11,880 --> 01:12:13,920
of me thought he made a compelling case, but another

1604
01:12:13,960 --> 01:12:17,359
felt like there was something we were missing, messing that

1605
01:12:17,560 --> 01:12:20,119
was it. When a tree falls, I said, and no

1606
01:12:20,199 --> 01:12:23,319
one is around, what sound does it make? My partner

1607
01:12:23,319 --> 01:12:26,359
furrowed his brow, confused, How do we know trees don't

1608
01:12:26,399 --> 01:12:28,760
chase people down? How do we know they can't move

1609
01:12:28,760 --> 01:12:30,920
in the blink of an eye, or take a young

1610
01:12:30,960 --> 01:12:34,119
boy without anyone noticing and carry away his body. What

1611
01:12:34,199 --> 01:12:36,840
are you saying that trees are capable of doing that?

1612
01:12:37,600 --> 01:12:40,039
Maybe they are, I replied, Maybe we aren't the first

1613
01:12:40,119 --> 01:12:42,960
to have seen them either. You think there might be others.

1614
01:12:43,600 --> 01:12:45,319
When you were a kid, you saw something in your

1615
01:12:45,359 --> 01:12:50,520
grandfather's back yard, right, something involving trees through the sun's glare.

1616
01:12:50,560 --> 01:12:53,039
I could see his face going pale. Maybe you were

1617
01:12:53,039 --> 01:12:54,439
one of the lucky for you to live and tell

1618
01:12:54,439 --> 01:12:58,479
the tale. What he said, nothing hanging open. When a

1619
01:12:58,520 --> 01:13:00,920
person goes missing in the savannah, some people believe they

1620
01:13:00,960 --> 01:13:03,840
were killed by the local wildlife, and nobody doubts that

1621
01:13:04,520 --> 01:13:07,960
Africa is full of dangerous beasts. I let that sink in,

1622
01:13:08,159 --> 01:13:10,119
let my partner begin to understand what I was going

1623
01:13:10,159 --> 01:13:12,920
to say before I finished. When a person goes missing

1624
01:13:12,920 --> 01:13:15,359
in the forest, sometimes people assumed they were killed by

1625
01:13:15,359 --> 01:13:19,359
the local wildlife, mountain lions, bare as wolves. But about

1626
01:13:19,399 --> 01:13:23,199
the trees all around us, because nobody ever notices them.

1627
01:13:23,520 --> 01:13:26,479
I pressed my lips together when I finished. My partner

1628
01:13:26,520 --> 01:13:29,439
looked at me in disbelief, in horror, dumbfounded. Do you

1629
01:13:29,479 --> 01:13:32,359
have any proof, he said slowly, Same amount of proof

1630
01:13:32,359 --> 01:13:34,760
as you do for demons possessing trees, only a theory.

1631
01:13:35,359 --> 01:13:38,840
Then my partner's face brightened with the dark realization. What if?

1632
01:13:39,439 --> 01:13:43,279
What if both wrong? I blinked. My mind began racing

1633
01:13:43,279 --> 01:13:46,800
with possibilities. What if we were both wrong? What if

1634
01:13:46,800 --> 01:13:50,079
this wasn't trees or demons, but something else? Entirely? If

1635
01:13:50,079 --> 01:13:53,520
it was, then what was after us? I was about

1636
01:13:53,520 --> 01:13:56,119
to say something when I noticed it, the shadow which

1637
01:13:56,159 --> 01:13:59,039
had fallen between us, perfectly still on the ground like

1638
01:13:59,039 --> 01:14:02,239
a border, keeping us upon a long, thick black line,

1639
01:14:02,760 --> 01:14:05,840
one with several appendages sticking outward from it. My hot

1640
01:14:05,840 --> 01:14:08,680
skipped to beat, his eyes widened. I knew my partner

1641
01:14:08,720 --> 01:14:11,760
saw it when he cursed, screaming and backing away. However,

1642
01:14:11,840 --> 01:14:13,439
there was one part of the shadow which made my

1643
01:14:13,439 --> 01:14:16,319
blood run cold. One of the appendages was broken, and

1644
01:14:16,359 --> 01:14:19,239
from it hung the sol wet of a shirt, and slowly,

1645
01:14:19,359 --> 01:14:22,680
very slowly, it was getting bigger. Unable to help myself,

1646
01:14:22,720 --> 01:14:25,880
I began following the shadow's trail to its source, knowing

1647
01:14:25,920 --> 01:14:28,279
full well, what had made it? I could just see

1648
01:14:28,279 --> 01:14:30,640
it in my peripheral vision, like a patient hunter waiting

1649
01:14:30,680 --> 01:14:32,119
for its prey to roll over and die. When I

1650
01:14:32,159 --> 01:14:34,920
heard the most comforting sound in my life, the distant

1651
01:14:35,000 --> 01:14:37,239
hum of a cuff speeding down the road, passing us by,

1652
01:14:38,000 --> 01:14:40,199
I turned back to my partner, locking eyes with him.

1653
01:14:40,640 --> 01:14:43,159
At that moment, we both had the same idea. It

1654
01:14:43,239 --> 01:14:45,119
was our one chance of getting out of this nightmare.

1655
01:14:45,800 --> 01:14:47,479
Neither of us knew if it would work, but we

1656
01:14:47,520 --> 01:14:50,560
didn't have a choice. Because the shadow had nearly doubled

1657
01:14:50,600 --> 01:14:55,680
in size and a tree was creaking very wildly. We

1658
01:14:55,800 --> 01:14:58,119
ran faster than I ever have in my life before,

1659
01:14:58,239 --> 01:15:02,840
since we ignored everything around us, especially the silent inescapable trees.

1660
01:15:03,479 --> 01:15:06,039
We ran across their roots, pushed through their leaves, ducked

1661
01:15:06,079 --> 01:15:08,920
under their branches, swerved to avoid running into their trunks.

1662
01:15:09,239 --> 01:15:11,760
I didn't care if I touched them any more. If

1663
01:15:11,760 --> 01:15:13,640
I was fast enough I could get away from them,

1664
01:15:14,079 --> 01:15:16,800
then they wouldn't catch me. But what about that infernal

1665
01:15:16,840 --> 01:15:20,000
creaking always right on our heels. What would happen when

1666
01:15:20,000 --> 01:15:22,680
it stopped? We couldn't be near it. When that happened,

1667
01:15:23,479 --> 01:15:26,159
our very lives depended upon it, so caught up and

1668
01:15:26,199 --> 01:15:28,520
sprinting out of those gulfersacing trees. I didn't think to

1669
01:15:28,560 --> 01:15:31,640
look at my path. My foot hit something large and solid,

1670
01:15:31,680 --> 01:15:34,680
and I cried out, losing my balance. My partner was

1671
01:15:34,680 --> 01:15:37,359
in front of me and looked over his shoulder bewildered.

1672
01:15:37,960 --> 01:15:40,880
He stopped and reached out his arms. I growled on

1673
01:15:40,920 --> 01:15:42,720
to them and planted my foot back in the ground,

1674
01:15:42,760 --> 01:15:46,399
pushing myself forward. Both of us kept running. We didn't

1675
01:15:46,399 --> 01:15:48,479
need to check what I had tripped on. It was

1676
01:15:48,479 --> 01:15:51,119
bound to happen at some point. We'd been running over

1677
01:15:51,159 --> 01:15:53,760
them for ages. When we saw the gray asphalt of

1678
01:15:53,800 --> 01:15:56,680
the road, my heart leapt for joy. The creaking behind

1679
01:15:56,760 --> 01:16:00,000
us had become a growing fainter and fainter. I knew

1680
01:16:00,079 --> 01:16:01,960
down while we were safe the moment we reached the road,

1681
01:16:02,239 --> 01:16:05,199
and that I felt something brush against my back, something

1682
01:16:05,199 --> 01:16:07,960
I knew all too well, the hard, rigid texture of

1683
01:16:08,000 --> 01:16:10,680
tree burke. The next thing I knew. I was laying

1684
01:16:10,720 --> 01:16:12,880
on my back against the bony asphalt, panting as I

1685
01:16:12,920 --> 01:16:15,560
caught my breath. My partner was bent over me, his

1686
01:16:15,640 --> 01:16:18,600
face obscuring the sun. There were tears running down his face.

1687
01:16:19,359 --> 01:16:21,359
I saw a touch you, he said to me, weeping.

1688
01:16:21,520 --> 01:16:24,479
It was so close, a migo, so close. I've never

1689
01:16:24,479 --> 01:16:27,239
seen anyone run as fast she did. We're safe now,

1690
01:16:27,319 --> 01:16:30,880
he began, myurmarine we're safe phrase, the Lord, We're safe.

1691
01:16:31,399 --> 01:16:33,960
I didn't say anything, just grunt as I pushed myself

1692
01:16:33,960 --> 01:16:36,960
off the asphalt. I didn't remember even setting foot on it.

1693
01:16:37,640 --> 01:16:40,239
My body ached in my lungs demanded oxygen, which I

1694
01:16:40,319 --> 01:16:43,039
was only too eager to provide. I looked back at

1695
01:16:43,039 --> 01:16:45,840
the woods we come out of, marked by broken twigs

1696
01:16:45,840 --> 01:16:47,880
and foliage pressed into the ground. Was the spot we

1697
01:16:48,000 --> 01:16:50,720
both burst from on to the asphalt. Beyond it, I

1698
01:16:50,760 --> 01:16:54,159
saw only trees and not a single blue speck anywhere.

1699
01:16:54,760 --> 01:16:57,279
I smiled, relieved, and stood up, glancing to the other

1700
01:16:57,319 --> 01:16:59,800
side of the road, and my smile vanished when I

1701
01:16:59,800 --> 01:17:01,560
saw the blue shirt laying on the edge of it.

1702
01:17:02,119 --> 01:17:04,000
The inside of the collar was facing me, and on

1703
01:17:04,079 --> 01:17:07,319
the white tag was a name written in Blackmuker MAXI Padden.

1704
01:17:08,000 --> 01:17:10,920
I blinked, and it was gone. I didn't tell my partner.

1705
01:17:11,520 --> 01:17:13,880
He thought we were safe. Why should I take that

1706
01:17:13,920 --> 01:17:16,920
away from him? Instead? Both of us went back to

1707
01:17:16,960 --> 01:17:20,479
the ranger station, tired, thirsty, starving. The other pairys had

1708
01:17:20,479 --> 01:17:23,199
already beaten us to the station when we arrived. They'd

1709
01:17:23,199 --> 01:17:25,319
been trying to work the radio, but stop when they

1710
01:17:25,359 --> 01:17:28,600
saw us come in. Nothing happened to them. They didn't

1711
01:17:28,600 --> 01:17:31,319
find anything either. They didn't ask where we had been

1712
01:17:31,319 --> 01:17:34,000
for the last three hours. They knew better than to

1713
01:17:34,039 --> 01:17:37,279
do that. Nobody ever tried in the days they followed either.

1714
01:17:37,840 --> 01:17:40,960
We didn't tell anyone about what happened. Some things are

1715
01:17:41,000 --> 01:17:44,560
better left forgotten. A couple of weeks later, my partner resigned.

1716
01:17:45,199 --> 01:17:48,079
He sat at intense emotional trauma as his reason. I

1717
01:17:48,119 --> 01:17:50,840
did the same thing. Three months later. I didn't keep

1718
01:17:50,840 --> 01:17:54,520
in contact with him, he didn't try to. Instead, I

1719
01:17:54,560 --> 01:17:56,840
moved to the city, surrounded by buildings and cars. In

1720
01:17:56,840 --> 01:18:00,079
the modern world, I avoid the pox botanical gardens. I

1721
01:18:00,159 --> 01:18:02,359
knew where a single tree is. I stay away from it.

1722
01:18:02,920 --> 01:18:04,800
I've always believed it was the only way to keep

1723
01:18:04,840 --> 01:18:08,039
myself safe. I do enjoy going to a park my apartment.

1724
01:18:08,039 --> 01:18:11,560
Of the looks there are no trees there, only grass

1725
01:18:11,560 --> 01:18:15,199
and bushes. That is until I'm not sure what to

1726
01:18:15,239 --> 01:18:17,840
do any more. Because I had a dream last night

1727
01:18:18,439 --> 01:18:20,640
there was a pine tree in my apartment and one

1728
01:18:20,640 --> 01:18:23,239
of the lower branches is broken. I thought it was

1729
01:18:23,279 --> 01:18:25,800
just a symptom of my trauma. Then I saw that

1730
01:18:25,880 --> 01:18:29,159
tree in the park, and it's getting closer. I'm a

1731
01:18:29,159 --> 01:18:33,199
wildlife ranger at America's largest blackwater swamp. Now I'm trapped here.

1732
01:18:33,840 --> 01:18:36,359
I've been working as a wildlife officer at the Roquinochie

1733
01:18:36,399 --> 01:18:39,199
State Park since twenty ten. It's a pretty great job,

1734
01:18:39,239 --> 01:18:42,399
if I'm being honest. I've always loved nature in being

1735
01:18:42,399 --> 01:18:44,720
from the area, the heat and humidity never bothered me.

1736
01:18:45,279 --> 01:18:47,279
There's been some strange stuff going on lately that the

1737
01:18:47,319 --> 01:18:49,560
job doesn't involve a whole lot, mostly just patrolling the

1738
01:18:49,600 --> 01:18:51,960
swamps to make sure nobody is hunting illegally and joping

1739
01:18:52,000 --> 01:18:54,039
an eye out for any possible fire has us during

1740
01:18:54,079 --> 01:18:55,840
the summer months. Really is just up his full place

1741
01:18:55,880 --> 01:18:57,479
to be, assuming you took plenty of bug spray on

1742
01:18:57,560 --> 01:18:59,359
you at all times. I've been an overnight shift for

1743
01:18:59,399 --> 01:19:01,279
the last few week. The regular officer is out on

1744
01:19:01,399 --> 01:19:03,560
porternity leave. Before he left, he told me I would

1745
01:19:03,560 --> 01:19:05,640
probably see a few weird things typical abound the floor

1746
01:19:05,680 --> 01:19:07,800
of a Celestia. The line meted up Rennet's kids sneaking

1747
01:19:07,800 --> 01:19:09,479
off into the swamp to ban and the swamp lights

1748
01:19:09,520 --> 01:19:11,319
to first two were typical on day shift to so

1749
01:19:11,399 --> 01:19:13,159
I wasn't worried about that the swamp lights threw me

1750
01:19:13,159 --> 01:19:15,479
for a loop. That the lights are and no old superstitions. Supposedly,

1751
01:19:15,479 --> 01:19:17,159
it's spirits of lost souls that I've doubed and the

1752
01:19:17,199 --> 01:19:19,000
swamp trying to lower others to a water with death.

1753
01:19:19,000 --> 01:19:21,640
There's a natural explanation for the methin and phosphorus gas

1754
01:19:21,680 --> 01:19:23,560
from the swamp mixers and gives off a gloat. Actually

1755
01:19:23,600 --> 01:19:25,319
it looks pretty cool after the first scape it gives

1756
01:19:25,359 --> 01:19:27,359
you does aren't the scalest thing that's been happening though.

1757
01:19:27,359 --> 01:19:29,039
I was out on one of my patrols a couple

1758
01:19:29,039 --> 01:19:30,520
of weeks ago in a big fan boat that we

1759
01:19:30,600 --> 01:19:32,720
used to get around. There is where boardwalks haven't been

1760
01:19:32,720 --> 01:19:34,600
built in, and I noticed something huge footing in the

1761
01:19:34,600 --> 01:19:36,520
water not far from me. I steered over that way

1762
01:19:36,520 --> 01:19:40,399
and focused my spotlight onto it. It was an alligator, well,

1763
01:19:40,439 --> 01:19:42,760
it used to be an alligator at one time. This

1764
01:19:42,800 --> 01:19:45,119
one had been a monster, at least fifteen feet long

1765
01:19:45,119 --> 01:19:47,960
and built light truck look like something that crawled out

1766
01:19:47,960 --> 01:19:51,039
of Jurasse park. It had been torn to shreds gashes

1767
01:19:51,079 --> 01:19:52,840
all along the length of its body, and the head

1768
01:19:52,920 --> 01:19:56,840
was barely hanging on. Hey, Captain, I said into my radio,

1769
01:19:57,319 --> 01:20:00,760
what's going on? Smith? The captain answered into the radio.

1770
01:20:01,439 --> 01:20:03,079
She was stationed back at the main office at the

1771
01:20:03,079 --> 01:20:05,920
swamp entrance. We always kept at least two people on

1772
01:20:05,960 --> 01:20:08,800
shift in case of any accidents of the rare wildlife attack.

1773
01:20:09,479 --> 01:20:11,640
I've got a dead gaiter out here in section fourteen,

1774
01:20:11,760 --> 01:20:14,399
I said back. I picked up a branch from nearby

1775
01:20:14,479 --> 01:20:16,640
and started poking the corpse in the water, trying to

1776
01:20:16,640 --> 01:20:18,279
flip it around and see if there were any other

1777
01:20:18,319 --> 01:20:22,239
distinguishing marks. Probably just one of the older ones out there.

1778
01:20:22,880 --> 01:20:27,199
Nature will sort it out, Captain answered back. Dead animals

1779
01:20:27,199 --> 01:20:29,159
were nothing new in the swamp, especially with the amount

1780
01:20:29,199 --> 01:20:31,000
of wildlife out here, But this was something I had

1781
01:20:31,079 --> 01:20:34,960
never seen before. Negative, cap this gaiter is a giant

1782
01:20:35,000 --> 01:20:39,079
and it's been ripped apart, ripped apart by what, she

1783
01:20:39,199 --> 01:20:42,520
sounded surprised. Couldn't say. I blamed her beats the crap

1784
01:20:42,560 --> 01:20:45,279
out of me, I said. I still couldn't tell whether

1785
01:20:45,279 --> 01:20:47,520
it had been torn apart by claws or teeth. The

1786
01:20:47,560 --> 01:20:49,319
head had been red, though the skin was stretched and

1787
01:20:49,399 --> 01:20:52,479
the bones were sticking out in jagged pikes. I'm getting

1788
01:20:52,479 --> 01:20:54,159
the hell out of here before it comes back, though

1789
01:20:54,760 --> 01:20:56,319
you think one of the bears might have done it,

1790
01:20:57,079 --> 01:20:59,680
Old matthisall has been a bit more crotchety than usual lately.

1791
01:21:00,279 --> 01:21:02,119
Metti Cella was a black bear that had been tagged

1792
01:21:02,119 --> 01:21:04,279
in the swamp back in the late eight days. He

1793
01:21:04,399 --> 01:21:06,279
was the oldest bar we had on record out here

1794
01:21:06,319 --> 01:21:09,119
and was somewhat of a local celebrity. He mostly kept

1795
01:21:09,119 --> 01:21:11,159
to himself and seemed to get along with most of

1796
01:21:11,199 --> 01:21:13,560
the gaiters in the swamp, usually swimming along beside the

1797
01:21:13,640 --> 01:21:16,319
most of the time. No way Methisel could have done this.

1798
01:21:16,520 --> 01:21:19,279
I set back into the radio. I'm heading back to

1799
01:21:19,319 --> 01:21:22,600
the office. No head over to the cabin. If there's

1800
01:21:22,600 --> 01:21:24,119
something big out there, I don't want you out in

1801
01:21:24,119 --> 01:21:26,640
the open that night. Head in and wait until it's

1802
01:21:26,640 --> 01:21:29,800
slide out. We'll come get you f I hided the

1803
01:21:29,840 --> 01:21:32,439
old cabins. We had a few spreads out throughout the

1804
01:21:32,439 --> 01:21:35,199
swamp because of how large it was. Mostly they were

1805
01:21:35,239 --> 01:21:37,760
used as ranger outposts now, but they started out as

1806
01:21:37,760 --> 01:21:40,960
little hunting cabins back in the early nineteen hundreds. They

1807
01:21:41,000 --> 01:21:42,920
were small and up on huge stilts to keep them

1808
01:21:42,920 --> 01:21:44,720
out of the water, plus to make sure the black

1809
01:21:44,720 --> 01:21:47,039
bears didn't wander into them and make a nice little home.

1810
01:21:47,600 --> 01:21:49,560
I headed over to the nearest one, about a twenty

1811
01:21:49,600 --> 01:21:52,039
minute ride in the boat. The whole way over hours

1812
01:21:52,079 --> 01:21:53,800
going over what in the world could have torn that

1813
01:21:53,800 --> 01:21:57,880
gayjo apart. Usually they're pretty dozal. There's plenty of food

1814
01:21:57,920 --> 01:21:59,840
for them out here, so one wouldn't have any reason

1815
01:21:59,880 --> 01:22:01,800
to attack a bare for food, and a bear is

1816
01:22:01,800 --> 01:22:03,680
the only thing out here big enough to have done that.

1817
01:22:04,319 --> 01:22:06,479
The only ones out here are black bears anyway, and

1818
01:22:06,520 --> 01:22:08,720
they are more likely to run and fight. I co

1819
01:22:08,880 --> 01:22:10,720
stood up to the cabin and start the boat fan,

1820
01:22:11,119 --> 01:22:13,359
pulling it toward the nearest tilt and tying it down.

1821
01:22:14,000 --> 01:22:16,079
With the sound of the fan not overtaking my hearing,

1822
01:22:16,199 --> 01:22:19,039
I started to notice just how quiet it was. Usually

1823
01:22:19,079 --> 01:22:22,239
there were cicada's, frogs, crickets, and all kinds of other

1824
01:22:22,239 --> 01:22:24,920
wild life making noise all over the swamp. Now I

1825
01:22:24,960 --> 01:22:27,560
didn't even hear the usual owls in the trees. It

1826
01:22:27,600 --> 01:22:30,680
was like everything had run away. Once everything was tied down,

1827
01:22:30,720 --> 01:22:32,680
I grabbed onto the ladder and started to climb up

1828
01:22:32,720 --> 01:22:35,079
into the cabin. I pushed open the small trap door

1829
01:22:35,119 --> 01:22:38,079
and pulled myself into the cabin. It smelled like mildew

1830
01:22:38,119 --> 01:22:39,840
and dirt, but at least it was a safe place

1831
01:22:39,840 --> 01:22:42,640
to sleep, out of reach of any dangerous animals. I

1832
01:22:42,680 --> 01:22:45,279
looked around the cabin until I finally found the generator

1833
01:22:45,279 --> 01:22:47,760
in the corner. Luckily, we have some one come out

1834
01:22:47,800 --> 01:22:49,560
to these once a month and a place all the gas.

1835
01:22:49,680 --> 01:22:52,119
I make sure nothing has chewed through the wiring. I

1836
01:22:52,119 --> 01:22:54,399
would actually have light and some air conditioning, so to

1837
01:22:54,479 --> 01:22:57,039
night wouldn't be too bad. That's when I realized the

1838
01:22:57,039 --> 01:23:00,159
gas canister was mostly empty. They must have forgotten to

1839
01:23:00,199 --> 01:23:02,560
hit this one last month. I still have a supply

1840
01:23:02,640 --> 01:23:04,560
of batteries down in the boat, and we keep some

1841
01:23:04,600 --> 01:23:07,760
small lanterns around, but it wouldn't be nearly as good

1842
01:23:07,840 --> 01:23:10,279
as having all the lights on the cabin. I looked

1843
01:23:10,279 --> 01:23:11,880
out the window into the swamp. There was a bright

1844
01:23:11,920 --> 01:23:14,560
light coming from about fifty feet away. It looked too

1845
01:23:14,560 --> 01:23:17,239
bright to be one of the swamp lights. Hey, Captain,

1846
01:23:17,840 --> 01:23:20,079
I said into my radio. You got somebody coming out

1847
01:23:20,119 --> 01:23:22,199
to me right now? You and I are the only

1848
01:23:22,199 --> 01:23:25,399
ones out here tonight, she said back. Ain't nobody coming

1849
01:23:25,399 --> 01:23:28,000
out there until sun comes up. More lights started to

1850
01:23:28,039 --> 01:23:30,479
pop up near the first one. They were spaced out,

1851
01:23:30,640 --> 01:23:33,279
but all just as bright. There's lights out there, Captain,

1852
01:23:33,840 --> 01:23:35,479
I think they are moving toward me. I tried to

1853
01:23:35,520 --> 01:23:38,600
hide the shakiness in my voice. The lights were getting closer,

1854
01:23:39,319 --> 01:23:41,439
just hand tight. Tried to get some solar radio cut

1855
01:23:41,439 --> 01:23:44,840
out with a high pitched boast of static, cap, cap,

1856
01:23:44,880 --> 01:23:48,239
can you hear me? It was useless. The only thing

1857
01:23:48,279 --> 01:23:51,279
coming through was a low buzz of static. I'm gone.

1858
01:23:51,720 --> 01:23:55,680
I looked at my watch. It was only eleven nineteen

1859
01:23:55,720 --> 01:23:58,319
p m. I had at least eight hours before some

1860
01:23:58,359 --> 01:24:00,880
one would be out here. The scream started a few

1861
01:24:00,920 --> 01:24:03,880
minutes later. It sounded like a child. The screams when

1862
01:24:03,880 --> 01:24:05,680
a kid falls and scraps. Then NYE and don't know

1863
01:24:05,680 --> 01:24:08,880
what to do about it. They were anguished. They am

1864
01:24:08,960 --> 01:24:11,920
sticking around for the scrap. I grabbed a lantern and

1865
01:24:11,960 --> 01:24:13,800
a flare gun off the wall and pulled up the

1866
01:24:13,840 --> 01:24:16,319
trap door to get on to the ladder. I practically

1867
01:24:16,399 --> 01:24:18,359
jumped down to the boat and started to unit it

1868
01:24:18,399 --> 01:24:20,880
from the stilts. I've reached down to the engine to

1869
01:24:20,920 --> 01:24:24,279
pull the cord. It was gone. The poke cord had

1870
01:24:24,279 --> 01:24:25,840
been cut off. There was no way to get the

1871
01:24:25,840 --> 01:24:29,600
fan going. I'm stuck here. The screams grew louder, and

1872
01:24:29,680 --> 01:24:31,680
I turned to see the lights only a few feet away.

1873
01:24:32,239 --> 01:24:34,600
I height helt my ass up the ladder. I could

1874
01:24:34,600 --> 01:24:36,319
hear something ripping at the boat behind me. As I

1875
01:24:36,319 --> 01:24:38,840
closed the trap door, I had the splinter of one

1876
01:24:38,840 --> 01:24:41,479
of the stilts and felt the cabin's way. I've got

1877
01:24:41,479 --> 01:24:44,199
my cell phone, and my signal comes and goes. I'm

1878
01:24:44,239 --> 01:24:46,199
going to try and keep up its going as I can.

1879
01:24:46,760 --> 01:24:48,680
I've got every lamp in the cabin on, and I'm

1880
01:24:48,720 --> 01:24:50,560
sitting in a corner as far away from any of

1881
01:24:50,600 --> 01:24:53,520
the windows as I can get. The screaming has stopped,

1882
01:24:53,720 --> 01:24:55,199
but I can see a glow of the lights coming

1883
01:24:55,279 --> 01:24:57,920
through one of the windows. If you're reading this, send

1884
01:24:58,000 --> 01:25:02,000
help hot. According to the clock and calendar we keep

1885
01:25:02,000 --> 01:25:04,680
in the cabin, I've been here for two days, not

1886
01:25:04,800 --> 01:25:06,239
that I would be able to tell out, seeing as

1887
01:25:06,279 --> 01:25:08,840
the sun hasn't come out this entire time. It's been

1888
01:25:08,880 --> 01:25:11,520
dark since I got here that night. The only light

1889
01:25:11,520 --> 01:25:13,640
I've seen is from those godam swamp lights out there.

1890
01:25:13,640 --> 01:25:16,079
And they've been coming and going as they please. I

1891
01:25:16,119 --> 01:25:17,960
still don't know what they are, but I know there's

1892
01:25:18,000 --> 01:25:20,279
something else out there with them. I've been trying to

1893
01:25:20,319 --> 01:25:22,239
sleep since i've been here, not like I have the

1894
01:25:22,239 --> 01:25:25,159
ability to do much else. The boat is trashed, one

1895
01:25:25,159 --> 01:25:27,119
of the stalts of the cabin is splintered, and as

1896
01:25:27,199 --> 01:25:29,760
sure as hell catswim out of here. I was looking

1897
01:25:29,800 --> 01:25:32,319
out the window last night between naps and saw something

1898
01:25:32,359 --> 01:25:35,159
moving between the lights that were out there. It was big,

1899
01:25:35,319 --> 01:25:38,319
at least the size of suv. It around the perimeter

1900
01:25:38,399 --> 01:25:41,880
around the cabin, walking on four legs. It wasn't a bear.

1901
01:25:42,000 --> 01:25:44,319
I knew that we didn't have any that size in

1902
01:25:44,319 --> 01:25:46,840
the swamp. I hope to whatever gods are listening that

1903
01:25:46,880 --> 01:25:49,119
it is Negator. I can't get too good of a

1904
01:25:49,119 --> 01:25:50,600
look at it with how it's weaving in between the

1905
01:25:50,600 --> 01:25:52,720
swamp lights, but I saw it knock over a tree

1906
01:25:52,760 --> 01:25:55,399
on its way through. So here we are two days,

1907
01:25:55,439 --> 01:25:57,600
stuck in this hole of a cabin, surrounded by floating

1908
01:25:57,680 --> 01:25:59,960
lights that scream and would have a biological nightmare shit

1909
01:26:00,039 --> 01:26:02,800
jambling around out there. I know some people asked why

1910
01:26:02,840 --> 01:26:05,479
I didn't call the captain using my cell you really

1911
01:26:05,479 --> 01:26:08,399
think I didn't try that. I just get a busy signal.

1912
01:26:09,119 --> 01:26:11,520
I've tried sending out texts and messages too, but they

1913
01:26:11,560 --> 01:26:15,359
all just show read. I haven't gotten anything back. I

1914
01:26:15,439 --> 01:26:17,439
really hope someone can tell the captain that I'm out

1915
01:26:17,439 --> 01:26:20,079
here if they ask. I'm in the section fourteen to

1916
01:26:20,079 --> 01:26:23,840
eighteen cabin out near the gate Bog. Hoy s It

1917
01:26:23,920 --> 01:26:26,520
hit me. If I'm near the gate Bog, then there's

1918
01:26:26,520 --> 01:26:28,800
a boardwalk not too far from here, maybe a mile

1919
01:26:28,920 --> 01:26:31,039
or two, that will lead me directly out to the

1920
01:26:31,039 --> 01:26:34,119
swamp entrance and the head office. I looked around the

1921
01:26:34,159 --> 01:26:35,840
cabin and found the map that we keep of the

1922
01:26:35,960 --> 01:26:39,279
entire swamp with all of our trails and stations marked. Okay,

1923
01:26:39,319 --> 01:26:41,439
I'm in sick to fourteen and the boardwalk is a

1924
01:26:41,439 --> 01:26:43,319
mile and a half southwest of me, right over the

1925
01:26:43,359 --> 01:26:45,960
Florida border. I'm going to have to try to sneak

1926
01:26:45,960 --> 01:26:48,279
out of Hiredo. Maybe I can make a paddle for

1927
01:26:48,319 --> 01:26:50,359
the boat that way I don't have to swim. I

1928
01:26:50,399 --> 01:26:53,319
looked around the cabin, taking inventory of what I have available.

1929
01:26:53,840 --> 01:26:56,119
There are some battery packs, a set of radios, a

1930
01:26:56,199 --> 01:26:58,920
flare gun, and the emergency rifle with twenty rounds of AMMO,

1931
01:26:59,039 --> 01:27:01,359
plus the lantern and a couple of flashlights with glow

1932
01:27:01,439 --> 01:27:04,439
sticks as back. I think there's a backup orn fan boat,

1933
01:27:04,560 --> 01:27:06,800
but I'll need to check to be sure. The other

1934
01:27:06,840 --> 01:27:08,520
thing I'll have to do is to distract the light and

1935
01:27:08,600 --> 01:27:11,279
whatever the thing isn't there. I may need to use

1936
01:27:11,319 --> 01:27:13,239
either a flare or a few of the rounds of AMMA.

1937
01:27:13,920 --> 01:27:16,319
I don't think bullets will hurt the lights, though. I

1938
01:27:16,359 --> 01:27:18,880
thought it over for a few minutes. This was going

1939
01:27:18,920 --> 01:27:21,239
to take some trial an error before I go anywhere.

1940
01:27:21,279 --> 01:27:22,920
And I've seen what the thing's out that can do

1941
01:27:23,000 --> 01:27:24,760
to the cabin, So they could break me in half,

1942
01:27:24,840 --> 01:27:27,279
no problem. I'll load up a flare and see what

1943
01:27:27,319 --> 01:27:30,239
that does. I have six flares total, so one shouldn't

1944
01:27:30,239 --> 01:27:32,399
be an issue. I loaded it up stair to the

1945
01:27:32,399 --> 01:27:35,239
window and came at the nearest light. The flare shot

1946
01:27:35,279 --> 01:27:38,199
off the red light, almost blinding me. Before it landed.

1947
01:27:38,199 --> 01:27:40,960
I saw it pass through the light. The light changed.

1948
01:27:41,600 --> 01:27:43,840
It had a face, now gaunt with hollow black eyes.

1949
01:27:44,560 --> 01:27:47,119
Sharp teeth showed from the twisted moor, almost as if

1950
01:27:47,119 --> 01:27:49,479
it were screaming in terror. I heard a roar of

1951
01:27:49,479 --> 01:27:51,800
anger from it, and it shot toward the cabin, howling.

1952
01:27:52,359 --> 01:27:54,520
I pulled the shutter, trying to close the window before

1953
01:27:54,520 --> 01:27:56,880
it got here, desperately hoping that we'll keep it out.

1954
01:27:57,560 --> 01:27:59,520
It banged against the side of the cabin and I

1955
01:27:59,560 --> 01:28:02,399
could hear hall scraping against the wood. At least I

1956
01:28:02,439 --> 01:28:05,199
finally had an answer to this date. They were solid,

1957
01:28:05,199 --> 01:28:08,840
so maybe bullets could hurt them. Okah, I think I'm ready.

1958
01:28:09,359 --> 01:28:11,439
There's a small propane tank under the camp stove in

1959
01:28:11,439 --> 01:28:13,920
the corner. I can rig that to a flare, throw

1960
01:28:13,960 --> 01:28:16,359
it out there and shoot it as a distraction. Then

1961
01:28:16,399 --> 01:28:18,000
I jumped down from the trap boat, land in the

1962
01:28:18,039 --> 01:28:20,359
boat and row my way out of here. I'm going

1963
01:28:20,399 --> 01:28:23,119
to wait for a while and observe that swamp light.

1964
01:28:23,119 --> 01:28:25,800
I shot at a still howling outside. That's a sound

1965
01:28:25,840 --> 01:28:29,880
I'm never going to forget. It's It's like a child screaming,

1966
01:28:30,039 --> 01:28:31,840
but warped, as if it's being put through an echo

1967
01:28:31,880 --> 01:28:34,439
and drawn out. God, I hope I make it out

1968
01:28:34,479 --> 01:28:37,159
of this hell hole. The radio suddenly let out a

1969
01:28:37,159 --> 01:28:39,920
burst of static. I could hear a voice coming through

1970
01:28:40,560 --> 01:28:44,920
Casin Cason, Are you out there? Holy Yes, it was

1971
01:28:44,960 --> 01:28:49,800
the Captain cap can you hear me? I'm here. I'm

1972
01:28:49,840 --> 01:28:52,239
in a section fourteen cabin, I shouted back into it.

1973
01:28:52,800 --> 01:28:54,960
The howling outside got louder, the clawing at the war

1974
01:28:55,079 --> 01:28:58,760
more furious Cassin, we searched the cabin. You weren't there.

1975
01:28:59,359 --> 01:29:02,319
Where the hell are you? What does she mean? I've

1976
01:29:02,359 --> 01:29:04,800
been here for two days. They had to have seen

1977
01:29:04,800 --> 01:29:07,640
my boat down there. Look, we found your boat back

1978
01:29:07,680 --> 01:29:10,640
near that horn upgaiter. Just stay where you are. We'll

1979
01:29:10,680 --> 01:29:14,079
find you, Captain, and in the cabin, I haven't left

1980
01:29:14,079 --> 01:29:17,199
the damn cabin, I shouted back. I was panicking now.

1981
01:29:17,920 --> 01:29:20,159
If they couldn't find me, what hope did I have?

1982
01:29:20,800 --> 01:29:23,239
I think leaving is my only hope. I need to

1983
01:29:23,239 --> 01:29:24,720
get the hell out of here and at least get

1984
01:29:24,760 --> 01:29:27,039
back to the main office. From there, I can at

1985
01:29:27,079 --> 01:29:28,840
least be in a little more safe hand some cinder

1986
01:29:28,840 --> 01:29:31,359
block walls instead of this old rick to cabin. I

1987
01:29:31,399 --> 01:29:33,840
have to go through with my plan. I'm writing all

1988
01:29:33,880 --> 01:29:35,640
this into my fern and setting it up to go

1989
01:29:35,680 --> 01:29:38,960
out automatically when I've signal again. If I don't make it,

1990
01:29:39,039 --> 01:29:41,800
hopefully somebody can read this and find my body. I

1991
01:29:41,840 --> 01:29:43,960
still don't know what the giant creature is out there,

1992
01:29:44,000 --> 01:29:45,680
but I assume it's what tore up the gater the

1993
01:29:45,680 --> 01:29:48,119
other night. I'll try an update again if I can

1994
01:29:48,119 --> 01:29:50,520
make it out of here. God, please let me make

1995
01:29:50,520 --> 01:29:52,840
it out of here. I climbed the stairs in the

1996
01:29:52,840 --> 01:29:56,119
forest and still regret it. Thirteen years ago, I went mute,

1997
01:29:56,119 --> 01:29:58,920
and I'm finally able to talk about what happened. From

1998
01:29:58,920 --> 01:30:02,600
a young age, I extroverted and a stubborn girl. Although

1999
01:30:02,600 --> 01:30:04,479
I always listened to my parents, but that time, at

2000
01:30:04,520 --> 01:30:07,479
twelve years I felt rebellious. My neighborhood held a girl

2001
01:30:07,520 --> 01:30:10,640
Scout camp every year. My parents didn't allow me to go,

2002
01:30:10,800 --> 01:30:12,680
but this time I felt old enough, which was my

2003
01:30:12,720 --> 01:30:16,239
first mistake. Me and Kelly, my best friend, begged our parents,

2004
01:30:16,239 --> 01:30:18,800
but they refused because they are responsible adults who cared

2005
01:30:18,800 --> 01:30:21,479
about us, but to us twelve year olds, they scened

2006
01:30:21,520 --> 01:30:24,960
like monsters. So I made a plan. We told our

2007
01:30:25,000 --> 01:30:27,119
parents that we were going to Katy's house for a sleepover.

2008
01:30:27,800 --> 01:30:29,560
They talked to Katy's parents and we did stay at

2009
01:30:29,640 --> 01:30:31,880
Katy's for approximately twelve minutes, and then we left for

2010
01:30:31,880 --> 01:30:35,640
our epic camping trip. Kelly decided in the place Ludenburg Woods,

2011
01:30:35,640 --> 01:30:38,199
and that was our second mistake. Kelly and I have

2012
01:30:38,239 --> 01:30:41,159
been best friends ever since we were little. Recently, it

2013
01:30:41,199 --> 01:30:43,399
was her birthday and I gifted her a unicorn bracelet,

2014
01:30:43,399 --> 01:30:46,800
which she never took off. Our neighborhood is surrounded by woods.

2015
01:30:47,439 --> 01:30:49,439
The Girl Scout camp took place in the eastern part

2016
01:30:49,479 --> 01:30:53,319
of Wosteria Forest, so we were quite far away. We

2017
01:30:53,399 --> 01:30:56,439
didn't really have any camping gear, just two pillows, a blanket,

2018
01:30:56,479 --> 01:30:59,119
a small barbie tent of flashlight, and some snacks enough

2019
01:30:59,159 --> 01:31:01,640
for a day. We rode our cycles from Katy's to

2020
01:31:01,680 --> 01:31:05,600
the woods. At first, everything seemed nice. We heard burst

2021
01:31:05,680 --> 01:31:08,720
chirping and cows go by. The weather was nice and warm.

2022
01:31:09,319 --> 01:31:12,439
We saw squirrels and rabbits jumping around, but as we

2023
01:31:12,479 --> 01:31:15,079
went on the forest grew thicker. We were tired of

2024
01:31:15,119 --> 01:31:17,399
running around, so we sat under a dark shaded tree.

2025
01:31:17,439 --> 01:31:19,319
We ate us knacks and I tried to scare Kelly.

2026
01:31:19,359 --> 01:31:21,279
But what will happen next terrifies me to the core.

2027
01:31:21,960 --> 01:31:24,159
As we started walking down the red trail again, we

2028
01:31:24,199 --> 01:31:27,079
couldn't hear it see any animals. The only sounds we

2029
01:31:27,079 --> 01:31:29,560
could hear were of the rustling of the leaves. There

2030
01:31:29,600 --> 01:31:32,560
was an eerie presence in the woods. I felt uncomfortable

2031
01:31:32,600 --> 01:31:35,600
and suffocated, and then there was a sudden cloud burst.

2032
01:31:36,239 --> 01:31:38,239
It felt like the whole woods were closing in on us,

2033
01:31:38,880 --> 01:31:41,840
an ominous feeling wrapped around me. The trees looked like

2034
01:31:41,880 --> 01:31:45,239
tall and timidating creatures. The peal of thunder startled us,

2035
01:31:45,239 --> 01:31:47,720
and both of us ran for shelter. In a state

2036
01:31:47,720 --> 01:31:51,199
of panic, I realized that Kelly was missing. Fox surrounded me,

2037
01:31:51,279 --> 01:31:53,319
so I couldn't see anything, but I could feel she

2038
01:31:53,399 --> 01:31:57,039
wasn't here. After I calmed down, I investigated my surroundings

2039
01:31:57,039 --> 01:31:59,520
and scattered for Kelly. As I said before, where our

2040
01:31:59,520 --> 01:32:01,279
love was quite warm, but here it felt like it

2041
01:32:01,359 --> 01:32:04,920
dropped about ten degrees anyway. While walking down the path,

2042
01:32:04,960 --> 01:32:08,399
I noticed something. It was iron. As far as I know,

2043
01:32:08,600 --> 01:32:11,119
that was natural. Why would there be human made stuff

2044
01:32:11,119 --> 01:32:13,680
so deepen for us? I walked closer to it, and

2045
01:32:13,720 --> 01:32:15,800
in betwixt of the fog, I saw an iron staircase.

2046
01:32:16,439 --> 01:32:19,680
It seemed new, polish, and untouched by nature, almost as

2047
01:32:19,720 --> 01:32:22,359
though Tyne had stopped for it. It seemed like someone

2048
01:32:22,359 --> 01:32:23,880
who had cut the stairs from a house and put

2049
01:32:23,920 --> 01:32:26,399
them here. I was so mesmerized by them that it

2050
01:32:26,439 --> 01:32:28,439
didn't even register to me that all the sounds were

2051
01:32:28,439 --> 01:32:31,319
blocked off. At this point, I could hear nothing but

2052
01:32:31,319 --> 01:32:33,880
my own breathe. Looking at the stairs, I felt an

2053
01:32:33,920 --> 01:32:36,840
unexplained morbid feeling to climb up them. At that time,

2054
01:32:36,880 --> 01:32:38,439
I felt like it was a muster climb. I had

2055
01:32:38,479 --> 01:32:42,119
no choice, so I did. I started climbing them. With

2056
01:32:42,199 --> 01:32:46,960
each step, I felt disconnected from reality. Nothing mattered. Eventually

2057
01:32:47,039 --> 01:32:48,880
I couldn't even hear my own breathe, or was I

2058
01:32:49,000 --> 01:32:51,640
not breathing. You may think that creepy sounds and screams

2059
01:32:51,680 --> 01:32:54,600
are scary, but no silence. Dead silence is the most

2060
01:32:54,680 --> 01:32:57,399
terrifying thing that could destroy a person. This type of

2061
01:32:57,399 --> 01:32:59,359
silence will make your skin crawl and make you want

2062
01:32:59,399 --> 01:33:01,960
to rip your is out. There was only the final

2063
01:33:01,960 --> 01:33:04,119
step left between me and would have her lies beyond

2064
01:33:04,760 --> 01:33:07,119
the last thing that I could recollect was feeling a push.

2065
01:33:07,600 --> 01:33:10,720
That's it. I fell in lost consciousness. When I woke up,

2066
01:33:10,760 --> 01:33:13,640
it was still pouring, even heavier than before. After I

2067
01:33:13,680 --> 01:33:16,079
made sense of what was happening, I felt like being watched.

2068
01:33:16,079 --> 01:33:18,439
Then I heard my name, Rebecca, in a low, distorted voice.

2069
01:33:18,840 --> 01:33:21,640
It didn't sound human. I got up and looked around

2070
01:33:21,640 --> 01:33:24,199
and saw the thing that haunts my dreams. Every last

2071
01:33:24,239 --> 01:33:26,640
herd of hope was shouted by this deep despair. What

2072
01:33:26,720 --> 01:33:28,720
I saw was a thing so horrifying that I can't

2073
01:33:28,760 --> 01:33:31,279
even begin to describe it. It was tall and had

2074
01:33:31,279 --> 01:33:33,800
two dark coals for eyes, a huge distorted grin which

2075
01:33:33,800 --> 01:33:36,439
stretched from one side to the other. It had huge

2076
01:33:36,479 --> 01:33:39,560
limbs with sharp calls, covered with disgusting blood. I was

2077
01:33:39,600 --> 01:33:42,439
petrified looking at it. It continued to say my name

2078
01:33:42,439 --> 01:33:45,399
in an now childlike voice. He began to walk towards me,

2079
01:33:45,439 --> 01:33:48,199
repeating my name in the same disturbing voice. In a

2080
01:33:48,239 --> 01:33:50,600
state of panic, I searched for a weapon, and my

2081
01:33:50,600 --> 01:33:53,359
eyes landed on a piece of wood. Without thinking, I

2082
01:33:53,359 --> 01:33:55,039
swung the piece of wood, hitting it until it was

2083
01:33:55,039 --> 01:33:57,800
a bloody mess. After I realized what I had done,

2084
01:33:57,880 --> 01:34:01,000
I ran away. I kept running in run in my

2085
01:34:01,119 --> 01:34:03,720
tempt escaping that demon. I barely noticed the sounds of

2086
01:34:03,720 --> 01:34:06,720
the woods, hunting and gasping for air. I finally made

2087
01:34:06,720 --> 01:34:08,239
it out and dashed to my home, away from the

2088
01:34:08,239 --> 01:34:11,359
deathly for us. I broke in and started crying hysterically.

2089
01:34:12,039 --> 01:34:15,000
Telly's parents, the Adams, were also their talking with my parents,

2090
01:34:15,720 --> 01:34:18,039
all of them shared the look of despair on their faces.

2091
01:34:18,520 --> 01:34:20,760
There were cookies on the coffee table which were untouched.

2092
01:34:21,479 --> 01:34:23,880
My one shake of loving parents were now anxiously making

2093
01:34:23,920 --> 01:34:26,680
phone calls. My angsty teenage brother was actually out of

2094
01:34:26,680 --> 01:34:30,079
his room and nervously listening to the conversation Kelly's Ma'm

2095
01:34:30,199 --> 01:34:32,960
Missess Adams. Adams, who once was a fashioned diaver and

2096
01:34:33,039 --> 01:34:35,239
always war make up was rough and sobbing, and even

2097
01:34:35,279 --> 01:34:37,760
mister Adams, the most cheerful person I knew, was on

2098
01:34:37,880 --> 01:34:40,319
the verge of tears. When their eyes met mine. They

2099
01:34:40,319 --> 01:34:43,920
were completely taken aback. Mom threw everything, including the expensive

2100
01:34:43,920 --> 01:34:46,439
new cell phone, and ran towards me. They hugged me

2101
01:34:46,479 --> 01:34:48,720
so tightly that it was hard to breathe. All my

2102
01:34:48,760 --> 01:34:50,960
anxiety faded away when my mom brushed the dot off

2103
01:34:50,960 --> 01:34:54,199
my face. For a second, everything was roses and butterflies.

2104
01:34:54,239 --> 01:34:56,880
Until I saw the look on mister and Missess adams faces.

2105
01:34:57,359 --> 01:35:00,399
I could feel hope blossoming in their hearts. Their hope

2106
01:35:00,439 --> 01:35:02,680
was like a beautiful stained glass window which was shattered

2107
01:35:02,680 --> 01:35:04,760
by the despairing news of the absence of their daughter.

2108
01:35:05,359 --> 01:35:07,760
When they questioned me about Kelly, my silence gave them

2109
01:35:07,760 --> 01:35:10,159
the answer. I could see the colored drain out of

2110
01:35:10,199 --> 01:35:13,720
their faces. The forest ranges suched the entire forest until

2111
01:35:13,720 --> 01:35:16,000
they came across a battered mess, which d'enna confirmed to

2112
01:35:16,000 --> 01:35:18,720
be Kelly. It seemed she was beaten repeatedly with a

2113
01:35:18,720 --> 01:35:23,159
blunt object. She seemed like an unrecognized pile of flesh. Kelly,

2114
01:35:23,159 --> 01:35:25,800
who once was a high spirited girl obsessed with nicorns

2115
01:35:25,840 --> 01:35:28,199
and nature, was now a part of the soil. We

2116
01:35:28,319 --> 01:35:30,439
identified her because of the bracelet I gifted her, which

2117
01:35:30,479 --> 01:35:33,000
was also covered with blood. Near By, they found a

2118
01:35:33,000 --> 01:35:34,880
piece of wood covered with the blood of Kelly, which

2119
01:35:34,920 --> 01:35:37,319
was likely the murder weapon. There was no trace of

2120
01:35:37,359 --> 01:35:39,680
finger prints, footprints, or any other evidence due to the

2121
01:35:39,680 --> 01:35:42,600
torrential rain giving an upper hand to the culprit. Now,

2122
01:35:42,640 --> 01:35:45,680
even after thirteen years, they couldn't identify the perpetrator of

2123
01:35:45,720 --> 01:35:48,520
this crime. I told this dramatic tale to many, but

2124
01:35:48,520 --> 01:35:51,640
there's one detail I always failed to mention. After hitting

2125
01:35:51,640 --> 01:35:53,600
the monster, my eyes laid upon the lifeless body of

2126
01:35:53,600 --> 01:35:56,239
my best friend, Kelly Adams. I'm the son of an

2127
01:35:56,359 --> 01:36:00,439
Army ranger. I'm also the Army's greatest mistake. I always

2128
01:36:00,479 --> 01:36:02,920
had a good relationship with my father. He was an

2129
01:36:03,000 --> 01:36:04,960
Army veteran, and I would love it when he recounted

2130
01:36:05,000 --> 01:36:07,119
war stores about his time in the jungles of Vietnam

2131
01:36:07,239 --> 01:36:09,680
or the desserts of Kuwait. He would always tell me

2132
01:36:09,720 --> 01:36:11,960
one before bed about his time as an Army ranger

2133
01:36:12,079 --> 01:36:14,880
when he led his team to liberate villages, negotiate hostages,

2134
01:36:14,960 --> 01:36:18,399
and crush rival troops. He was my hearer. When I

2135
01:36:18,439 --> 01:36:20,359
grew older, I already knew that I wanted to go

2136
01:36:20,399 --> 01:36:22,960
into the Army. I ate to fight terror and be

2137
01:36:23,000 --> 01:36:25,319
as much of a hero as my dad was. I

2138
01:36:25,359 --> 01:36:27,279
had trained for years to be in pristine shape. When

2139
01:36:27,279 --> 01:36:29,560
I turned eighteen, I put in all the effort my

2140
01:36:29,600 --> 01:36:32,960
dad did to achieve his level of prominence. Night blindness

2141
01:36:33,680 --> 01:36:36,279
the inability to see tim light or at night, so

2142
01:36:36,359 --> 01:36:38,560
I couldn't see as well in the dark. I was ready,

2143
01:36:39,079 --> 01:36:41,760
but the Army decided that I wasn't, and with that

2144
01:36:41,880 --> 01:36:44,439
my lifelong dream, along with the work I put into it,

2145
01:36:44,880 --> 01:36:47,279
was crushed. I was just about to walk out the

2146
01:36:47,279 --> 01:36:49,399
door when I felt a tap on my soldier. I

2147
01:36:49,439 --> 01:36:51,479
spun around to find an Army of ranger standing in

2148
01:36:51,479 --> 01:36:53,880
front of me. The rangel looked down on me and

2149
01:36:53,920 --> 01:36:56,560
impressive feet for six feet seven inches shy like myself.

2150
01:36:57,079 --> 01:36:59,119
He had a solid but weathered face and a graying

2151
01:36:59,159 --> 01:37:01,439
five o'clock shadow, showing to be the only visible hair

2152
01:37:01,520 --> 01:37:03,600
on his head. He had to be in his late

2153
01:37:03,640 --> 01:37:07,039
fifties to early sixties, but as I showed otherwise, a

2154
01:37:07,119 --> 01:37:09,199
hawk's eyes burned holes into my own. As I stared

2155
01:37:09,239 --> 01:37:11,159
up at the man, could you come back with me?

2156
01:37:11,279 --> 01:37:13,800
Mister the ranger stopped for a second to check the

2157
01:37:13,800 --> 01:37:15,279
forms I had filled out at the start of the

2158
01:37:15,319 --> 01:37:18,960
examination before bucking out Ferguson. I followed him to one

2159
01:37:18,960 --> 01:37:21,039
of the back rooms of the facility, where I sat

2160
01:37:21,079 --> 01:37:22,760
facing him and a young Asian man in a white

2161
01:37:22,840 --> 01:37:26,039
lap coat labeled doctor Andrewlie. The doctor stared at me

2162
01:37:26,079 --> 01:37:29,520
and spoke, So, mister Ferguson, Walter is fine, I interjected.

2163
01:37:30,079 --> 01:37:32,720
He looked at me, almost non amused, and repeated, so, Walter,

2164
01:37:32,920 --> 01:37:36,159
we see that you are in pristine shaped serve on military. However,

2165
01:37:36,279 --> 01:37:38,760
it appears that you suffer from extreme nicctolopia, which forced

2166
01:37:38,800 --> 01:37:40,239
us to not be able to accept you into the

2167
01:37:40,319 --> 01:37:44,600
nation's military. There is, however, another option. I looked at him,

2168
01:37:44,600 --> 01:37:48,439
now intrigued. What is it? Doctor Lee answered, the Army

2169
01:37:48,520 --> 01:37:51,439
is looking for ways to helpfully increase the performance of soldiers.

2170
01:37:51,800 --> 01:37:54,359
You would make for the perfect test subject. Would you

2171
01:37:54,439 --> 01:37:57,199
be willing to join it? For a second, I hesitated.

2172
01:37:57,840 --> 01:38:00,399
I thought that maybe I shouldn't do this, that I

2173
01:38:00,399 --> 01:38:02,880
should just walk out of this building, become an engineer,

2174
01:38:02,960 --> 01:38:05,640
get married, and forget about being in the army. But

2175
01:38:05,760 --> 01:38:08,039
my father's face flashed into my mind, and I knew

2176
01:38:08,079 --> 01:38:11,239
that there was only one answer. Of course, sir. It

2177
01:38:11,239 --> 01:38:13,279
would be another three months before I was flown out

2178
01:38:13,319 --> 01:38:16,279
to an disclosed military base in the middle of the wilderness.

2179
01:38:16,680 --> 01:38:18,560
I knowed that said base in the US, but I

2180
01:38:18,600 --> 01:38:20,319
could not begin to tell you which state it was in.

2181
01:38:20,920 --> 01:38:22,880
As soon as we arrived, I was strapped to a

2182
01:38:22,920 --> 01:38:25,079
gurney and wheeled to a room that looked exactly like

2183
01:38:25,159 --> 01:38:28,600
any of the hospital room minus a window. Understand that

2184
01:38:28,680 --> 01:38:31,680
by hospital room I mean horror movie hospital room, the

2185
01:38:31,680 --> 01:38:33,520
ones where the light is always on, yet it always

2186
01:38:33,520 --> 01:38:36,479
seems too dark, where the white walls always seemed gray.

2187
01:38:36,520 --> 01:38:39,199
In the rooms door doubled as a heavy duty locking system.

2188
01:38:39,560 --> 01:38:41,640
It was safe to say that I was immediately regretting

2189
01:38:41,640 --> 01:38:44,760
my decision. As the door was locked behind US. Doctor

2190
01:38:44,840 --> 01:38:47,039
Lee reached into his medical cart and revealed a syringe

2191
01:38:47,079 --> 01:38:49,399
filled with from what I can guess, one thousand miller

2192
01:38:49,439 --> 01:38:52,359
litters of a clear liquid. As I strained my eyes

2193
01:38:52,399 --> 01:38:54,279
to look at it, I noticed the word prode too

2194
01:38:54,279 --> 01:38:56,920
you written in the side of it. The doctor inserted

2195
01:38:56,920 --> 01:38:58,640
the needle into the crook of my left arm before

2196
01:38:58,680 --> 01:39:02,119
unstrapping me. Unleaving Everything felt fine at first, but my

2197
01:39:02,159 --> 01:39:04,199
body started taking about half an hour after I was

2198
01:39:04,239 --> 01:39:07,239
administered to drug. It honestly felt like my body was

2199
01:39:07,279 --> 01:39:10,119
fighting a war on itself. It felt foreign, yet it

2200
01:39:10,119 --> 01:39:12,920
felt natural at the same time. My arms fell too

2201
01:39:12,920 --> 01:39:15,399
long but too short. My legs felt like they were

2202
01:39:15,439 --> 01:39:17,680
growing stronger than ever, but they are feeling as weak

2203
01:39:17,720 --> 01:39:20,479
as could pasta. At the same time, my entire body

2204
01:39:20,560 --> 01:39:23,399
just felt right and wrong in every way possible. That

2205
01:39:23,520 --> 01:39:25,079
is the only thing that can give justice to what

2206
01:39:25,119 --> 01:39:28,039
I experienced. After I was given a meal, a preyed.

2207
01:39:28,720 --> 01:39:30,760
My dad was not only an army veteran, but he

2208
01:39:30,840 --> 01:39:33,720
was also a deeply devorted Christian. My faith is another

2209
01:39:33,720 --> 01:39:36,119
part of him that rubbed off on me. That night.

2210
01:39:36,159 --> 01:39:37,840
I prayed for the sick and the elderly, but I

2211
01:39:37,880 --> 01:39:42,560
prayed for answers too answerstood this experiment, For example, what

2212
01:39:42,760 --> 01:39:46,880
was the point? What was happening to me? Why? No answer?

2213
01:39:46,880 --> 01:39:50,199
Is game? The same thing happened the next day, Wake up,

2214
01:39:50,239 --> 01:39:53,560
get injected with prodage three, He relaxed, prey, fall asleep.

2215
01:39:54,119 --> 01:39:56,359
My schedule may have been common, but the side effects

2216
01:39:56,359 --> 01:39:59,000
of the medication were not. All that was happening to

2217
01:39:59,039 --> 01:40:00,880
me was that I was getting to taller and stronger.

2218
01:40:00,920 --> 01:40:03,680
But it just felt wrong. I understand that my body

2219
01:40:03,720 --> 01:40:06,000
was changing, but it was changing the way it felt

2220
01:40:06,079 --> 01:40:09,039
like it was changing the way it felt It was horrendous,

2221
01:40:09,199 --> 01:40:12,760
like my molecules were individually splitting apart. I've no idea

2222
01:40:12,760 --> 01:40:15,319
how long passed before the cut. It seemed like a

2223
01:40:15,359 --> 01:40:17,399
normal day until I noticed that the medical cut was

2224
01:40:17,399 --> 01:40:20,079
bulky than I remembered. I watched him reach and the

2225
01:40:20,079 --> 01:40:22,000
cot and pull out a wolf's skull on a knife.

2226
01:40:22,520 --> 01:40:25,520
I was suddenly afraid. I thrushed in the restraints as

2227
01:40:25,520 --> 01:40:28,000
he moved the knife closer to my head. I passed

2228
01:40:28,000 --> 01:40:30,319
out right before the knife touched me. I woke up alone.

2229
01:40:30,720 --> 01:40:33,359
The only comfort I have was my dinner. I raised

2230
01:40:33,399 --> 01:40:35,079
the navy bean soup to my lips to notice that

2231
01:40:35,159 --> 01:40:38,039
their further forward than normal. I lifted the metal spoin

2232
01:40:38,159 --> 01:40:41,680
to my face. Something unnatural stared back at me. It

2233
01:40:41,720 --> 01:40:44,399
heard a lupine's snout with skins stretched over its elongated

2234
01:40:44,439 --> 01:40:46,600
more and a pair of sixteen point out though sticking

2235
01:40:46,600 --> 01:40:49,600
out of its head. It looked terrifying, but one factor

2236
01:40:49,640 --> 01:40:52,439
made it much more horrifying than the monster itself. That

2237
01:40:52,479 --> 01:40:55,119
monster was me. It was then that I prayed harder

2238
01:40:55,159 --> 01:40:58,279
than I had ever prayed. I asked God, why why

2239
01:40:58,279 --> 01:41:01,079
do I suffer while sinners are relieved? Wise is the

2240
01:41:01,079 --> 01:41:03,880
path I am told to take? Why does humanity see

2241
01:41:03,920 --> 01:41:05,960
me as the monster instead of the monster wearing a

2242
01:41:06,000 --> 01:41:08,840
white lab coat? I was lamenting in my thoughts when

2243
01:41:08,840 --> 01:41:11,279
the lights went out. A couple of subjects from a

2244
01:41:11,279 --> 01:41:14,680
neighboring plant, three teenage boys name erebis A and Sleddock,

2245
01:41:14,760 --> 01:41:16,760
had escaped and cut power to their facility and the

2246
01:41:16,760 --> 01:41:21,319
surrounding facilities. With this, all doors were unlocked. As soon

2247
01:41:21,359 --> 01:41:23,720
as I realized this, I burst through the now open door.

2248
01:41:24,319 --> 01:41:26,920
I ran blindly due to night blindness, trying to escape.

2249
01:41:27,399 --> 01:41:29,760
I somehow reached the front doors and flared, not knowing

2250
01:41:29,800 --> 01:41:31,880
where I was going until bright light shone ahead of me.

2251
01:41:32,560 --> 01:41:34,800
The van stopped as soon as I scrambled out onto

2252
01:41:34,800 --> 01:41:37,560
the road. That moment was one of the most terrifying

2253
01:41:37,560 --> 01:41:40,039
moments in my life. I thought they'd turned tail and

2254
01:41:40,079 --> 01:41:43,800
start running, sliding so wildly that this lamb into tree. Instead,

2255
01:41:43,960 --> 01:41:46,119
a young boy with wavy, dirty blonde hair and an

2256
01:41:46,119 --> 01:41:48,920
almost square face walked out of the back. Despite the

2257
01:41:49,000 --> 01:41:51,479
urgency that could be noticed on his face, it seemed confident,

2258
01:41:52,119 --> 01:41:54,680
which was surprising I acknowledging my freakish face in the

2259
01:41:54,680 --> 01:41:57,640
fact that he was barely scraping six feet tall. Come on,

2260
01:41:57,880 --> 01:42:00,479
he says in a deep voice. I can only stand

2261
01:42:00,479 --> 01:42:02,640
and shocked that he talked to me. We can help you.

2262
01:42:02,760 --> 01:42:04,479
Just get in the back, he yelled back at me.

2263
01:42:05,039 --> 01:42:06,800
That was all it took from his clamber into the

2264
01:42:06,800 --> 01:42:10,000
back of the truck. First off, can you talk, the

2265
01:42:10,039 --> 01:42:14,760
boy asked inquisitively. I answered a curt yes in reply. Next,

2266
01:42:14,760 --> 01:42:17,159
do you have a name, and which I again tersely

2267
01:42:17,199 --> 01:42:20,640
responded Walder. The feelings that were suppressed for however long,

2268
01:42:20,720 --> 01:42:23,279
came flooding out. I tried to stop it, but I

2269
01:42:23,279 --> 01:42:25,479
could still fill t his leaking out of my fienish eyes.

2270
01:42:26,159 --> 01:42:27,760
The boy asked me if I was all right, in

2271
01:42:27,840 --> 01:42:30,159
which I laid every bit of information I knew upon him,

2272
01:42:30,680 --> 01:42:32,720
my rejection from the army, my flight out here, the

2273
01:42:32,800 --> 01:42:37,039
laborer's munth's prodigy three, the cut everything. He looked at me, sympathetically,

2274
01:42:37,119 --> 01:42:40,960
taking notes and absorbing information. Proverbs twelve ten inches are

2275
01:42:40,960 --> 01:42:43,600
the only words that the boy said after everything. What

2276
01:42:44,439 --> 01:42:48,600
I answered bewildered Proverbs twelve ten. Whoever is righteous his

2277
01:42:48,720 --> 01:42:50,560
regard for the life of his beast, but the mercy

2278
01:42:50,600 --> 01:42:53,600
of the wicked is cruel in God's eyes. Enomo an

2279
01:42:53,640 --> 01:42:56,039
outcast in the football quarterback or a common house fly,

2280
01:42:56,199 --> 01:42:58,479
and there will always be those that see it. You

2281
01:42:58,600 --> 01:43:00,560
may never return to normal, but you are as much

2282
01:43:00,560 --> 01:43:02,359
of a person as any one else in our care.

2283
01:43:03,039 --> 01:43:05,000
You just need to learn to see that, the boy stated.

2284
01:43:05,640 --> 01:43:07,279
I looked at that kid, and I felt a sense

2285
01:43:07,279 --> 01:43:10,079
of relief wash over me. A truck slowed to a stop,

2286
01:43:10,119 --> 01:43:12,119
and I could only assume that we reached our destination.

2287
01:43:12,840 --> 01:43:14,720
The boy went to exit the bat but I hurriedly

2288
01:43:14,720 --> 01:43:17,960
called out, wait, what is your name? He turned back

2289
01:43:17,960 --> 01:43:20,159
to me and replied, my name is Nick, but everyone

2290
01:43:20,239 --> 01:43:22,960
here calls me night walker. With that he jumped out

2291
01:43:23,000 --> 01:43:25,600
of the van and made his way towards someone seen destination.

2292
01:43:26,319 --> 01:43:27,960
I stepped out and gazed up at the night sky

2293
01:43:28,000 --> 01:43:30,680
for the first time in what seemed like eons. I

2294
01:43:30,720 --> 01:43:32,680
stared up at the heavens and asked for forgiveness for

2295
01:43:32,760 --> 01:43:36,039
my rage earlier. I then turned around and walked towards

2296
01:43:36,039 --> 01:43:38,520
the large white fortress. I am the son of an

2297
01:43:38,600 --> 01:43:42,199
army ranger. I am the Army's greatest mistake. But I

2298
01:43:42,239 --> 01:43:44,000
am not a monster, as there are no monsters in

2299
01:43:44,000 --> 01:43:44,640
God's eyes.