WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:02.960 Now one of your putting. I got a string going 2 00:00:03.000 --> 00:00:06.040 on here. Something just killing my dog. Something killed your dog, 3 00:00:06.879 --> 00:00:08.880 my dog. We're flying through the or over the tree. 4 00:00:09.000 --> 00:00:13.400 I don't know how it did it, Okay, damn, And 5 00:00:13.439 --> 00:00:15.880 I'm really confused. All I saw is my dog coming 6 00:00:15.919 --> 00:00:17.760 over the fence, and he was dead once you hit 7 00:00:17.800 --> 00:00:19.600 the ground. Like. I didn't see any cars. All I 8 00:00:19.640 --> 00:00:38.240 saw was my dog coming over the fence. Say, what 9 00:00:38.280 --> 00:00:42.920 are you putting? We got some wonder or something crawling 10 00:00:42.960 --> 00:00:51.880 around out here? Did you see what it was? It was? 11 00:00:51.960 --> 00:00:54.159 It was seeing enough. I'm out here looking through the 12 00:00:54.200 --> 00:00:56.039 window now and I don't see anything. I don't want 13 00:00:56.039 --> 00:01:04.319 to go outside. Jesus quiet, you better hello, get Theboddy 14 00:01:04.400 --> 00:01:06.560 out here when I'm out there. I thought of a 15 00:01:06.640 --> 00:01:10.439 mention about ten nine. I don't know eat him out there. Yeah, 16 00:01:10.519 --> 00:01:11.439 I'm walking write head. 17 00:01:12.280 --> 00:01:13.920 So I want to talk to you about something a 18 00:01:13.959 --> 00:01:18.280 little different today, something personal. Actually, a few months ago, 19 00:01:18.359 --> 00:01:21.200 I had this idea rattling around in my head. You 20 00:01:21.319 --> 00:01:24.680 know how that goes, an image that won't leave you alone, 21 00:01:25.359 --> 00:01:28.359 a scene that keeps playing on repeat when you're trying 22 00:01:28.400 --> 00:01:31.239 to fall asleep. For me, it was this picture of 23 00:01:31.319 --> 00:01:35.760 a man a history professor standing in his dead father's cabin, 24 00:01:36.280 --> 00:01:40.000 holding journals that were over two hundred years old, journals 25 00:01:40.040 --> 00:01:43.879 that described something impossible, something that would change everything he 26 00:01:43.959 --> 00:01:46.879 thought he knew about the world. And I thought to myself, 27 00:01:47.560 --> 00:01:49.239 what if I tried to write that story? 28 00:01:50.040 --> 00:01:50.159 Now? 29 00:01:50.280 --> 00:01:54.120 Look, I've been researching Bigfoot for almost forty years. I've 30 00:01:54.200 --> 00:01:57.519 interviewed close to a thousand witnesses. I've heard stories that 31 00:01:57.560 --> 00:02:00.760 would make your hair stand on end. But other than 32 00:02:00.840 --> 00:02:05.879 my second book, Born Wild Coda's Odyssey, I'd never really 33 00:02:05.959 --> 00:02:08.680 tried my hand at fiction before. So I sat down 34 00:02:08.759 --> 00:02:12.919 and started writing. What happened next surprised me. The story 35 00:02:13.080 --> 00:02:16.520 just kept growing. What started as maybe a short piece 36 00:02:16.919 --> 00:02:20.719 turned into something much bigger. The character started talking to me. 37 00:02:21.360 --> 00:02:25.960 Elijah Stone, this revolutionary war veteran leading an expedition into 38 00:02:26.000 --> 00:02:30.759 the unknown, Marcus Stone, his descendant, discovering the family secret 39 00:02:30.840 --> 00:02:37.520 two centuries later. The creatures themselves ancient, watching patient in 40 00:02:37.599 --> 00:02:41.360 ways we can't begin to understand. Before I knew it, 41 00:02:41.439 --> 00:02:44.120 I had a five part series on my hands. I 42 00:02:44.240 --> 00:02:47.400 posted part one over here last week. If you haven't 43 00:02:47.439 --> 00:02:50.240 heard it yet, I'd recommend going back and starting there. 44 00:02:51.039 --> 00:02:54.199 But today We're continuing with part two, and let me 45 00:02:54.280 --> 00:02:57.800 tell you things are about to get intense. The expedition 46 00:02:57.879 --> 00:03:01.719 has crossed into forbidden territory. Now they've made first contact. 47 00:03:02.120 --> 00:03:05.879 They've established this fragile piece through gift exchanges. But one 48 00:03:05.919 --> 00:03:08.560 of them is about to make a terrible mistake, a 49 00:03:08.639 --> 00:03:12.159 mistake born out of fear, and fear has consequences in 50 00:03:12.240 --> 00:03:15.680 these mountains. As we approach the holidays, I've got something 51 00:03:15.719 --> 00:03:19.240 special planned for you, guys. I'm rolling out several bonus 52 00:03:19.319 --> 00:03:22.719 episodes over the next few weeks. All five parts of 53 00:03:22.759 --> 00:03:25.759 the Bigfoot Journal series will be available. Think of it 54 00:03:25.800 --> 00:03:28.319 as my gift to you for sticking with me all year. 55 00:03:29.199 --> 00:03:31.479 Now here's where I need your help. This story has 56 00:03:31.560 --> 00:03:33.960 grown into something I believe might make a great book, 57 00:03:34.400 --> 00:03:36.759 but I might be a little biased, so I would 58 00:03:36.800 --> 00:03:39.800 really love your feedback. What do you think about the story? 59 00:03:40.319 --> 00:03:43.199 Does it work? Does it pull you in? Are there 60 00:03:43.280 --> 00:03:46.319 parts that drag or parts you want more of? You 61 00:03:46.400 --> 00:03:50.120 can email me directly at Brian at Paranormalworldproductions dot com, 62 00:03:50.960 --> 00:03:53.479 or even better, click the link right here in the 63 00:03:53.520 --> 00:03:56.159 show notes to leave me a voicemail. Tell me what 64 00:03:56.280 --> 00:03:59.280 you think, tell me what's working. Tell me what isn't. 65 00:04:00.199 --> 00:04:03.400 I may even play some of those voicemails during future episodes. 66 00:04:04.080 --> 00:04:06.800 I mean that I want to hear from you. Your 67 00:04:06.840 --> 00:04:11.599 feedback matters. All right, Enough talking, Let's get back to 68 00:04:11.680 --> 00:04:15.520 seventeen ninety nine, Back to the mountains, Back to Elijah 69 00:04:15.599 --> 00:04:18.920 Stone and his men. They've just received forgiveness from the 70 00:04:19.000 --> 00:04:23.319 creatures after Jim's terrible mistake. But forgiveness doesn't mean safety, 71 00:04:23.920 --> 00:04:26.920 and the expedition is about to split in two. Some 72 00:04:27.079 --> 00:04:30.519 will turn back, some will press forward. Not all of 73 00:04:30.600 --> 00:04:34.120 them will survive what comes next. This is the Bigfoot Journals, 74 00:04:34.600 --> 00:04:40.519 Part two, April eighth to fifteenth, seventeen ninety nine. Lenapee Territory. 75 00:04:41.319 --> 00:04:44.319 They came out of the forest like ghosts. One moment, 76 00:04:44.680 --> 00:04:47.360 we were alone on the trail, the horses plodding through 77 00:04:47.399 --> 00:04:51.720 morning missed. The next moment, seven lenape hunters surrounded us, 78 00:04:52.319 --> 00:04:57.000 their faces painted for war, their weapons raised. The horses spooked. 79 00:04:57.480 --> 00:05:00.600 Jim's mayor nearly threw him, and Zeke skilled reared so 80 00:05:00.800 --> 00:05:03.160 violently that my nephew had to grab the saddle horn 81 00:05:03.399 --> 00:05:07.560 with both hands to stay mounted. Only Sam seemed unsurprised, 82 00:05:08.079 --> 00:05:11.279 his hands raised and empty his voice, calling out in 83 00:05:11.360 --> 00:05:15.600 a language I didn't recognize. Henry stepped forward, adding his 84 00:05:15.680 --> 00:05:19.360 own words and yet another tongue. The lead hunter, a 85 00:05:19.480 --> 00:05:23.279 man of perhaps thirty with scars that spoke of battles survived, 86 00:05:23.720 --> 00:05:26.720 responded sharply, his hand on the knife at his belt. 87 00:05:27.639 --> 00:05:30.920 He wants to know why we're here. Henri translated. He says, 88 00:05:31.000 --> 00:05:34.480 white men always bring harm, whether they mean to or not. 89 00:05:35.720 --> 00:05:37.920 Tell him we mean no harm to his people. I said, 90 00:05:38.560 --> 00:05:43.879 we seek only the macing. Henre hesitated. Captain, tell him, 91 00:05:44.720 --> 00:05:49.199 Henri spoke. The effect was immediate. The hunters exchanged glances, 92 00:05:49.240 --> 00:05:51.680 and I saw several of them make signs against evil. 93 00:05:52.480 --> 00:05:55.600 The lead hunter, whose name Henri told me later, was 94 00:05:55.680 --> 00:05:59.319 Hunting Bear, step back, his hand moving from his knife 95 00:05:59.360 --> 00:06:02.480 to the medicine pouch at his chest. You are fools, 96 00:06:02.560 --> 00:06:06.040 Honri translated. He says, to turn back while we still can. 97 00:06:07.040 --> 00:06:11.800 We cannot turn back. More rapid exchange, Hunting Bear's face 98 00:06:11.839 --> 00:06:16.720 shifted through expressions I couldn't read anger, fear, something that 99 00:06:16.879 --> 00:06:20.120 might have been respect. Finally, he lowered his weapon and 100 00:06:20.120 --> 00:06:23.199 spoke at length. He will take us to their village. 101 00:06:23.240 --> 00:06:26.959 Henry said, to speak with the elders. He says, if 102 00:06:27.000 --> 00:06:29.839 we are determined to die, we should at least understand 103 00:06:29.879 --> 00:06:33.000 what will kill us. We followed them through the forest 104 00:06:33.079 --> 00:06:36.480 for half a day, climbing into territory that grew wilder 105 00:06:36.519 --> 00:06:40.040 with every mile. The Lenape hunters moved through the trees 106 00:06:40.199 --> 00:06:43.680 like shadows, appearing and disappearing in ways that made me 107 00:06:43.800 --> 00:06:47.720 question whether they were entirely real. The village was smaller 108 00:06:47.800 --> 00:06:51.439 than I expected, perhaps fifty people in all, living in 109 00:06:51.560 --> 00:06:55.360 long houses arranged around a central fire pit. Women and 110 00:06:55.439 --> 00:06:58.959 children watched us pass with expressions of curiosity and suspicion. 111 00:07:00.000 --> 00:07:03.399 Men sat smoking pipes, their eyes tracking our movements with 112 00:07:03.519 --> 00:07:06.959 the patients of those who have seen everything. Hunting Bear 113 00:07:07.079 --> 00:07:10.160 led us to the largest longhouse, speaking briefly with a 114 00:07:10.240 --> 00:07:12.759 young woman at the entrance before gesturing for us to 115 00:07:12.839 --> 00:07:17.079 follow him inside. The interior was dim and smoky, lit 116 00:07:17.199 --> 00:07:19.639 only by a small fire burning in a pit near 117 00:07:19.680 --> 00:07:23.439 the center. Animal skins covered the walls, and the smell 118 00:07:23.480 --> 00:07:26.920 of tobacco hung heavy in the air. At the far end, 119 00:07:27.240 --> 00:07:30.600 seated on a raised platform covered in furs, sat the 120 00:07:30.720 --> 00:07:34.279 oldest human being I had ever seen, Gray Owl. They 121 00:07:34.360 --> 00:07:37.519 called him a man of such advanced age that his 122 00:07:37.639 --> 00:07:41.079 face had collapsed into a map of wrinkles, his eyes 123 00:07:41.199 --> 00:07:45.040 clouded by cataracts that should have rendered him blind. But 124 00:07:45.160 --> 00:07:47.360 when he looked at us, when he looked at me, 125 00:07:48.160 --> 00:07:52.120 I felt seen in a way that defied explanation. He spoke, 126 00:07:52.519 --> 00:07:55.959 and on retranslated he says he knows why we've come. 127 00:07:56.600 --> 00:07:58.920 He has been waiting for men like us for many years. 128 00:08:00.000 --> 00:08:03.839 Reading I asked, hoping we would not come, knowing we would, 129 00:08:04.959 --> 00:08:07.759 The old man gestured for us to sit. We arranged 130 00:08:07.759 --> 00:08:11.040 ourselves on the packed earth floor, uncomfortable and out of place, 131 00:08:11.600 --> 00:08:14.639 while Gray Owl studied each of us in turn. His 132 00:08:14.759 --> 00:08:18.439 gaze lingered longest on Sam, and something passed between them, 133 00:08:19.079 --> 00:08:24.560 recognition perhaps, or understanding. Then he began to speak. What 134 00:08:24.759 --> 00:08:28.639 followed was the most remarkable conversation of my life, and 135 00:08:28.800 --> 00:08:32.320 retranslated as best he could, though he admitted afterward that 136 00:08:32.480 --> 00:08:36.440 some concepts had no equivalent in English. I will record 137 00:08:36.519 --> 00:08:39.639 here what I understood, knowing that much was lost in 138 00:08:39.679 --> 00:08:44.080 the transition from one language to another. The messing gray 139 00:08:44.159 --> 00:08:47.559 Owl told us were not what we thought, not spirits, 140 00:08:47.960 --> 00:08:53.279 not gods, not demons. They were simply old, unimaginably old. 141 00:08:54.360 --> 00:08:57.279 They were here before us On retranslated. They were here 142 00:08:57.320 --> 00:09:00.559 before the first people crossed into this land. They watched 143 00:09:00.600 --> 00:09:04.279 us come, they will watch us go. Are they animals, 144 00:09:04.360 --> 00:09:08.600 Thomas asked. Gray Owl's laugh was dry and papery, like 145 00:09:08.759 --> 00:09:13.039 leaves rustling in autumn wind. Are we animals? We eat, 146 00:09:13.639 --> 00:09:17.879 we sleep, we mate, we die. But we are more 147 00:09:17.960 --> 00:09:22.720 than animals. So are they? Then? What are they? The 148 00:09:22.799 --> 00:09:26.600 first people? The elder brothers, they walked the forests when 149 00:09:26.639 --> 00:09:29.679 the forests were young. They remember when the great ice 150 00:09:29.799 --> 00:09:34.399 covered the land. They remember what came before I leaned forward. 151 00:09:35.000 --> 00:09:38.000 Have your people fought them? We've heard stories of war. 152 00:09:38.960 --> 00:09:42.399 The old man's expression darkened. He spoke for a long time, 153 00:09:43.000 --> 00:09:45.600 his voice dropping to a whisper. And I saw some 154 00:09:45.720 --> 00:09:47.879 of the hunters at the edges of the room make 155 00:09:47.960 --> 00:09:53.679 signs against evil. There was war on retranslated slowly generations ago. 156 00:09:54.440 --> 00:09:58.039 My grandfather's grandfather fought in it. Many warriors went into 157 00:09:58.039 --> 00:10:01.120 the high places to drive out the macing. Most did 158 00:10:01.200 --> 00:10:05.720 not return what happened to them. Some were killed, some 159 00:10:05.879 --> 00:10:09.840 were taken, some came back changed. They would not speak 160 00:10:09.840 --> 00:10:12.639 of what they saw. They lived apart from the village, 161 00:10:12.960 --> 00:10:15.360 and when they died. Their bodies were burned so that 162 00:10:15.440 --> 00:10:19.720 whatever touched them could not spread what touched them, Josiah asked. 163 00:10:20.759 --> 00:10:23.000 Gray Owl looked at the former reverend for a long 164 00:10:23.120 --> 00:10:28.440 moment before responding, understanding. Henry translated. They came to understand 165 00:10:28.519 --> 00:10:33.000 the macing, and that understanding broke them. The fire crackled 166 00:10:33.039 --> 00:10:36.759 in the silence that followed. Outside, I could hear children playing, 167 00:10:37.159 --> 00:10:41.759 women singing, the ordinary sounds of village life. But inside 168 00:10:41.799 --> 00:10:46.679 this smoky longhouse, nothing felt ordinary anymore. Why did they hide, 169 00:10:46.759 --> 00:10:49.960 I asked, If they're as powerful as you say, why 170 00:10:50.000 --> 00:10:53.799 have they retreated into the deep wilderness. They have not retreated. 171 00:10:54.320 --> 00:10:57.120 They have allowed us to spread. There is a difference. 172 00:10:57.879 --> 00:11:02.000 But why Gray owl, milky eyes seem to look through me, 173 00:11:02.559 --> 00:11:07.159 into me, beyond me. Because they are patient, because they 174 00:11:07.200 --> 00:11:09.639 have seen people's rise and fall for longer than we 175 00:11:09.720 --> 00:11:14.120 can imagine. Because they know that this, he gestured broadly, 176 00:11:14.639 --> 00:11:19.440 encompassing the village, the forest, the world is temporary. We 177 00:11:19.559 --> 00:11:23.600 are temporary. They are not. He reached into the firs 178 00:11:23.679 --> 00:11:27.039 beside him and produced something small and dark, a stone 179 00:11:27.120 --> 00:11:30.879 pendant carved with symbols I didn't recognize. He held it 180 00:11:30.919 --> 00:11:34.759 out to me. Take this on retranslated, wear it where 181 00:11:34.799 --> 00:11:37.600 they can see it if they find you. When they 182 00:11:37.679 --> 00:11:41.080 find you, show them this. It may buy you time, 183 00:11:42.080 --> 00:11:45.720 time for what to decide if you're worthy of continued life. 184 00:11:46.759 --> 00:11:49.600 I took the pendant. The stone was cool and smooth, 185 00:11:50.159 --> 00:11:52.879 heavier than it should have been for its size. The 186 00:11:52.960 --> 00:11:55.840 symbols seem to shift in the firelight, though that might 187 00:11:55.919 --> 00:12:00.159 have been my imagination. What do these symbols mean? They 188 00:12:00.240 --> 00:12:02.440 mean that you are known to us, that you have 189 00:12:02.559 --> 00:12:05.600 been warned, that you have chosen to enter their territory 190 00:12:05.720 --> 00:12:09.799 despite the warnings. Gray Owl's lips twisted into something that 191 00:12:10.000 --> 00:12:13.840 wasn't quite a smile. They may respect that, or they 192 00:12:13.879 --> 00:12:18.279 may not. With the messing you, one never knows. I 193 00:12:18.360 --> 00:12:20.519 slipped the cord over my head and felt the pendant 194 00:12:20.559 --> 00:12:24.519 settle against my chest. It was warm, now, warm, like 195 00:12:24.600 --> 00:12:28.440 a living thing. They've been watching us, I said, since 196 00:12:28.480 --> 00:12:32.639 we entered the mountains, the footprints, the structures, the sounds 197 00:12:32.639 --> 00:12:36.759 at night. Yes, what do they want to know? What 198 00:12:36.919 --> 00:12:40.919 you are? To decide what you will become? Gray Owl 199 00:12:41.039 --> 00:12:45.960 leaned forward, his ancient face, suddenly fierce. You are being tested, soldier, 200 00:12:46.639 --> 00:12:52.639 every step you take, every choice you make. They are watching, learning, judging, 201 00:12:53.679 --> 00:12:59.000 judging what, whether you are worthy, worthy of what. The 202 00:12:59.080 --> 00:13:02.440 gray owl had sunk back into his furs, his eyes closing. 203 00:13:02.960 --> 00:13:06.799 The audience clearly over. Hunting bear appeared at my elbow, 204 00:13:07.200 --> 00:13:10.759 gesturing toward the exit. We left the village at dawn 205 00:13:10.799 --> 00:13:14.480 the next morning. The lenape watched us go with expressions 206 00:13:14.519 --> 00:13:18.559 I couldn't read, pity perhaps, or the grim acceptance of 207 00:13:18.600 --> 00:13:21.960 those who know their watching dead men walk. As we 208 00:13:22.080 --> 00:13:24.799 mounted our horses, gray Owl appeared at the edge of 209 00:13:24.840 --> 00:13:27.600 the trees. He raised one hand in a gesture that 210 00:13:27.759 --> 00:13:31.080 might have been farewell or might have been warning. Then, 211 00:13:31.159 --> 00:13:34.200 from somewhere deep in the forest, a wood knock echoed 212 00:13:34.799 --> 00:13:39.200 three times, just like every night before. Gray Owl smiled. 213 00:13:39.879 --> 00:13:43.399 They're listening, he said, and these words needed no translation. 214 00:13:44.279 --> 00:13:46.679 They know what you seek. They have marked you now, 215 00:13:47.279 --> 00:13:50.879 for good or ill you are marked. We rode out 216 00:13:50.879 --> 00:13:53.919 of the village and back into the wilderness, and behind us, 217 00:13:54.360 --> 00:13:56.879 following at a distance we could feel, but not see, 218 00:13:57.519 --> 00:14:01.320 something watched us go. Marcus set down the journal and 219 00:14:01.399 --> 00:14:04.200 walked to the window again. The sun was setting over 220 00:14:04.240 --> 00:14:07.600 the mountains, painting the sky and shades of orange and red, 221 00:14:08.440 --> 00:14:13.279 beautiful terrifying, the same mountains his ancestor had ridden into 222 00:14:13.399 --> 00:14:17.279 two hundred years ago, seeking answers to questions that haunted him, 223 00:14:17.960 --> 00:14:20.960 The same mountains his father had walked into again and 224 00:14:21.039 --> 00:14:25.120 again year after year. What had his father found out there? 225 00:14:25.960 --> 00:14:29.080 Marcus touched his chest, feeling for something that wasn't there. 226 00:14:29.799 --> 00:14:32.559 Then he remembered the pendant, the one from the trunk. 227 00:14:33.360 --> 00:14:36.159 He'd set it aside when he started reading, focused on 228 00:14:36.240 --> 00:14:39.320 the journals themselves. He went back to the table and 229 00:14:39.399 --> 00:14:42.840 found it among the other artifacts. The stone was dark 230 00:14:42.919 --> 00:14:46.679 and smooth, carved with symbols that matched Gray Owl's description. 231 00:14:47.519 --> 00:14:50.799 When he picked it up, it felt warm. He slipped 232 00:14:50.799 --> 00:14:54.080 the cord over his head, the pendant settled against his chest, 233 00:14:54.440 --> 00:14:56.960 and for just a moment, a fraction of a second, 234 00:14:57.480 --> 00:14:59.480 he could have sworn he heard something in the forest 235 00:14:59.519 --> 00:15:04.960 outside a knock three times and stay tuned for more 236 00:15:05.039 --> 00:15:08.080 sasquat yatta see, we'll be right back after these messages. 237 00:15:12.039 --> 00:15:14.279 But when he went to the window and listened, there 238 00:15:14.399 --> 00:15:17.360 was nothing, just wind in the trees and the last 239 00:15:17.480 --> 00:15:20.639 light of day fading from the sky. He went back 240 00:15:20.679 --> 00:15:22.919 to his father's chair and picked up the next journal. 241 00:15:24.080 --> 00:15:28.039 April fifteenth to twenty eighth seventeen ninety nine, deep in 242 00:15:28.120 --> 00:15:31.720 the mountains. Two weeks of hell. That's the only way 243 00:15:31.759 --> 00:15:34.360 I can describe what followed our meeting with the Lenape. 244 00:15:35.240 --> 00:15:40.240 Two weeks of constant surveillance, nocturnal terrors, and psychological warfare 245 00:15:40.320 --> 00:15:44.360 that shredded our nerves and tested our sanity. The forest 246 00:15:44.480 --> 00:15:50.039 changed around us, older trees, denser canopy, perpetual twilight even 247 00:15:50.080 --> 00:15:53.159 at noon, the sun a distant memory above, layers of 248 00:15:53.240 --> 00:15:56.200 leaves so thick that rain took hours to filter through 249 00:15:56.279 --> 00:16:01.600 to the ground. The silence was profound, not peaceful, but oppressive. 250 00:16:02.399 --> 00:16:05.679 Our own breathing seemed too loud, our own heart beats 251 00:16:05.879 --> 00:16:11.240 seemed like violations. And everywhere, always the feeling of being watched. 252 00:16:12.039 --> 00:16:15.360 Eyes in the darkness, something moving at the edge of vision. 253 00:16:16.120 --> 00:16:19.279 Turn to look and find nothing there. Turn away and 254 00:16:19.360 --> 00:16:22.320 feel them again, pressing against the back of your skull 255 00:16:22.440 --> 00:16:25.639 like fingers. The men dealt with it in different ways. 256 00:16:26.440 --> 00:16:29.720 Jim grew more aggressive, his hand never far from his rifle, 257 00:16:30.279 --> 00:16:34.080 his eyes scanning the trees constantly. He snapped at small 258 00:16:34.159 --> 00:16:37.919 provocations and argued with Thomas over nothing. The war had 259 00:16:38.000 --> 00:16:40.840 trained him to respond to threats with violence, and the 260 00:16:40.919 --> 00:16:45.120 formless menace surrounding us gave him no target. Thomas retreated 261 00:16:45.159 --> 00:16:49.840 into his scientific documentation, filling notebook after notebook with observations 262 00:16:49.879 --> 00:16:53.679 and measurements and theories. His earlier arrogance had given way 263 00:16:53.759 --> 00:16:57.919 to something like desperation, a need to categorize, to explain, 264 00:16:58.559 --> 00:17:02.440 to force the unknown into frameworks he could understand. His 265 00:17:02.559 --> 00:17:05.240 hands shook when he wrote, and his voice cracked when 266 00:17:05.279 --> 00:17:10.000 he spoke. Will Harper's behavior disturbed me most. He'd always 267 00:17:10.039 --> 00:17:12.799 been peculiar, but now he seemed to be drifting into 268 00:17:12.839 --> 00:17:18.160 another world entirely. He sketched constantly, filling page after page 269 00:17:18.200 --> 00:17:21.200 with images he wouldn't show anyone. He stared at the 270 00:17:21.240 --> 00:17:24.480 forest with an expression that wasn't quite fear. It was 271 00:17:24.559 --> 00:17:28.960 more like hunger, like recognition. They're showing me things, he 272 00:17:29.039 --> 00:17:31.160 said one night, when I found him sitting apart from 273 00:17:31.200 --> 00:17:34.880 the fire, his sketchbook opened on his knees. When I 274 00:17:34.960 --> 00:17:40.640 closed my eyes, I can see them, see what faces, places, 275 00:17:41.440 --> 00:17:44.720 Things that were here before his eyes when they met 276 00:17:44.799 --> 00:17:49.480 mine were too bright, too intense. They want me to understand, Captain, 277 00:17:49.960 --> 00:17:52.359 they want me to see. I didn't know what to 278 00:17:52.400 --> 00:17:57.279 say to that. I still don't. Josiah prayed constantly, his 279 00:17:57.400 --> 00:18:01.000 lips moved without sound, the words of scrip or supplication 280 00:18:01.200 --> 00:18:04.440 running through his mind like water through a channel. I 281 00:18:04.480 --> 00:18:06.680 don't know if it brought him comfort. I don't think 282 00:18:06.720 --> 00:18:11.079 he knew either. Solomon carved small wooden figures, faces and 283 00:18:11.160 --> 00:18:14.519 shapes emerging from the wood under his skilled hands. Some 284 00:18:14.680 --> 00:18:18.279 were human, others were not. He wouldn't explain what he 285 00:18:18.400 --> 00:18:21.839 was doing, just kept working, the shavings falling around his 286 00:18:21.960 --> 00:18:26.759 feet like offerings. Sam watched. That's all he did. He 287 00:18:26.839 --> 00:18:28.920 stood at the perimeter of our camps and watched the 288 00:18:29.039 --> 00:18:32.799 forest with an expression I couldn't read. Sometimes I thought 289 00:18:32.839 --> 00:18:35.480 I saw him nod, as if in response to something 290 00:18:35.599 --> 00:18:39.079 no one else could hear. And every night the terrors came. 291 00:18:39.920 --> 00:18:43.720 The knocking started around midnight, always midnight, as if the 292 00:18:43.799 --> 00:18:47.960 creatures had a sense of time. It began slow, one knock, 293 00:18:48.319 --> 00:18:52.599 then another, then a third, then built in frequency and intensity, 294 00:18:53.000 --> 00:18:55.880 until the forest rang with the sound of wood on wood, 295 00:18:56.720 --> 00:19:00.759 like war drums, like the heartbeat of something vast and terrible. 296 00:19:01.480 --> 00:19:05.079 Then the howls. I have heard wolves, I have heard 297 00:19:05.160 --> 00:19:08.319 mountain lions, I have heard the screams of men dying 298 00:19:08.400 --> 00:19:12.000 on battlefields in ways that should not be possible. None 299 00:19:12.039 --> 00:19:14.160 of it prepared me for the howls that echoed through 300 00:19:14.200 --> 00:19:18.119 those mountains. They started low, a rumbling that seemed to 301 00:19:18.200 --> 00:19:22.200 come from the earth itself. Then they rose, climbing through 302 00:19:22.279 --> 00:19:26.079 registers that shouldn't exist, reaching into the skull and touching 303 00:19:26.160 --> 00:19:31.480 something primal, something that remembered being prey. The first few nights, 304 00:19:31.519 --> 00:19:33.799 we built the fires high and clutched our weapons and 305 00:19:33.880 --> 00:19:36.920 waited for attacks that never came. By the end of 306 00:19:36.960 --> 00:19:40.079 the first week, we had learned to simply endure. The 307 00:19:40.160 --> 00:19:43.839 attacks weren't coming. The creatures didn't need to attack. They 308 00:19:43.880 --> 00:19:47.279 were breaking us by other means. Physical evidence of their 309 00:19:47.319 --> 00:19:51.519 presence accumulated around us. Rocks thrown into our camps at night, 310 00:19:52.039 --> 00:19:55.880 landing with enough force to shatter cooking pots, Branches torn 311 00:19:55.960 --> 00:20:01.440 from trees and scattered like warnings. Equipment moved examined while 312 00:20:01.480 --> 00:20:05.559 we slept. Once I woke to find enormous footprints in 313 00:20:05.599 --> 00:20:08.079 the soft earth, not three feet from where my head 314 00:20:08.119 --> 00:20:13.720 had rested. Something had stood over me while I slept watching. Deciding, 315 00:20:14.680 --> 00:20:17.400 I touched the pennon at my chest. It was warm, 316 00:20:18.160 --> 00:20:22.319 the smell came next, a musk unlike anything I had encountered, 317 00:20:22.880 --> 00:20:26.759 wild and earthy and somehow wrong. It preceded their approaches, 318 00:20:27.160 --> 00:20:30.400 warning us they were near. We came to dread that smell. 319 00:20:30.960 --> 00:20:33.160 Though there were nights I was almost grateful for it. 320 00:20:33.720 --> 00:20:36.359 At least it told us when they were close. On 321 00:20:36.480 --> 00:20:39.559 the fifteenth day, they killed one of our horses. The 322 00:20:39.640 --> 00:20:42.960 animal broke free, and the chaos of a particularly intense night, 323 00:20:43.559 --> 00:20:47.279 the knocking reaching a crescendo, howls coming from every direction. 324 00:20:48.119 --> 00:20:51.920 We heard it scream. Horses scream, you know, when they're 325 00:20:52.000 --> 00:20:55.559 terrified enough, when they know they're about to die. The 326 00:20:55.680 --> 00:21:00.400 sound is almost human. Then silence. We found what remained 327 00:21:00.400 --> 00:21:03.000 in the morning. I will not describe it in detail. 328 00:21:03.880 --> 00:21:06.920 The nightmares are vivid enough. Without committing the images to paper, 329 00:21:07.720 --> 00:21:11.319 I will say only this, The destruction required strength beyond 330 00:21:11.400 --> 00:21:15.640 anything human, beyond anything I had thought possible. The horse 331 00:21:15.680 --> 00:21:19.359 had been torn apart, not eaten or not entirely eaten, 332 00:21:20.000 --> 00:21:23.839 torn apart, as if in anger, as if in demonstration. 333 00:21:24.920 --> 00:21:27.799 They're showing us what they can do, Sam said, looking 334 00:21:27.880 --> 00:21:31.440 at the remains with an expression of grim recognition. They 335 00:21:31.480 --> 00:21:35.920 want us to understand Thomas examined the scene with trembling hands, 336 00:21:36.480 --> 00:21:40.599 his scientific detachment crumbling. These wounds weren't made by any 337 00:21:40.680 --> 00:21:44.480 animal I can classify, he said. The sheer force required 338 00:21:45.160 --> 00:21:50.680 this was done by hands, enormous hands, not hands, Solomon said, quietly, 339 00:21:51.480 --> 00:21:56.279 not like ours? Then what? Solomon didn't answer. He just 340 00:21:56.359 --> 00:21:59.359 looked at the small wooden figure he'd been carving, a 341 00:21:59.440 --> 00:22:02.119 figure with long arms and broad shoulders and a face 342 00:22:02.160 --> 00:22:05.920 that was almost human but not quite. We buried what 343 00:22:06.000 --> 00:22:09.079 we could of the horse. It seemed disrespectful to leave 344 00:22:09.119 --> 00:22:11.519 it there, though I couldn't have explained who we were, 345 00:22:11.559 --> 00:22:15.640 showing respect to the animal, the creatures that killed it, 346 00:22:16.440 --> 00:22:20.599 our own sense of decency. Praying at the edges that night, 347 00:22:20.880 --> 00:22:24.440 the knocking was quieter, almost gentle, as if they were 348 00:22:24.480 --> 00:22:27.759 waiting to see how we would respond. We didn't respond. 349 00:22:28.640 --> 00:22:31.079 We sat around our fire and stared into the flames 350 00:22:31.079 --> 00:22:33.319 and tried not to think about what would happen when 351 00:22:33.359 --> 00:22:36.680 the creatures decided to stop playing with us. Because that's 352 00:22:36.759 --> 00:22:40.720 what it was, play a cat with a mouse, a 353 00:22:40.839 --> 00:22:44.400 child with an insect. They could kill us anytime they wanted, 354 00:22:44.960 --> 00:22:50.559 They demonstrated that, but they weren't killing us why they're deciding, 355 00:22:50.680 --> 00:22:54.240 Sam said, as if reading my thoughts, watching to see 356 00:22:54.240 --> 00:22:57.759 what we'll do, what we're made of? What should we do? 357 00:22:58.720 --> 00:23:03.839 Nothing voice was flat certain. We keep moving. We show 358 00:23:03.880 --> 00:23:07.440 them we're not afraid, even though we are. We demonstrate 359 00:23:07.480 --> 00:23:10.480 that we're worth the trouble of keeping alive. And if 360 00:23:10.519 --> 00:23:14.039 we failed that test. Sam looked at the darkness beyond 361 00:23:14.119 --> 00:23:18.720 our fire. Somewhere out there, something was watching us, something 362 00:23:18.839 --> 00:23:22.640 ancient and patient and utterly alien. Then we won't have 363 00:23:22.720 --> 00:23:26.759 to worry about anything anymore. Marcus closed his eyes and 364 00:23:26.880 --> 00:23:30.720 leaned back in the chair. His body was exhausted. He'd 365 00:23:30.759 --> 00:23:36.240 been reading for how long now three days? Four? Time 366 00:23:36.319 --> 00:23:39.480 had lost meaning in his father's cabin, the hours bleeding 367 00:23:39.519 --> 00:23:42.440 together in a haze of ancient words and mounting dread. 368 00:23:43.240 --> 00:23:47.440 But his mind wouldn't stop, couldn't stop. The narrative had 369 00:23:47.440 --> 00:23:50.160 taken hold of him like a fever, filling his thoughts 370 00:23:50.200 --> 00:23:53.720 with images of vast forests and watching eyes and creatures 371 00:23:53.759 --> 00:23:57.279 that existed at the edge of human comprehension. He thought 372 00:23:57.319 --> 00:24:01.640 about his own life, his comfortable career, his reasonable apartment 373 00:24:01.680 --> 00:24:05.680 in Chicago, his sensible routine of lectures and research, and 374 00:24:05.759 --> 00:24:08.839 the occasional dinner party with colleagues who discussed history like 375 00:24:08.960 --> 00:24:12.079 it was something dead and distant. All of that seemed 376 00:24:12.119 --> 00:24:17.559 impossibly far away. Now another life, another person. Here in 377 00:24:17.680 --> 00:24:21.960 his father's cabin, surrounded by his ancestors' words, Marcus was 378 00:24:22.039 --> 00:24:25.759 becoming someone else, someone who understood why his father had 379 00:24:25.799 --> 00:24:29.039 spent his life watching the mountains, someone who felt the 380 00:24:29.119 --> 00:24:33.559 weight of inherited responsibility settling onto his shoulders. He opened 381 00:24:33.599 --> 00:24:36.519 his eyes and looked at the remaining journals for more, 382 00:24:37.039 --> 00:24:41.160 and the letters, and the portfolio of drawings and whatever 383 00:24:41.319 --> 00:24:43.960 was in that small carved box he hadn't opened yet. 384 00:24:44.799 --> 00:24:47.400 How much worse was it going to get? He already 385 00:24:47.480 --> 00:24:51.160 knew the answer. He'd read enough accounts of expeditions gone wrong, 386 00:24:51.720 --> 00:24:55.960 the Franklin Expedition, the Donner Party, the countless disasters that 387 00:24:56.079 --> 00:24:59.519 littered the history of American expansion. He knew how these 388 00:24:59.519 --> 00:25:03.839 stories a ended with death, with horror, with knowledge that 389 00:25:04.000 --> 00:25:07.519 no one should have. But he kept reading because he 390 00:25:07.640 --> 00:25:10.880 needed to know, because his father had needed him to know, 391 00:25:11.799 --> 00:25:15.039 Because some burdens, once accepted, can never be set down. 392 00:25:16.240 --> 00:25:18.079 He picked up the next journal and turned to the 393 00:25:18.119 --> 00:25:23.319 first page. April twenty eighth, through May tenth, seventeen ninety nine, 394 00:25:23.720 --> 00:25:28.480 Shawnee Territory. We descended from the high mountains into the 395 00:25:28.559 --> 00:25:32.519 Ohio Valley, and the world changed around us. The oppressive 396 00:25:32.599 --> 00:25:36.039 forest gave way to rolling hills and river bottoms. The 397 00:25:36.160 --> 00:25:40.240 air grew warmer, heavier, thick with the smell of spring growth. 398 00:25:41.079 --> 00:25:45.559 Birds sang again, cardinals and thrushes and mocking birds. Sounds 399 00:25:45.640 --> 00:25:49.160 so normal they seemed almost alien after weeks of terrible silence. 400 00:25:49.960 --> 00:25:52.880 But we knew better than to relax. The creatures were 401 00:25:52.920 --> 00:25:56.079