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Speaker 1: I'm part of the United States Special Forces, the Green Berets,

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and have been for several years now. In my tenure,

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I've deployed multiple times to Afghanistan, Iraq, a few months

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in Syria, several African countries. I've been to all four

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corners of the globe, and I've seen my fair share

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of the good, the bad, and the ugly that comes

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from being part of SOCOM. I've got plenty of stories,

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some more interesting than others, but almost all of them

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are heavily classified behind red tape that will never be

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declassified until I'm dead and gone. However, there was an

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incident a few nights ago that stuck out from all

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the others, mostly because one Unlike all of our other

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operations that tug us the combat zones across the distant hemisphere,

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this one happened right at home in our own backyard.

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The enemies weren't a foreign proxy, a group of insurgents,

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it wasn't even human. Stuff from that night is still weird,

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and it's not like Command is going to give us

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any answers. Is the reason I'm bypassing everything I've been told,

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disregarding and putting my ass on the line. Even if

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I use false information and withhold names. Plenty of innocent

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people have died, and as you'll find out, an upper

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command would sooner bury it than acknowledge their deaths then

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give their families closure. I don't have all the answers

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of what happened in that Western Tennessee National Park, but

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I do have enough to let people know the truth

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semi truth anyways, for safety and privacy purposes, I stated previous,

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I'm withholding a lot of personal information, such as names,

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exact locations, and unit information, referring the smallest stuff that

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I don't think even the scary three letter groups could

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really trace, even if they cared. I hope they don't.

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Like I said, I'm part of a so cam Green

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Beret a team. You will know who the Green Berets are.

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You should. My team is nicknamed Raider, a general theme

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in our company naming things after warrior cultesque terms radar, artemis, barbarian, centurion, etc.

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It's a ten man element. The team lead a way

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too salty Georgian and captain with a warrant officer, a medic,

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a com sergeant, and six weapons sergeants. Our captain decided

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this way was best, considering we're all in one piece

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after our last mission. He was right. Our weekend was

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calm earned boring as we rotated on QRF Quick Reaction

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Force for the month. QRF means that if someone somewhere

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needs the green eyed bugeymen of the Western World, we

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were ready to kit up and be there at a

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moment's notice. It just so happened right when some of

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us were getting ready to head to the bar and

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have our two singular authorized beers of cure F Month

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we were called. When we raced back to our cop

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and got our stuff ready, the Captain came with some

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surprising information. We'd be able to probably make it back

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for those beers because we were heading to West Tennessee,

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of all places. We didn't know what the status was yet.

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Command didn't give us any information, what the op for was,

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what weapons they had, what the layout of the area was.

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Nothing but being CUREF Team raiders still kitted up and

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we were at the HLZ in less than twenty While

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we waited for our transport, the Captain finally got some information.

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Apparently a facility in the middle of uninhabited restricted woods

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of a national park had activated a distress signal. The

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woods it was situated in was a large national park

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in like said Western Tennessee, with a long history of

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disappearances on It's now frequently closed and blocked off trails

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and campsites. This raised a few questions. What was this facility,

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Why was it in a national park? What happened to

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need to roll out the angriest green beray team this

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side of the East Coast to act as its back up.

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Why were we going there when in an hour someone

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in Libya or someone across Eurasia might need us to

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back them up. The captain acknowledged all of these questions,

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but assured us that's all he knew. He's been with

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our team for years now, several deployments to the Box

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and back, and he's always been straight with us. It's

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how we knew he was lying. Our transport finally arrived

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one hundred and sixtieth Sore Nights Talkers, an aviation unit

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that's been around for nearly forty years, having dragged every

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single kind of so communit to every single part of

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the world. We expected the black hawk they brought, but

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the armed escort of two birds that came with them

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was a surprise. We were in domestic America. We were

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going to Tennessee. Why were they here? Even with the

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Nightstalkers flying at top speed across several states, it still

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took a couple of hours to reach our landing point.

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The inside of that bird going full throttle was deafening.

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Even with the electronic headsets we were sporting. It was

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ear splitting. And yet, while sitting next to the captain,

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I could tell he was speaking to someone and a

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different frequency. This was off because normally he'd go to

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the consergeant and have to use the radio, but he

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had a side channel filled in his radio talking to

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someone writing down income in information. I was able to

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peak over and saw some of the things he was writing.

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Mascal close quarters up four no Blue four X. The

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birds touched down in the middle of an empty parking

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lot outside of the local ranger station. We filled out

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to the open area. The birds took off. The captain

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chimed in on our team net raider Romero, this is

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radar lead. Get on the net and have them hold

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orbit in case we need close air break. He then

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broke transmission and talked to us, all raiders hold outside

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and take up security. I'm going to get the damn Ragnar.

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Prepare for a hasty s ramp brief. I just got

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more information. We all took positions behind some of the

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parked vehicles the rangers would use just to clear things up.

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Our team was outfitted with GPNVG also known as quad nods,

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four barwed night vision optics that provided an almost daytimelike

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view of our surroundings. Couple that with our peqs mounted

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on our rifles, allowing us to see and shoot anything

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at night. The military says we own the night. The

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tree line in front of us was a lit up

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like a goddamn operator rave party. As the captain walked back,

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nods down. As the ranger currently on shift followed him,

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he keyed into our net and we could hear him

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through our headsets. All raiders. This is lead. New information

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states that the facility has suffered MOSCAL situation break. Moscal

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means mass casualties. Enemy of four unidentified. However, outgoing net

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during distress call indicates that OP four is extremely dangerous

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and engages a close range break. There is no blue

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foreur on site. I repeat man has stated there is

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no blue for on site and we had to drop

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any and all packs we see a few seconds past.

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As the captain looked back to the park ranger, any

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additional comments, range of clements. The man, maybe in his

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mid forties, bolding. He scratched the back of his neck,

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clearing his throat before speaking. I had a lot of

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gunfire coming from down there. And don't split up. Whatever

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you do in these woods, don't split up. Ah Medick laughed. Well,

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that's just comforting. The captain nodded to the man as

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he held back in Everyone watches sixes, twelves and fives.

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Let's go. We picked up and moved out. Everyone had

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their own kind of final moments, type of red in

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a strill they did before they stepped under the path

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into the woods. Same stuff we did stepping off out

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of the fobs and compounds back east. I let out

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one final breath of hot air in the cold our

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Medig slapped the side of his helmet, hyping himself up.

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The captain pulled out and kissed a small crucifixed necklace

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from underneath his combat shirt. We headed down the pathway,

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following the captain in a staggered column. Our Iyur lasers

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scan the trees, rocks, and foliage around us, looking desperately

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for any hostiles that lurked in the darkness. Though to

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our paranoid readiness, nothing appeared, but something was definitely following us.

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When we move through forest environments, you listen to the

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animals around you, the crickets, the birds, the movement of animals,

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and what direction they're heading, how fast moving down that path.

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I couldn't hear a goddamn thing. It's common when you're

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a group of heavily armed green men moving through a

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forest at night that some of the squarels and birds

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will run the hell away, but not the crickets or

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the bird songs in the distance. There's a certain level

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of ambience that animals will maintain even if they detect

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humans around. There was none of that. Nothing not a cricket,

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a bird, a cicada, and nothing. Silent professionals, it's in

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our name. So when I could hear a friendly ten

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meters ahead of me breathing as we moved through that

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dead forest, it told me that something else was here

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in the woods with us, her predator, and that the

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forest was more afraid of it than us. After a

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long stretch of marching down the trail, The captain held

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a hand up signaling a halt. As it got down

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to my part of the column, the middle section, he

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called over the radio, this is lead on me time now.

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We quickly rushed up to what we saw was a

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metal chainling fence. Four of our weapon sergeants and the

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medic took up security, covering the woodline behind us, as

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I and the other remaining one went up to the

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gates with the captain. The bark's trail carried on for

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a few more meters before stopping dead into some tree.

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The dirt bath broke off and formed a gravel one

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that led into a sectioned off area behind a chainling

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fence and gate AH no trespass. A sign hung high,

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and just beyond the gate we could see a small

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guard shack. The Captain tried to signal whoever might be

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there by switching on the sure fire tag light and

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his rifle, shining it and lasso waving it all over

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the booth. However, upon stopping and centering in the doorway,

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we saw a large amount of blood splashed on the

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back wall and pulled over the room an arm laying

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half way out the door frame. The captain looked at

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the other weapon sergeant with us get yr kit. He nodded,

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slinging his rifle as he dropped his assault pack, digging

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out a small pair of bolt cutters. Each of our

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weapon sergeants carried a different load out depending on what

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we needed. One could be a gunner, another's a grenadier.

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I can't name him, but breech Man, as I guess

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call him, always carried a breech kit just in case.

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He walked over to the lock. But just as he

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got the blades of the cutter around the lock, we

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heard it. It sounded like it came from everywhere and

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yet far away at the same time. Maybe it was

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the echo of the forest, or maybe something attributed to

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its abilities. It sounded like a woman yelling in pain,

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in agony, and yet the voice was half gargled, like

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it was morphed with that of a dying animal, as

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it had an underlying low tone pitch beneath it. It

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got under the skin of everyone. Those pulling security immediately jumped, scanning,

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or left right up and down. Hell, even the medic.

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Big stocky dude grew up in Brooklyn played football before

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he joined, meaning he was as yoked as all hell

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when he got to our unit. The guy who once

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stuck his finger into a man's neck to plug his

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blood looked around nervously. The hell was that? Our weapon

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sergeant with the forty six shook his head as he

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scanned the far off terrain, muttering in a low voice,

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some horror moving nonsense. Right now, I remember holding my

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rifle's grip tight. Everyone was equally unnerved, everyone except the captain.

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He just told us to press on for goodness sake,

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loosen your jockstraps, let's go. He snapped the lock off immediately.

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The captain and I moved in and cleared the small

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booth as two more weapon sergeants and ar medic took

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up Covering down the gravel road. It was a guard,

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no name tape or company logo, decked out in a

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black plate carrier, the plate carrier of which had been

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torn into as a large hole covered the entire area

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of his solar plaquesus which was now fragmented and broken

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inside of his mulched upper body. No bullet entry, who

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exit wounds, Just a large stab wound that looks like

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he got ran through by a damned lamp post. My

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breath still got caught in my throat. As I grunted

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to clear it. The Captain stepped out of the small booth,

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spitting hard into the grass, shaking his head. The medic

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prodded him, what was it like? He grunted, walking to

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the front of our formation. Doesn't matter, Doc. We formed

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up and moved down the gravel road in a wedge column,

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the captain and the three weapon sergeants in the front wedge,

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the medic, me and two other weapon sergeants in the

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back one the com sergeant in the middle. We entered

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the facility lot immediately. The com sergeant linked up with

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the captain and I could hear him alerting mane, this

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is raider lead. We've reached the building. Though it makes

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me wonder if he used the consergeant's radio to reach

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our h que. Who was he talking to on that

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other channel. The lot was clear and we got a

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good look at the facility. It was a gray concrete rectangle,

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maybe the size of a small gas station. Floodlights mounted

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on the bottom illuminated the gravel lot up to the dense,

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shadowy woodline that laid just beyond the chain link fence.

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The woodline that was still quiet the mask old carnage

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we were told about was present outside of the building.

238
00:15:37,559 --> 00:15:41,679
Several guards, all in various states of mutilation, similar to

239
00:15:41,720 --> 00:15:45,600
the gate guard, were strewn about the gravel lot. However,

240
00:15:46,240 --> 00:15:50,720
unlike the gate guard, strangely, they were in heavier body armor,

241
00:15:51,080 --> 00:15:55,200
with rifles capable of going automatic and spin brass everywhere.

242
00:15:56,279 --> 00:15:58,559
Me and some of the other guys got online and

243
00:15:58,639 --> 00:16:02,240
cleared out the back. Exasperated breaths and muttering came from

244
00:16:02,360 --> 00:16:06,679
all of us. The captain chimed in, raiders on me

245
00:16:07,200 --> 00:16:11,679
time now we hauled, asked back to him. As we

246
00:16:11,720 --> 00:16:15,480
stacked up of the door. Flowing in, we were greeted

247
00:16:15,480 --> 00:16:19,960
to a lobby torn up, furniture thrown everywhere, impact marks

248
00:16:19,960 --> 00:16:23,600
from rounds hitting the concrete lined walls and ceiling. One

249
00:16:23,639 --> 00:16:26,200
dead guard slumped against a red stained part of the wall,

250
00:16:26,799 --> 00:16:30,320
the other in a crumpled heap. A woman at the desk,

251
00:16:30,840 --> 00:16:34,600
not a guard, just the damned staff member, sat back

252
00:16:34,639 --> 00:16:39,480
in a chair, her entire torso area torn apart. As

253
00:16:39,480 --> 00:16:41,799
we passed by her and headed through the double doors

254
00:16:41,799 --> 00:16:46,519
behind her, her empty dead eyes met mine. The com

255
00:16:46,639 --> 00:16:50,360
sergeant eyed her as well as we moved through the door. Sir,

256
00:16:51,200 --> 00:16:54,960
if she was unarmed, I can see that keep chattered

257
00:16:55,000 --> 00:16:59,200
to a minimum. We cleared through the double doors to

258
00:16:59,240 --> 00:17:02,360
be greeted by porcelain hallway leading into a set of

259
00:17:02,399 --> 00:17:08,160
stairs heading to a sub level. The entire surface, ceiling, walls,

260
00:17:08,480 --> 00:17:13,119
floor was lined with ceramic white tiles, ceramic white tiles

261
00:17:13,279 --> 00:17:15,039
that were, like the rest of the scene so far,

262
00:17:15,920 --> 00:17:19,440
stained with blood, guts, and even brain matter of the

263
00:17:19,480 --> 00:17:22,599
unlucky guards laid out all the way down the stairs.

264
00:17:23,839 --> 00:17:29,640
I counted eight seventeen so far. A flickering light could

265
00:17:29,640 --> 00:17:31,920
be seen through the wire glass windows of the double

266
00:17:31,960 --> 00:17:34,759
doors at the bottom. The captain ordered us to flow

267
00:17:34,759 --> 00:17:39,440
in through both sides. We did. Pushing in, we could

268
00:17:39,440 --> 00:17:44,160
see we entered into a t style hallway. It gets

269
00:17:44,400 --> 00:17:49,279
a bit complicated here. Either end of the tee ended,

270
00:17:49,640 --> 00:17:52,720
while the mid one shot forward far down into the hall,

271
00:17:52,920 --> 00:17:56,119
leading into two reinforced blast doors at the very end.

272
00:17:56,640 --> 00:18:00,000
Two immediate laps on either side were reinforced with more

273
00:18:00,119 --> 00:18:04,720
wire glass, and despite several crates, impact marks, bullet holes,

274
00:18:04,920 --> 00:18:09,559
and even holes made in the glass, they held this

275
00:18:09,640 --> 00:18:14,240
stuff can't be blistered glass, and a comsergeant muttered, why

276
00:18:14,240 --> 00:18:16,839
didn't they just take cover in there, the medic said,

277
00:18:17,680 --> 00:18:21,039
the captain's side seems to be pointing to a surprise

278
00:18:21,079 --> 00:18:25,960
attack from the inside embassies on surprise jackass. The medic

279
00:18:26,000 --> 00:18:31,319
fire back, Well, sure, but it's just the door more.

280
00:18:31,359 --> 00:18:34,559
The hallways outside were a mess of blood gore guards

281
00:18:34,640 --> 00:18:37,839
thrown around as they were ripped apart, creating a mess

282
00:18:37,839 --> 00:18:42,160
of bodies, weapons, and more spent brass. The laptecks had

283
00:18:42,160 --> 00:18:45,759
the white coats stained with their own blood. My blood

284
00:18:45,880 --> 00:18:48,880
and I think everyone else's started to run cold as

285
00:18:48,920 --> 00:18:55,039
the pieces came together. Whatever killed them did so indiscriminately.

286
00:18:56,880 --> 00:19:00,519
We formed a rolling tee heading into the hallway. I

287
00:19:00,640 --> 00:19:03,559
was on the right, with the gunner taking center and

288
00:19:03,640 --> 00:19:07,480
another guy on the left. The captain pushed forward, leading

289
00:19:07,519 --> 00:19:11,799
us from behind The window labs ended half way with

290
00:19:11,960 --> 00:19:14,400
two solid white doors near the double doors at the

291
00:19:14,480 --> 00:19:18,559
end on either side, leading to closed off labs. The

292
00:19:18,599 --> 00:19:21,279
captain had as pull guard on both of the side doors.

293
00:19:21,640 --> 00:19:25,200
As the gunner aimed back down the hallway, everyone else

294
00:19:25,240 --> 00:19:29,359
took up security wherever it was needed. The captain eyed

295
00:19:29,400 --> 00:19:32,480
the door, feeling the cracks and lines of the blast door,

296
00:19:32,960 --> 00:19:37,240
looking for gaps that didn't exist. Blood had slowly leaped

297
00:19:37,240 --> 00:19:39,880
from the bottom, causing him to pick up his boot

298
00:19:39,960 --> 00:19:46,680
and eye it. And yet no openings existed. An electronic

299
00:19:46,759 --> 00:19:48,759
pad was positioned at the right side of the door.

300
00:19:49,640 --> 00:19:53,759
The Captain eyed it. It was a hand scanner. I

301
00:19:53,839 --> 00:19:57,720
didn't even think those actually existed, He jumped on the

302
00:19:57,759 --> 00:20:02,440
private frequency. I keep mentioning, I'm at the doors, yeah,

303
00:20:02,519 --> 00:20:06,920
at the fire end as a hand scanner. He waited

304
00:20:07,000 --> 00:20:10,319
a few seconds of deafening silence. He made an internal

305
00:20:10,440 --> 00:20:12,759
chuckle as he walked over to the dead body of

306
00:20:12,759 --> 00:20:18,640
a guard kicking its arm. Got one right here, I'm sorry, repeat,

307
00:20:18,720 --> 00:20:26,599
last alive. He rubbed his face, cursing under his breath. Damn,

308
00:20:27,480 --> 00:20:29,799
He shook his head, turning on the white light of

309
00:20:29,799 --> 00:20:33,400
his rifle and scanning the corpses. This place is a

310
00:20:33,440 --> 00:20:37,079
goddamn slaughter Else, how am I going? A crash emanated

311
00:20:37,119 --> 00:20:39,160
from the white lab door to the right of the

312
00:20:39,160 --> 00:20:43,920
blast doors, the one I was covering. Everyone paused for

313
00:20:44,000 --> 00:20:46,799
a second as the second weapon sergeant aimed his laser

314
00:20:46,839 --> 00:20:50,400
at it. The captain turned his head, Amy's laser at

315
00:20:50,440 --> 00:20:53,960
the door as he approached. Might have one and might

316
00:20:53,960 --> 00:20:58,680
have up four? Wait one over the captain formed of

317
00:20:58,839 --> 00:21:01,839
as the first man in the stack, an unusual practice,

318
00:21:02,039 --> 00:21:05,400
but everyone else fell behind. I was the second man,

319
00:21:05,839 --> 00:21:08,960
Two more made, third, and fourth. A weapon sergeant felt

320
00:21:09,000 --> 00:21:13,759
the edges of the door, then tried the handle locked him.

321
00:21:13,799 --> 00:21:16,839
Trying the handle must have alerted whatever was inside, because

322
00:21:16,839 --> 00:21:21,480
a voice ballowed out, I I'm in here. Please, I'll

323
00:21:21,559 --> 00:21:26,240
let you in. Just don't shoot. The doorman looked at

324
00:21:26,240 --> 00:21:30,799
the captain, who nodded, might have blue four inside, stay sharp,

325
00:21:31,119 --> 00:21:34,880
wait on me to fire. There wasn't supposed to be

326
00:21:34,960 --> 00:21:39,559
any blue four in sight. The door's electronic lock opened.

327
00:21:40,160 --> 00:21:42,839
The doorman grabbed the handle and pulled it open. As

328
00:21:42,880 --> 00:21:46,359
the four of us entered the room, we pushed through.

329
00:21:46,799 --> 00:21:49,799
The captain hunked left. I pushed forward. The other two

330
00:21:49,799 --> 00:21:53,319
followed one of us respectively. Our lasers entered the room

331
00:21:53,640 --> 00:21:57,559
and a pair of hands emerging from behind a lab table. Please,

332
00:21:58,880 --> 00:22:03,720
the voice weakly shouted. The captain stormed over hands, now,

333
00:22:03,960 --> 00:22:05,759
I'll shoot you. I swear to God if you don't

334
00:22:05,759 --> 00:22:09,839
put your God's hands up. As the person stood up,

335
00:22:10,240 --> 00:22:13,359
he saw the hands were connected to a scientist, possibly

336
00:22:13,440 --> 00:22:18,440
late thirties, stringy hair with circular glasses, glasses that flew

337
00:22:18,480 --> 00:22:21,680
off when the Captain closed the distance, shoving him against

338
00:22:21,680 --> 00:22:24,720
the metal cabinet. Spittle flying from the bearded mouth behind

339
00:22:24,720 --> 00:22:28,960
the envgs as he barked at him, ID, where is it?

340
00:22:29,119 --> 00:22:32,799
Show it? The captain began roughly searching the lab tech.

341
00:22:32,960 --> 00:22:36,079
As he pulled out his ID, he grabbed it, shoving

342
00:22:36,119 --> 00:22:38,839
him to the weapon sergeant on his side of the room.

343
00:22:39,079 --> 00:22:42,519
The lab tech was kicked down to his knees. The

344
00:22:42,599 --> 00:22:47,039
captain jumped back on the frequency and back possible blue

345
00:22:47,039 --> 00:22:50,640
flour prepare for ID code. He read it off in

346
00:22:50,680 --> 00:22:54,079
phonetics before he got the response. He looked at the

347
00:22:54,079 --> 00:22:59,240
weapon sergeant guarding the lab tech. Get his ass up, please,

348
00:23:00,160 --> 00:23:02,319
I don't know what's going on. I was just running

349
00:23:02,319 --> 00:23:04,519
some chemical tests. We've got to get out of here.

350
00:23:04,559 --> 00:23:08,640
Before the captain got in the man's face, shut up,

351
00:23:09,440 --> 00:23:12,599
he did. You know what you've been doing? I know

352
00:23:12,640 --> 00:23:15,440
what you've been doing out here. Open them doors now.

353
00:23:17,720 --> 00:23:20,920
The man was shocked as the captain continued Open the

354
00:23:21,000 --> 00:23:25,759
damn doors now. With a point from the Captain, the

355
00:23:25,799 --> 00:23:28,559
weapon sergeant shoved the man forward into the door frame.

356
00:23:29,559 --> 00:23:32,039
The man crumbled a little bit as the captain laughed,

357
00:23:33,200 --> 00:23:37,480
take your sweet time, doctor, let's go. I picked him

358
00:23:37,559 --> 00:23:39,480
up by his shirt collar and dragged him over to

359
00:23:39,480 --> 00:23:42,880
the blast doors. The captain pushed him out of my grip,

360
00:23:43,240 --> 00:23:47,559
shoving his face into the door. Hand on the scanner. Now,

361
00:23:49,519 --> 00:23:51,640
as the captain grabbed the man by his wrist, the

362
00:23:51,759 --> 00:23:55,720
laptick struggled to get free. Please, I don't have access.

363
00:23:55,920 --> 00:23:57,880
I hurt my hand trying to hide. Let me go.

364
00:23:59,519 --> 00:24:03,319
The winced at the side, a bit uncharacteristically of a

365
00:24:03,359 --> 00:24:06,920
green beret, especially for a jaded as hell medic. He

366
00:24:07,039 --> 00:24:13,359
spoke up, cap, come on. The captain just turned, staring

367
00:24:13,440 --> 00:24:16,200
daggers into the man as he wrestled from the man's wrist.

368
00:24:17,319 --> 00:24:21,920
Just wait till you'll see, I'm telling you. As the

369
00:24:21,960 --> 00:24:25,119
man struggled against the captain, the weapon sergeant came up

370
00:24:25,119 --> 00:24:28,279
from behind, shoving the man into the blast door, allowing

371
00:24:28,279 --> 00:24:31,319
the captain to easily place it on the scanner. The

372
00:24:31,359 --> 00:24:34,200
scanner lit up in a bright blue as several lines

373
00:24:34,319 --> 00:24:37,880
traced and looked over his handprint, and then flashed green.

374
00:24:38,079 --> 00:24:40,480
As the electronic lock of the blast doors began to

375
00:24:40,599 --> 00:24:46,039
open up, the captain dropped the man. Well, goodness, gracious,

376
00:24:46,440 --> 00:24:51,559
what do you know? The doors slowly pulled open. The

377
00:24:51,640 --> 00:24:55,319
room was dark red. Flashing emergency lights flashed all around

378
00:24:55,640 --> 00:24:58,079
as the sound of broken glass scraped against the door.

379
00:24:59,079 --> 00:25:01,720
The stream of murc blue liquid mixed in with a

380
00:25:01,759 --> 00:25:04,880
blood of several guard's bodies that were revealed as the

381
00:25:04,920 --> 00:25:08,960
doorway leaked out into the hall. The captain grabbed the

382
00:25:09,039 --> 00:25:11,519
lab take by the collar, dragging him to his feet.

383
00:25:12,640 --> 00:25:17,400
You all know these men, doctor friends. The captain shoved

384
00:25:17,440 --> 00:25:20,000
him through the doorway, the lap take slipping in the

385
00:25:20,079 --> 00:25:23,039
fluids and glass, cutting his right hand with the WinCE.

386
00:25:24,119 --> 00:25:29,920
We flowed in and Jesus, I said this at the start.

387
00:25:30,599 --> 00:25:33,599
I've been all over. I've seen mass graves that terrace

388
00:25:33,680 --> 00:25:36,680
cells have used in far off countries, filled with entire

389
00:25:36,759 --> 00:25:41,559
villages worth of people. I've seen killed ends inside tunnel systems.

390
00:25:42,279 --> 00:25:47,319
This surpassed all of that, every horror, every war crime,

391
00:25:47,640 --> 00:25:53,279
multiple times over. A series of glass tubes lined the walls,

392
00:25:54,000 --> 00:25:57,799
walls made out of monitors, hard drives, and computer systems.

393
00:25:58,720 --> 00:26:01,079
The path of carnage through the pile of guards at

394
00:26:01,119 --> 00:26:05,519
the doorway. That makes twenty four armed personnel that were

395
00:26:05,559 --> 00:26:09,640
taken out by something. What really bothered me was that

396
00:26:09,720 --> 00:26:13,119
in those murky green and blue glass tubes as big

397
00:26:13,160 --> 00:26:16,039
as a refrigerator, connected to a poor at the top

398
00:26:16,079 --> 00:26:21,880
and bottom tubes and wires inside connecting to The captain

399
00:26:21,960 --> 00:26:24,480
shoved the lab tech into a glass tube. The pop

400
00:26:24,519 --> 00:26:27,200
of the man's nose echoed off the empty area as

401
00:26:27,200 --> 00:26:30,680
he grabbed his nose. Well, DOC, which one was it?

402
00:26:31,160 --> 00:26:37,920
Which goddamn tube tube? What was he talking about? How

403
00:26:37,920 --> 00:26:41,960
did he know who was on the frequency? The lab

404
00:26:42,000 --> 00:26:45,160
tech spit out, blood leaking into his mouth. As the captain,

405
00:26:45,559 --> 00:26:48,920
standing at six foot five a giant even amongst his

406
00:26:49,000 --> 00:26:52,640
team brawny sof operators, picked him up by his collar

407
00:26:52,680 --> 00:26:59,200
of his blue undershirt. I don't Two weapon sergeants ducked

408
00:26:59,200 --> 00:27:01,440
out of the way as the captain got on his face,

409
00:27:01,759 --> 00:27:04,759
shoving him against the left side wall, causing the monitors

410
00:27:04,799 --> 00:27:08,920
and computer systems to beep and light up. Oh you

411
00:27:09,000 --> 00:27:12,000
don't know, and yet your little hand opens the room

412
00:27:12,039 --> 00:27:16,119
there you didn't have access to, he roared, abandoning all

413
00:27:16,200 --> 00:27:19,079
silence and discretion. Now as the man began to sputter

414
00:27:19,119 --> 00:27:26,319
and sob please please I, the captain gritted his teeth.

415
00:27:26,799 --> 00:27:29,640
He quickly flipped up his nods and stared daggers into

416
00:27:29,640 --> 00:27:33,319
the man's soul. How many people did you snatch off

417
00:27:33,359 --> 00:27:36,319
that trail? How many? What kind of butchering you do

418
00:27:36,440 --> 00:27:39,119
to those kids before you stuck him in there? Which

419
00:27:39,279 --> 00:27:48,880
one escaped? Kids? Butchering? Something in my mind stopped, and

420
00:27:48,920 --> 00:27:52,720
I switched on my rifle's tacklight. A heavy pit of

421
00:27:52,720 --> 00:27:55,480
my stomach formed as I flashed it on the tubes.

422
00:27:56,680 --> 00:28:02,680
There were people in those tubes. They were people. Wire

423
00:28:02,799 --> 00:28:06,160
and tubes now poked into sea through and murky flesh.

424
00:28:06,599 --> 00:28:11,640
As the bodies of the kidnapped floated, mutated, dissected, and changed.

425
00:28:12,799 --> 00:28:15,640
One person's skin ran reptilian like up their left arm

426
00:28:15,920 --> 00:28:18,720
before merging with a strange gaping hole in their chest,

427
00:28:19,319 --> 00:28:21,640
their skull protruding out of their skin in their head.

428
00:28:22,640 --> 00:28:24,880
My breathing stuttered a bit as I backed up a

429
00:28:24,920 --> 00:28:29,319
few steps, glass crunching under my boots. Curses muttered by

430
00:28:29,359 --> 00:28:32,119
the others in the room as we all began to look.

431
00:28:33,720 --> 00:28:37,079
Another one's mouth was sealed at the front. Two more jagged,

432
00:28:37,319 --> 00:28:40,960
missed upsets of teeth poked out either side. Their eyes

433
00:28:40,960 --> 00:28:45,359
were sealed, skin covering defined sockets in their head. The

434
00:28:45,359 --> 00:28:48,240
medic flashed his on one where their spines stuck out

435
00:28:48,279 --> 00:28:51,759
through their back. The vertebrae was larger than a normal person's,

436
00:28:52,240 --> 00:28:57,480
the bones sticking out inches longer in some areas. Jesus, man,

437
00:28:58,200 --> 00:29:02,039
this is he gagged a bit, coughing as he looked away.

438
00:29:03,039 --> 00:29:05,920
I had to pry my eyes away. My mind was

439
00:29:05,960 --> 00:29:10,480
frying just looking at They'd better be dead. Oh, I

440
00:29:10,599 --> 00:29:14,119
swear to the Lord himself if they ain't, the captain

441
00:29:14,160 --> 00:29:20,119
said sternly, as the man sobbed and nodded. Yes. The

442
00:29:20,200 --> 00:29:27,279
captain raised an eyebrow. You sure, yes, they died during surgery.

443
00:29:27,359 --> 00:29:29,680
If you're lying to me, I swear to God I

444
00:29:29,720 --> 00:29:33,640
will make you euthanize every single one. The captain shoved

445
00:29:33,640 --> 00:29:36,880
the laptack forward into the center of the aisle. I

446
00:29:36,920 --> 00:29:39,920
looked down, shaking my head as the images of those

447
00:29:40,160 --> 00:29:45,160
things burned into the film of my brain. Where's she gone, doctor,

448
00:29:46,160 --> 00:29:49,640
the captain said, sternly, squaring up to the man, who

449
00:29:49,759 --> 00:29:56,680
sobbed as he shrugged. I I where is it? The

450
00:29:56,720 --> 00:30:01,920
man continued to cry. He escaped. He killed everyone, hit

451
00:30:02,000 --> 00:30:04,920
cut through the guards, hit cut through everyone, all of

452
00:30:04,960 --> 00:30:10,200
my friends. This caused the captain to nearly bust the

453
00:30:10,279 --> 00:30:13,400
blood vessel from the look he gave him, bawling on

454
00:30:13,480 --> 00:30:15,480
his fist and driving the arm and knuckle of his

455
00:30:15,559 --> 00:30:18,640
ugly glove into the gut of the lab tech. This

456
00:30:18,799 --> 00:30:22,319
caused the smaller, weaker lab tech to buckle over, dropping

457
00:30:22,359 --> 00:30:25,160
to his hands and knees, now favoring an injured hand

458
00:30:25,319 --> 00:30:31,400
and probably a burst spleen. Your friends, Your friends, you

459
00:30:31,480 --> 00:30:33,640
mean the friends I kidnapped a twenty two year old

460
00:30:33,680 --> 00:30:36,200
girl and a fourteen year old son and turn them

461
00:30:36,200 --> 00:30:42,000
into monsters. What about them? This earned only more sobs

462
00:30:42,000 --> 00:30:44,960
from the lab tech as the captain turned hands on

463
00:30:45,039 --> 00:30:48,160
his hips as he scoffed, he looked at the medic,

464
00:30:48,480 --> 00:30:51,759
who only stared back through his nuds. The captain turned

465
00:30:51,799 --> 00:30:55,039
to look at him. You got to the count of ten,

466
00:30:55,440 --> 00:30:57,480
and if you don't give me a single whereabouts of

467
00:30:57,480 --> 00:31:00,799
this thing, I would start grabbing tools, cutting your little

468
00:31:00,799 --> 00:31:04,480
weasley ass up like he did to these kids. The

469
00:31:04,559 --> 00:31:09,920
captain loomed over the man, grabbing him by his hair. Sir, sir, please,

470
00:31:10,839 --> 00:31:18,799
the laptack pleaded one, two, three, The captain counted. Some

471
00:31:18,960 --> 00:31:22,599
looked away, others shook their heads. There wasn't a man

472
00:31:22,640 --> 00:31:24,839
in the room who wouldn't do what he did right

473
00:31:24,880 --> 00:31:30,960
now after seeing them. It's hit in the woods. You

474
00:31:31,079 --> 00:31:34,799
heard it. It did it freaky yell, just like ten

475
00:31:34,839 --> 00:31:39,319
minutes ago. The captain laughed, letting go of the man's

476
00:31:39,359 --> 00:31:42,880
hair as he whipped his head forward. Y'all hear that

477
00:31:43,359 --> 00:31:48,200
HiT's in the woods. He pulled out his seventeen he's

478
00:31:48,240 --> 00:31:51,039
nine milimeters sidearm, pulling the slide back a bit to

479
00:31:51,079 --> 00:31:58,640
make sure he was chambered four five six. The man

480
00:31:58,680 --> 00:32:01,319
stood up, and at this point I kicked out his

481
00:32:01,400 --> 00:32:05,319
extended leg, dropping him back to his knees. The man

482
00:32:05,359 --> 00:32:09,880
looked at me, then at the captain. You can't do this.

483
00:32:10,480 --> 00:32:15,319
This is illegal. Before the captain could finish his count,

484
00:32:15,960 --> 00:32:19,920
we heard it. It echoed all the way down the

485
00:32:19,920 --> 00:32:24,079
facility halls, reverberating off the glass tubes in the room,

486
00:32:24,319 --> 00:32:29,240
that half feminine, half monstrous cry. Except this time it

487
00:32:29,279 --> 00:32:33,440
didn't come from far off mountains or trees. It came

488
00:32:34,319 --> 00:32:39,920
from the stairs. Then the lights went out. I don't

489
00:32:39,960 --> 00:32:42,240
know if it was prior damage to the facility or

490
00:32:42,279 --> 00:32:46,480
electric works or something else, but they zapped out the

491
00:32:46,599 --> 00:32:48,920
light in the halls, the lights on the stairs, the

492
00:32:49,000 --> 00:32:52,319
light in the room, the electronics, the light in the tanks,

493
00:32:53,119 --> 00:32:57,599
all of it. He cried out again, and this time

494
00:32:58,359 --> 00:33:03,759
I think I heard it say help me. Anyone who

495
00:33:03,839 --> 00:33:06,599
had their nods up flicked them down. All of us

496
00:33:06,640 --> 00:33:09,000
trained our lasers down the dark hall beyond the door.

497
00:33:09,880 --> 00:33:12,240
The slight shakiness of all the green lasers told the

498
00:33:12,240 --> 00:33:15,599
same stories, all of the death, all of the stuff

499
00:33:15,599 --> 00:33:20,599
in the tanks. It had everyone spooked. The captain came

500
00:33:20,680 --> 00:33:23,839
up alongside me and the medic. He looked back to

501
00:33:23,880 --> 00:33:30,319
the lab tack, you run, you die. The man swallowed

502
00:33:30,359 --> 00:33:36,839
and smothered his misery. I I know, the captain corrected

503
00:33:36,880 --> 00:33:43,440
him in a low tone. No, you really don't. The

504
00:33:43,480 --> 00:33:52,400
creature cried out again, help me. The sounds of something

505
00:33:52,440 --> 00:33:56,079
hard impacting the tiled floor sounded out as it approached

506
00:33:56,160 --> 00:34:00,920
us through the dark. Abyss, more footsteps, then another cry,

507
00:34:02,559 --> 00:34:08,800
help me. The gunner let out a shaky breath as

508
00:34:08,800 --> 00:34:16,920
he cracked his neck. More footsteps, then another cry, help me.

509
00:34:20,519 --> 00:34:25,239
It was maybe five meters from the doornail, Lord Almighty,

510
00:34:25,920 --> 00:34:30,199
The captain muttered, I couldn't see much in that darkness then,

511
00:34:30,960 --> 00:34:35,320
but I saw what everyone else saw. I saw enough.

512
00:34:37,159 --> 00:34:42,360
Its body was easily six feet tall, too gigantic bony

513
00:34:42,719 --> 00:34:45,760
man just like legs. They were dark from blood stepped

514
00:34:45,800 --> 00:34:49,480
into the doorway. Its head was smooth, its large teeth

515
00:34:49,599 --> 00:34:52,920
shining in the darkness, and its eyes glowed like an animal.

516
00:34:54,280 --> 00:35:01,800
Its eyes glowed. He could see us. We all froze,

517
00:35:02,079 --> 00:35:05,079
gread rifles trained on it, a damn machine gun trained

518
00:35:05,119 --> 00:35:07,920
on it, a room full of green brays, the best

519
00:35:07,920 --> 00:35:13,719
of the best, and everyone froze. The captain was first

520
00:35:13,760 --> 00:35:16,840
the fire, slamming his trigger as he shot two twenty

521
00:35:16,920 --> 00:35:20,960
three death into that crime against existence. The gunner opened

522
00:35:21,039 --> 00:35:24,199
up as well, and then the medic. Two more weapon

523
00:35:24,239 --> 00:35:28,199
sergeants also shot It, yelled at us, cried out like

524
00:35:28,239 --> 00:35:36,400
an agonized woman pleading for help. Then it lunged, running

525
00:35:36,559 --> 00:35:39,920
and slamming through a test tube. Glass flew everywhere, causing

526
00:35:39,960 --> 00:35:42,440
several of us to shield our faces. As the water

527
00:35:42,519 --> 00:35:45,920
flooded the floor and the deformed body that was inside

528
00:35:46,119 --> 00:35:50,199
flopped down near our feet, A horrendous rotted smell filled

529
00:35:50,199 --> 00:35:54,760
the air. Jesus the medics spotted out, gagging a bit

530
00:35:54,800 --> 00:35:58,880
as he kicked it away. The creature now screamed as

531
00:35:58,880 --> 00:36:00,760
a rifle went that it jumped in hear back top.

532
00:36:01,159 --> 00:36:04,079
It leapt on top of him, shoving that bony mandible

533
00:36:04,119 --> 00:36:06,760
into his left shoulder, pinning him to the ground as

534
00:36:06,760 --> 00:36:09,880
he screamed, thrashing his elbow into the thing as he

535
00:36:10,000 --> 00:36:14,840
kicked its stomach, but it didn't attack him. It just

536
00:36:15,000 --> 00:36:20,039
eyed the scientist. He attempted to run for his life.

537
00:36:20,599 --> 00:36:23,079
The thing jumped on top of him, pinning him face

538
00:36:23,159 --> 00:36:27,280
first into the murky, wet floor. That's when I noticed

539
00:36:27,400 --> 00:36:32,519
the six smaller human like arms on its torso. Its

540
00:36:32,519 --> 00:36:36,400
maine mandible pinned him to the ground. The arms, some normal,

541
00:36:36,719 --> 00:36:40,239
some with bony spikes for fingers, others just lined with

542
00:36:40,400 --> 00:36:44,039
sharp teeth, began to rip into the man's back. The

543
00:36:44,159 --> 00:36:47,239
lap tap screamed. His lab coat was torn open as

544
00:36:47,239 --> 00:36:50,559
he began to dig down into his back. Some still

545
00:36:50,599 --> 00:36:55,159
fired shots, but it didn't even react. It didn't even move,

546
00:36:56,400 --> 00:37:00,400
just continued to tear into that vial. But pouse some gun.

547
00:37:02,000 --> 00:37:05,119
The captain's voice lit up the coms as he and

548
00:37:05,159 --> 00:37:07,880
the medic rushed to pick the man up and heave

549
00:37:07,960 --> 00:37:11,639
him on the Captain's shoulders. We can't engage him here

550
00:37:11,880 --> 00:37:18,280
outside now, he was right. It thrived on close quarters.

551
00:37:18,920 --> 00:37:22,440
It rang guys through before they could piggered apart. We

552
00:37:22,519 --> 00:37:25,960
all ran nerves, shot weapons hard from firing into a

553
00:37:26,000 --> 00:37:29,159
thing that didn't react. The power off so we couldn't

554
00:37:29,159 --> 00:37:33,920
close the blast doors. All we could do was run.

555
00:37:34,559 --> 00:37:36,679
I nearly slipped on the glass as we bucked it

556
00:37:36,679 --> 00:37:39,679
out of air, firing some desperate pot shots into the

557
00:37:39,760 --> 00:37:43,239
lab with the gunner. The lab techs screams echoed throughout

558
00:37:43,280 --> 00:37:46,400
the hallway as we booked it up the stairs. It

559
00:37:46,480 --> 00:37:49,360
was going to be done with him soon. The gunner

560
00:37:49,400 --> 00:37:51,599
and I covered the captain as we broke out into

561
00:37:51,639 --> 00:37:55,000
the open air, the smell of rotten death replaced by

562
00:37:55,000 --> 00:37:58,559
the open, piney air of the forest. Several men broke

563
00:37:58,559 --> 00:38:02,440
out road flares, tossing them everywhere, giving us much needed

564
00:38:02,519 --> 00:38:05,599
light in the form of greens, blues, reds, and purples.

565
00:38:06,639 --> 00:38:08,880
The captain dropped the man behind a beaten up and

566
00:38:08,960 --> 00:38:12,440
rex'edan as the medic began to patch him up. The

567
00:38:12,480 --> 00:38:14,960
gunner deployed his bipod and aimed at the doors of

568
00:38:14,960 --> 00:38:19,199
the facility from the car's hood. The captain positioned different

569
00:38:19,199 --> 00:38:21,079
men to where they could all fire and the door

570
00:38:21,719 --> 00:38:25,719
fir enough away from the thing's grasp rumera, getting that

571
00:38:25,800 --> 00:38:29,400
damn net and calling that air. I took aim behind

572
00:38:29,440 --> 00:38:32,840
a large suv with several others. We all aimed at

573
00:38:32,880 --> 00:38:39,440
the door. The screaming had stopped. The silence was broken

574
00:38:39,519 --> 00:38:42,039
by its bony mandibles as it rushed out into the

575
00:38:42,079 --> 00:38:45,480
open air, and with all the flares and chemlights and

576
00:38:45,519 --> 00:38:48,960
even the captain's tack light, we finally got a good look.

577
00:38:50,559 --> 00:38:53,480
Its skin was a mix between pink from its exposed

578
00:38:53,519 --> 00:38:56,800
muscles to a sea through clear layer covering of the parts.

579
00:38:57,639 --> 00:39:00,760
Boney calcium like armor had formed over a lot of

580
00:39:00,800 --> 00:39:04,719
its body, and its back to legs formed smaller mandible

581
00:39:04,840 --> 00:39:08,960
like features at the back, and its head an exposed

582
00:39:09,000 --> 00:39:12,920
skull all to human eyes peering out in a rage.

583
00:39:13,280 --> 00:39:17,239
As its larger, unhinged jaw opened and it roared out

584
00:39:17,440 --> 00:39:21,760
it's deafening cry at us. The gunner was the first

585
00:39:21,800 --> 00:39:25,000
to open up. A blast of five fifty six tore

586
00:39:25,079 --> 00:39:28,079
through the armor on its mandible, legs and torso. The

587
00:39:28,159 --> 00:39:31,480
thing recalled at first and then hissed as it charged forward.

588
00:39:32,199 --> 00:39:34,159
The captain ran from his place in front of the

589
00:39:34,159 --> 00:39:37,599
cidan's side. The thing stuck its two large mandibles into

590
00:39:37,599 --> 00:39:41,559
the roof badly denting it. The medic quickly covered the

591
00:39:41,559 --> 00:39:44,800
wounded weapon sergeant, shielding him as the thing peered down

592
00:39:44,800 --> 00:39:48,400
at the two. The captain quickly got its attention, aiming

593
00:39:48,440 --> 00:39:50,920
fire at the back of its head. It roared with

594
00:39:50,960 --> 00:39:54,119
a vengeance as it charged to the captain. He fell

595
00:39:54,159 --> 00:39:56,280
back to the Zidan, running out of our line of

596
00:39:56,320 --> 00:40:00,199
fire as the thing barreled towards us. The thing look

597
00:40:00,239 --> 00:40:03,639
a mandible inside the hood, impaling it, and then another

598
00:40:04,000 --> 00:40:07,280
just to my left. I circled around and behind it

599
00:40:07,320 --> 00:40:11,519
as I fired. He cried out, blood now pouring from

600
00:40:11,559 --> 00:40:14,880
its wounds as its calcium plating was cracked and falling

601
00:40:14,920 --> 00:40:18,840
off in mass. The thing turned to me, and as

602
00:40:18,840 --> 00:40:21,519
I flicked my hand forward to watow and laid into it,

603
00:40:21,519 --> 00:40:24,079
it just bowled at me, shoving me to the ground.

604
00:40:24,880 --> 00:40:27,719
It's smaller, dimlic hands reached for me as I kicked

605
00:40:27,760 --> 00:40:31,039
them away. Its jaws snapped as I held my rifle

606
00:40:31,039 --> 00:40:33,400
in the way, shielding my face as it gnawed on

607
00:40:33,440 --> 00:40:36,599
the metal. The gunner then blasted a chunk of its

608
00:40:36,639 --> 00:40:40,920
exposed skull away, staggering it as it turned. The captain

609
00:40:40,960 --> 00:40:43,880
whipped his stock into the thing's head then back pedaled

610
00:40:43,960 --> 00:40:47,239
as he fired off another burst of rounds. The thing

611
00:40:47,320 --> 00:40:50,559
turned at him, roaring viciously. As the captain dropped his

612
00:40:50,599 --> 00:40:53,280
empty mag he slapped in a fresh one as the

613
00:40:53,320 --> 00:40:57,800
thing lunged at him, both mandibles raised. The glass exploded

614
00:40:57,880 --> 00:41:00,920
out of the SUV's windows as the captain dropped levels,

615
00:41:01,280 --> 00:41:04,119
firing into its stomach. As he circled out back into

616
00:41:04,159 --> 00:41:07,760
the open, the creature roared as it went to move

617
00:41:07,760 --> 00:41:11,880
for him again, but it couldn't. Its large mandibles were

618
00:41:11,920 --> 00:41:15,679
stuck all the way inside of the vehicle. The captain

619
00:41:15,760 --> 00:41:18,079
led his rifle hang slung on his front as he

620
00:41:18,159 --> 00:41:21,440
reached for something in his kit and M sixty seven

621
00:41:21,559 --> 00:41:27,360
fragmentation grenade get back. Everyone who was in the open

622
00:41:27,440 --> 00:41:31,119
ducked for cover. The gunner and several weapon sergeants retreated

623
00:41:31,239 --> 00:41:34,480
beyond a series of concrete jersey barriers. I ran and

624
00:41:34,519 --> 00:41:37,360
slid behind the sa'dan, helping the medic to shield our

625
00:41:37,360 --> 00:41:41,000
wounded battle body. I heard the distinct sound of a

626
00:41:41,039 --> 00:41:44,719
spoon flying and the whistling of the grenade. The captain

627
00:41:44,800 --> 00:41:47,599
vaulted himself over the car hood, with the con sergeant

628
00:41:48,079 --> 00:41:51,280
covering his radio operator's head as they both went prone.

629
00:41:52,679 --> 00:41:56,159
The explosion was thunderous. The shock wave of the grenade

630
00:41:56,239 --> 00:41:59,119
shook everyone and even rattled me a bit from being

631
00:41:59,159 --> 00:42:04,159
so close. Shrapnel and fragments flew everywhere, impacting the concrete

632
00:42:04,159 --> 00:42:07,719
barriers the building. Any windows in the sedan that weren't

633
00:42:07,719 --> 00:42:12,840
already broken were shattered. A few seconds passed as we

634
00:42:12,920 --> 00:42:16,800
all hesitantly started to lift our heads, then dropped them

635
00:42:17,000 --> 00:42:20,840
as the SUV's gas tank seemingly erupted and detonated and

636
00:42:20,960 --> 00:42:23,519
go from the wrecking of fireballs so large if I

637
00:42:23,639 --> 00:42:27,920
like the flames were touching my face. The captain popped up,

638
00:42:28,400 --> 00:42:30,920
aiming on top of the hood of the car. Then

639
00:42:30,960 --> 00:42:34,079
Eye and several others joined him, peeking from behind our

640
00:42:34,119 --> 00:42:36,679
points of cover. As we looked to see if that

641
00:42:36,800 --> 00:42:42,559
had done it. The suv was a burning skeleton, an

642
00:42:42,559 --> 00:42:45,599
inferno from all of the ignited gasoline covering the frame

643
00:42:46,039 --> 00:42:49,760
and the ground around it, and the beast as it

644
00:42:49,840 --> 00:42:54,599
defiantly pulled its last remaining mandible its front left one

645
00:42:54,880 --> 00:42:58,000
the only appendage had had left, and stumbled out from

646
00:42:58,000 --> 00:43:02,800
the flames, Its skin popped, its muscles boiled, and with

647
00:43:02,920 --> 00:43:05,760
all of the sea through skin and bone plating torn

648
00:43:05,960 --> 00:43:10,719
and burnt off. It gazed around, its eyes ruptured and melted.

649
00:43:12,679 --> 00:43:20,239
Help me. The gravel crunched as its charred and still

650
00:43:20,239 --> 00:43:24,039
burning body slumped forward. The captain emerged from behind the

651
00:43:24,119 --> 00:43:26,559
vic as only a few of us dared to approach

652
00:43:26,599 --> 00:43:30,199
the thing. He lifted his nods, this time pulling his

653
00:43:30,280 --> 00:43:33,239
M seventeen back up and aiming at the thing's head.

654
00:43:34,440 --> 00:43:38,320
Three shots into the thing's head, the damaged and charred

655
00:43:38,360 --> 00:43:44,000
skull caving in a circle of light illuminated us. As

656
00:43:44,039 --> 00:43:46,800
the rotary blades of the black Hawk sounded out overhead.

657
00:43:47,800 --> 00:43:50,480
I shouldered my face and lifted my nose to avoid

658
00:43:50,480 --> 00:43:55,599
the spotlight blinding me up. Four actual down, building secure.

659
00:43:58,159 --> 00:44:02,719
The ensuing hour was that was just shrouded in I

660
00:44:02,760 --> 00:44:07,199
don't know mystery. I guess the captain went against prior

661
00:44:07,280 --> 00:44:09,920
missions of telling us to go prone and poor security,

662
00:44:10,440 --> 00:44:12,679
putting the gunner at the sedan by the gate, and

663
00:44:12,760 --> 00:44:15,639
telling the rest of us to watch the woodline. When

664
00:44:15,639 --> 00:44:18,400
the van showed up, that's when he told us to

665
00:44:18,760 --> 00:44:23,159
chill out. They weren't really vans, they were more like

666
00:44:23,320 --> 00:44:27,320
armored trucks. Now, for the sake of being classified and

667
00:44:27,360 --> 00:44:31,800
remaining anonymous, I can't divulge a lot about them. I'm

668
00:44:31,840 --> 00:44:35,119
definitely not saying the Black Shirts wearing black multicam combat

669
00:44:35,199 --> 00:44:39,440
uniforms with kits, weapons and gear available. That would definitely

670
00:44:39,440 --> 00:44:42,719
make them a private sector group. I'm not saying their

671
00:44:42,800 --> 00:44:46,519
uniforms were sterilized with all patches, logos, and markers stripped.

672
00:44:47,360 --> 00:44:50,519
I'm also not saying the hazmat suits looked way beyond

673
00:44:50,639 --> 00:44:54,000
anything our mope system has. I'm not saying they brought

674
00:44:54,039 --> 00:44:57,599
several metal cases in from their armored vics, and I'm

675
00:44:57,599 --> 00:45:01,360
not saying they brought in advance of ailance drones with them.

676
00:45:01,519 --> 00:45:06,079
I will say they weren't really hostile. Damn. One even

677
00:45:06,119 --> 00:45:09,840
offered us a cigarette. The bird landed at the opposite

678
00:45:09,880 --> 00:45:13,159
side of the building, the open lot, where they eventually

679
00:45:13,159 --> 00:45:16,599
told us to head. We prepared our guy for CASEVAC

680
00:45:16,719 --> 00:45:19,360
on a litter with a black Hawk and loaded up.

681
00:45:19,400 --> 00:45:21,800
As the captain finished talking to some guy in a suit.

682
00:45:23,280 --> 00:45:27,320
He was much shorter, maybe five eight. He bore the

683
00:45:27,360 --> 00:45:31,199
look of a younger but still weathered man. His hair

684
00:45:31,360 --> 00:45:35,039
was slipped back and had a hard part. A slight

685
00:45:35,119 --> 00:45:37,960
bump underneath his sports coat told me he was armed.

686
00:45:39,239 --> 00:45:42,000
The captain eventually joined us. As soon as the aviation

687
00:45:42,119 --> 00:45:45,719
crew shut the door. He popped his helmet off, watched

688
00:45:45,760 --> 00:45:49,320
to their anger, and slumped back in his seat. When

689
00:45:49,320 --> 00:45:52,320
we touched base and got back to the cop our,

690
00:45:52,400 --> 00:45:58,920
sister team Artemis replaced us on QRF. I've been thinking

691
00:45:58,920 --> 00:46:02,039
about this for days now, about what those people did

692
00:46:02,039 --> 00:46:06,039
to them in that lab or the captain said, they

693
00:46:06,119 --> 00:46:11,880
kidnapped them, cut them up, changed them all for what

694
00:46:13,199 --> 00:46:17,840
some sick fantasy who even owned the lab. There were

695
00:46:17,840 --> 00:46:23,719
no US markings, no logos zip. Like I said before,

696
00:46:24,400 --> 00:46:27,039
there's still a lot. I don't know, But what I

697
00:46:27,119 --> 00:46:30,880
do know is that those guys got exactly what they deserved,

698
00:46:31,960 --> 00:46:35,639
that thing crying out for help, pleading for us to

699
00:46:35,679 --> 00:46:39,280
make it suffering end. The more I think about it,

700
00:46:40,320 --> 00:46:43,679
the more it makes me sick. I don't know who

701
00:46:43,679 --> 00:46:46,320
the hell those guys were that relieved us, but they

702
00:46:46,360 --> 00:46:49,760
didn't have any markings. Some of them were speaking German,

703
00:46:49,960 --> 00:46:54,360
if my memory serves. But whoever they are, I hope

704
00:46:54,360 --> 00:46:58,360
they learn from their mistakes and never tamper with that

705
00:46:58,559 --> 00:47:13,360
evil again. My life had turned into one of those

706
00:47:13,400 --> 00:47:19,719
cliche country songs. I was divorced, broke, unemployed and annoyed

707
00:47:19,719 --> 00:47:23,239
at the world. Five years down the drain with a

708
00:47:23,280 --> 00:47:26,639
woman I thought I'd spent my life with, only to

709
00:47:26,679 --> 00:47:29,079
come home one day to find it already packed and

710
00:47:29,239 --> 00:47:32,599
half way out the door. The job loss came a

711
00:47:32,639 --> 00:47:36,880
month later, and at that point I figured the universe

712
00:47:37,079 --> 00:47:39,159
was just trying to kick me while I was down.

713
00:47:40,800 --> 00:47:44,480
I needed space. No well meaning friends telling me to

714
00:47:44,679 --> 00:47:49,079
focus on myself or find the silver lining. To hell

715
00:47:49,159 --> 00:47:54,039
with all of that. I didn't want silver linings. I

716
00:47:54,119 --> 00:47:59,119
wanted silence. So when I found a listing for an

717
00:47:59,159 --> 00:48:02,679
off grid cabin in the Appalachian Mountains, it felt like

718
00:48:02,719 --> 00:48:07,159
the perfect escape. It wasn't some cozy rental package with

719
00:48:07,280 --> 00:48:10,920
the hot tub and a fire pit on Airbnb, just

720
00:48:10,960 --> 00:48:15,519
a bare bones cabin buried deep in the mountains. The

721
00:48:15,599 --> 00:48:21,480
description was short, remote off grid cabin in the Appalachian Mountains,

722
00:48:22,079 --> 00:48:26,800
no service, no electricity for those looking to truly disconnect,

723
00:48:28,480 --> 00:48:33,559
no reviews, and the pictures were blurry, but it looked beautiful.

724
00:48:35,280 --> 00:48:38,679
I didn't even have an exact location, just a general

725
00:48:38,800 --> 00:48:43,239
area and a contact number. Normally i'd be wary of

726
00:48:43,280 --> 00:48:47,639
something that vague, but at that point I didn't care.

727
00:48:49,039 --> 00:48:54,360
I booked it for a full month. The guy who

728
00:48:54,400 --> 00:48:57,440
owned the place was weirdly insistent that I couldn't drive

729
00:48:57,480 --> 00:49:00,840
there myself. He said the trails were too easy to

730
00:49:00,920 --> 00:49:06,519
lose and that GPS was useless that deep in the mountains. Instead,

731
00:49:07,000 --> 00:49:09,400
he arranged for a local guide to take me up.

732
00:49:11,199 --> 00:49:15,639
It made perfect sense. Mountain roads, rough terrain, the risk

733
00:49:15,719 --> 00:49:21,440
of getting lost didn't seem that strange. I met the

734
00:49:21,480 --> 00:49:24,440
guide at a run down general store about an hour

735
00:49:24,480 --> 00:49:28,440
outside the nearest town. He was already waiting when I

736
00:49:28,480 --> 00:49:32,400
pulled into the lot, standing beside an old ATV with

737
00:49:32,519 --> 00:49:36,119
a trailer hitched to the back. The guy looked like

738
00:49:36,159 --> 00:49:39,719
he'd been living in the woods his entire life. Try

739
00:49:39,760 --> 00:49:43,039
picturing a stereotypical park ranger that's been doing his job

740
00:49:43,079 --> 00:49:46,599
for a few years too long. That kind of guy,

741
00:49:48,599 --> 00:49:53,159
you the renter, he asked. I nodded, toss my backpack

742
00:49:53,280 --> 00:49:59,280
onto the trailer that veus. He grunted, and climbed into

743
00:49:59,320 --> 00:50:06,039
the ATV get in. The ride up was rough as hell.

744
00:50:06,760 --> 00:50:09,760
The trail was barely more than an overgrown deer path,

745
00:50:10,280 --> 00:50:14,480
full of sharp turns and sudden dips. After about an

746
00:50:14,519 --> 00:50:18,119
hour of bouncing over rocks, and weaving through dense streek cover,

747
00:50:18,960 --> 00:50:23,360
we hit a clearing with no more roads. This is

748
00:50:23,400 --> 00:50:29,159
where we walk, he said, already unloading my gear. I

749
00:50:29,199 --> 00:50:35,719
stared at him. How far is the cabin? A few miles?

750
00:50:36,519 --> 00:50:39,800
I cried to my back, adjusted my jacket and followed

751
00:50:39,880 --> 00:50:46,199
him into the trees. The hike took another hour, and

752
00:50:46,280 --> 00:50:50,000
the deeper we went, the more I realized just how

753
00:50:50,039 --> 00:50:54,960
far I moved this place was there truly was nothing here,

754
00:50:55,760 --> 00:51:01,159
just solid forest pressing in from all sides. I expected

755
00:51:01,199 --> 00:51:06,280
to hear birds, bugs, maybe a distant stream, but at

756
00:51:06,280 --> 00:51:12,360
some point the woods got quiet, not in a normal way,

757
00:51:13,159 --> 00:51:16,840
not in the peaceful, wow nature is so relaxing way,

758
00:51:18,480 --> 00:51:22,800
I mean quiet. I noticed that the guide also hadn't

759
00:51:22,800 --> 00:51:28,119
spoken in nearly half an hour. When the cabin finally

760
00:51:28,159 --> 00:51:37,360
came into view, I exhaled. It was exactly what I wanted. Small, sturdy,

761
00:51:37,960 --> 00:51:40,440
a simple two floor set up with a wood stove

762
00:51:40,719 --> 00:51:44,519
and a creek near by for water, just me, the

763
00:51:44,599 --> 00:51:50,400
trees and miles of untouched wilderness. The guide set down

764
00:51:50,400 --> 00:51:54,599
my gear on the porch and adjusted his cap. You

765
00:51:54,679 --> 00:51:59,440
will be fine, he said, finally, breaking the silence. Long

766
00:51:59,519 --> 00:52:04,920
as you don't wonder too far. Then, without another word,

767
00:52:05,800 --> 00:52:13,519
he turned and disappeared into the trees. The first few

768
00:52:13,639 --> 00:52:17,400
nights were exactly what I needed. I woke up when

769
00:52:17,400 --> 00:52:21,599
the sun came in through the windows, spent my days hiking, reading,

770
00:52:21,639 --> 00:52:27,480
and just existing. I finally didn't have my ex wife's

771
00:52:27,519 --> 00:52:32,000
lawyer blowing up my inbox. The first time I realized

772
00:52:32,039 --> 00:52:34,960
how deep I really was in the mountains was on

773
00:52:35,000 --> 00:52:39,239
the second night. I had stepped outside to do my business.

774
00:52:39,800 --> 00:52:42,320
I was hit with a kind of silence you don't

775
00:52:42,360 --> 00:52:48,000
get in normal life. It wasn't just quiet, it was absolute.

776
00:52:49,719 --> 00:52:52,280
At the time, I figured it was just how the

777
00:52:52,360 --> 00:52:56,480
forest worked. I read once that predators moving through an

778
00:52:56,519 --> 00:53:02,000
area could cause sudden silences. Probably just the bear passing through, right,

779
00:53:03,239 --> 00:53:07,159
So I shrugged it off and went to bed. By

780
00:53:07,199 --> 00:53:14,880
the fifth morning, I started noticing things. It wasn't anything

781
00:53:14,920 --> 00:53:18,400
obvious at first, just the sense that the landscape was

782
00:53:18,480 --> 00:53:22,679
slightly different. The bushes by the tree line looked disturbed,

783
00:53:23,199 --> 00:53:27,960
like something had moved through them, probably deer, plenty of

784
00:53:27,960 --> 00:53:32,199
them in the area. But as I walked over, I

785
00:53:32,239 --> 00:53:35,239
saw the dirt was churned up, like something had been

786
00:53:35,280 --> 00:53:40,800
digging or shuffling around. Further along I found scratches and

787
00:53:40,840 --> 00:53:45,800
a few trees deep ones. I ran my fingers along

788
00:53:45,840 --> 00:53:49,000
the grooves. I had no idea what kind of Mark's

789
00:53:49,039 --> 00:53:52,639
bare claws would leave, but I figured this must have

790
00:53:52,719 --> 00:53:56,719
been a big one. That was the first time I

791
00:53:56,760 --> 00:54:01,280
got that nagging feeling that weird. I got level discomfort

792
00:54:01,719 --> 00:54:05,400
that something was off, even if my brain was trying

793
00:54:05,440 --> 00:54:12,159
to logic its way out of it. I pushed it down. Bears, deer,

794
00:54:12,480 --> 00:54:17,559
mountain lions. This was the wilderness. If I was going

795
00:54:17,599 --> 00:54:21,599
to start jumping at every broken branch and disturbed bush,

796
00:54:21,960 --> 00:54:26,159
I was going to drive myself crazy. So I went

797
00:54:26,199 --> 00:54:31,920
back inside, made coffee and told myself to stop being paranoid.

798
00:54:32,639 --> 00:54:37,679
But for the rest of the day I couldn't shake it.

799
00:54:37,800 --> 00:54:40,719
By the twelve day, I was feeling at home in

800
00:54:40,760 --> 00:54:44,920
the cabin. It was still eerily quiet most of the time,

801
00:54:45,480 --> 00:54:48,679
but I convinced myself that's just how it was out here.

802
00:54:50,079 --> 00:54:53,239
I'd been living off canned food and dried goods, but

803
00:54:53,360 --> 00:54:57,440
I still had a good supply of vegetables, rice and seasonings.

804
00:54:58,039 --> 00:55:00,800
I figured I'd treat myself to cook it something hot.

805
00:55:01,639 --> 00:55:06,800
A big potter stew I knew cooking food outside was

806
00:55:06,840 --> 00:55:10,800
a gambol in the wilderness. Even with scent blockers, it

807
00:55:10,960 --> 00:55:14,639
wasn't fool proof. If an animal got a whiff of it,

808
00:55:15,119 --> 00:55:19,400
I'd probably lose the whole thing, but at that point

809
00:55:19,960 --> 00:55:25,360
I didn't care. Worst case, I'd be out of some food.

810
00:55:25,920 --> 00:55:28,840
So I built up the fire in the stone ringed firepit,

811
00:55:29,400 --> 00:55:32,559
set up my cast iron pot, and threw in everything

812
00:55:32,599 --> 00:55:36,880
I had, let it simmer low and slow, covered it

813
00:55:36,920 --> 00:55:40,199
with a heavy lid, and just to be extra safe,

814
00:55:40,639 --> 00:55:45,199
wrapped the whole thing in a scent neutralizing tarp. Then

815
00:55:45,519 --> 00:55:49,599
I went inside, stretched out in bed, and fell asleep

816
00:55:49,679 --> 00:55:56,039
to the distant crackling of the fire. The next morning,

817
00:55:56,320 --> 00:56:01,039
I stepped outside and the yard was completed, depletely destroyed.

818
00:56:02,719 --> 00:56:05,320
At first, my brain couldn't even process what I was

819
00:56:05,360 --> 00:56:10,079
looking at. The dirt had been torn up in massive swaths,

820
00:56:10,119 --> 00:56:12,679
like something had been clawing or shoving at the ground.

821
00:56:13,719 --> 00:56:16,800
Chunks of earth had been thrown in long, scattered arcs,

822
00:56:17,199 --> 00:56:20,239
as if something had raked through it with oversized limbs.

823
00:56:21,199 --> 00:56:24,679
The bushes near the tree line were flattened, smashed down

824
00:56:24,719 --> 00:56:29,280
into the soil. Some of them were uprooted completely, lying

825
00:56:29,320 --> 00:56:34,199
in mangled piles with their roots exposed. Several small trees

826
00:56:34,199 --> 00:56:37,599
were bented on natural angles, their barks scraped away in

827
00:56:37,679 --> 00:56:42,920
places I had expected to find it gone obviously, maybe

828
00:56:42,960 --> 00:56:48,559
the pot knocked over the food licked clean. Instead, the

829
00:56:48,639 --> 00:56:53,760
pot was shattered, split into pieces, scattered across the yard.

830
00:56:55,000 --> 00:57:00,639
Chunks of food were everywhere, rice, carrots, potatoes neared into

831
00:57:00,679 --> 00:57:05,079
the dirt like something had deliberately flung them around. It

832
00:57:05,119 --> 00:57:07,760
looked like someone had picked up the entire pot and

833
00:57:07,920 --> 00:57:13,320
slammed it into the ground over and over. I stood

834
00:57:13,400 --> 00:57:16,719
there a long time, gripping the railing of the porch,

835
00:57:17,320 --> 00:57:21,000
trying to wrap my head around it. A bear would

836
00:57:21,039 --> 00:57:23,760
have eaten the food, even a raccoon would have at

837
00:57:23,840 --> 00:57:28,039
least picked through it. This felt like something had been angry,

838
00:57:28,559 --> 00:57:31,760
like it hadn't been looking for food, but throwing a tantrum.

839
00:57:33,480 --> 00:57:35,880
I swore under my breath and ran a hand through

840
00:57:35,920 --> 00:57:41,320
my hair, feeling annoyance outweigh the unease. I had been careful,

841
00:57:41,840 --> 00:57:44,559
and now I was down an entire meal and a

842
00:57:44,599 --> 00:57:50,159
good cast iron pot. Great, I muttered, bending down to

843
00:57:50,199 --> 00:57:54,320
scoop up some of the mess. For the next hour,

844
00:57:54,480 --> 00:57:57,880
I cleaned up, trying to convince myself it was just

845
00:57:57,960 --> 00:58:02,000
some animal acting weird. I buried the ruined food deep

846
00:58:02,000 --> 00:58:04,920
in the woods, scrubbed the yard down as best I could,

847
00:58:05,360 --> 00:58:08,239
and sat on the porch as the sun sank below

848
00:58:08,280 --> 00:58:15,079
the mountains. I wasn't scared exactly, just annoyed. The whole

849
00:58:15,119 --> 00:58:18,440
thing fell like some bizarre prank, except there was no

850
00:58:18,440 --> 00:58:22,320
one around here but me. Whatever had wrecked my yard,

851
00:58:22,679 --> 00:58:25,960
throwing my food around and smashed my pot had done

852
00:58:25,960 --> 00:58:28,960
it for no good reason, and now I was down

853
00:58:29,000 --> 00:58:32,920
a solid meal and cooking equipment. I sat on the

854
00:58:32,920 --> 00:58:36,000
porch for a while after dark, sipping from my flask,

855
00:58:36,360 --> 00:58:40,280
staring out at the tree line. The night air was cool,

856
00:58:40,840 --> 00:58:44,760
the forest stretching endlessly into blackness beyond the dim glow

857
00:58:44,800 --> 00:58:51,239
of the cabin's lantern. I tried listening for anything. I

858
00:58:51,320 --> 00:58:56,599
laughed dryly, shaking my head. That's when I thought I

859
00:58:56,679 --> 00:59:02,199
spoke into the silence before finally heading into I bolted

860
00:59:02,199 --> 00:59:06,360
the shutters, stoked the fire, and crawled into bed, still

861
00:59:06,400 --> 00:59:11,960
smelling the faint scent of stew on my hands. And

862
00:59:12,039 --> 00:59:19,159
then the noises started. It wasn't loud at first, just

863
00:59:19,199 --> 00:59:23,679
a faint disturbance, something pressing into the earth outside the cabin,

864
00:59:24,920 --> 00:59:30,840
a long, dragging sound. I lay completely still, eyes locked

865
00:59:30,840 --> 00:59:37,239
on the ceiling, heartbeat, picking up another step, then another.

866
00:59:39,039 --> 00:59:44,400
I wasn't just imagining it. Something was walking through my yard.

867
00:59:45,599 --> 00:59:48,360
In all my nights i'd spent here, I had heard

868
00:59:48,480 --> 00:59:52,280
nothing come this close to me. Yet the way of

869
00:59:52,320 --> 00:59:58,960
the footsteps was deep, solid, not a small scavenger, something big.

870
01:00:00,639 --> 01:00:04,719
I strained my ears trying to track its movement. It

871
01:00:04,840 --> 01:00:08,480
was in the erratic rustling of a hungry animal. It

872
01:00:08,599 --> 01:00:13,159
wasn't snuffling through the dirt looking for scraps. It was

873
01:00:13,360 --> 01:00:21,239
just walking. I swallowed, forcing myself to stay calm. Of course,

874
01:00:21,280 --> 01:00:25,000
it was back. Whatever wrecked my yard last night was

875
01:00:25,039 --> 01:00:28,960
properly checking for more food. But there wasn't anything outside

876
01:00:28,960 --> 01:00:34,039
this time. I smirked myself, rolling on to my side

877
01:00:34,119 --> 01:00:39,840
and pulling the blanket up. Jokes on you. I closed

878
01:00:39,840 --> 01:00:44,360
my eyes, listening as the footsteps circled the cabin closer,

879
01:00:44,440 --> 01:00:49,480
now a slow, steady crunch of something huge pressing into

880
01:00:49,480 --> 01:00:55,400
the soil. Then for a long moment, there was nothing,

881
01:00:57,280 --> 01:01:04,280
so I fell asleep. When the sun finally climbed over

882
01:01:04,320 --> 01:01:09,320
the mountains, I was itching for answers. I grabbed my boots,

883
01:01:09,519 --> 01:01:16,679
stepped outside and just stared for a second. There, pressed

884
01:01:16,719 --> 01:01:23,280
deep into the damp soil, were tracks, And first I

885
01:01:23,320 --> 01:01:26,159
thought there were hoof prints, maybe from a deer or

886
01:01:26,159 --> 01:01:31,000
an elk. But as I crouched down, my stomach tightened.

887
01:01:32,880 --> 01:01:40,239
They were massive and wrong, the spacing, the weight distribution.

888
01:01:41,159 --> 01:01:45,239
They weren't four legged. Whatever left these tracks had been

889
01:01:45,280 --> 01:01:50,840
walking upright a bipedal. I traced my fingers along the

890
01:01:50,960 --> 01:01:54,239
edge of one, feeling the way the dirt had been compacted,

891
01:01:54,800 --> 01:01:57,559
Picturing the size of the thing that could leave Prince

892
01:01:57,639 --> 01:02:04,079
this deep. My head buzzed with static. No, that didn't

893
01:02:04,119 --> 01:02:09,039
make sense. I stood up, scanning the yard, following the

894
01:02:09,079 --> 01:02:12,800
trail with my eyes. They led from the tree line

895
01:02:12,920 --> 01:02:19,760
straight to the porch, and then they stopped, like whatever

896
01:02:19,840 --> 01:02:25,280
made them had just disappeared. That night, I didn't even

897
01:02:25,320 --> 01:02:29,320
try to sleep. I was done pretending this was normal.

898
01:02:30,480 --> 01:02:33,920
Whatever had been com into my cabin wasn't just looking

899
01:02:33,960 --> 01:02:40,960
for food. It was looking for me. So I stayed up,

900
01:02:41,639 --> 01:02:45,159
killed the fire early, doused myself in scent blocker, and

901
01:02:45,280 --> 01:02:48,440
sat in the darkness, knife in hand, waiting for it

902
01:02:48,599 --> 01:02:56,360
to come back. On forty three am, the sound was distant,

903
01:02:56,960 --> 01:03:00,480
a rhythmic crunch of heavy footsteps pressing into the dirt.

904
01:03:01,719 --> 01:03:06,760
I gripped the knife tighter, barely breathing. It was back.

905
01:03:08,800 --> 01:03:13,159
The footsteps approached the porch, and then wood groaned under

906
01:03:13,159 --> 01:03:20,480
an impossible weight. Something was standing right outside. The floorboards

907
01:03:20,519 --> 01:03:26,840
creaked a slow dragging in hail. It was breathing. I

908
01:03:26,840 --> 01:03:29,440
could feel the weight of it through the walls, the

909
01:03:29,480 --> 01:03:32,599
pressure in the air, like the whole cabin was shrinking

910
01:03:32,639 --> 01:03:36,920
around me. I'd planned to peek through the window, maybe

911
01:03:36,920 --> 01:03:40,800
even step outside and see what it was, but I

912
01:03:40,880 --> 01:03:45,199
wasn't so sure in the moment, because whatever was standing

913
01:03:45,239 --> 01:03:49,239
on my porch wasn't a deer or a bear or

914
01:03:49,280 --> 01:03:54,400
anything else that belonged in these woods. It sounded huge.

915
01:03:56,800 --> 01:04:01,320
I stayed completely still, every muscle lock, gripping the knife

916
01:04:01,320 --> 01:04:06,800
as hard as I could. Then, just as suddenly as

917
01:04:06,800 --> 01:04:13,119
it had come, it left. The weight pulled away from

918
01:04:13,159 --> 01:04:18,039
the porch, the footsteps retreating back toward the trees. But

919
01:04:18,159 --> 01:04:23,239
I knew somehow that it wasn't really gone, It was

920
01:04:23,320 --> 01:04:29,280
just waiting for the right moment. I didn't sleep. I

921
01:04:29,400 --> 01:04:32,000
just sat there in the dark, staring at the door,

922
01:04:32,559 --> 01:04:35,119
knowing that I had no way out of these mountains

923
01:04:35,440 --> 01:04:39,880
until the guide came back. I should have grabbed my pack,

924
01:04:40,280 --> 01:04:44,480
walked until sunrise and never looked back. But I was

925
01:04:44,559 --> 01:04:50,320
too afraid of getting lost, so I made a plan.

926
01:04:52,079 --> 01:04:54,440
I wouldn't try to fight it, I wouldn't try to

927
01:04:54,480 --> 01:05:00,800
see it. I would just hide. The following night, I

928
01:05:00,840 --> 01:05:04,920
did everything I could to erase myself. I doused myself

929
01:05:04,960 --> 01:05:08,760
in scent blocker, rubbing it deep into my skin, my clothes,

930
01:05:08,840 --> 01:05:12,599
my hair. I piled furniture in front of the bedroom door,

931
01:05:13,320 --> 01:05:15,679
not that I thought it would help, but it made

932
01:05:15,719 --> 01:05:20,079
me feel safer. Then, gripping the only weapon I had,

933
01:05:20,760 --> 01:05:23,920
a rusted, hunted knife i'd found in the cabin, I

934
01:05:24,039 --> 01:05:29,000
squeezed into the wardrobe and pulled the door shut. I

935
01:05:29,039 --> 01:05:32,599
sat in the dark, knees to my chest, breath slow

936
01:05:32,679 --> 01:05:42,039
and controlled, and then I waited. This time, it didn't

937
01:05:42,079 --> 01:05:49,159
make me wait long, and midnight I heard it. It

938
01:05:49,280 --> 01:05:52,599
let out a sound like a hyaena choking on his

939
01:05:52,760 --> 01:05:59,760
own laughter, then a loud bang. The door downstairs shattered inward,

940
01:06:00,239 --> 01:06:05,960
the whole cabin shaking from the impact. Heavy footsteps, wood splintering,

941
01:06:06,159 --> 01:06:12,440
furniture shattering. The thing wasn't searching cautiously anymore. It was

942
01:06:12,599 --> 01:06:16,159
tearing through the cabin, breaking things apart. As it moved.

943
01:06:17,280 --> 01:06:20,760
A deep sniffing sound filled the air, dragging in heals

944
01:06:20,840 --> 01:06:24,440
like a dog trying to catch a scent. I pressed

945
01:06:24,440 --> 01:06:29,559
myself deeper into the closet, tightening my grip on the knife.

946
01:06:29,920 --> 01:06:37,639
The sniffing stopped for a long moment. There was silence, then,

947
01:06:37,920 --> 01:06:44,519
from just outside the bedroom, a heavy creak. It was

948
01:06:44,559 --> 01:06:49,280
at the door. I held my breath. I wanted to

949
01:06:49,320 --> 01:06:52,519
close my eyes, to squeeze them shut and pretend I

950
01:06:52,599 --> 01:06:56,360
wasn't there, but some horrible part of me needed to

951
01:06:56,400 --> 01:07:02,480
see it. So I shifted slightly, just enough to peer

952
01:07:02,480 --> 01:07:07,360
through the slats in the wardrobe door, and that's when

953
01:07:07,400 --> 01:07:11,039
I saw it. It had a dock under the door

954
01:07:11,079 --> 01:07:15,400
frame as it stepped inside, tarering easily eight feet tall.

955
01:07:16,320 --> 01:07:19,599
Its body was a grotesque mixture of animals, as if

956
01:07:19,599 --> 01:07:24,400
something had stitched it together from several different corpses. Its

957
01:07:24,519 --> 01:07:29,679
arms were long, ending and disturbingly human like hands, except

958
01:07:29,679 --> 01:07:34,239
the fingers were doubled, two sets of knuckles, each twisting

959
01:07:34,280 --> 01:07:38,960
and crackling. Its body was covered in thick, matted fur,

960
01:07:39,480 --> 01:07:44,800
except for its torso, which was strangely bare, pale, scarred

961
01:07:44,840 --> 01:07:49,039
skin stretched tightly over its ribbed cage. A pair of

962
01:07:49,079 --> 01:07:53,840
antlers curled from its skull, but they weren't symmetrical. One

963
01:07:54,000 --> 01:07:58,280
was twisted, bent at the wrong angles, jotting out unnaturally.

964
01:08:00,039 --> 01:08:04,039
Its jaw didn't match its face. The mouth was wide,

965
01:08:04,360 --> 01:08:07,920
gaping too far, filled with teeth that didn't seem to

966
01:08:07,920 --> 01:08:12,000
fit together. But it didn't seem to have any eyes.

967
01:08:13,199 --> 01:08:16,039
Where its eyes should have been, there were only patches

968
01:08:16,079 --> 01:08:21,000
of dark, sunken skin. It was safe to assume that

969
01:08:21,079 --> 01:08:26,319
it was blind, but that didn't seem to matter. It

970
01:08:26,479 --> 01:08:30,920
sniffed the air, turning its massive head in slow jerking movements,

971
01:08:31,760 --> 01:08:37,159
its breathing deep and uneven. It knew something was here,

972
01:08:38,600 --> 01:08:43,319
and it was angry. It took another step forward, shifting

973
01:08:43,359 --> 01:08:48,000
its weight onto the wooden floorboards. The scent blocker was working,

974
01:08:48,600 --> 01:08:52,319
but I didn't know if it would be enough. I

975
01:08:52,359 --> 01:08:58,439
stayed still, silent, I didn't breathe. For a moment. I

976
01:08:58,520 --> 01:09:06,319
thought I was safe. Then it lunged, not toward me,

977
01:09:07,279 --> 01:09:12,840
but toward everything else. It roared, slamming its fists into

978
01:09:12,880 --> 01:09:18,159
the walls, a catual furious sound frustration, twisting its movements

979
01:09:18,199 --> 01:09:23,560
into wild, jerking violence. It ripped through the room, tearing

980
01:09:23,600 --> 01:09:28,119
the bed apart, knocking over the dresser. I gritted my teeth,

981
01:09:28,319 --> 01:09:33,359
trying not to flinch. Then its hands landed on the claset.

982
01:09:34,840 --> 01:09:39,359
My breath hitched, the wardrobe shook. I pressed myself as

983
01:09:39,399 --> 01:09:42,560
far back as I could, feeling the rough wooden panels

984
01:09:42,600 --> 01:09:48,079
against my spine. The thing sniffed again, growled low in

985
01:09:48,159 --> 01:09:54,239
its throat. Then it shoved the clauset over. I crashed

986
01:09:54,239 --> 01:09:58,000
through the ground, tangled in wooden fabric, my knife slipping

987
01:09:58,000 --> 01:10:04,439
from my fingers. For a single agonizing moment, I thought

988
01:10:06,199 --> 01:10:11,720
this is it. But as I lay there, frozen, waiting

989
01:10:11,760 --> 01:10:16,279
for teeth and claws and death, I heard it shuffle

990
01:10:17,880 --> 01:10:25,640
and then it left. I don't know how long I

991
01:10:25,720 --> 01:10:29,600
stayed there, lying in the wreckage, staring at the ceiling,

992
01:10:30,199 --> 01:10:35,039
shaking so hard I thought my ribs might crack. Eventually,

993
01:10:35,319 --> 01:10:38,760
the sun rose. I was out of the cabin before

994
01:10:38,800 --> 01:10:43,560
the sun fully broke over the horizon. No hesitation, no

995
01:10:43,720 --> 01:10:47,920
second guessing. I didn't care about my supplies, my food,

996
01:10:48,479 --> 01:10:50,680
or the fact that I still had weeks left before

997
01:10:50,720 --> 01:10:54,239
the guide was supposed to come back. I just grabbed

998
01:10:54,279 --> 01:10:58,600
whatever I could carry, my backpack, a flashlight, a knife,

999
01:10:58,840 --> 01:11:04,199
a bottle of water, and I ran. I didn't look back.

1000
01:11:05,119 --> 01:11:08,479
If I got lost, so be it. It was better

1001
01:11:08,520 --> 01:11:11,199
than waiting to get killed by whatever that thing was.

1002
01:11:12,600 --> 01:11:15,119
All I knew was that I couldn't be there. When

1003
01:11:15,199 --> 01:11:20,479
night fell again, I tried to retrace my steps, following

1004
01:11:20,479 --> 01:11:22,960
the same path the guide had let me down almost

1005
01:11:22,960 --> 01:11:26,880
two weeks ago. But the deeper I went into the woods,

1006
01:11:27,560 --> 01:11:35,199
the more uncertain I became. Everything looked different. The trees

1007
01:11:35,239 --> 01:11:39,600
felt denser, closer together, the trunks pressing in around me.

1008
01:11:40,479 --> 01:11:43,359
The light filtering through the leaves felt dimmer than before.

1009
01:11:44,680 --> 01:11:48,000
I tried to focus, tried to match landmarks in my head,

1010
01:11:49,319 --> 01:11:53,319
the rock formation I'd passed that on the way in. There,

1011
01:11:53,399 --> 01:11:56,479
fallen tree. Had it been on my left before or

1012
01:11:56,520 --> 01:12:02,600
my right? Doubt crept into my mind like rust. The

1013
01:12:02,680 --> 01:12:06,399
oppressive silence returned, and I thought back to that article

1014
01:12:06,399 --> 01:12:09,880
i'd read, how the entire forest goes silent when there's

1015
01:12:09,880 --> 01:12:14,079
a predator around. I wanted to believe it was an animal,

1016
01:12:14,840 --> 01:12:18,159
a bear, a deer, a goddamn crocodile, if that was

1017
01:12:18,199 --> 01:12:22,359
even possible, anything, But what I knew it really was.

1018
01:12:24,239 --> 01:12:27,600
I wiped the sweat off my brow and kept moving.

1019
01:12:30,760 --> 01:12:36,000
For whatever reason, it never showed itself during daytime. I

1020
01:12:36,079 --> 01:12:39,239
walked for hours, the sun climbing higher in the sky,

1021
01:12:39,920 --> 01:12:43,640
my legs burning from the effort, but no matter how

1022
01:12:43,760 --> 01:12:48,600
far I went, the feeling never left. I was still

1023
01:12:48,680 --> 01:12:52,840
being followed, not hunted in the way a predator goes

1024
01:12:52,880 --> 01:12:58,520
after prey. This was different. It was letting me tire out,

1025
01:12:59,079 --> 01:13:04,840
toying with me. All I saw were more trees and

1026
01:13:04,960 --> 01:13:08,840
behind me, just at the edge of my hearing that

1027
01:13:09,119 --> 01:13:14,039
awful sound. One moment, I was forcing my legs forward,

1028
01:13:14,399 --> 01:13:18,399
dragging my body through the thick forest, lungs burning with exhaustion.

1029
01:13:19,359 --> 01:13:24,279
The next, pure survival instinct took over. Branches whipped against

1030
01:13:24,279 --> 01:13:28,000
my arms, roots snatched at my boots. My breath came

1031
01:13:28,039 --> 01:13:33,439
and went, my vision blurred with sweat, and still the

1032
01:13:33,479 --> 01:13:39,439
feeling of being followed never left. The sun was lower now,

1033
01:13:40,000 --> 01:13:44,359
the trees stretching into elongated shadows, and just as I

1034
01:13:44,439 --> 01:13:50,279
thought I couldn't take another step, I saw it, the

1035
01:13:50,359 --> 01:13:57,439
break in the trees houses. I stumbled forward, my body

1036
01:13:57,479 --> 01:14:00,600
moving before my brain could process what I was looking at.

1037
01:14:02,000 --> 01:14:07,159
A small village, old buildings, wooden storefronts, a few houses

1038
01:14:07,199 --> 01:14:11,399
tucked between them, a church steeple rising in the distance.

1039
01:14:12,920 --> 01:14:16,600
It wasn't modern, not a row of houses with mailboxes

1040
01:14:16,640 --> 01:14:22,000
and street lights. This place felt old, weathered, like it

1041
01:14:22,079 --> 01:14:26,439
had been sitting here, untouched for decades. I didn't care

1042
01:14:26,479 --> 01:14:29,279
how strange it was, didn't care how it wasn't on

1043
01:14:29,399 --> 01:14:33,199
any map I had seen before. All I cared about

1044
01:14:33,960 --> 01:14:38,880
was that it was civilization. I had made it. I

1045
01:14:39,000 --> 01:14:43,720
was safe. Relief flooded me so hard I almost collapsed.

1046
01:14:45,239 --> 01:14:48,479
For the first time in hours, I felt something other

1047
01:14:48,640 --> 01:14:55,359
than sheer terror. I was out. I turned. I shouldn't have.

1048
01:14:56,760 --> 01:14:59,680
I should have kept walking, should have run straight into

1049
01:14:59,680 --> 01:15:05,920
that fiel, screaming for help. And that's when I saw it,

1050
01:15:06,000 --> 01:15:12,239
standing just beyond the tree line, a figure, motionless. The

1051
01:15:12,359 --> 01:15:15,520
last light of the sun stretched along across the dirt road,

1052
01:15:16,039 --> 01:15:18,880
painting the sky in shades of gold and deep violet.

1053
01:15:20,079 --> 01:15:23,279
And just as the final sliver of daylight dipped below

1054
01:15:23,319 --> 01:15:28,840
the mountains, it moved slowly. It got down to a

1055
01:15:28,880 --> 01:15:33,720
crouching position, like he was getting ready to run. The

1056
01:15:33,800 --> 01:15:36,479
first building I reached looked like an old general store.

1057
01:15:37,159 --> 01:15:40,039
The wooden sign above the door had long since faded,

1058
01:15:40,800 --> 01:15:44,159
but I didn't care what it was. I just needed

1059
01:15:44,159 --> 01:15:48,319
to find someone. I pushed through the door, the bell

1060
01:15:48,359 --> 01:15:52,720
above jingling as I nearly collapsed Inside. The air was

1061
01:15:52,760 --> 01:15:55,840
thick with the smell of dust and aged wood, dim

1062
01:15:55,920 --> 01:16:01,359
lantern light flickering from the walls. A few people stood inside,

1063
01:16:01,720 --> 01:16:05,039
men in odd work jackets, a woman behind the counter,

1064
01:16:05,600 --> 01:16:09,680
a boy sitting on the stool near the stove. They

1065
01:16:09,720 --> 01:16:13,880
all turned at the same time. Their expressions were blank,

1066
01:16:14,720 --> 01:16:21,279
not surprised or alarmed, but definitely curious. I gasped, trying

1067
01:16:21,359 --> 01:16:26,760
to catch my breath. My throat felt raw, my lungs burned.

1068
01:16:27,880 --> 01:16:31,520
I must have looked insane, covered in sweat and dirt,

1069
01:16:32,000 --> 01:16:36,079
shaking like I just crawled out of a grave. I

1070
01:16:36,159 --> 01:16:41,600
tried to speak, but my voice cracked. I I need help,

1071
01:16:42,399 --> 01:16:46,960
I managed, gripping the door frame. Something's out there in

1072
01:16:47,039 --> 01:16:55,840
the woods. They said nothing. No, what are you talking about? No,

1073
01:16:56,239 --> 01:17:04,319
slow down, son, No, that sounds crazy. Just silence. Then,

1074
01:17:04,960 --> 01:17:10,119
after a long pause, the woman behind the counter stepped forward.

1075
01:17:10,840 --> 01:17:15,319
She didn't even ask what I'd seen. She just looked

1076
01:17:15,359 --> 01:17:23,199
me dead in the eye and asked, calmly, carefully did

1077
01:17:23,239 --> 01:17:34,920
it follow you. If you ever end up in the

1078
01:17:34,960 --> 01:17:40,479
mountains after sundown, be careful, be respectful, and most importantly,

1079
01:17:41,279 --> 01:17:45,720
don't touch the skulls. The first time someone told me that,

1080
01:17:46,079 --> 01:17:49,960
I thought there were strange, superstitious folk. I just moved

1081
01:17:49,960 --> 01:17:53,079
to a little town nestled in the Appalachian Mountains, looking

1082
01:17:53,119 --> 01:17:55,319
for a new start away from the busy cities I

1083
01:17:55,399 --> 01:17:58,119
lived in for all my life. A house with a

1084
01:17:58,159 --> 01:18:00,680
forest for a backyard and neighbors a mile or so

1085
01:18:00,720 --> 01:18:04,359
away sounded perfect at the time. It's what led me

1086
01:18:04,439 --> 01:18:09,399
to buying the property in the first place. Now I

1087
01:18:09,439 --> 01:18:13,600
think I regret that decision. Don't get me wrong. The

1088
01:18:13,680 --> 01:18:16,199
house is nice. It has a few problems, like a

1089
01:18:16,239 --> 01:18:18,760
creaking porch, and the kitchen's a bit too small for

1090
01:18:18,800 --> 01:18:23,079
my liking. But it's cute. Quaint is what the realtor

1091
01:18:23,159 --> 01:18:25,520
kept saying when she showed me the rooms, and I

1092
01:18:25,560 --> 01:18:28,640
agreed with her, even if it is a little small.

1093
01:18:29,000 --> 01:18:31,760
The real selling point was the acres of forest that

1094
01:18:31,800 --> 01:18:35,800
would be considered mine. I remember my first trip to

1095
01:18:35,840 --> 01:18:38,359
the town at the base of the mountain, a small

1096
01:18:38,439 --> 01:18:42,680
place where everyone knows each other. Naturally, some weren't sure

1097
01:18:42,720 --> 01:18:47,079
about me, but most are actually nice. Asking where I

1098
01:18:47,079 --> 01:18:49,920
grew up, what I did for work. No more questions

1099
01:18:50,159 --> 01:18:52,399
until the owner of the only grocery store in town,

1100
01:18:52,920 --> 01:18:55,760
mister Faraday, ask me if I planned on hiking in

1101
01:18:55,800 --> 01:19:01,039
the forest. Oh yeah, of course, I think, I laughed,

1102
01:19:01,079 --> 01:19:04,039
as he bagged at my groceries, eyeing me the entire time.

1103
01:19:05,399 --> 01:19:08,960
Of course, silly question, he agreed as he handed me

1104
01:19:09,000 --> 01:19:12,920
the bags, then continued, The forest is perfectly safe during

1105
01:19:12,920 --> 01:19:15,840
the day. Just get home once the sun starts setting.

1106
01:19:16,359 --> 01:19:18,880
You're asking for trouble with the wildlife, or you get

1107
01:19:18,880 --> 01:19:22,720
lost if it gets too dark. Anything in particular I

1108
01:19:22,760 --> 01:19:26,640
should worry about when we get black bears. Sometimes yell

1109
01:19:26,680 --> 01:19:30,000
at them, though, and they'll run, usually scaredy cats, the

1110
01:19:30,039 --> 01:19:33,760
lot of them, unless you find a mama moose, foxes,

1111
01:19:33,920 --> 01:19:38,159
wild boars, wolves. I paused in gathering at my bags

1112
01:19:38,199 --> 01:19:42,000
and repeated wolves. I thought wolves were extinct here in

1113
01:19:42,039 --> 01:19:46,840
the appellations. Mister Faraday shrugged and ignore my question, continuing

1114
01:19:46,960 --> 01:19:51,560
like I hadn't said anything. Be careflower there, always take water.

1115
01:19:52,000 --> 01:19:54,439
Be respectful. Don't be one of them city folk that

1116
01:19:54,520 --> 01:19:57,000
makes a mess of the place. See a flower and thing,

1117
01:19:57,039 --> 01:19:59,880
it's pretty. You take a picture and leave it alone.

1118
01:20:01,199 --> 01:20:06,159
Here's he enough anything else I should do? I wanted

1119
01:20:06,199 --> 01:20:08,159
to be nice and not just blow the guy off,

1120
01:20:08,520 --> 01:20:12,279
even if most of his advice was common sense. Then again,

1121
01:20:12,720 --> 01:20:14,640
I didn't doubt there had been trouble in the past

1122
01:20:14,680 --> 01:20:18,039
with some outsiders. It happened all the time of the

1123
01:20:18,079 --> 01:20:20,479
parks I would go to as a kid, jerks that

1124
01:20:20,520 --> 01:20:23,640
would come through and leave beer cans or cigarette PUDs everywhere.

1125
01:20:24,880 --> 01:20:27,479
He met my eyes staring for a second too soon

1126
01:20:27,840 --> 01:20:33,399
before he replied, if you see sculls or bones, don't

1127
01:20:33,680 --> 01:20:39,640
touch them. If they're in the way, you go around them.

1128
01:20:39,760 --> 01:20:43,279
I stared back, feeling uneasy as he suddenly smiled and said,

1129
01:20:44,239 --> 01:20:47,039
you come back soon. You hear our own specials every

1130
01:20:47,039 --> 01:20:51,600
week on fresh produice and meat. I should have listened

1131
01:20:51,640 --> 01:20:55,319
better to him. The first few times I ventured into

1132
01:20:55,319 --> 01:20:58,720
the forest. He was always in the late morning. There's

1133
01:20:58,720 --> 01:21:02,079
an old trail behind the house, overgrown but still usable,

1134
01:21:02,439 --> 01:21:07,159
and use it I did. The forest is beautiful. There

1135
01:21:07,199 --> 01:21:09,840
are all kinds of song birds and small animals, an

1136
01:21:09,880 --> 01:21:12,840
interesting plant life to see. I tried going in the

1137
01:21:12,840 --> 01:21:15,479
morning when it wasn't too hot. I made sure to

1138
01:21:15,479 --> 01:21:18,079
bring water and wore good hiking boots. Whenever I had

1139
01:21:18,079 --> 01:21:21,199
time for a walk before work. There is a point

1140
01:21:21,239 --> 01:21:23,520
in the trail where it branches off in two directions.

1141
01:21:23,880 --> 01:21:25,840
Then that is the point where I turned back around.

1142
01:21:26,840 --> 01:21:28,760
The last thing I wanted was to choose the wrong

1143
01:21:28,800 --> 01:21:31,560
path and end up hopelessly lost or unable to find

1144
01:21:31,600 --> 01:21:35,560
my way back. Then work changed my schedule, so I

1145
01:21:35,600 --> 01:21:39,359
started going in a late afternoon. I stared out longer,

1146
01:21:39,760 --> 01:21:41,840
just getting done with my hike as the sky was

1147
01:21:41,840 --> 01:21:44,880
bathed in pinks and orange. The sun no longer visible,

1148
01:21:45,119 --> 01:21:49,800
were giving just enough light. I never noticed anything different

1149
01:21:49,840 --> 01:21:53,000
between the morning and late afternoon hikes, other than less

1150
01:21:53,039 --> 01:21:59,239
birds singing. Then small things began to happen, little oddities.

1151
01:21:59,319 --> 01:22:02,760
There were easy to write off trees that had long

1152
01:22:02,800 --> 01:22:05,920
scratches down the trunks, the song birds quieting down at

1153
01:22:05,920 --> 01:22:08,800
the start of my afternoon hikes rather than towards the end.

1154
01:22:09,920 --> 01:22:12,520
I figured it was from the seasons changing, the night

1155
01:22:12,560 --> 01:22:15,960
getting longer and days shortening. I had to be quick

1156
01:22:16,000 --> 01:22:19,039
about my daily routine, only let myself get maybe a

1157
01:22:19,079 --> 01:22:22,880
mile into the forest before turning around. Even if I

1158
01:22:22,920 --> 01:22:25,640
didn't believe the townsfolk that had gotten more vocal about

1159
01:22:25,680 --> 01:22:28,520
being mindful of myself in the woods, I still didn't

1160
01:22:28,560 --> 01:22:34,479
want to get lost. Then I came across a deer scull.

1161
01:22:36,760 --> 01:22:38,560
It was in the middle of the path back to

1162
01:22:38,600 --> 01:22:43,439
my house, bleached and cracked, looking far too old. I

1163
01:22:43,479 --> 01:22:45,760
looked around the trees to see if anyone was around,

1164
01:22:46,039 --> 01:22:48,079
because it hadn't been there on my way up to

1165
01:22:48,119 --> 01:22:54,680
the mountain. I even called out nervous hello and got nothing.

1166
01:22:56,399 --> 01:22:59,079
The idea of leaving it where I constantly treaded made

1167
01:22:59,119 --> 01:23:02,119
me sick, so I grabbed a stick and carefully put

1168
01:23:02,119 --> 01:23:04,920
it through one of the eye sockets. I took a breath,

1169
01:23:05,000 --> 01:23:07,600
then tossed it off into the trees, watching it as

1170
01:23:07,640 --> 01:23:10,199
it hit the ground, before dropping the stick and quickly

1171
01:23:10,239 --> 01:23:16,840
make my way back home. That when the howling started.

1172
01:23:18,880 --> 01:23:21,600
It woke me up in the dead of night, a long,

1173
01:23:21,920 --> 01:23:26,319
lone howl off in the distance. I was confused, startled

1174
01:23:26,720 --> 01:23:29,479
because until that point I had never heard a wolf

1175
01:23:29,479 --> 01:23:33,079
howl before. That wasn't on TV. I didn't even know

1176
01:23:33,119 --> 01:23:36,159
if that's what it was. I laid there for a

1177
01:23:36,159 --> 01:23:38,880
while listening to it, then turn on some music to

1178
01:23:39,000 --> 01:23:42,479
drown it out and go back to sleep. For a week,

1179
01:23:42,640 --> 01:23:44,640
I would wake up in a cold sweat, and the

1180
01:23:44,680 --> 01:23:47,479
wolf would be singing away until I finally started going

1181
01:23:47,520 --> 01:23:52,000
to sleep with music. I asked about it the next

1182
01:23:52,039 --> 01:23:55,359
time I went into town, curious if anyone else heard it.

1183
01:23:56,680 --> 01:24:00,239
Nobody did. Mister Varaday shook his head and said he

1184
01:24:00,279 --> 01:24:02,760
hadn't heard any noise as he gave me change from

1185
01:24:02,760 --> 01:24:06,159
my groceries. The pharmacist told me it was probably just

1186
01:24:06,159 --> 01:24:08,520
a lonely or hurt animal, and I was looking for

1187
01:24:08,560 --> 01:24:12,000
some sleep aid. Even the waitress of the diner shrugged

1188
01:24:12,000 --> 01:24:14,800
and said, I haven't heard a thing, honey. Just make

1189
01:24:14,840 --> 01:24:17,239
sure to keep your doors locked. Always better to be

1190
01:24:17,279 --> 01:24:22,199
safe than sorry. The next time I went into the forest,

1191
01:24:22,640 --> 01:24:25,560
I made sure it was right after work so I

1192
01:24:25,600 --> 01:24:28,960
could enjoy a nice long stroll. The trees with the

1193
01:24:28,960 --> 01:24:32,479
scratches were closer to my home, but I shrugged it off,

1194
01:24:32,800 --> 01:24:35,960
figuring it was a bear or a moose. I did

1195
01:24:35,960 --> 01:24:38,840
my usual circuit, followed the trail until I got to

1196
01:24:38,840 --> 01:24:41,720
wear it branches off, and took a minor break, sitting

1197
01:24:41,760 --> 01:24:45,119
on a fallen tree to drink some water. As I

1198
01:24:45,159 --> 01:24:48,159
got up to start my way down, I noticed that

1199
01:24:48,239 --> 01:24:52,800
the forest had become quiet. I felt nervous. Glancing around

1200
01:24:52,840 --> 01:24:55,239
to look for a reason, like a bear stalking about,

1201
01:24:55,840 --> 01:25:00,640
but found nothing. At that point, I quickly headed back

1202
01:25:00,680 --> 01:25:04,640
home and nearly tripped over another skull, a moose schul

1203
01:25:05,000 --> 01:25:07,840
going off. The huge antlers still attached to the white bone,

1204
01:25:08,279 --> 01:25:12,920
perfectly preserved and staring in my direction. I looked around,

1205
01:25:13,319 --> 01:25:16,000
wanting to find out who was messing with me, but

1206
01:25:16,399 --> 01:25:19,600
I couldn't see anything but the trees and lush ferns.

1207
01:25:20,279 --> 01:25:22,239
I thought about picking it up and throwing it to

1208
01:25:22,279 --> 01:25:25,439
the side, but I took a deep breath and walked

1209
01:25:25,439 --> 01:25:30,800
around it, then began running back home. It appeared two

1210
01:25:30,880 --> 01:25:34,239
more times before I had had enough. On the third time,

1211
01:25:34,399 --> 01:25:36,520
I picked it up and threw it into the trees.

1212
01:25:38,399 --> 01:25:40,520
I didn't stay to watch where it landed, and the

1213
01:25:40,520 --> 01:25:42,920
moment I got home, I slammed the door and locked

1214
01:25:43,000 --> 01:25:48,119
up everything. I was shaking trembling in my kitchen after

1215
01:25:48,159 --> 01:25:50,880
locking the back door and dared to look out the window.

1216
01:25:53,479 --> 01:25:57,159
I didn't see anything, but I felt like something was

1217
01:25:57,199 --> 01:26:03,600
watching me. Howl didn't wake me up that night. The

1218
01:26:03,680 --> 01:26:07,319
sound of my porch creaking did. The groaning of wood

1219
01:26:07,439 --> 01:26:10,279
had my eyes snapping open as my heart leaped into

1220
01:26:10,279 --> 01:26:14,039
my throat. I laid in bed, unable to move, when

1221
01:26:14,039 --> 01:26:17,079
I heard a low growl near my window. The curtain

1222
01:26:17,119 --> 01:26:20,680
was drawn so I couldn't see outside, but I could

1223
01:26:20,720 --> 01:26:23,880
hear whatever it was. The sound was that of an animal,

1224
01:26:24,399 --> 01:26:29,079
but something didn't quite sound right. I tried to put

1225
01:26:29,119 --> 01:26:31,399
my finger on it. When the growling stopped for a second,

1226
01:26:32,000 --> 01:26:35,199
then a howl will rattled my windows and my bones.

1227
01:26:36,680 --> 01:26:39,079
I rushed to my bathroom, the only place in the

1228
01:26:39,119 --> 01:26:41,680
house that had no windows, and slammed the door shut.

1229
01:26:42,039 --> 01:26:46,399
Curling up in the bathtub, I didn't move until my

1230
01:26:46,439 --> 01:26:49,159
alarm rang as seven and the sun was shining through

1231
01:26:49,159 --> 01:26:56,880
the curtains. It kept happening every night. The porch would creak,

1232
01:26:57,359 --> 01:27:00,760
the growling would begin, then finally the how that lasted

1233
01:27:00,840 --> 01:27:04,079
until the sun came up. I had enough by the

1234
01:27:04,119 --> 01:27:07,239
fourth or fifth night and drove back to town, functioning

1235
01:27:07,279 --> 01:27:11,159
on a cocktail of adrenaline, fear, and caffeine. I had

1236
01:27:11,159 --> 01:27:13,680
to wait for the store to open, but the moment

1237
01:27:13,720 --> 01:27:16,720
it did, I sought out mister Faraday, who was stocking

1238
01:27:16,720 --> 01:27:20,760
some items on the shelves. He glanced at me and said,

1239
01:27:22,000 --> 01:27:25,119
you look like hell. If you need help sleeping, you

1240
01:27:25,119 --> 01:27:29,000
should see a doctor. Something keep showing up at my house.

1241
01:27:29,520 --> 01:27:32,960
I think it's that wolf I was telling you about.

1242
01:27:34,800 --> 01:27:37,920
He froze a slight tremor in his fingers before he turned,

1243
01:27:38,279 --> 01:27:44,880
calling Sarah, mind the front, I'll be back. He didn't

1244
01:27:44,920 --> 01:27:47,560
wait for a reply and instead headed to the back

1245
01:27:47,600 --> 01:27:51,119
of the store, motioning for me to come along. I

1246
01:27:51,199 --> 01:27:53,920
did so, following him through the door that led outside.

1247
01:27:55,239 --> 01:27:57,800
Once out in the two sunny morning, he lit a

1248
01:27:57,800 --> 01:28:02,239
cigarette and sighed, I told you to mind the bones.

1249
01:28:04,279 --> 01:28:07,119
I broke down at the point, lack of sleep leaving

1250
01:28:07,159 --> 01:28:10,399
me without a filter. It kept showing up. I ignored

1251
01:28:10,399 --> 01:28:12,359
it the first time, and it kept getting in my way.

1252
01:28:13,479 --> 01:28:17,239
What was it? At Moose schul there was another school

1253
01:28:17,239 --> 01:28:20,359
two weeks ago. It was a deer, but I moved

1254
01:28:20,359 --> 01:28:24,680
that with a stick a shake of the head. Still,

1255
01:28:24,760 --> 01:28:29,960
count son, what happened after you moved the deer? I admitted.

1256
01:28:30,239 --> 01:28:32,840
That's when the howling first started, but it was far

1257
01:28:32,960 --> 01:28:37,079
from the distance, easy to ignore something that had him

1258
01:28:37,119 --> 01:28:43,279
frowning but not interrupting until I finally asked, it's not

1259
01:28:43,359 --> 01:28:47,680
a wolf, is it? Mister Faraday looked at me for

1260
01:28:47,720 --> 01:28:51,000
a long time, then stubbed out the cigarette before reaching

1261
01:28:51,039 --> 01:28:54,439
for another one. I told you what not to do,

1262
01:28:54,720 --> 01:28:57,399
and yet you did it. Now you've got a mess

1263
01:28:57,439 --> 01:29:01,880
to deal with in my mouth so ready to demand.

1264
01:29:01,920 --> 01:29:06,479
He answered my question, but he kept going. Now listen here,

1265
01:29:06,720 --> 01:29:10,560
and you listen. You're going to buy some meat, the reddest,

1266
01:29:10,680 --> 01:29:13,159
bloodiest meat I have. Then go home and put it

1267
01:29:13,159 --> 01:29:16,159
in the fridge. When the sun is setting, You're going

1268
01:29:16,199 --> 01:29:18,560
to go into that forest with the meat and put

1269
01:29:18,600 --> 01:29:21,840
it on the path. The minute you do that, you

1270
01:29:22,039 --> 01:29:26,319
turn tail and run home. You don't look back, no

1271
01:29:26,359 --> 01:29:29,279
matter what sounds you hear or feeling you get. You

1272
01:29:29,439 --> 01:29:36,119
run and lock up tight, and it'll just go away,

1273
01:29:37,000 --> 01:29:40,720
just like that, I asked, feeling a tiny bit hopeful.

1274
01:29:42,640 --> 01:29:47,479
The next words, dash those hopes away. Nothing is guaranteed, son,

1275
01:29:48,079 --> 01:29:50,800
This is you trying to make amends. It doesn't mean

1276
01:29:50,840 --> 01:29:55,920
you'll be forgiven. Anger boiled in me, and I snapped

1277
01:29:55,920 --> 01:30:01,600
at him. I didn't even do anything. He shook his

1278
01:30:01,640 --> 01:30:05,279
head with a small frown and said, you showed disrespect

1279
01:30:05,359 --> 01:30:08,159
and acknowledged them. That's enough in a place like this.

1280
01:30:10,039 --> 01:30:12,319
I opened my mouth, but he brushed past me and asked,

1281
01:30:12,760 --> 01:30:16,800
you're gonna buy the meat or what? I ended up

1282
01:30:16,800 --> 01:30:21,840
doing so. I didn't know what else to do, and

1283
01:30:21,920 --> 01:30:25,119
figured why not just go along with it. I couldn't

1284
01:30:25,119 --> 01:30:28,680
explain anything else, so why not try to make amends.

1285
01:30:29,319 --> 01:30:31,920
I bought the bloodiest steaks I could and drove back

1286
01:30:31,920 --> 01:30:34,600
home in a daze. I set an alarm to ring

1287
01:30:34,840 --> 01:30:39,520
just before sundown and crashed my couch. Until then. It

1288
01:30:39,640 --> 01:30:42,640
was surreal walking out to the trail as the sun

1289
01:30:42,680 --> 01:30:46,119
began its descent, I noticed that more and more trees

1290
01:30:46,159 --> 01:30:48,800
had the strange scratches on them, and shuddered at the

1291
01:30:48,840 --> 01:30:52,880
idea of something or many somethings being so close to

1292
01:30:52,960 --> 01:30:56,439
the house. I walked about ten minutes of the path

1293
01:30:56,640 --> 01:31:01,520
before laying out the stakes. It was this disgusting the

1294
01:31:01,520 --> 01:31:05,159
blood collecting on the brown butcher paper, but I piled

1295
01:31:05,159 --> 01:31:09,359
them up, then looked around. I couldn't see anything, just

1296
01:31:09,439 --> 01:31:13,359
the usual trees, and decided to head back home. I

1297
01:31:13,399 --> 01:31:18,279
took a handful of steps when I heard it, a

1298
01:31:18,359 --> 01:31:21,239
low growling from behind me that had the hairs on

1299
01:31:21,319 --> 01:31:25,520
the back of my neck standing up. Heavy thumping followed

1300
01:31:25,560 --> 01:31:29,119
the growling, getting closer and closer and breaking me out

1301
01:31:29,159 --> 01:31:32,239
of my stupor. I got my feet moving again and

1302
01:31:32,279 --> 01:31:34,520
headed back to the house as the sound of teeth

1303
01:31:34,720 --> 01:31:38,520
ripping into raw meat met my ears. Once I was

1304
01:31:38,560 --> 01:31:40,520
at the end of the path, my home in sight,

1305
01:31:41,199 --> 01:31:43,720
I dared to turn my head before I ran back

1306
01:31:43,840 --> 01:31:47,000
to the house, scrambling up the porch and barely slamming

1307
01:31:47,039 --> 01:31:51,199
the door shut in time. It had been right behind me,

1308
01:31:51,920 --> 01:31:57,239
following like an obedient dog, Only it wasn't a dog,

1309
01:31:58,079 --> 01:32:01,640
not even a wolf. I had to braced myself against

1310
01:32:01,680 --> 01:32:05,039
the door as it slammed into the wood, growling and grunting.

1311
01:32:05,840 --> 01:32:08,800
I managed to lock it just barely before rushing to

1312
01:32:08,840 --> 01:32:10,359
the front door to make sure it was locked. As

1313
01:32:10,359 --> 01:32:14,199
swell it nearly beat me. I hit the door just

1314
01:32:14,279 --> 01:32:16,840
as it started to open and pushed my entire body

1315
01:32:16,840 --> 01:32:20,319
weight against it. It was barely enough to keep it out.

1316
01:32:20,359 --> 01:32:24,720
As I flicked the lock. I stumbled back, shaking and panting,

1317
01:32:25,039 --> 01:32:28,000
staring at the door as the growling began all over again.

1318
01:32:28,840 --> 01:32:31,119
This time, I followed it to the back porch and

1319
01:32:31,199 --> 01:32:36,279
peered through the window. It walked on fore legs, fingers

1320
01:32:36,319 --> 01:32:39,000
splayed out with long claws for nails, and covered in

1321
01:32:39,079 --> 01:32:42,560
black fur in some places, pale human skin in others.

1322
01:32:43,760 --> 01:32:46,840
As it walked the back legs bent unnaturally and made

1323
01:32:46,840 --> 01:32:50,279
a horrific snapping noise, the bones visible through the skin

1324
01:32:50,560 --> 01:32:54,760
and twisting with every movement. The head is the most disturbing.

1325
01:32:55,399 --> 01:32:58,479
A blooded muzzle that stretched out too much for a wolf,

1326
01:32:59,079 --> 01:33:02,119
eyes glowing red, and can open the mouth far too wide.

1327
01:33:03,159 --> 01:33:06,760
The bangs were all black and red, with blood too long,

1328
01:33:07,079 --> 01:33:10,960
too curved. When it closes its jaw, blood oozed out.

1329
01:33:12,880 --> 01:33:15,640
I stared at it, and it stared at me before

1330
01:33:15,680 --> 01:33:18,600
the lips peeled back into a sort of demented smile,

1331
01:33:19,199 --> 01:33:23,960
the growling stopping, and instead a new sound started, A sharp,

1332
01:33:24,279 --> 01:33:29,279
high pitched laugh human almost filled the air. I shivered,

1333
01:33:29,560 --> 01:33:33,359
ready to shut the curtains, when I heard more laughter,

1334
01:33:34,880 --> 01:33:37,279
and looked beyond it and froze with a sight of

1335
01:33:37,399 --> 01:33:40,880
more pairs of red eyes out in the forest. The

1336
01:33:40,960 --> 01:33:44,840
heckling grew in volume, echoing until it's all I heard.

1337
01:33:46,640 --> 01:33:51,800
Even now I still hear it. I hid in the

1338
01:33:51,800 --> 01:33:55,000
bathroom again, feeling like a child, and praying that my

1339
01:33:55,039 --> 01:33:58,479
doors and windows would hold. Once the sun came up

1340
01:33:58,560 --> 01:34:00,760
and I mustered up enough courage to get to my car,

1341
01:34:01,199 --> 01:34:03,720
I found dozens and dozens of skulls on my porch,

1342
01:34:04,399 --> 01:34:08,760
all different shapes and sizes, some bleached white, others black

1343
01:34:08,800 --> 01:34:12,720
with decay, some red, and others laying in pols of blood.

1344
01:34:14,239 --> 01:34:18,760
One of them was human. I wanted to run to

1345
01:34:18,800 --> 01:34:22,079
the car all those through the bones, but instead I

1346
01:34:22,159 --> 01:34:25,000
forced myself to carefully step over each and every one

1347
01:34:25,039 --> 01:34:28,000
of them. Once I got back into town, I sought

1348
01:34:28,000 --> 01:34:32,760
out mister Faraday. He listened quietly to my account, looking

1349
01:34:32,840 --> 01:34:35,600
disappointed and annoyed by the time I was done, and said,

1350
01:34:36,840 --> 01:34:40,039
I told you not to look now. You really made

1351
01:34:40,039 --> 01:34:45,560
a mess, not just for you, but for everyone. My

1352
01:34:45,560 --> 01:34:48,600
blood ran cold, and I asked, what do you mean

1353
01:34:49,800 --> 01:34:52,920
everyone heard them last night's son because of yours screw up.

1354
01:34:54,239 --> 01:34:56,920
He closed his eyes and knit a cigarette, even though

1355
01:34:56,920 --> 01:35:01,039
he stood in the paper good style. If I just leave,

1356
01:35:01,600 --> 01:35:05,039
just go back to where it came from. He shook

1357
01:35:05,079 --> 01:35:07,960
his head and flicked the ashes onto the ground, uncaring

1358
01:35:08,000 --> 01:35:11,680
of where they ended up. Then what what do I do?

1359
01:35:12,960 --> 01:35:16,079
You're going to clean up your mess. A hunting party

1360
01:35:16,159 --> 01:35:19,279
is gathering at the diner at sundown. You better be there.

1361
01:35:21,000 --> 01:35:23,000
I asked if you really thought they could be killed,

1362
01:35:23,319 --> 01:35:26,479
if it was possible, and he waved his hand and said,

1363
01:35:27,239 --> 01:35:29,520
we've done it before. Son, You're not the first one

1364
01:35:29,560 --> 01:35:33,680
to not listen. You won't be the last. But you

1365
01:35:33,800 --> 01:35:36,359
made the trouble. You better be ready to help get

1366
01:35:36,439 --> 01:35:42,479
rid of it. I swallowed hesitating, then dared to ask,

1367
01:35:43,600 --> 01:35:49,800
do people not come back from hunting all the time?

1368
01:35:50,560 --> 01:35:54,920
This time won't be any different, sundown, son, or will

1369
01:35:54,960 --> 01:35:59,800
not just be hunting them, but you too. We gathered

1370
01:36:00,079 --> 01:36:02,199
the diner and I've been given a shotgun and a

1371
01:36:02,199 --> 01:36:04,760
crash course on how to use it, shown how to

1372
01:36:04,800 --> 01:36:07,479
load it, told what not to do, and what to

1373
01:36:07,520 --> 01:36:11,720
watch out for. According to mister Faraday, who was around

1374
01:36:11,760 --> 01:36:14,680
for the last purge, the wolves of the Appellations is

1375
01:36:14,720 --> 01:36:18,760
what they call them. He's sticking close to me, he says.

1376
01:36:18,800 --> 01:36:22,079
Having a body nearby is important. It's say for this way.

1377
01:36:23,199 --> 01:36:25,479
The wolves like to drag people into the forest or

1378
01:36:25,520 --> 01:36:31,640
decapitate the victims. They collect their skulls, the bullets. I

1379
01:36:31,680 --> 01:36:34,600
have a supposed to be special blessed by the priest

1380
01:36:34,760 --> 01:36:39,279
and bathe in holy water, USTs something like that. I've

1381
01:36:39,520 --> 01:36:43,199
never hunted before. That's why I'm leaving this account in

1382
01:36:43,279 --> 01:36:48,560
case I don't come back. Hunting accidents happen all the time.

1383
01:36:49,119 --> 01:36:51,720
That's what the townsfolk will say if anyone comes asking

1384
01:36:51,760 --> 01:36:56,640
about me, or anyone that doesn't come back. The sun

1385
01:36:56,760 --> 01:36:59,560
hasn't said yet, given us time to prepare, and the

1386
01:36:59,600 --> 01:37:05,359
priest time to bless every polity can. But we can

1387
01:37:05,399 --> 01:37:22,920
hear them already, the wolves laughing again. It was just

1388
01:37:23,000 --> 01:37:27,960
another normal walk, And so it started anyway, a casual

1389
01:37:28,000 --> 01:37:30,560
morning stroll on the forested trail that ran behind my

1390
01:37:30,640 --> 01:37:34,199
parents' house. They owned a home and a couple acres

1391
01:37:34,319 --> 01:37:38,399
in the small town of Skyline, Alabama. At the time,

1392
01:37:38,680 --> 01:37:41,079
I was in between jobs and had been living with

1393
01:37:41,119 --> 01:37:43,680
them as I tried to get back on my feet.

1394
01:37:44,640 --> 01:37:48,039
Their property intersex with a winding trail that ran for

1395
01:37:48,199 --> 01:37:52,680
miles through some unkempt woods in the boonies. In the mornings,

1396
01:37:53,039 --> 01:37:55,560
the Appalachian hills would come alive with the songs of

1397
01:37:55,640 --> 01:37:59,640
birds and fluttering insects. The crimson sunrise would paint a

1398
01:37:59,680 --> 01:38:03,000
beauty portrait as it filtered down through the bristling leaves

1399
01:38:03,000 --> 01:38:06,680
of aspen and spruce trees. There was something about that

1400
01:38:06,760 --> 01:38:10,680
place that just made me feel at peace. It was

1401
01:38:10,720 --> 01:38:14,159
like all the stress and anxiety of modern day worries

1402
01:38:14,680 --> 01:38:19,399
just faded away. It was my zen place until the

1403
01:38:19,479 --> 01:38:25,039
day it was shattered forever. The day it happened, I

1404
01:38:25,079 --> 01:38:28,319
woke up a bit before dawn, had my coffee, and

1405
01:38:28,399 --> 01:38:32,279
went out for an early morning walk. The sun had

1406
01:38:32,399 --> 01:38:34,760
just begun to creep over the horizon when I left

1407
01:38:34,800 --> 01:38:38,760
the house. I hadn't planned on being gone any longer

1408
01:38:38,760 --> 01:38:41,479
than an hour, and had only been walking about fifteen

1409
01:38:41,520 --> 01:38:46,520
minutes when I noticed something strange. The path around me

1410
01:38:47,439 --> 01:38:51,279
was oddly silent, with the only noise coming from the

1411
01:38:51,319 --> 01:38:55,600
sounds of my own footsteps against the gravel. The usual

1412
01:38:55,680 --> 01:38:59,119
sounds of woodland creatures or wind gently rustling the trees

1413
01:38:59,159 --> 01:39:05,159
were absent. Everything was just completely silent. It didn't really

1414
01:39:05,159 --> 01:39:07,920
bother me at first, but the longer it went on,

1415
01:39:08,800 --> 01:39:13,279
the stranger it seemed. I finally stopped to try and

1416
01:39:13,319 --> 01:39:16,399
determine whether it was some auditory illusion of some kind.

1417
01:39:17,439 --> 01:39:21,119
I listened for any of the usual sounds, cars on

1418
01:39:21,159 --> 01:39:24,199
the highway a few miles out, lawnmower was fired up

1419
01:39:24,199 --> 01:39:28,439
by the neighbors, or just any noise at all, but

1420
01:39:29,520 --> 01:39:35,319
there was nothing, just silence. All of a sudden, I

1421
01:39:35,399 --> 01:39:39,520
began to feel light headed. My vision started swimming, and

1422
01:39:39,600 --> 01:39:42,960
my knees wabbled beneath me. The hairs of my arms

1423
01:39:43,000 --> 01:39:45,600
stood an end, and a cold sweat dampened my brow.

1424
01:39:47,319 --> 01:39:52,039
I didn't understand what was happening, but in seconds I

1425
01:39:52,119 --> 01:39:57,720
was struggling just to remain standing. Panics struck hard, and

1426
01:39:57,840 --> 01:40:00,359
I desperately reached for my phone, think king I was

1427
01:40:00,399 --> 01:40:04,640
having a medical emergency. I never managed to reach it,

1428
01:40:05,479 --> 01:40:07,560
and I just seemed to lose all control of my

1429
01:40:07,600 --> 01:40:13,880
body and fall face first to the ground. I still

1430
01:40:13,920 --> 01:40:17,039
don't know exactly what happened, but it must have been

1431
01:40:17,039 --> 01:40:20,319
a seizure or a fainting spell of some kind. What

1432
01:40:20,399 --> 01:40:22,560
I do know is that when I finally came to

1433
01:40:23,600 --> 01:40:28,960
I wasn't where I was before. The environment was pitch

1434
01:40:29,039 --> 01:40:34,000
black and suddenly cold. Only when I struggled and felt

1435
01:40:34,039 --> 01:40:37,239
my knee knock into something solid did I realize I

1436
01:40:37,279 --> 01:40:41,479
was awake. The sudden jolt struck right on the funny bone,

1437
01:40:41,800 --> 01:40:44,960
caused me to WinCE in pain. I tried to reach

1438
01:40:45,000 --> 01:40:48,239
my hand out to rub the aching nerve, but found

1439
01:40:48,239 --> 01:40:53,920
I couldn't. There was something restricting my movement, something cold

1440
01:40:54,159 --> 01:40:58,439
and covered in a sticky substance. My whole body was

1441
01:40:58,560 --> 01:41:03,640
pinned vertically again. The wall. Thankfully, the bines were not

1442
01:41:03,840 --> 01:41:06,800
entirely restrictive, and I managed to finagle the cell phone

1443
01:41:06,840 --> 01:41:10,039
out of my pocket. I flipped it open and the

1444
01:41:10,119 --> 01:41:13,960
light glowed in the dark. It wasn't much, but it

1445
01:41:14,000 --> 01:41:17,119
was enough for me to see where I was that

1446
01:41:17,840 --> 01:41:23,880
when the true dread set in. As far as I

1447
01:41:23,880 --> 01:41:27,560
could tell, I was in some sort of underground tunnel.

1448
01:41:28,720 --> 01:41:31,279
The blinds that restricted me looked almost like the roots

1449
01:41:31,319 --> 01:41:35,479
of trees. They felt different, though, more like dried mud

1450
01:41:35,640 --> 01:41:39,399
than plant. They were grayish in color and coated with

1451
01:41:39,560 --> 01:41:44,000
random splotches of this greenish black goo. It was sticky

1452
01:41:44,159 --> 01:41:47,119
like tree sap, and hung in gobs of tendrils from

1453
01:41:47,159 --> 01:41:51,159
all over that smelled truly foul. I almost had a

1454
01:41:51,159 --> 01:41:54,239
panic attack in that moment, as I realized I had

1455
01:41:54,359 --> 01:41:58,920
absolutely no idea where I was or how I'd gotten there.

1456
01:42:00,399 --> 01:42:03,119
My initial thoughts was that there was some weird cave

1457
01:42:03,199 --> 01:42:06,239
in or earthquake which somehow led me to ended up

1458
01:42:06,239 --> 01:42:09,199
where I did. I shined my phone up at the ceiling,

1459
01:42:09,680 --> 01:42:13,760
but saw only the rigid outline of the rocky walls,

1460
01:42:14,119 --> 01:42:17,079
no feisure or gaps I could have slid through, and

1461
01:42:17,159 --> 01:42:24,159
thus that potential explanation died a quick, unceremonious death. My

1462
01:42:24,359 --> 01:42:27,199
next thought was that I had been abducted by someone.

1463
01:42:27,840 --> 01:42:30,840
I thought about yelling for help, but if that were true,

1464
01:42:31,399 --> 01:42:33,159
then I doubted they would be likely to come to

1465
01:42:33,159 --> 01:42:37,359
my aid. I realized an explanation in that moment was

1466
01:42:37,439 --> 01:42:42,279
not nearly as important as actually getting out. I wiggled

1467
01:42:42,319 --> 01:42:45,159
back and forth a bit. It was clear that wasn't

1468
01:42:45,159 --> 01:42:48,560
going to be enough to escape. I shined the phone

1469
01:42:48,600 --> 01:42:52,279
around the corridor, using what space lighting it provided to

1470
01:42:52,319 --> 01:42:55,520
try and formulate a plan. I caught a break when

1471
01:42:55,560 --> 01:42:58,760
the light gleamed off some shining metallic object only a

1472
01:42:58,760 --> 01:43:01,960
few feet to my right. It was too far for

1473
01:43:02,039 --> 01:43:04,560
my hand to reach, and so I extended my right

1474
01:43:04,600 --> 01:43:08,479
foot out as much as I could. After struggling for

1475
01:43:08,520 --> 01:43:11,119
a few minutes, I finally managed to dig my heel

1476
01:43:11,159 --> 01:43:13,600
down on top of it and drag it back towards me.

1477
01:43:14,520 --> 01:43:16,560
I then managed to press it against the wall and

1478
01:43:16,640 --> 01:43:19,239
move it vertically so I could reach it with my hand.

1479
01:43:20,840 --> 01:43:25,760
It was some sort of bent iron rod. I don't

1480
01:43:25,840 --> 01:43:28,920
know how it had possibly gotten down there, but I

1481
01:43:29,000 --> 01:43:32,920
was none the less happy it had After slowly wedging

1482
01:43:32,960 --> 01:43:35,239
it into one of the ruts I managed to push

1483
01:43:35,279 --> 01:43:39,359
outward and cause it to crack. The roots or whatever

1484
01:43:39,399 --> 01:43:43,600
they were crumbled with relative ease. A few of them

1485
01:43:43,640 --> 01:43:46,680
broke away, and within a couple moments I managed to

1486
01:43:46,720 --> 01:43:50,720
push my arm free. Soon after, I managed to slide

1487
01:43:50,720 --> 01:43:53,239
my entire body up and out of the hole I

1488
01:43:53,279 --> 01:43:57,680
had created somehow. It was only then that I remembered

1489
01:43:57,720 --> 01:44:00,640
my phone was good for something besides shining crap light.

1490
01:44:01,920 --> 01:44:05,239
I dialed nine one one, but to no surprise, the

1491
01:44:05,319 --> 01:44:09,880
call didn't go through. That seemed another confirmation that I

1492
01:44:10,000 --> 01:44:13,000
was somewhere underground, but I had no way of telling

1493
01:44:13,079 --> 01:44:18,560
how deep. I realized then that in all likelihood, no

1494
01:44:18,680 --> 01:44:23,039
one was coming to find me. The time on my

1495
01:44:23,159 --> 01:44:27,119
phone read eleven forty eight a m. Meaning I'd been

1496
01:44:27,199 --> 01:44:30,920
out called for nearly six hours. I had most of

1497
01:44:30,960 --> 01:44:33,680
the same clothes on, a pair of tan cargo shorts

1498
01:44:33,720 --> 01:44:36,880
and my running shoes. The only thing missing was my

1499
01:44:36,960 --> 01:44:42,640
Crimson Alabama University Hoddy. After looking around, I saw no

1500
01:44:42,680 --> 01:44:46,520
sign of it. The air felt chilly and stagnant, and

1501
01:44:46,600 --> 01:44:48,680
I shuddered as I rubbed the goose bumps of my

1502
01:44:48,720 --> 01:44:53,000
exposed arms. Other than my thin layer of clothing I

1503
01:44:53,000 --> 01:44:56,319
also had my phone, leather multitool, keys, a back of

1504
01:44:56,359 --> 01:45:00,720
gum and chapstick. Not exactly a Wilderness of val experts

1505
01:45:00,760 --> 01:45:06,520
emergency pack. The corridor was unnervingly silent, devoid of any

1506
01:45:06,640 --> 01:45:11,119
cave ambience, now howling wind, leaking in cracks, or distant

1507
01:45:11,199 --> 01:45:18,239
drips of water, just silence, intrusive and all consuming. I

1508
01:45:18,279 --> 01:45:21,840
started to walk, squinting to try and maximize my ocular

1509
01:45:21,880 --> 01:45:26,039
reception under the mineral light of my cell phone. Each

1510
01:45:26,079 --> 01:45:29,560
footstep I took, I did so with the utmost caution

1511
01:45:29,920 --> 01:45:33,680
I was capable. It felt as though every sense in

1512
01:45:33,720 --> 01:45:37,079
my body had been hypercharged from the onset of adrenaline

1513
01:45:37,079 --> 01:45:41,520
and confusion. Before leaving the area, I had one last

1514
01:45:41,560 --> 01:45:44,560
look back at the root system that had formerly imprisoned me.

1515
01:45:45,520 --> 01:45:48,039
The thought struck me then, as I observed it from

1516
01:45:48,079 --> 01:45:54,319
further away, it almost looked like some sort of primitive cage.

1517
01:45:56,439 --> 01:45:59,880
The tunnel stretched on for dozens of yards. Along the

1518
01:46:00,479 --> 01:46:03,079
I started finding tufts of what appeared to be dried

1519
01:46:03,119 --> 01:46:08,359
grass and straw randomly strewn about. Beyond that, the tunnel

1520
01:46:08,399 --> 01:46:10,520
came to a bend to the left, and the trail

1521
01:46:10,560 --> 01:46:14,359
of grass continued towards it. Once around the corner, my

1522
01:46:14,439 --> 01:46:17,079
eyes were met with the sight of an open cavern.

1523
01:46:18,119 --> 01:46:20,399
In the waning light of my flip phone, it was

1524
01:46:20,399 --> 01:46:23,840
difficult to tell, but it was clearly of much greater

1525
01:46:23,920 --> 01:46:27,720
volume than the previous tunnel. In front of me was

1526
01:46:27,720 --> 01:46:30,800
a large pile of sticks and dried grass, similar to

1527
01:46:30,840 --> 01:46:34,479
that I'd seen earlier. Beyond that, the walls came to

1528
01:46:34,520 --> 01:46:37,560
a sort of arch that briefly narrowed two dozen yards

1529
01:46:37,560 --> 01:46:40,920
ahead of me before seeming to expand out again in

1530
01:46:40,960 --> 01:46:44,520
the next chamber. On top of the stone arch was

1531
01:46:44,520 --> 01:46:48,960
a structure almost resembling a natural limestone bridge that seemed

1532
01:46:48,960 --> 01:46:52,520
to connect two separate ledges some thirty feet above me.

1533
01:46:53,800 --> 01:46:57,560
Above that, there appeared to be another open space, but

1534
01:46:57,680 --> 01:47:01,119
once again my lack of proficient lighting made it difficult

1535
01:47:01,159 --> 01:47:05,119
to tell. I tiptoed into the first section of the cave,

1536
01:47:05,680 --> 01:47:09,119
keeping my head on a swivel. I reached the pile

1537
01:47:09,159 --> 01:47:11,960
of debris and decided to dig within it to see

1538
01:47:12,000 --> 01:47:15,880
if there was anything useful. After finding a long stick

1539
01:47:15,880 --> 01:47:20,560
a moment later, an idea blossomed in my mind. I

1540
01:47:20,600 --> 01:47:23,600
collected a few twigs and cut a long vertical strip

1541
01:47:23,640 --> 01:47:27,239
off my belt with my pocket knife. I then removed

1542
01:47:27,239 --> 01:47:30,000
both of my boots and socks, fashioned the socks into

1543
01:47:30,000 --> 01:47:32,960
a sort of pouch, stuffed them with grass and twigs,

1544
01:47:33,199 --> 01:47:36,520
and slipped it over the end of the stick. Once

1545
01:47:36,560 --> 01:47:38,960
it seemed suitable enough, I took out my pack of

1546
01:47:39,000 --> 01:47:41,680
gum popped a piece in while cutting the wrapper in

1547
01:47:41,680 --> 01:47:44,159
a way to make it one long strand of foil.

1548
01:47:44,960 --> 01:47:47,159
I bunched the foil into a cluster and popped the

1549
01:47:47,199 --> 01:47:50,239
battery out of my cell phone. I placed the torch

1550
01:47:50,359 --> 01:47:53,199
end in the pile of brush, then moved the foil

1551
01:47:53,279 --> 01:47:57,439
cluster beneath it carefully. I took the two ends of

1552
01:47:57,479 --> 01:48:00,279
the striped foil and pressed one into each of the

1553
01:48:00,279 --> 01:48:05,279
battery's terminals. In seconds, the strand began to smoke and

1554
01:48:05,279 --> 01:48:08,640
then burst into a small flame in the brush. The

1555
01:48:08,680 --> 01:48:11,680
flame tucked to the dry grass quickly, and I watched

1556
01:48:11,840 --> 01:48:16,359
the crimson hue dance along the pile. Thank you, boy, Scouts.

1557
01:48:16,520 --> 01:48:18,119
I don't know what I would have done without that

1558
01:48:18,159 --> 01:48:23,720
little trick. The second later, my makeshift torch ignited. The

1559
01:48:23,760 --> 01:48:28,199
flame grew stronger, penetrating further into the shadowy canopy around me.

1560
01:48:29,239 --> 01:48:32,159
The panic in my mind diminished ever so slightly as

1561
01:48:32,199 --> 01:48:35,279
the orange glow of the torch painted an encouraging trail

1562
01:48:35,399 --> 01:48:38,840
through the dark. As I turned to my left, my

1563
01:48:38,920 --> 01:48:41,840
torch glinted off of something upon the cave wall that

1564
01:48:41,960 --> 01:48:46,159
caught my eye. I thought for sure I'd seen it wrong,

1565
01:48:47,000 --> 01:48:50,359
but as it got closer, a series of distant shapes

1566
01:48:50,399 --> 01:48:54,600
came into view and the porous gray rock about four

1567
01:48:54,640 --> 01:48:58,359
feet off the ground were a series of cave paintings.

1568
01:48:58,960 --> 01:49:01,600
They started low and spread for at least a dozen

1569
01:49:01,600 --> 01:49:04,880
of feet up the side of the wall. There were

1570
01:49:05,000 --> 01:49:08,479
all sorts of things depicted. Most were little more than

1571
01:49:08,600 --> 01:49:11,880
scrawny stick figure drawings of people, but there were a

1572
01:49:11,920 --> 01:49:15,399
few of animals as well. One scene that stood out

1573
01:49:15,439 --> 01:49:19,359
from the others. Three tall figures were drawn above a

1574
01:49:19,439 --> 01:49:23,279
horizon line, and three shorter ones were drawn down below it.

1575
01:49:24,359 --> 01:49:26,640
The way the scene was centered on the wall made

1576
01:49:26,640 --> 01:49:32,319
it seem significant, but I didn't understand why the torch

1577
01:49:32,359 --> 01:49:35,640
was burning quickly, so I maneuvered forward into the large

1578
01:49:35,720 --> 01:49:39,760
open chamber beyond the archway. The wallen column above the

1579
01:49:39,880 --> 01:49:43,159
arch appeared to bridge the gap between two rising ledges

1580
01:49:43,319 --> 01:49:47,479
about thirty feet up. The way it was wedged made

1581
01:49:47,479 --> 01:49:51,159
it look like it was done so intentionally, like someone

1582
01:49:51,319 --> 01:49:54,439
carved it out of the rock. The roof of the

1583
01:49:54,479 --> 01:49:57,640
cavern beyond the structure appeared to curl upward, and I

1584
01:49:57,720 --> 01:50:01,760
wondered whether there was more to see. I stepped beyond

1585
01:50:01,800 --> 01:50:05,760
it and felt my jaw nearly hit the floor. As

1586
01:50:05,800 --> 01:50:11,279
I got my answer, the room beyond the arch transitioned

1587
01:50:11,319 --> 01:50:16,079
abruptly into an absolutely colossal chamber that appeared to extend

1588
01:50:16,319 --> 01:50:20,720
upward for at least several hundred feet. Suddenly it was

1589
01:50:20,760 --> 01:50:23,680
bright enough to see without the touch, and I knew

1590
01:50:23,720 --> 01:50:26,880
that meant light had to be filtering in from somewhere

1591
01:50:26,920 --> 01:50:33,199
at the top. That realization provided hope, but also disbelief.

1592
01:50:34,880 --> 01:50:39,800
How far underground was I The chamber branched out at

1593
01:50:39,880 --> 01:50:44,279
various points into countless winding passages, and pieces of rock

1594
01:50:44,560 --> 01:50:49,000
ran overhead as makeshift bridges, looking like enormous veins in

1595
01:50:49,039 --> 01:50:53,600
a massive stone organ. In the center was a massive

1596
01:50:53,640 --> 01:50:56,840
center spire of rock that seemed to stretch all the

1597
01:50:56,880 --> 01:51:00,000
way to the top. Many of the veins were connect

1598
01:51:00,199 --> 01:51:03,319
to it, making it seem like a sort of central anchor.

1599
01:51:04,600 --> 01:51:08,439
Something then suddenly moved a couple hundred feet up. I

1600
01:51:08,479 --> 01:51:11,600
didn't see what it was, but I heard pebbles shovel

1601
01:51:11,800 --> 01:51:15,800
and plunge from above. They hit the ground with thunderous clanks,

1602
01:51:16,439 --> 01:51:21,439
sounding like popcorn popping for a megaphone. Not knowing what

1603
01:51:21,560 --> 01:51:25,000
caused it, and not exactly yearning to find out, I

1604
01:51:25,079 --> 01:51:28,119
dugged back underneath the arch. I waited there for a

1605
01:51:28,199 --> 01:51:32,279
minute or so, but didn't hear any further noise. It

1606
01:51:32,399 --> 01:51:37,600
was clear then that I wasn't alone down there, and

1607
01:51:37,680 --> 01:51:40,439
metallically and shone that caught my attention from the brush

1608
01:51:40,520 --> 01:51:44,720
pile in front of me. After looking closer, I recognized

1609
01:51:44,720 --> 01:51:48,560
the distant shape of a long barrel jutting from underneath

1610
01:51:48,560 --> 01:51:52,600
the pile. Part of me couldn't even believe what I

1611
01:51:52,680 --> 01:51:56,560
was seeing, but as it got nearer and pulled it out,

1612
01:51:57,359 --> 01:52:04,640
things just got even stranger. It was a musket, old

1613
01:52:04,680 --> 01:52:08,840
school flintlock, kind like the one from the Manifest Destiny era.

1614
01:52:10,119 --> 01:52:13,039
It was in poor condition and obviously wouldn't be suitable

1615
01:52:13,079 --> 01:52:16,880
for self defense, except maybe a vulgar club, but that

1616
01:52:17,079 --> 01:52:22,079
wasn't what held my attention. If it was authentic, and

1617
01:52:22,199 --> 01:52:25,159
judging from the events rushed and the hide, it seemed

1618
01:52:25,159 --> 01:52:27,680
like it could have been, then it had to have

1619
01:52:27,720 --> 01:52:32,000
been nearly two hundred years old. After digging around for

1620
01:52:32,039 --> 01:52:35,279
a few more moments, I quickly stumbled upon other treasures,

1621
01:52:36,079 --> 01:52:39,199
an old leather belt and added a sneaker, a broken

1622
01:52:39,279 --> 01:52:45,479
machette and knapsack, and finally her bone. I dropped it

1623
01:52:45,520 --> 01:52:47,039
as soon as I realized what it was that I

1624
01:52:47,119 --> 01:52:50,079
was holding. It looked like a large thigh bone of

1625
01:52:50,119 --> 01:52:55,039
an animal, probably a horse or a moose, and extremely

1626
01:52:55,119 --> 01:52:58,600
worrying thought then into my head, one which sprauted goose

1627
01:52:58,640 --> 01:53:02,520
bumps along my arms. I glanced around at the environment,

1628
01:53:03,039 --> 01:53:06,239
seeing the large gathered pile of sticks and other things.

1629
01:53:06,840 --> 01:53:09,680
The way the bundles were arranged made it almost look

1630
01:53:09,800 --> 01:53:14,760
like it was some kind of nest. Even then, it

1631
01:53:14,800 --> 01:53:18,319
seemed like a ridiculous notion. The pile was at least

1632
01:53:18,399 --> 01:53:22,239
thirty feet in diameter. There's no creature on Earth that

1633
01:53:22,319 --> 01:53:25,399
makes a nest that big, at least not that I

1634
01:53:25,479 --> 01:53:28,920
know of. I couldn't calm my nerves after that thought,

1635
01:53:29,279 --> 01:53:32,079
and decided to just continue trying to move upwards and

1636
01:53:32,199 --> 01:53:37,600
reach the top and more importantly, the light. Once past

1637
01:53:37,640 --> 01:53:40,359
the pile, I found myself faced with this series of

1638
01:53:40,439 --> 01:53:44,079
three branching tunnels. One of them appeared to slope downward,

1639
01:53:44,640 --> 01:53:47,760
and after a moment of contemplation, I decided to just

1640
01:53:47,800 --> 01:53:50,520
take the one on the far left that veered up.

1641
01:53:51,840 --> 01:53:54,520
My torch began to dim, and I did everything I

1642
01:53:54,520 --> 01:53:57,199
could to maintain the flame for as long as possible.

1643
01:53:58,159 --> 01:54:01,239
My pocket soon began to run drive, and the cave

1644
01:54:01,319 --> 01:54:05,399
once again grew dark. After a couple more seconds, it

1645
01:54:05,479 --> 01:54:09,680
was a little more than smoldering ashes. Once again, I

1646
01:54:09,720 --> 01:54:14,479
found myself alone in the dark. I grabbed the cell

1647
01:54:14,479 --> 01:54:17,840
phone from my pocket and silently debated whether or not

1648
01:54:17,880 --> 01:54:21,159
to go back for more fuel. An aw or stench

1649
01:54:21,279 --> 01:54:24,359
then accosted my nostrils, like the malaise of a polluted

1650
01:54:24,479 --> 01:54:29,560
rolling tide. It smelled like sewage and rotten eggs. The

1651
01:54:29,600 --> 01:54:32,680
scent became so overwhelming that I found my eyes begin

1652
01:54:32,800 --> 01:54:36,680
to water and by all climb in my throat. Along

1653
01:54:36,720 --> 01:54:41,119
the noxious scent was an overwhelming sense of impending doom.

1654
01:54:41,399 --> 01:54:45,119
Like my olfactory senses had triggered some deep, primal fear

1655
01:54:45,479 --> 01:54:49,840
hidden deep within my subconscious I flipped open my phone

1656
01:54:50,239 --> 01:54:54,039
and prayed my gut was wrong. The light from it

1657
01:54:54,079 --> 01:54:57,119
barely made a difference, but it was enough to confirm

1658
01:54:57,119 --> 01:55:01,479
my worst fear. I nearly dropped the as the outline

1659
01:55:01,560 --> 01:55:06,119
of a decaying human hand became visible further down the corridor.

1660
01:55:07,760 --> 01:55:10,960
Out of instinct, I took a step back and covered

1661
01:55:11,000 --> 01:55:15,239
my mouth as I wretched. Unfortunately, there was no real

1662
01:55:15,319 --> 01:55:18,800
choice as I had from proceeding. I popped in a

1663
01:55:18,840 --> 01:55:21,399
fresh piece of gum and prayed that my eyes had

1664
01:55:21,439 --> 01:55:26,800
deceived me. As I stepped forward, it was even worse

1665
01:55:26,880 --> 01:55:29,720
up close than even my imagination had built it up,

1666
01:55:29,760 --> 01:55:35,119
to be partially skeletonized, hands and legs dangling with gangreen

1667
01:55:35,199 --> 01:55:38,680
ribbons of flesh attached to a rotten corpse seated against

1668
01:55:38,680 --> 01:55:42,520
the wall, black and intestine spewing from the gut like

1669
01:55:42,640 --> 01:55:47,439
dead worms from some grotesque, moldy fruit. The head was

1670
01:55:47,520 --> 01:55:50,920
missing entirely, and there was no indication as to where

1671
01:55:51,000 --> 01:55:55,279
it had gone. My instincts were all but begging me

1672
01:55:55,359 --> 01:55:59,840
to flee. I had every intention of doing so until

1673
01:55:59,840 --> 01:56:03,760
I saw a small knapsack on the ground beside the remains.

1674
01:56:04,479 --> 01:56:08,079
On a hunch it may provide something useful, and seeing

1675
01:56:08,079 --> 01:56:10,720
other person clearly no longer had any use for it,

1676
01:56:11,279 --> 01:56:14,800
I decided to take it. Once I lugged it onto

1677
01:56:14,800 --> 01:56:17,199
my back, I said a few parting words for the

1678
01:56:17,279 --> 01:56:22,000
nameless corpse and moved on as if it wasn't obvious.

1679
01:56:22,000 --> 01:56:26,520
Before that moment was when I truly realized the severity

1680
01:56:26,640 --> 01:56:31,000
of my situation. Before that, I had almost assured myself

1681
01:56:31,079 --> 01:56:33,680
that me waking up there was some kind of mistake,

1682
01:56:34,000 --> 01:56:40,439
a road coincidence. But after seeing that, I abandoned that rationale.

1683
01:56:40,760 --> 01:56:44,239
Anxiety constricted my mind as I wondered whether I had

1684
01:56:44,279 --> 01:56:48,079
been kidnapped by some perverse serial killer chained up like

1685
01:56:48,119 --> 01:56:51,000
a pig ready for slaughter whenever he thought to entertain

1686
01:56:51,039 --> 01:56:55,960
the notion. After putting sufficient distance between myself and the corpse,

1687
01:56:56,640 --> 01:57:01,039
I knelt down and popped open the knapsack. Inside I

1688
01:57:01,159 --> 01:57:04,600
struck gold with a flashlight, a box of matches, a

1689
01:57:04,680 --> 01:57:07,520
half full water bottle, a pack of granola bars, and

1690
01:57:07,560 --> 01:57:12,319
a few magazines. Those were all most welcome editions, but

1691
01:57:12,680 --> 01:57:15,720
muched my chagrin. There was nothing to identify who the

1692
01:57:15,760 --> 01:57:19,159
person was or how they gotten there. At least the

1693
01:57:19,159 --> 01:57:22,520
flashlights still had some juice left in it. I flicked

1694
01:57:22,560 --> 01:57:25,760
the switch and watched the flashlights sputter to life and

1695
01:57:25,880 --> 01:57:30,239
blaze a trail through the passage. The tunnel was pretty unremarkable,

1696
01:57:30,720 --> 01:57:34,239
appearing as just a long, whining passage that led upward.

1697
01:57:34,520 --> 01:57:36,880
Ever since the brush pile, I hadn't heard so much

1698
01:57:36,880 --> 01:57:40,640
as a single decibel of sound. I never really realized

1699
01:57:40,960 --> 01:57:44,720
how comforting background white noises until I was forced to

1700
01:57:44,720 --> 01:57:48,560
go without it. After a couple more minutes of walking

1701
01:57:48,600 --> 01:57:53,800
in utter silence, I reached another open chamber. Two more

1702
01:57:53,880 --> 01:57:57,640
branching passages lay further ahead and seemed to stretch in

1703
01:57:57,720 --> 01:58:02,800
nearly opposing directions. One branched out left and one right,

1704
01:58:03,239 --> 01:58:07,039
with both seeming to lead upwards. As I approached the

1705
01:58:07,079 --> 01:58:11,119
two passages, I then noticed there was another directly above

1706
01:58:11,159 --> 01:58:15,319
me and the ceiling. I looked up to see an

1707
01:58:15,359 --> 01:58:19,880
extending shoot stretched for countless feet above me. Even the

1708
01:58:19,920 --> 01:58:22,159
light of the flashlight was not enough to illuminate its

1709
01:58:22,279 --> 01:58:26,159
entire length. Obviously, I had no means of traversing the

1710
01:58:26,279 --> 01:58:30,720
vertical shaft, but the discovery made things even more mystifying.

1711
01:58:31,880 --> 01:58:34,439
I elected to take the left tunnel in hopes it

1712
01:58:34,439 --> 01:58:37,880
would lead to a high level of the cavern. Before

1713
01:58:37,920 --> 01:58:40,880
I could enter one of them, though, my footsteps disrupted

1714
01:58:40,920 --> 01:58:44,399
a pile of pebbles and sent them skittering outward across

1715
01:58:44,439 --> 01:58:48,880
the ground. I froze, cursing myself with the noise and

1716
01:58:48,960 --> 01:58:52,720
hoping nothing had been alerted by it. My mind was

1717
01:58:52,800 --> 01:58:56,880
flooded with a torrent of catastrophic thoughts. It felt like

1718
01:58:57,000 --> 01:58:59,840
breaking the silence within that place was somehow a grave

1719
01:59:00,199 --> 01:59:03,920
sin in and of itself. Luckily for me, there was

1720
01:59:03,960 --> 01:59:09,800
no other noises. The further I went, the less likely.

1721
01:59:09,840 --> 01:59:13,600
It seemed like the cavern was a natural formation. The

1722
01:59:13,680 --> 01:59:16,560
walls had almost pat and groove marks in them, as

1723
01:59:16,560 --> 01:59:20,840
if something had methodically, yet borishly dug them out. The

1724
01:59:20,920 --> 01:59:24,600
worrying thoughts manifested as I remembered the apparent nest from earlier.

1725
01:59:25,600 --> 01:59:28,760
Maybe this was a den of some massive, unknown creature.

1726
01:59:30,000 --> 01:59:32,720
For some reason, I thought of she Lob, the giant

1727
01:59:32,720 --> 01:59:35,720
spired of him, lord of the Rings, And obviously the

1728
01:59:35,840 --> 01:59:41,079
thought did not bring any comfort whatsoever. It seemed ridiculous,

1729
01:59:41,119 --> 01:59:45,159
of course, but darkness and silence can play cruel tricks

1730
01:59:45,159 --> 01:59:48,560
on a solitary mind. I hoped that's all it was,

1731
01:59:49,439 --> 01:59:52,720
and I did my best to suppress them and continue on.

1732
01:59:55,039 --> 01:59:56,920
I dropped a piece of gum at the entrance to

1733
01:59:56,960 --> 02:00:01,000
the next tunnel and continued walking. The idea was to

1734
02:00:01,119 --> 02:00:03,479
use the glint on the shiny wrapper from the flashlight

1735
02:00:03,840 --> 02:00:06,159
as a rudimentary map to help me find my way

1736
02:00:06,199 --> 02:00:09,000
back to where I started if it came down to that.

1737
02:00:10,119 --> 02:00:12,640
The more I went, though, the more I doubted and

1738
02:00:12,720 --> 02:00:15,600
hoped I would not have to resort to that tactic.

1739
02:00:17,279 --> 02:00:20,159
All sense of direction in that place was restricted to

1740
02:00:20,279 --> 02:00:23,920
a bare minimum. As with Even as short as I traveled,

1741
02:00:24,399 --> 02:00:26,960
I had no real sense of where I was in

1742
02:00:27,039 --> 02:00:30,880
relation to where I had started. The tunnel seemed to

1743
02:00:30,920 --> 02:00:34,760
bend and twist like an enclosed spiral staircase on an

1744
02:00:34,920 --> 02:00:39,439
endless incline. Finally, as I rounded yet another bend, I

1745
02:00:39,479 --> 02:00:43,960
saw a dull light breaching the other end. I ventured forward,

1746
02:00:44,199 --> 02:00:49,039
and once more the room elongated into that massive open chamber.

1747
02:00:50,319 --> 02:00:52,960
There were some unusual items spread across the ground there

1748
02:00:53,000 --> 02:00:56,880
as well, splintered pieces of wood, along with a half

1749
02:00:56,880 --> 02:01:01,039
destroyed wooden chair. There was also a scattering of copper

1750
02:01:01,079 --> 02:01:06,920
colored coins across the ground, but I didn't recognize the denomination. However,

1751
02:01:07,399 --> 02:01:13,279
one item stood out right away, an old rusted sword.

1752
02:01:15,079 --> 02:01:17,600
I made my way over and knelt to inspect it.

1753
02:01:17,640 --> 02:01:20,880
On the ground looked like an old cavalry saber from

1754
02:01:20,920 --> 02:01:24,720
the Civil War era. The hilt was rounded and encrusted

1755
02:01:24,760 --> 02:01:28,840
with bronze, and the metal blade had clearly seen better years.

1756
02:01:29,479 --> 02:01:33,079
It looked authentic like the rifle from earlier, but of

1757
02:01:33,119 --> 02:01:36,239
course that would lead to the quite elaborate conclusion that

1758
02:01:36,680 --> 02:01:40,439
it had been there for a couple hundred years. I

1759
02:01:40,479 --> 02:01:43,079
didn't think much about it in the moment, though, I

1760
02:01:43,159 --> 02:01:49,520
was just happy to have a weapon. Hello. A sudden

1761
02:01:49,560 --> 02:01:52,079
voice froze me up like a breeze in the dead

1762
02:01:52,079 --> 02:02:01,000
of winter. I killed the flashlight and dug down, Hello, anyone.

1763
02:02:01,159 --> 02:02:04,159
The ethery of voice sounded like a young girl calling

1764
02:02:04,199 --> 02:02:08,119
from somewhere within the cave. Her vocal inflection quite clearly

1765
02:02:08,159 --> 02:02:12,079
conveyed a terror, and I found my heart quiver. The

1766
02:02:12,119 --> 02:02:14,399
thought of a young girl alone in that place and

1767
02:02:14,520 --> 02:02:18,920
terrified was haunting, and my instincts demanded I tried to help.

1768
02:02:20,079 --> 02:02:23,000
I crept onward from the room and found myself once

1769
02:02:23,039 --> 02:02:27,239
more entering the massive chamber from earlier, this time on

1770
02:02:27,279 --> 02:02:31,920
a higher level. The cavern loomed large, like an ancient

1771
02:02:32,000 --> 02:02:35,239
empty tomb, and felt as though I were a single

1772
02:02:35,319 --> 02:02:40,079
aunt in an alien termite colony. Down below, I heard

1773
02:02:40,119 --> 02:02:43,039
the footsteps of the girl whimpering, and I approached the

1774
02:02:43,079 --> 02:02:46,319
ledge to try and spot her. The area beneath me

1775
02:02:46,439 --> 02:02:49,720
was shrouded in shadow, and I saw nothing upon first glance.

1776
02:02:50,760 --> 02:02:53,920
I debated upon turning my flashlight back on and shining down,

1777
02:02:54,920 --> 02:02:57,520
but some part of me wouldn't comply with the thought.

1778
02:02:59,000 --> 02:03:00,800
Like I knew it was the right thing to do,

1779
02:03:01,399 --> 02:03:04,600
but fear had constricted me. I wouldn't allow my hand

1780
02:03:04,640 --> 02:03:09,520
to cooperate. I peeked over the edge, waiting in darkness

1781
02:03:09,560 --> 02:03:12,960
to try and see her. Her hushed sobs and frantic

1782
02:03:13,000 --> 02:03:16,600
breaths met my ears, but I couldn't determine exactly where

1783
02:03:16,600 --> 02:03:20,760
they were coming from. I kept quiet and continued listening,

1784
02:03:21,960 --> 02:03:28,479
but something strange then happened. Her muffled cries changed pitch,

1785
02:03:29,159 --> 02:03:32,600
and suddenly morphed into what I can only describe as

1786
02:03:32,640 --> 02:03:37,960
a hooting, almost manic animal screech. It was the weirdest

1787
02:03:38,000 --> 02:03:42,079
thing I'd ever heard. Something then darted through the darkness

1788
02:03:42,119 --> 02:03:45,359
down below me. I couldn't tell what it was, but

1789
02:03:45,439 --> 02:03:49,479
it was quick. It disappeared in a split second, and

1790
02:03:49,560 --> 02:03:54,199
always forced to entertain the ridiculous notion. Maybe those sounds

1791
02:03:54,560 --> 02:03:59,359
were not mental signal distress. Maybe it was a lure.

1792
02:04:01,359 --> 02:04:04,479
I can't exactly say why that a nerving thought entered

1793
02:04:04,479 --> 02:04:07,039
my mind, but I picked up the pace A bit.

1794
02:04:07,119 --> 02:04:10,640
From then on, I crossed the fallen column to reach

1795
02:04:10,680 --> 02:04:14,680
a higher elevation of ledges, sneaking glances down below to

1796
02:04:14,720 --> 02:04:18,680
keep an eye out for her what of that thing was. Luckily,

1797
02:04:18,840 --> 02:04:22,079
I managed to cross without incident and kept maneuvering further

1798
02:04:22,159 --> 02:04:26,159
into the convoluted cave system. Every path which seemed to

1799
02:04:26,199 --> 02:04:30,119
incline upwards was the one I took. Every tunnel I took.

1800
02:04:30,319 --> 02:04:32,960
I left another piece of wrapped gum at the entryway,

1801
02:04:33,760 --> 02:04:38,039
and the pack continued to dwindle. Most corridors and rooms

1802
02:04:38,039 --> 02:04:41,680
I came to held very little of interest. Found a

1803
02:04:41,680 --> 02:04:44,640
few sparse piles of animal bones, as well as various

1804
02:04:44,640 --> 02:04:48,439
personal belongings scattered around. The items I found, in no

1805
02:04:48,520 --> 02:04:52,119
particular order, were an old briefcase, a torn pair of jeans,

1806
02:04:52,439 --> 02:04:55,640
the solo winter boot, a Chicago Cubs baseball hat, and

1807
02:04:55,680 --> 02:04:59,279
a lunch box with spoiled contents. All of it was

1808
02:04:59,359 --> 02:05:04,640
rather as an eye. But then I came to that room.

1809
02:05:04,760 --> 02:05:07,680
It was tucked away behind a large room that split

1810
02:05:07,880 --> 02:05:12,039
into several other paths. By this point I was at

1811
02:05:12,119 --> 02:05:15,920
least several hundred feet above where I had started. The

1812
02:05:16,000 --> 02:05:19,560
room itself was little more than a small, separate grotto,

1813
02:05:19,680 --> 02:05:24,800
with the items inside I found truly interesting. Most were

1814
02:05:24,880 --> 02:05:29,800
articles of clothing, shirts, jackets, pants, hats, and shoes of

1815
02:05:29,840 --> 02:05:34,479
all sorts, numbering in the hundreds. I also saw a cane,

1816
02:05:34,800 --> 02:05:38,359
a fishing pole, a baseball bat, a deflated football, and

1817
02:05:38,439 --> 02:05:42,159
a small drink coller. All the items in that room

1818
02:05:42,560 --> 02:05:47,279
seemingly had a single thing in common. They all were

1819
02:05:47,319 --> 02:05:54,399
either entirely or primarily red. It looked as though someone

1820
02:05:54,479 --> 02:05:57,720
had collected them over the years, and some of the

1821
02:05:57,800 --> 02:06:01,319
articles and items looked dec years old at the very least.

1822
02:06:02,479 --> 02:06:05,359
I kept my new saber clutch tightly as I waded

1823
02:06:05,399 --> 02:06:08,600
my way through the debris. I was then struck by

1824
02:06:08,600 --> 02:06:13,319
the epiphany that my suspiciously absent hoodie had also been red.

1825
02:06:14,439 --> 02:06:18,479
I looked around for it briefly, but didn't find it.

1826
02:06:18,479 --> 02:06:21,239
It got me thinking, though maybe red was the reason

1827
02:06:21,279 --> 02:06:24,279
I was there in the first place. Of course, I

1828
02:06:24,319 --> 02:06:26,640
knew by then that I was not alone in that cave,

1829
02:06:27,039 --> 02:06:30,159
and likely had been abducted to arrive there by someone

1830
02:06:30,479 --> 02:06:35,119
or something, maybe whatever had taken me didn't like red,

1831
02:06:35,800 --> 02:06:40,520
or maybe they were attracted to it. Back outside, and

1832
02:06:40,600 --> 02:06:43,560
I was once again met with another fallen column that

1833
02:06:43,680 --> 02:06:47,159
led up to another higher ledge. This one was different,

1834
02:06:47,159 --> 02:06:52,119
though incredibly steep and worn. There appeared to be no

1835
02:06:52,239 --> 02:06:55,159
easy way up and no other real path to follow.

1836
02:06:56,119 --> 02:06:58,439
I could see the light growing more luminous above me,

1837
02:06:58,960 --> 02:07:01,880
and knew the steep path was my only option to

1838
02:07:01,920 --> 02:07:04,840
reach it. I stashed the sword on the back of

1839
02:07:04,880 --> 02:07:09,199
my belt and began to climb. The rocks were slick,

1840
02:07:09,479 --> 02:07:13,039
and parts of them crumbled as I grabbed. I moved slowly,

1841
02:07:13,439 --> 02:07:16,800
trying to stay both alive and quiet as much as possible.

1842
02:07:17,840 --> 02:07:22,199
That the road was tough, but I pushed on. I

1843
02:07:22,279 --> 02:07:25,680
was nearing the halfway point when something stopped me dead

1844
02:07:25,840 --> 02:07:29,960
in my tracks. Somewhere far above, I heard the sounds

1845
02:07:29,960 --> 02:07:34,560
of pebbles tumbling down the cavern slopes. I looked up

1846
02:07:34,800 --> 02:07:37,680
and saw a dusty cloud of residue blossom off the

1847
02:07:37,720 --> 02:07:43,039
cavern wall. My eyes rapidly scanned the area above, but

1848
02:07:43,399 --> 02:07:47,239
I didn't see anything that could have caused it. I

1849
02:07:47,279 --> 02:07:51,239
was just about to continue when I spotted something strange.

1850
02:07:51,760 --> 02:07:55,359
The dull light was flickering in from above. Just barely

1851
02:07:55,439 --> 02:07:59,840
illuminating the cavern. It was in that mystical twilight canopy.

1852
02:08:00,880 --> 02:08:04,399
I saw it on the far wall. There was a

1853
02:08:04,399 --> 02:08:07,600
small spot where the light appeared to shimmer in an

1854
02:08:07,640 --> 02:08:12,960
odd fashion. I didn't understand what I was seeing at first,

1855
02:08:13,479 --> 02:08:16,720
and just stared at the odd image. It almost looked

1856
02:08:16,760 --> 02:08:21,079
like something translucent was partially obscuring the light, like an

1857
02:08:21,079 --> 02:08:24,680
impossible patch of water held together by some unknown force.

1858
02:08:25,840 --> 02:08:28,560
I must have blinked or something, because one moment it

1859
02:08:28,640 --> 02:08:34,359
was there and the next it was gone. A cold

1860
02:08:34,439 --> 02:08:37,720
chill crept down my spine, and I decided the best

1861
02:08:37,760 --> 02:08:41,680
thing I could do was just keep moving. After taking

1862
02:08:41,680 --> 02:08:44,920
a moment to level out my breath, I continued onward

1863
02:08:45,279 --> 02:08:49,920
and thankfully reached the next ledge. Once I huled myself up,

1864
02:08:50,239 --> 02:08:52,880
I peered back down over the ledge and saw the

1865
02:08:52,960 --> 02:08:58,760
chamber plunge downward into obscurity. By that point, I was

1866
02:08:58,800 --> 02:09:02,239
nearing the top where the light was coming from. I

1867
02:09:02,359 --> 02:09:04,720
just hoped that all the effort to get there would

1868
02:09:04,760 --> 02:09:08,399
be worth it. The room beyond that ledge was yet

1869
02:09:08,439 --> 02:09:13,920
another empty space, released I thought it was. Once inside,

1870
02:09:14,159 --> 02:09:16,479
my flashlight gleamed off of one of the walls and

1871
02:09:16,520 --> 02:09:21,079
illuminated several patterns on the rock. The entire thing appeared

1872
02:09:21,079 --> 02:09:25,439
haphazardly scrawled in some sort of black ink. It was

1873
02:09:25,479 --> 02:09:27,960
only when I backed further away from the wall that

1874
02:09:28,079 --> 02:09:32,640
I realized what it was. At first I saw only

1875
02:09:32,680 --> 02:09:38,279
squiggled lines, bloated ovals, and winding tubes. Then I saw

1876
02:09:38,319 --> 02:09:42,439
the ex carved into one side. A realization struck me.

1877
02:09:42,600 --> 02:09:49,840
Then it was a map. It was crudely made, but

1878
02:09:49,920 --> 02:09:54,319
after further examination I recognized that the X section was

1879
02:09:54,359 --> 02:09:57,880
similar to the cavern I was in. The paths drawn

1880
02:09:58,239 --> 02:10:01,239
also seemed to vaguely reflect the war I'd taken to

1881
02:10:01,279 --> 02:10:05,119
reach that point. My eyes grew wide as I made

1882
02:10:05,159 --> 02:10:08,479
the undeniable discovery that if the map was in some

1883
02:10:08,560 --> 02:10:13,600
way accurate, then I hadn't seen anything yet. The colossal

1884
02:10:13,720 --> 02:10:16,640
chamber I was currently in was only a tiny fraction

1885
02:10:16,760 --> 02:10:21,079
of the entire piece. I counted six or seven other

1886
02:10:21,159 --> 02:10:24,920
sections that were at least double the size. The end

1887
02:10:25,000 --> 02:10:27,960
of the portrait seemed to fizzle away, as if whoever

1888
02:10:28,119 --> 02:10:32,119
drawn it had not yet completed the entire thing. That

1889
02:10:32,199 --> 02:10:38,199
realization was staggering. Just how big is this place? I

1890
02:10:38,239 --> 02:10:40,159
took a picture of the diagram with my cell phone

1891
02:10:40,279 --> 02:10:44,680
and moved on. There were sudden noises and clangs far

1892
02:10:44,760 --> 02:10:47,439
off in the distance, and I decided to move towards

1893
02:10:47,479 --> 02:10:50,880
the light as quickly as I could. According to the

1894
02:10:50,920 --> 02:10:53,760
crude map, the way out of the labyrinth was near.

1895
02:10:54,640 --> 02:10:57,840
If it was anywhere near true proportions, then I was

1896
02:10:57,880 --> 02:11:01,439
about three fourths of the way there. I just had

1897
02:11:01,479 --> 02:11:04,960
a little bit higher to go, but the worst was

1898
02:11:05,039 --> 02:11:09,439
yet to come. I advanced on to yet another tunnel

1899
02:11:09,800 --> 02:11:13,079
and began the arduous climb upward. I could see the

1900
02:11:13,159 --> 02:11:16,079
light getting nearer and just hoped that there was an

1901
02:11:16,199 --> 02:11:20,920
actual means of getting out. Luckily, after rounding a few corners,

1902
02:11:21,279 --> 02:11:23,920
I came face to face with just about the most

1903
02:11:24,039 --> 02:11:30,279
beautiful thing I had ever seen. The exit In the ceiling.

1904
02:11:30,600 --> 02:11:35,159
There were several partial, transparent films of unknown material stretched

1905
02:11:35,199 --> 02:11:39,079
over holes. The light was gently beaming in from above,

1906
02:11:39,600 --> 02:11:42,079
and I knew it had to be a way out.

1907
02:11:42,800 --> 02:11:46,520
The only question was how was I going to reach it?

1908
02:11:47,560 --> 02:11:52,800
As the ceiling was well over twenty feet up. I

1909
02:11:52,920 --> 02:11:56,000
made my approach into the open cavern and stared upwards

1910
02:11:56,079 --> 02:11:59,880
at the patches of rock above me. There were grew

1911
02:12:00,199 --> 02:12:02,840
and indentations in the side of the wall, and I

1912
02:12:02,880 --> 02:12:06,119
thought m I used them to climb up. It looked possible,

1913
02:12:07,039 --> 02:12:12,880
but I didn't get the chance to try. Then, out

1914
02:12:12,920 --> 02:12:15,399
of the blue, I was suddenly struck in the chest

1915
02:12:15,439 --> 02:12:20,039
by something. The blow was sudden, completely unexpected and sharp.

1916
02:12:21,079 --> 02:12:23,279
I crumbled to my knees and held my ribs where

1917
02:12:23,279 --> 02:12:26,000
the blow had struck, feeling blood begin to spill from

1918
02:12:26,079 --> 02:12:29,399
several open wounds of my abdomen. I then heard a

1919
02:12:29,439 --> 02:12:32,960
sudden pit a batter of feet scampering by me. My

1920
02:12:33,039 --> 02:12:36,239
eyes frantically darted around the room, but I did not

1921
02:12:36,359 --> 02:12:40,079
see my assaulter anywhere, even though they had passed right

1922
02:12:40,119 --> 02:12:45,880
by me. It didn't make any sense. A plume of

1923
02:12:45,960 --> 02:12:49,560
dust was then disturbed above me. I looked up and

1924
02:12:49,600 --> 02:12:54,199
saw something I still cannot fully explain. It was the

1925
02:12:54,239 --> 02:12:57,119
same odd, shimmering anomaly of the light that I had

1926
02:12:57,199 --> 02:13:01,640
seen before. It was close to this time, perched just

1927
02:13:01,680 --> 02:13:04,840
above me on the ceiling, who was different than before,

1928
02:13:04,880 --> 02:13:10,039
though there was a distinct shape to it, at least

1929
02:13:10,079 --> 02:13:15,079
partially like it looked different than the area around it.

1930
02:13:15,119 --> 02:13:17,720
For any of those who played the Halo franchise, just

1931
02:13:17,760 --> 02:13:21,239
pictured the translucent silhouette of an active camo upgrade, and

1932
02:13:21,319 --> 02:13:25,359
that's basically how it looked, something that was either partially

1933
02:13:25,359 --> 02:13:30,600
cloaked or my eyes just weren't capable of fully perceiving it.

1934
02:13:30,600 --> 02:13:33,560
It then moved, and my heart dropped like a lead weight.

1935
02:13:34,640 --> 02:13:38,359
There was definitely something up there, and I had no

1936
02:13:38,479 --> 02:13:43,319
idea what it was. Its outline looked vaguely humanoid, but

1937
02:13:43,399 --> 02:13:46,319
it was hard to tell for certain. The saber in

1938
02:13:46,359 --> 02:13:48,920
my hand quivered as I held it out towards the thing.

1939
02:13:50,000 --> 02:13:53,039
The three separate wounds in my chest stung like hornet's venom,

1940
02:13:53,239 --> 02:13:55,920
and I realized then that the pattern of them almost

1941
02:13:55,960 --> 02:14:00,800
looked like something inflicted by claws. I just stared at

1942
02:14:00,800 --> 02:14:04,479
one another for the longest time before it suddenly made

1943
02:14:04,520 --> 02:14:08,199
this sort of hooting noise. I then watched as it

1944
02:14:08,279 --> 02:14:13,319
leaped several feet and then disappeared into the shadows. Things

1945
02:14:13,359 --> 02:14:18,560
fell silent once more, and I seized my chance. Freedom

1946
02:14:18,840 --> 02:14:21,800
was only a simple climb away, and with that in mind,

1947
02:14:21,960 --> 02:14:24,760
I made a scramble for it. I began my climb

1948
02:14:24,840 --> 02:14:27,880
up the wall. It was jagged and I felt rocks

1949
02:14:27,880 --> 02:14:31,520
puncture into my hands, but I didn't care. I just

1950
02:14:31,720 --> 02:14:35,640
had to get out. I was nearing the halfway point,

1951
02:14:35,880 --> 02:14:40,520
when suddenly something slammed into my back. The impact caused

1952
02:14:40,520 --> 02:14:43,119
me to lose grip and plummeted about ten feet back

1953
02:14:43,159 --> 02:14:46,439
to the cavern floor. I struck hard, with my head

1954
02:14:46,600 --> 02:14:50,399
bouncing off the solid dirt. The room wabbled around me,

1955
02:14:50,720 --> 02:14:54,880
and my head pulsed from the impact. Something then touched

1956
02:14:54,920 --> 02:14:58,640
down ahead of me. I tried to stabilize my vision

1957
02:14:58,920 --> 02:15:01,560
and clutched tightly under the rusted taber as my only

1958
02:15:01,640 --> 02:15:05,239
means of defense. As I rose to my feet, I

1959
02:15:05,279 --> 02:15:08,239
felt the thing slam into me. The two of us

1960
02:15:08,279 --> 02:15:12,000
fell and rolled under the dirt, wrestling and flailing about.

1961
02:15:13,239 --> 02:15:16,279
Its claws were like razors and prana like teeth tore

1962
02:15:16,359 --> 02:15:19,720
into my flesh like ribbons. I fought back and struggled

1963
02:15:19,960 --> 02:15:21,720
so am, managing to force the thing off of me.

1964
02:15:22,520 --> 02:15:25,800
I'd barely even see what I was fighting, But as

1965
02:15:25,840 --> 02:15:28,520
we broke apart and it tried to slink back into

1966
02:15:28,520 --> 02:15:32,960
the shadows, I saw blood shining on its torso I

1967
02:15:33,000 --> 02:15:36,720
stepped forward and slashed horizontally with the saber. I felt

1968
02:15:36,720 --> 02:15:40,399
the tips strike and tear through its translucent hide. It

1969
02:15:40,479 --> 02:15:44,359
seemed only like a minor wound, but the thing went ballistic.

1970
02:15:45,600 --> 02:15:48,560
I can't even possibly describe the multi lay cacophony the

1971
02:15:48,600 --> 02:15:52,800
thing reduced voices of animals all blended into random blurbs

1972
02:15:52,800 --> 02:15:57,159
of vocalized pain. It flailed about, wailing in a god

1973
02:15:57,319 --> 02:16:00,279
awful tone, as if suddenly driven to all what a

1974
02:16:00,319 --> 02:16:04,680
madness by what was honestly just a minor wound. In

1975
02:16:04,800 --> 02:16:08,880
sheer disbelief, I watched it suddenly leap, or perhaps stumble,

1976
02:16:08,920 --> 02:16:12,640
over the ledge and plummet to the chasm below. It

1977
02:16:12,800 --> 02:16:17,840
struck a hard squelch a second later, and the silence returned.

1978
02:16:19,479 --> 02:16:22,319
It didn't last, though, and before I even asked myself

1979
02:16:22,359 --> 02:16:25,960
what the hell had just happened, I heard something down below.

1980
02:16:27,800 --> 02:16:32,200
It began as a chorus of hoots, grunts, and indistinct noises.

1981
02:16:33,079 --> 02:16:36,639
I heard pebbles scuttling about, and the aggravated voices grow

1982
02:16:36,680 --> 02:16:41,399
in volume. There were more of them, many more of them.

1983
02:16:42,079 --> 02:16:44,559
The only option I had was the holes up above,

1984
02:16:45,399 --> 02:16:48,280
and so once more I dashed towards the rock wall.

1985
02:16:49,280 --> 02:16:51,760
I scrambled up as quickly as I could as the

1986
02:16:51,799 --> 02:16:55,760
horde of camouflage things climbed from the abyss below. I

1987
02:16:55,799 --> 02:16:58,079
heard them right beneath me. As I reached the hole

1988
02:16:58,120 --> 02:17:01,600
in the ceiling. Was some sort of thin film material

1989
02:17:01,639 --> 02:17:04,719
covering the hole, but luckily I was able to push

1990
02:17:04,799 --> 02:17:08,799
right through it. Daylight seared into my eyes as I

1991
02:17:08,840 --> 02:17:12,319
plunged upwards and burst out of the cave. The light

1992
02:17:12,360 --> 02:17:15,440
accosted my retiness, and it took a moment to adjust

1993
02:17:15,600 --> 02:17:19,120
after being locked in the darkness for so long. There

1994
02:17:19,120 --> 02:17:22,600
were boulders around me and trees in the distance, illuminated

1995
02:17:22,639 --> 02:17:25,799
by a setting sun. Just as I was about to

1996
02:17:25,879 --> 02:17:29,799
lunch outward, something grabbed a hold of my leg. I

1997
02:17:29,799 --> 02:17:33,200
felt clawse sinking into my leg and tearing to the flesh.

1998
02:17:33,760 --> 02:17:35,840
I kicked and fought back with all the strength I had,

1999
02:17:36,079 --> 02:17:38,680
refusing to be dragged back down into the cave without

2000
02:17:38,719 --> 02:17:42,040
a fight. My finger iuls cracked as I clung with

2001
02:17:42,159 --> 02:17:44,760
all my might under the ledge and kicked around wildly.

2002
02:17:45,920 --> 02:17:49,200
By some miracle, I felt the things grip relinquish on

2003
02:17:49,200 --> 02:17:52,319
my leg. I harbled to my feet as the chorus

2004
02:17:52,360 --> 02:17:56,440
of sounds wailed from below. My leg was blooded, but

2005
02:17:56,520 --> 02:18:00,879
the pain barely registered. Adrenaline had taken full control, and

2006
02:18:00,959 --> 02:18:05,159
I galloped into a run. I didn't care where I

2007
02:18:05,200 --> 02:18:07,600
was going, I just knew I had to get as

2008
02:18:07,639 --> 02:18:11,000
far away from there as possible. I don't think I've

2009
02:18:11,040 --> 02:18:14,280
ever ran for so long in my life. I heard

2010
02:18:14,319 --> 02:18:17,200
them following me, and I knew if I stopped for

2011
02:18:17,280 --> 02:18:22,760
even a moment, I was dead. It was dark before

2012
02:18:22,760 --> 02:18:26,440
I finally saw smoke wafting in the distance. With every

2013
02:18:26,559 --> 02:18:29,559
last ounce of strength I possessed, I dashed towards it.

2014
02:18:30,479 --> 02:18:33,319
The most beautiful sight I'd ever seen came to view

2015
02:18:33,399 --> 02:18:39,200
then as a simple wooden cabin. I yelled out, hoping

2016
02:18:39,200 --> 02:18:42,639
someone would hear my please and help me. Exhaustion and

2017
02:18:42,719 --> 02:18:45,600
loss of blood struck me then, and I collapsed within

2018
02:18:45,639 --> 02:18:49,479
a dozen yards of the home. My vision began to fade,

2019
02:18:50,120 --> 02:18:53,040
but I saw blurry outlines emerge from within the cabin.

2020
02:18:54,079 --> 02:18:59,079
Things went dark once again. The next thing I remember

2021
02:18:59,559 --> 02:19:03,239
was waking up in the hospital, greeted by the desperate

2022
02:19:03,280 --> 02:19:08,159
expressions of family and friends. It was so surreal. They

2023
02:19:08,159 --> 02:19:11,559
wept tears of joy, thanking God and others that I

2024
02:19:11,559 --> 02:19:15,799
had returned. Pardon me. Wondered then whether all the things

2025
02:19:15,840 --> 02:19:19,959
I've related here today were just nightmares or vivid hallucinations

2026
02:19:19,959 --> 02:19:23,280
of some kind of coma. But as soon as they

2027
02:19:23,280 --> 02:19:27,399
saw the extent of my injuries, I knew that wasn't possible.

2028
02:19:29,440 --> 02:19:32,399
I had apparently been gone for nearly twenty four hours.

2029
02:19:32,440 --> 02:19:35,639
When I was found. My body was covered in deep

2030
02:19:35,680 --> 02:19:38,879
cuts and lacerations. I had three broken ribs and a

2031
02:19:38,920 --> 02:19:42,799
partially ruptured spleen. Many of my wounds had been stricken

2032
02:19:42,840 --> 02:19:45,520
with infection, and it took weeks for me to heal.

2033
02:19:46,920 --> 02:19:50,319
It was not a fun time, but at least I

2034
02:19:50,360 --> 02:19:54,239
was alive. The doctors and police thought my injuries were

2035
02:19:54,280 --> 02:19:57,680
a result of an animal attack. They questioned me profusely,

2036
02:19:58,479 --> 02:20:03,000
but I took the coward's way out. I didn't tell

2037
02:20:03,000 --> 02:20:06,879
them much, only that outout hiking I was suddenly attacked

2038
02:20:06,920 --> 02:20:10,600
by something. Doesn't really explain the fact that I ended

2039
02:20:10,639 --> 02:20:12,760
up at the cabin, which was nearly fifteen miles away

2040
02:20:12,760 --> 02:20:15,760
from the trail I had started on, but that detail

2041
02:20:15,879 --> 02:20:19,639
didn't come up. It felt wrong to lie to them,

2042
02:20:19,840 --> 02:20:22,000
but I was paranoid that no one would believe me.

2043
02:20:22,840 --> 02:20:26,120
I didn't even know if I could believe myself. Ever

2044
02:20:26,159 --> 02:20:31,000
since that day, I've exhausted every possible rational explanation, but

2045
02:20:31,079 --> 02:20:35,120
they always come up short. The memories are just too vivid.

2046
02:20:35,840 --> 02:20:39,079
I still don't understand exactly how it all happened, But

2047
02:20:39,840 --> 02:20:43,639
I've learned a few things. After I got out of

2048
02:20:43,680 --> 02:20:46,799
the hospital, I started doing some research on all of

2049
02:20:46,799 --> 02:20:49,920
this phenomenon to try and see whether anyone had been

2050
02:20:49,959 --> 02:20:53,879
through something similar. The Appellations had known for cases of

2051
02:20:53,920 --> 02:20:58,159
mysterious disappearances. Dozens of cases have been reported over the years,

2052
02:20:58,600 --> 02:21:02,200
with many of them remaining until I don't know whether

2053
02:21:02,200 --> 02:21:04,319
they are all victimized by the same thing I was,

2054
02:21:05,079 --> 02:21:10,000
but I did notice one peculiar detail. Many of them

2055
02:21:10,000 --> 02:21:12,799
were reported to have been wearing a red article of

2056
02:21:12,840 --> 02:21:18,159
clothing when they were declared missing. In nature, red is

2057
02:21:18,200 --> 02:21:21,600
the color of danger. Many animals, like balls, have an

2058
02:21:21,639 --> 02:21:24,799
innate fear or dislike of the color. It makes sense

2059
02:21:24,840 --> 02:21:28,040
when you think about it. Blood is red fire too.

2060
02:21:29,319 --> 02:21:33,520
Oftentimes venomus, snakes, and insects will be partially or entirely

2061
02:21:33,559 --> 02:21:38,000
red in color. Many poisonous mushrooms and berries also follow

2062
02:21:38,079 --> 02:21:42,399
this pattern. I'm not positive, but I do believe red

2063
02:21:42,639 --> 02:21:45,840
has something to do with this. As for what those

2064
02:21:45,879 --> 02:21:51,319
things were, I really don't know. I've considered everything from

2065
02:21:51,360 --> 02:21:55,840
aliens to ghosts and inter dimensional creatures, but I don't

2066
02:21:55,840 --> 02:21:59,799
think anyone knows for sure. There's a local legend about

2067
02:21:59,840 --> 02:22:03,000
beings that supposedly live deep in the woods, hidden away

2068
02:22:03,040 --> 02:22:07,760
from people. Indigenous folklore in the area mentions them extensively,

2069
02:22:08,600 --> 02:22:15,479
but it sounds ridiculous. Fairies nothing like the qt tinker

2070
02:22:15,520 --> 02:22:20,120
Bell or Cosmo Wonder. According to legend, they are subterranean

2071
02:22:20,159 --> 02:22:24,440
creatures that stalk and drag their prey back into their burrows.

2072
02:22:24,959 --> 02:22:28,040
A lot of stories claim they live near rocks and boulders,

2073
02:22:28,079 --> 02:22:30,520
something which reminded me of the location I arrived in

2074
02:22:30,760 --> 02:22:34,680
after first exiting the cave. I didn't really buy into

2075
02:22:34,680 --> 02:22:37,280
this explanation until a friend of mine, who was a

2076
02:22:37,360 --> 02:22:42,840
Native American, mentioned one particular detail. Apparently, these beings are

2077
02:22:42,879 --> 02:22:46,840
allergic to steal. That may explain what happened to the

2078
02:22:46,840 --> 02:22:49,200
one that attacked me after I nicked it with that

2079
02:22:49,319 --> 02:22:52,799
old saber. Maybe the steel of the blade caused it

2080
02:22:52,840 --> 02:22:56,200
to have a reaction. As for their apparent ability to

2081
02:22:56,200 --> 02:22:59,719
cloak themselves, well, no one who have told this account

2082
02:22:59,719 --> 02:23:03,200
to honestly has been able to explain that. My same

2083
02:23:03,239 --> 02:23:05,879
friend who told me about the fairies admits that he

2084
02:23:05,959 --> 02:23:09,000
never really believed in them. They were just stories that

2085
02:23:09,040 --> 02:23:11,959
his grandfather used to tell him as a kid. Both

2086
02:23:12,000 --> 02:23:15,399
of us don't really know what to think now. Some

2087
02:23:15,440 --> 02:23:18,520
people say that all myths and superstitions are rooted in

2088
02:23:18,639 --> 02:23:23,120
something real. Real but benign stories passed from generation to

2089
02:23:23,239 --> 02:23:26,639
generation by word of mouth is spiced to have been exaggerated,

2090
02:23:27,120 --> 02:23:29,959
and thus eventually leading to the folklore we tell each

2091
02:23:29,959 --> 02:23:34,319
other around campfires. Maybe this time the myth doesn't need

2092
02:23:34,360 --> 02:23:38,200
to be exaggerated. Maybe the reason that the world scoffs

2093
02:23:38,200 --> 02:23:41,399
at these stories is because the truth is something very

2094
02:23:41,479 --> 02:23:46,360
good at hiding. I know how all of this sounds.

2095
02:23:46,600 --> 02:23:49,840
Trust me, every skeptical thought that has passed through your

2096
02:23:49,840 --> 02:23:53,040
mind while listening to this is probably something I myself

2097
02:23:53,120 --> 02:23:56,920
have considered at one point or another. If you choose

2098
02:23:57,000 --> 02:23:59,799
to write this off as no more than fiction, than

2099
02:23:59,840 --> 02:24:04,559
that is your decision. I've saved this for the end

2100
02:24:04,959 --> 02:24:07,159
because I know there are those who skim through to

2101
02:24:07,200 --> 02:24:10,879
see the conclusions. I want as many people to hear

2102
02:24:10,920 --> 02:24:15,840
this as possible. It's the only thing that really matters. Please,

2103
02:24:16,680 --> 02:24:20,639
don't wear red in the Appalachian woods or any other

2104
02:24:20,680 --> 02:24:24,239
woods for that matter. You may not believe in or

2105
02:24:24,239 --> 02:24:27,840
ever see the things I have, and honestly I hope

2106
02:24:27,840 --> 02:24:32,040
you never do. But just remember when you're out on

2107
02:24:32,079 --> 02:24:35,879
a trail in the middle of the woods, they see you,

2108
02:24:37,399 --> 02:24:43,000
don't provoke them, because even if you survive, you'll spend

2109
02:24:43,040 --> 02:24:46,360
the rest of your life knowing a truth that no

2110
02:24:46,399 --> 02:25:03,680
one will ever fully believe. Just like me, I swear

2111
02:25:03,959 --> 02:25:07,040
and the highest honor I can muster that everything in

2112
02:25:07,079 --> 02:25:13,360
this story is true, related as lucidly as possible, all true,

2113
02:25:13,520 --> 02:25:18,159
no matter how badly I wish it wasn't. There isn't

2114
02:25:18,200 --> 02:25:21,399
much to do in the rural parts of Pennsylvania, what

2115
02:25:21,559 --> 02:25:25,959
some call pennsyl Tucky. Like most parts of rural America,

2116
02:25:26,479 --> 02:25:30,719
popular pastimes include drinking oneself into a stupor and driving

2117
02:25:30,879 --> 02:25:34,959
unexpectedly nineteen eighty three Ford f one fifties double the

2118
02:25:35,000 --> 02:25:40,920
speed limit, down narrow, rarely maintain roads. Aye, However, occupy

2119
02:25:40,959 --> 02:25:45,840
myself when I can by hunting. It gets a bad

2120
02:25:45,920 --> 02:25:50,159
rap as a barbaric cruel practice. But I've always found

2121
02:25:50,280 --> 02:25:52,879
solace in the forest that is impossible to find in

2122
02:25:52,920 --> 02:25:56,600
the cramped, too close for comfort atmosphere of a small town.

2123
02:25:58,559 --> 02:26:02,040
This particular season, I was out in early November in

2124
02:26:02,079 --> 02:26:05,239
a forest in the foothills of the Appalachians, a few

2125
02:26:05,280 --> 02:26:09,159
minutes away from my home northwest of Harrisburg. It was

2126
02:26:09,239 --> 02:26:11,719
late in the fall season, and the steady flow of

2127
02:26:11,760 --> 02:26:16,319
foliage tourists what locals call leaf peepers, was beginning to

2128
02:26:16,360 --> 02:26:20,159
trickle to a stop. Some trees were still burning of

2129
02:26:20,200 --> 02:26:24,600
fiery red orange, but most were beginning to wither, foreshadowing

2130
02:26:24,760 --> 02:26:29,600
and unusually harsh winter. The falling leaves created a curtain

2131
02:26:29,639 --> 02:26:32,799
of decay which moved like a sandstorm in slow motion,

2132
02:26:33,600 --> 02:26:37,719
shrouding and isolating me from my surroundings and crunching softly

2133
02:26:37,920 --> 02:26:42,440
under every footstep. I paced my way through the temple

2134
02:26:42,600 --> 02:26:45,719
of red and gold, alert for the light footsteps of

2135
02:26:45,760 --> 02:26:50,799
my quarry white tailed deer. My Winchester thirty o six

2136
02:26:51,200 --> 02:26:54,639
swayed on my back as I walked. The gun was

2137
02:26:54,719 --> 02:26:57,959
overgi for a deer, but it doesn't paid to take

2138
02:26:58,040 --> 02:27:02,159
chances around bigger game like elk in Black Bear. This

2139
02:27:02,319 --> 02:27:05,520
forest was new territory for me, a refreshing change of

2140
02:27:05,559 --> 02:27:09,159
pace after paved trails and subdivisions began to encircle the

2141
02:27:09,239 --> 02:27:13,360
hunting grounds of my childhood. As I walked, I began

2142
02:27:13,399 --> 02:27:16,440
to light to my guard, losing focus on the wildlife

2143
02:27:16,879 --> 02:27:20,399
and becoming engrossed in the natural beauty of the area.

2144
02:27:21,600 --> 02:27:25,040
I became so distracted peering up at the falling leaves

2145
02:27:25,559 --> 02:27:28,799
that I tripped over a tree route snaking through the carpet.

2146
02:27:30,159 --> 02:27:32,920
I followed it with my eye to its termination at

2147
02:27:32,959 --> 02:27:38,360
the base of a massive, gnarled oak tree. The trunk

2148
02:27:38,840 --> 02:27:42,959
was huge, but the tree was squat, blackened with age,

2149
02:27:43,159 --> 02:27:45,760
and split down the middle, as if by an act

2150
02:27:45,799 --> 02:27:50,159
of God. This story could have ended then and there,

2151
02:27:51,040 --> 02:27:53,559
if not for a smell that wafted up to me

2152
02:27:53,959 --> 02:27:57,520
as I passed the tree. It wound its way up

2153
02:27:57,559 --> 02:28:01,079
from the tree's base out of a swale ground to

2154
02:28:01,159 --> 02:28:04,639
the raised path I was walking on, pushing the crisp

2155
02:28:04,719 --> 02:28:09,360
smell of the forest aside. My first thought was that

2156
02:28:09,600 --> 02:28:13,079
of a dead animal, which could mean a bearing the area,

2157
02:28:13,920 --> 02:28:20,000
so I circled the tree to take a look. There

2158
02:28:20,040 --> 02:28:23,440
was no carcass, but the scene at the base of

2159
02:28:23,440 --> 02:28:29,000
the tree resembled a homicide. Dark matted clumps of fur

2160
02:28:29,280 --> 02:28:33,520
dotted the undergrowth, and a viscous black fluid led from

2161
02:28:33,520 --> 02:28:37,680
the forest into a hollow, overshadowed by a titanic root

2162
02:28:38,280 --> 02:28:43,159
leading deep into the ground. The entire picture was punctuated

2163
02:28:43,479 --> 02:28:47,959
by the small, rank smell a thick, coppery scent, like

2164
02:28:48,079 --> 02:28:53,360
pennies mixed with death. I am not unused to gritty,

2165
02:28:53,639 --> 02:28:59,399
even downright disturbing scenes, but this scent made me wretch involuntarily,

2166
02:29:00,200 --> 02:29:03,680
and the den unsettled me deeply, as though I had

2167
02:29:03,680 --> 02:29:09,879
stumbled upon something no one should ever see. Shaken, I

2168
02:29:09,959 --> 02:29:14,479
moved back under the trail, and, against my better judgment,

2169
02:29:15,079 --> 02:29:19,760
resumed my search for a deer. The sun began to

2170
02:29:19,799 --> 02:29:23,280
beat down overhead with all the clarity of a winter's day,

2171
02:29:24,079 --> 02:29:28,440
shining a demanding light under the forest and weakening my resolve.

2172
02:29:29,799 --> 02:29:33,559
They just began to unpack my lunch when something began

2173
02:29:33,600 --> 02:29:37,319
to bother me. I couldn't put a finger on what

2174
02:29:37,479 --> 02:29:42,920
it was, but I felt antsy, for lack of a

2175
02:29:42,920 --> 02:29:48,600
better word, like I shouldn't be sitting still without even

2176
02:29:48,639 --> 02:29:54,719
knowing it. I began to scan my surroundings for something, anything.

2177
02:29:56,319 --> 02:29:59,319
I was returning to my lunch when it hit me.

2178
02:30:01,120 --> 02:30:07,559
The forest was silent, no birds chirping, no insects buzzing.

2179
02:30:08,680 --> 02:30:11,440
Even the rustle of trees in the wind had come

2180
02:30:11,520 --> 02:30:16,040
to an ominous standstill. As the meaning of this realization

2181
02:30:16,200 --> 02:30:18,719
began to sink in, and I got to my feet.

2182
02:30:19,719 --> 02:30:25,600
Two things happened in rapid succession. A sizeable branch snapped

2183
02:30:25,719 --> 02:30:30,959
a few hundred meters away, and an ungodly screech penetrated

2184
02:30:31,000 --> 02:30:36,479
the November air. I have never heard a sound like

2185
02:30:36,559 --> 02:30:40,559
it before or since. It was as though the earth

2186
02:30:40,600 --> 02:30:45,680
itself split and hell opened up just long enough to

2187
02:30:45,760 --> 02:30:48,920
sum up the suffering of the damned in one ear

2188
02:30:49,000 --> 02:30:54,120
splitting roar. Terrified, I bolted to my gun, leaned against

2189
02:30:54,120 --> 02:30:59,319
the tree, and began to scan the undergrowth. Something big

2190
02:30:59,639 --> 02:31:03,520
was moved through the forest floor, but I couldn't see

2191
02:31:03,559 --> 02:31:06,399
what it was thanks to the curtain of leaves falling

2192
02:31:06,399 --> 02:31:10,159
around me. I hastily made tracks back in the direction

2193
02:31:10,239 --> 02:31:14,920
I had come, forcing myself not to look back. After all,

2194
02:31:15,639 --> 02:31:21,040
what animal would actively stalk a human without even being provoked.

2195
02:31:22,600 --> 02:31:24,799
I had lost the sound of the creature and began

2196
02:31:24,840 --> 02:31:27,840
to loosen up a little when I was hit with

2197
02:31:27,959 --> 02:31:32,840
a bone chilling realization. The sounds of the forest had

2198
02:31:32,840 --> 02:31:37,680
come back behind me, but the trees in front were

2199
02:31:37,680 --> 02:31:43,639
a silent of the grave. Whatever I had encountered, probably

2200
02:31:43,760 --> 02:31:45,760
the same beast that had made the mess under the

2201
02:31:45,799 --> 02:31:50,239
oak tree had circled back in an attempt to trap

2202
02:31:50,280 --> 02:31:55,120
me truly scared. At this point, I scrambled off the

2203
02:31:55,159 --> 02:31:58,559
path into a rock gully, my back to a damp

2204
02:31:58,639 --> 02:32:02,559
rock wall. I crawled, without taking my eyes off the

2205
02:32:02,639 --> 02:32:06,040
path into a cave, hoping to hide my hype of

2206
02:32:06,120 --> 02:32:12,159
ventilation and chattering teeth from whatever was stalking me. Only

2207
02:32:12,200 --> 02:32:15,000
a few minutes had passed when I heard the crunch

2208
02:32:15,079 --> 02:32:20,920
of leaves and a deep, demonic snorting. It stopped on

2209
02:32:21,000 --> 02:32:24,840
the path above my hide away, and I held my breath,

2210
02:32:25,479 --> 02:32:29,040
willing my heart to stop so as to be completely silent.

2211
02:32:30,280 --> 02:32:33,280
The creature had begun to move on when my gun,

2212
02:32:33,959 --> 02:32:38,959
leaning against the rock, slipped off the slick surface. It

2213
02:32:39,040 --> 02:32:43,120
clattered to the ground, reverberating louder than an air raid

2214
02:32:43,200 --> 02:32:47,520
siren in the crisp auto MA are my heart sank?

2215
02:32:47,799 --> 02:32:50,600
As I heard steps make their way down the rocks

2216
02:32:51,000 --> 02:32:56,200
and closer to me. I crawled painfully, slowly towards my rifle,

2217
02:32:56,760 --> 02:33:00,440
every muscle in my body tight enough to burst. I

2218
02:33:00,479 --> 02:33:05,040
stopped to steady myself and heard breathing right outside the

2219
02:33:05,120 --> 02:33:12,040
cave opening. It was choked slavering breathing, unnatural breathing, which

2220
02:33:12,040 --> 02:33:17,159
inspired visualizations of twisted corruptions of human and beast, a

2221
02:33:17,239 --> 02:33:21,079
patchwork demon of animal and man. I reached for my

2222
02:33:21,120 --> 02:33:24,559
gun and came the closest to death I ever have

2223
02:33:25,600 --> 02:33:30,520
Because I outstretched my hand, so did it. Instead of

2224
02:33:30,559 --> 02:33:34,600
the smooth shellck of my rifle stock, my palm met

2225
02:33:34,680 --> 02:33:39,399
a coarse, ragged fur, caked with mud and attached to

2226
02:33:39,440 --> 02:33:45,680
a lanky, sinewy arm. The beast screamed, and as I

2227
02:33:45,719 --> 02:33:49,000
shouldered my rifle and fired blindly out of the opening,

2228
02:33:49,719 --> 02:33:54,000
I caught a glimpse of yellowed fang and one blood

2229
02:33:54,000 --> 02:33:58,280
red eye, an eye that reflected a hatred more ancient

2230
02:33:58,319 --> 02:34:04,440
than man, hatred that said, this is my forest. You

2231
02:34:04,479 --> 02:34:07,959
may have altered it through your presence, corrupted it, but

2232
02:34:08,079 --> 02:34:11,520
I was here before you, and I will be here after.

2233
02:34:14,000 --> 02:34:17,920
Human willpower paled in the face of such uncompromising malice,

2234
02:34:18,079 --> 02:34:22,079
and I shrank back against the rocks, robotically cycling bullets

2235
02:34:22,120 --> 02:34:27,000
out of the cave. I sat there, dead eyed, doing

2236
02:34:27,000 --> 02:34:30,600
this for a long time, overnight and well into the

2237
02:34:30,639 --> 02:34:34,600
next morning, over eighteen hours of working a bolt and

2238
02:34:34,639 --> 02:34:38,200
pulling the trigger. By the time I snapped out of

2239
02:34:38,239 --> 02:34:41,559
my adrenaline fueled haze, my mouth felt like a desert

2240
02:34:42,000 --> 02:34:44,239
and my fingers felt as though they were made out

2241
02:34:44,239 --> 02:34:49,239
of canvas, stretched over dust, shaking, I reached for my

2242
02:34:49,319 --> 02:34:52,959
water bottle and gulped down, spilling most of it down

2243
02:34:52,959 --> 02:34:57,719
my front. Praying the beast was long gone. I inched

2244
02:34:57,719 --> 02:35:01,079
my way out of the cave and ran as fast

2245
02:35:01,079 --> 02:35:03,719
as my rickety legs would carry me the two odd

2246
02:35:03,719 --> 02:35:08,239
miles back to my truck, leaving most of my gear behind.

2247
02:35:08,760 --> 02:35:13,000
Nothing pursued me, but the feeling of being hunted remained.

2248
02:35:14,520 --> 02:35:17,280
I drove back to town eighty miles per hour on a

2249
02:35:17,319 --> 02:35:21,040
dirt road, my eyes wide with fear and my hands

2250
02:35:21,120 --> 02:35:25,319
gripping the wheel with white knuckles, Unable to bear the

2251
02:35:25,319 --> 02:35:28,200
thoughts of my secluded home. I spent the night at

2252
02:35:28,239 --> 02:35:31,120
a motel in town with a bottle of cheap whiskey

2253
02:35:31,639 --> 02:35:35,680
and every light in the room turned on. The thought

2254
02:35:35,760 --> 02:35:39,959
of the creature would not exit my mind. Was it

2255
02:35:40,040 --> 02:35:43,319
a demon loosened on the earth by some divine mistake,

2256
02:35:44,360 --> 02:35:48,120
or just an animal acrypted lost the time and the

2257
02:35:48,159 --> 02:35:52,559
memories of the trees. I didn't really want to know,

2258
02:35:53,479 --> 02:35:59,040
but I couldn't and still can't let it go. The

2259
02:35:59,120 --> 02:36:03,639
fear events he subsided, But as I sit at home

2260
02:36:04,319 --> 02:36:10,879
thinking about this, I swear hand to God that I

2261
02:36:10,920 --> 02:36:15,639
can hear a howl echo through the trees and across

2262
02:36:15,680 --> 02:36:23,760
the mountains, telling me that I may never rest, never forget,