WEBVTT 1 00:00:06.360 --> 00:00:09.439 I grew up hunting, fishing, and running triplines, so it 2 00:00:09.480 --> 00:00:11.960 was only natural that I get a job working for 3 00:00:12.039 --> 00:00:16.559 the California Fish and Game while I was in college. Later, 4 00:00:16.679 --> 00:00:19.879 I spent two decades working for the US Forest Service. 5 00:00:21.239 --> 00:00:24.519 One morning in September nineteen ninety three, while I was 6 00:00:24.559 --> 00:00:27.879 working for the Forestry Service, I arrived at a small 7 00:00:27.920 --> 00:00:31.199 clear cut located in the middle fork of Feather River 8 00:00:31.679 --> 00:00:35.920 at eleven thirty am. It was a wild and scenic 9 00:00:36.000 --> 00:00:41.200 spot above the town of Oroville, California, and very remote. 10 00:00:41.359 --> 00:00:44.119 It had taken me two hours to get there. It 11 00:00:44.240 --> 00:00:46.920 was the last of three small clearcuts done on that 12 00:00:47.159 --> 00:00:50.159 ridge just before it dropped down to the scenic river. 13 00:00:51.399 --> 00:00:54.880 We called those cuts Mountain Lion cuts, after a lion 14 00:00:54.960 --> 00:00:59.359 that had been seen there several times. The last cut 15 00:00:59.399 --> 00:01:02.719 was nine as that headed east up the slope, and 16 00:01:02.719 --> 00:01:05.079 at the bottom was a twenty foot circle of brush 17 00:01:05.159 --> 00:01:08.599 that had no trees worth harvesting, so it had been spared. 18 00:01:10.120 --> 00:01:12.840 I crawled into the brush with my lunch and decided 19 00:01:12.879 --> 00:01:15.640 to be quiet and hidden as I ate, so that 20 00:01:15.760 --> 00:01:20.120 maybe I could see the lion come through. After twenty 21 00:01:20.159 --> 00:01:23.400 five minutes, nothing had come by, and I was finished 22 00:01:23.400 --> 00:01:26.480 with lunch. As I was packing up, I heard a 23 00:01:26.560 --> 00:01:29.280 large limb or a small tree snap a couple hundred 24 00:01:29.359 --> 00:01:32.519 yards across the clear cut. I thought it must be 25 00:01:32.560 --> 00:01:35.280 a range cow, so I didn't even bother looking up. 26 00:01:36.640 --> 00:01:40.519 The clearcut had been replanted in the spring. My job 27 00:01:40.640 --> 00:01:43.640 that day was to take twenty four foot plots and 28 00:01:43.799 --> 00:01:48.040 count how many trees survived in every third plot. I 29 00:01:48.079 --> 00:01:50.959 walked out a few yards into the clearing and poked 30 00:01:50.959 --> 00:01:54.040 my tape measure into the ground, pulled out twelve feet 31 00:01:54.079 --> 00:01:57.319 and started making a circle, counting each tree within the 32 00:01:57.400 --> 00:02:01.400 circumference as I did so. When I was done, I 33 00:02:01.439 --> 00:02:04.120 walked a hundred and twenty paces maybe one hundred and 34 00:02:04.120 --> 00:02:08.199 ten yards to the lower section and completed the second plot. 35 00:02:08.479 --> 00:02:10.759 And then I looked across and decided I could fit 36 00:02:10.840 --> 00:02:13.759 one more plot along the bottom, so I took off, 37 00:02:13.840 --> 00:02:18.520 counting one hundred and twenty paces. I was thirty yards 38 00:02:18.520 --> 00:02:20.800 from the brush on the opposite side when I heard 39 00:02:20.800 --> 00:02:25.240 another large limb being snapped off a tree. This time 40 00:02:25.280 --> 00:02:28.319 it was done close enough that it startled me, and 41 00:02:28.360 --> 00:02:30.400 I snapped my head up and looked through the man's 42 00:02:30.400 --> 00:02:34.360 anita through a three foot hole in the brush, I 43 00:02:34.400 --> 00:02:36.960 saw a leg, or a back of a leg anyway 44 00:02:37.159 --> 00:02:40.520 from the knee down. It was forty yards away and 45 00:02:40.520 --> 00:02:44.240 the sun was shining on it. The sunlight lit up 46 00:02:44.280 --> 00:02:46.800 the two inch long red hair that covered the leg. 47 00:02:47.520 --> 00:02:50.439 It was close to the color of an orangutang's hair. 48 00:02:51.560 --> 00:02:54.840 The calf muscle was large and lean, and I stared 49 00:02:54.879 --> 00:02:58.400 at it thought to myself, how well this thing was built. 50 00:02:59.319 --> 00:03:01.680 It took a couple of steps up the hill and 51 00:03:01.719 --> 00:03:04.439 I saw the muscle flexing up and down in its leg. 52 00:03:05.439 --> 00:03:08.800 I stopped. Until that moment, I hadn't thought much about 53 00:03:08.800 --> 00:03:11.840 whether or not they were real, but just then I 54 00:03:11.960 --> 00:03:16.439 was thinking they do exist. I started walking up the 55 00:03:16.520 --> 00:03:19.199 hill in a calm, no rush, manner that gave me 56 00:03:19.280 --> 00:03:22.879 time to observe it. At eighty yards away, I could 57 00:03:22.919 --> 00:03:25.240 see all the way up the left leg. I could 58 00:03:25.240 --> 00:03:28.759 see the butt about halfway down the right leg. The 59 00:03:28.840 --> 00:03:32.599 hair was all the same light colored red, and its 60 00:03:32.680 --> 00:03:37.240 butt was pronounced and muscular. Seeing it from the waist down, 61 00:03:37.520 --> 00:03:40.240 I thought it was built very much like a professional 62 00:03:40.240 --> 00:03:45.439 football player, larger and taller, but not by much. At 63 00:03:45.479 --> 00:03:47.840 one hundred yards away, I got my first glimpse of 64 00:03:47.840 --> 00:03:51.039 the entire backside of the creature, from the neck down, 65 00:03:52.240 --> 00:03:55.800 from the waist up. It was massive. The shoulders were 66 00:03:55.879 --> 00:04:00.400 seven feet off the ground and five feet across. It 67 00:04:00.479 --> 00:04:03.479 was a dense dark patch of tan oaks, and it 68 00:04:03.520 --> 00:04:08.400 stepped into the trees and it was gone. I stood there, 69 00:04:08.560 --> 00:04:12.080 fascinated by what had just happened. I did not take 70 00:04:12.120 --> 00:04:15.360 a step during this entire encounter. I just stood there 71 00:04:15.400 --> 00:04:20.319 in amazement. Above this dark patch of tan oaks stood 72 00:04:20.319 --> 00:04:24.120 a single tree that was six inches in circumference. It 73 00:04:24.160 --> 00:04:26.680 was cut off and bent one hundred and eighty degrees 74 00:04:26.759 --> 00:04:30.759 at six feet off the ground. The creature stepped out 75 00:04:30.800 --> 00:04:32.879 of the oak patch and put its left arm on 76 00:04:33.000 --> 00:04:35.959 that tree, and as it leaned in, the tree dropped 77 00:04:36.000 --> 00:04:39.680 seven more inches. It turned its head and it looked 78 00:04:39.680 --> 00:04:42.240 at me. Now I could see the left part of 79 00:04:42.279 --> 00:04:44.600 the body and a little bit of its head. The 80 00:04:44.639 --> 00:04:47.040 only feature I could see was that it was not 81 00:04:47.240 --> 00:04:50.240 covered in long red hair like the rest of the body. 82 00:04:50.920 --> 00:04:53.759 It was too far away now to make much else out. 83 00:04:54.560 --> 00:04:56.920 I noticed there was no hair at the elbow of 84 00:04:56.920 --> 00:05:00.839 the left arm either. It looked as if it had 85 00:05:00.879 --> 00:05:04.560 been scraped or worn off, and the skin was dark black. 86 00:05:05.959 --> 00:05:08.720 I don't know how long this lasted. It was long 87 00:05:08.800 --> 00:05:11.480 enough that I wondered how the creature with such red 88 00:05:11.480 --> 00:05:15.839 hair could have such dark skin. We stood there staring 89 00:05:15.879 --> 00:05:18.600 at each other for a bit, and then it straightened 90 00:05:18.680 --> 00:05:22.959 up and turned and took two steps before it was gone. 91 00:05:23.000 --> 00:05:26.560 I did not see it or hear it again. In fact, 92 00:05:26.959 --> 00:05:29.279 I never heard it except for the two times it 93 00:05:29.319 --> 00:05:33.480 broke large limbs or small trees. I never felt fear 94 00:05:33.759 --> 00:05:37.720 or anxiety. It was never aggressive toward me, nor seemed 95 00:05:37.759 --> 00:05:42.279 threatening in any way. I didn't smell any odor, and sadly, 96 00:05:42.399 --> 00:05:44.279 I never got to see the front of the creature 97 00:05:44.399 --> 00:05:48.199 or its entire head. I don't know its sex or 98 00:05:48.240 --> 00:05:51.480 anything about its facial features except for the lack of hair, 99 00:05:52.160 --> 00:05:56.040 but I do know it was very curious. It wanted 100 00:05:56.079 --> 00:05:58.920 to observe me as much as I wanted to observe it. 101 00:06:00.360 --> 00:06:03.079 I no longer work for the Forestry Service, but I 102 00:06:03.120 --> 00:06:06.399 wish I could have another encounter, and as an employee 103 00:06:06.399 --> 00:06:09.360 of the US Forestry Service, I did not share this 104 00:06:09.480 --> 00:06:12.639 story with anyone other than a few family members until 105 00:06:12.680 --> 00:06:16.720 twenty twelve, when I finally went online to the BFRO 106 00:06:17.000 --> 00:06:21.160 and submitted my first report. Since then, I've done some 107 00:06:21.240 --> 00:06:24.639 of my own research and watched what I could. I've 108 00:06:24.639 --> 00:06:27.519 met a few others willing to speak about their encounters, 109 00:06:27.759 --> 00:06:29.680 and I'm more than happy to meet and speak with 110 00:06:29.759 --> 00:06:33.560 anyone who has had an encounter. I believe there was 111 00:06:33.600 --> 00:06:36.680 more than one. That day. As I sat hidden in 112 00:06:36.720 --> 00:06:39.519 that brush putting my lunch away, it broke a large 113 00:06:39.560 --> 00:06:42.040 lamb or tree. I was over two hundred and forty 114 00:06:42.120 --> 00:06:45.360 yards away. I don't believe it was just telling me 115 00:06:45.439 --> 00:06:48.680 that it was there. I think it was also telling 116 00:06:48.720 --> 00:06:54.360 the others that I was there. Fantastic story to the writer. Again, 117 00:06:54.399 --> 00:06:57.279 I don't know the man's name. I think I know 118 00:06:57.439 --> 00:06:59.519 because of his email address, but I'm not going to 119 00:06:59.560 --> 00:07:01.720 share it because he didn't really say anything about it. 120 00:07:01.800 --> 00:07:05.120 But this is these guys in the forestry service or 121 00:07:05.240 --> 00:07:08.959 in a position and in locations to see these things, 122 00:07:09.319 --> 00:07:11.639 not just these things, but all the things that go 123 00:07:11.759 --> 00:07:14.399 on in the forest, and they're used to it. They 124 00:07:14.480 --> 00:07:17.639 know it. They're very observant. They know what's out of place, 125 00:07:17.720 --> 00:07:20.920 they know what's in place, they know what's usual, they 126 00:07:20.959 --> 00:07:24.600 know what's odd. If you spend any time in the woods, 127 00:07:25.040 --> 00:07:28.879 even you don't have to be a forestry service employee 128 00:07:28.920 --> 00:07:32.160 to learn these things, just go in the woods and 129 00:07:32.199 --> 00:07:35.360 be quiet. Like I know this is probably a little 130 00:07:35.399 --> 00:07:39.240 too much commentary, but there are a lot of images 131 00:07:39.439 --> 00:07:44.279 out on social media Facebook and Twitter and Instagram of 132 00:07:44.680 --> 00:07:50.199 blurry things in the background of a forest. And have 133 00:07:50.319 --> 00:07:54.000 you ever sat in the woods for Just sit there 134 00:07:54.079 --> 00:07:58.000 for three hours and don't move, Just sit there, relax 135 00:07:58.720 --> 00:08:02.560 and kind of focus in on one area of the woods. 136 00:08:02.720 --> 00:08:05.800 And if you do that, you'll notice that the light 137 00:08:06.199 --> 00:08:09.160 has a lot to do with what you see, and 138 00:08:09.199 --> 00:08:12.759 the earth is spinning and the sun is shining light 139 00:08:12.800 --> 00:08:16.519 at different angles, and every ten or fifteen minutes that 140 00:08:16.639 --> 00:08:19.879 spot you're looking at will look totally different, and your 141 00:08:19.959 --> 00:08:22.639 mind can make out shapes and all kinds of things 142 00:08:22.680 --> 00:08:26.160 in that background as light penetrates through the forest and 143 00:08:26.240 --> 00:08:29.519 shines on things that are behind what you're looking at. 144 00:08:30.000 --> 00:08:33.240 And these guys know these things. I mean, I began 145 00:08:33.320 --> 00:08:36.639 to notice that deer hunting many years ago. I'm not 146 00:08:36.720 --> 00:08:38.799 a big deer hunter. A matter of fact, I don't 147 00:08:38.840 --> 00:08:41.879 really even go to kill. I don't really like killing deer. 148 00:08:41.960 --> 00:08:46.399 I have killed several, but not many, and I've never glad. 149 00:08:46.440 --> 00:08:49.159 I did kill one buck anyway, it's another big deal. 150 00:08:49.240 --> 00:08:51.799 I'm just not that interested in killing deer, but I 151 00:08:51.840 --> 00:08:53.600 love to be in the woods and just watch and 152 00:08:53.639 --> 00:08:56.639 look at all the wildlife, and the deer is just 153 00:08:56.879 --> 00:09:00.000 icing on the cake. It's great meat, it's good claes 154 00:09:00.600 --> 00:09:05.000 nutrition for me and my family and my friends. But 155 00:09:05.039 --> 00:09:07.200 the big thrill is to sit there and just watch 156 00:09:07.240 --> 00:09:09.600 what goes on. And you're seeing what happens in the 157 00:09:09.600 --> 00:09:12.559 woods when you're not there, because if you're quiet, you 158 00:09:12.600 --> 00:09:15.759 don't make any noise, and you just, you know, just 159 00:09:16.200 --> 00:09:19.279 minimize your presence in the woods. It goes right back 160 00:09:19.279 --> 00:09:21.919 to normal within about fifteen or twenty minutes, and you 161 00:09:21.960 --> 00:09:24.960 get to see what happens when you're not there, and 162 00:09:25.080 --> 00:09:29.759 it's an amazing thing. Listen and look and smell, and 163 00:09:29.840 --> 00:09:32.240 you get to see all the things that ninety nine 164 00:09:32.320 --> 00:09:34.919 percent of the people on this planet do not get 165 00:09:34.960 --> 00:09:38.120 to see. So I don't know why I got off 166 00:09:38.159 --> 00:09:40.519 in that, but it kind of I know some of 167 00:09:40.559 --> 00:09:45.039 these forestry guys and these timber cruisers and people that 168 00:09:45.120 --> 00:09:48.840 work for timber companies, and they know the woods. They 169 00:09:48.919 --> 00:09:52.399 know what's natural, they know what's not. They're very observant 170 00:09:52.480 --> 00:09:55.279 and they can tell you right away. That's kind of 171 00:09:55.279 --> 00:09:57.279 weird over there, and this is what happened here, and 172 00:09:57.320 --> 00:10:00.080 this is what happened here. Anyway, it's just an inter 173 00:10:00.679 --> 00:10:04.039 It's an interesting topic. I've always thought was fascinating. But me, 174 00:10:04.200 --> 00:10:06.919 I'm a people watcher, and I noticed what people say 175 00:10:06.960 --> 00:10:09.519 and do and why they say and do what they do, 176 00:10:09.559 --> 00:10:12.279 and it's always been really interesting to me. Thank you 177 00:10:12.320 --> 00:10:14.600 to the writer for sending this. I really appreciate it, 178 00:10:14.639 --> 00:10:17.200 and I believe the story. I one hundred percent believed 179 00:10:17.240 --> 00:10:27.360 the story. The Warp Forests by Austin Mooney. Colin had 180 00:10:27.399 --> 00:10:30.679 known Greg long enough to trust the periloused expression of 181 00:10:30.720 --> 00:10:33.960 gloom on his face when he emerged from the shadowy 182 00:10:34.000 --> 00:10:37.759 tree line. Greg had left the safe confines of their 183 00:10:37.799 --> 00:10:42.240 bonfire to relieve himself somewhere away from camp about fifteen 184 00:10:42.279 --> 00:10:45.759 minutes earlier, and the group was beginning to worry about him. 185 00:10:47.120 --> 00:10:49.919 They assumed whatever was keeping him must have been his 186 00:10:49.960 --> 00:10:53.720 own private business. They dreaded the idea of checking in 187 00:10:53.799 --> 00:10:58.159 on him, only to cause embarrassment for both parties. They 188 00:10:58.200 --> 00:11:01.279 thought it first that perhaps he was and he would 189 00:11:01.320 --> 00:11:05.200 inform them that he needed to go home. Instead, he 190 00:11:05.320 --> 00:11:08.679 instructed them to follow him back to the dark forest. 191 00:11:09.879 --> 00:11:14.799 There were four of them, Greg, Colin, Macklin, and Dane. 192 00:11:14.879 --> 00:11:17.480 The men, all now in their middle years, had been 193 00:11:17.559 --> 00:11:22.039 friends since childhood, and although they had much different lives now, 194 00:11:22.519 --> 00:11:24.960 they still made time to go on a camping retreat 195 00:11:25.000 --> 00:11:28.519 together once a year. They tried to pick a new 196 00:11:28.559 --> 00:11:31.879 place to go each time. Most of the fun of 197 00:11:31.919 --> 00:11:35.320 the experience was hiking and surveying the new land and 198 00:11:35.360 --> 00:11:38.720 recapturing the wonder of exploration they felt back in their 199 00:11:38.879 --> 00:11:44.080 use when such feelings were easier to come by. This year, 200 00:11:44.240 --> 00:11:47.240 they decided on a spring visit to a small patch 201 00:11:47.240 --> 00:11:51.000 of woods near Lake Michigan, somewhat close to the US 202 00:11:51.120 --> 00:11:56.519 and Canadian border. The area existed in a strange in 203 00:11:56.679 --> 00:12:02.080 between place that felt oddly homeless and independent. It didn't 204 00:12:02.120 --> 00:12:05.840 feel like it belonged to either country. It was just there. 205 00:12:07.879 --> 00:12:11.279 They had arrived later in the day than they anticipated 206 00:12:11.600 --> 00:12:14.360 and were deprived of that first chance to venture into 207 00:12:14.440 --> 00:12:18.679 the unknown. Before the necessity of shelter and warmth became 208 00:12:18.759 --> 00:12:23.559 paramount in their minds. They quickly unloaded their equipment and 209 00:12:23.600 --> 00:12:26.840 followed the short trail to the closest camping area to 210 00:12:26.879 --> 00:12:29.679 get as much assistance from the dying sun as it 211 00:12:29.720 --> 00:12:33.960 would allow before twilight turned its cold gaze to laugh 212 00:12:33.960 --> 00:12:38.480 At their unfinished camp. They were using a single tent 213 00:12:39.120 --> 00:12:43.399 large enough to comfortably house the four men. The friends 214 00:12:43.440 --> 00:12:46.120 had learned to live together through the sleepovers of their 215 00:12:46.200 --> 00:12:50.840 childhood and various roommate living arrangements in their early adulthood. 216 00:12:52.399 --> 00:12:55.039 One big tent was all they needed, which made the 217 00:12:55.080 --> 00:13:00.240 construction process much more efficient. As soon as as it 218 00:13:00.320 --> 00:13:02.279 was built, the fire was lit in the pit of 219 00:13:02.320 --> 00:13:06.879 the charred remains of previous camping excursions. Greg announced that 220 00:13:06.960 --> 00:13:09.440 he needed to use the toilet and that he would 221 00:13:09.480 --> 00:13:12.960 be back soon. If I'm not back in fifteen minutes, 222 00:13:13.000 --> 00:13:16.240 come looking for me, he said. I don't have to poop, 223 00:13:16.279 --> 00:13:18.639 so it shouldn't take that long. But if I do 224 00:13:18.759 --> 00:13:20.879 end up having to poop and then doing it and 225 00:13:21.000 --> 00:13:23.720 you come looking for me and that's what I'm doing, 226 00:13:23.840 --> 00:13:28.240 then I'm sorry, but better safe than sorry. Just go, 227 00:13:28.559 --> 00:13:33.039 said Colin. Yeah, stop talking, Maclan said, I'm not going 228 00:13:33.120 --> 00:13:35.879 to look for you. Dane laughed as he opened a beer. 229 00:13:37.320 --> 00:13:40.159 Greg held a playful middle finger to the group and 230 00:13:40.240 --> 00:13:45.279 disappeared beyond the tree line. Fifteen minutes passed, and the 231 00:13:45.320 --> 00:13:49.200 men started to wonder was Greg kidding before? Was he 232 00:13:49.279 --> 00:13:52.120 playing a joke? Now? Did he want them to come 233 00:13:52.159 --> 00:13:55.840 looking for him? Luckily he showed his face before that. 234 00:13:55.879 --> 00:13:59.200 Feeling swelled up inside them and reached the point where 235 00:13:59.240 --> 00:14:02.639 they felt a knee to discuss it. They all knew 236 00:14:02.679 --> 00:14:06.600 the others were feeling weird? What was Greg doing out there? 237 00:14:07.639 --> 00:14:10.120 A sigh of relief vented through their noses toward the 238 00:14:10.159 --> 00:14:13.279 ground and curved up into the sky once he appeared, 239 00:14:14.600 --> 00:14:18.200 but the tension was reinvigorated and evolved into a new 240 00:14:18.200 --> 00:14:21.600 collection of despair when they saw the look on his face. 241 00:14:22.480 --> 00:14:25.879 What's up? Are you okay? Colin asked, we were about 242 00:14:25.879 --> 00:14:29.960 to come looking for you. Michlan said I wasn't, said dame, 243 00:14:30.720 --> 00:14:33.399 you guys need to come with me, Greg said, his 244 00:14:33.519 --> 00:14:37.960 mouth barely moving. His eyes hung sourly in his dull 245 00:14:38.120 --> 00:14:41.519 face as his eyelids stretched toward the sky in an 246 00:14:41.559 --> 00:14:46.000 act of bodily surrender and panic. The muscles and his 247 00:14:46.120 --> 00:14:50.600 clammy visage were communicating emotions that seemed entirely burnt out 248 00:14:50.639 --> 00:14:54.879 in his mind. He held both of his hands in 249 00:14:54.960 --> 00:14:58.080 his front pockets as though he was a teacher. About 250 00:14:58.120 --> 00:15:01.399 to ask a leading question that would carry him into 251 00:15:01.440 --> 00:15:06.559 a mind altering lecture. The chemicals coursing through him were 252 00:15:06.559 --> 00:15:10.320 putting on a performance or normalacy that was wholly severed 253 00:15:10.360 --> 00:15:14.320 from his thoughts. He looked like he could barely feel 254 00:15:14.399 --> 00:15:17.960 any of it, and his body was taking over. There's 255 00:15:17.960 --> 00:15:22.000 something I want to show you, he said, No, Dane Wine, 256 00:15:22.080 --> 00:15:24.919 we just got the fire going and stuff. Let's chill. 257 00:15:25.720 --> 00:15:29.559 What is it? Colin asked, concerned by the confusing mixture 258 00:15:29.679 --> 00:15:33.919 of emotions flowing from his friend's body language. I can't 259 00:15:33.919 --> 00:15:37.679 describe it, he said. Muscles in his arms twitched as 260 00:15:37.720 --> 00:15:41.480 his hands baled into bulging fists in his pocket. But 261 00:15:41.559 --> 00:15:44.960 I never seen anything like it before. Is it next 262 00:15:45.039 --> 00:15:48.679 to where you peede? Maclan asked, because maybe it can wait. 263 00:15:49.960 --> 00:15:52.799 That's when the fire grew bright enough that Colin and 264 00:15:52.879 --> 00:15:56.399 Machlan were able to discern that Greg had urinated in 265 00:15:56.480 --> 00:16:01.799 his pants. A gasp of prize and worries shook through them. 266 00:16:02.559 --> 00:16:06.200 His black jeens revealed a section of slightly blackered denim 267 00:16:06.480 --> 00:16:10.080 that soaked a vertical puddle through the material surrounding his groin. 268 00:16:11.320 --> 00:16:15.679 An energy of silence weighed down on the camp It's 269 00:16:15.720 --> 00:16:19.480 not very far, Greg said, before turning around and dissolving 270 00:16:19.600 --> 00:16:24.200 back into the twisting gateway of krepasole wooded kingdom before them. 271 00:16:25.919 --> 00:16:30.960 Colin walked after him, and Michlan followed. Dane finished his 272 00:16:31.039 --> 00:16:33.679 beer and opened another beer and grabbed his high powered 273 00:16:33.720 --> 00:16:37.320 flashlight that he normally loved, having an excuse to use 274 00:16:37.840 --> 00:16:40.960 and released an annoying sign and ventured into the woods 275 00:16:40.960 --> 00:16:45.559 to find his friends. Colin and Macklin held their phone 276 00:16:45.600 --> 00:16:49.759 flashlights up to light the path, but gregg led without one. 277 00:16:50.399 --> 00:16:55.159 His hands stayed in his pockets. He simply knew where 278 00:16:55.159 --> 00:16:59.519 to go. He dodged low branches and obstacles with memorized 279 00:16:59.559 --> 00:17:05.079 condition precision. Everything appeared so calm and easy, despite his 280 00:17:05.200 --> 00:17:08.319 tainted eyes looking back at his friends every few paces 281 00:17:08.759 --> 00:17:14.079 and urine soak clothing telling a drastically different story. The 282 00:17:14.160 --> 00:17:17.440 other two tripped and stumbled along behind him as they 283 00:17:17.519 --> 00:17:21.640 quietly made their way. Any questions asked to Greg were 284 00:17:21.680 --> 00:17:26.880 met with a soft were almost there. Then a clearing 285 00:17:27.039 --> 00:17:30.720 opened itself to them, and the starry night sky waterfall 286 00:17:30.839 --> 00:17:35.880 down onto their dusty heads. A brilliant rush of energizing 287 00:17:36.039 --> 00:17:39.240 visible light flooded the area. As if the arena of 288 00:17:39.359 --> 00:17:42.240 distant worlds around them wished the men to see. What 289 00:17:42.440 --> 00:17:46.359 was there In the middle of the clearing was a 290 00:17:46.400 --> 00:17:51.680 small stub or stump, perhaps a collection of mushrooms, sitting 291 00:17:51.680 --> 00:17:56.279 three feet tall and three feet wide. It was tan pink, 292 00:17:56.599 --> 00:17:59.680 and the shedding of whatever comprised it littered the grass 293 00:17:59.680 --> 00:18:04.720 around it. As they approached the specimen, Colin felt a 294 00:18:04.759 --> 00:18:08.880 hollow ache in his stomach, like life threatening hunger pans, 295 00:18:09.400 --> 00:18:11.759 the type of empty belly ache that causes one to 296 00:18:11.839 --> 00:18:15.720 vomit whenever pathetic liquid is still contained in them. In 297 00:18:15.799 --> 00:18:20.119 a misguided attempt to fix the problem, he worried he 298 00:18:20.160 --> 00:18:22.960 would be sick, but he couldn't easily find his way 299 00:18:23.000 --> 00:18:27.359 back to camp if he retreated, his breathing controlled in 300 00:18:27.480 --> 00:18:32.279 heart rates slowing, Colin continued following his friend's relentless brisk 301 00:18:32.440 --> 00:18:37.720 pace towards the stump. Once they reached it, they realized 302 00:18:37.759 --> 00:18:41.400 it wasn't a stump, or at least not won by appearance. 303 00:18:42.240 --> 00:18:45.759 Perhaps an invasive fungus of some kind had claimed a 304 00:18:45.839 --> 00:18:49.279 stump and covered it the grave of a tree, suffocated 305 00:18:49.319 --> 00:18:54.680 beneath its new wormy overcoat. The dome of organic matter 306 00:18:54.880 --> 00:18:59.920 was rough, callous blob of an unappealing texture, reminiscent of Califlow. 307 00:19:02.079 --> 00:19:05.200 Every few seconds or so, it would lightly shake, as 308 00:19:05.279 --> 00:19:09.039 though a bubble had popped below its surface. It was alive, 309 00:19:09.400 --> 00:19:14.440 whatever it was. Greg walked over to it, looked back 310 00:19:14.480 --> 00:19:16.480 at the men with a smile, and then kicked it. 311 00:19:17.720 --> 00:19:21.200 A resounding thud rippled through it like a carnival strong 312 00:19:21.279 --> 00:19:24.160 man's abdomen. After getting punched in the gut by an 313 00:19:24.200 --> 00:19:29.079 audience member, a small chunk of fleshy tumor ripped off 314 00:19:29.079 --> 00:19:32.119 with the tip of Greg's shoe and landed next to them, 315 00:19:32.440 --> 00:19:37.559 and shortly afterward the spot that had been regenerated. I've 316 00:19:37.559 --> 00:19:40.559 been picking at this thing since I left camp. That's 317 00:19:40.599 --> 00:19:43.519 where all these other pieces of it came from, he said, 318 00:19:43.759 --> 00:19:46.960 gesturing to the mess around his feet. But it just 319 00:19:47.079 --> 00:19:51.359 keeps regenerating. It's gross and it hurts. I feel like 320 00:19:51.440 --> 00:19:54.279 it has to be hurting the forest. It hurts when 321 00:19:54.279 --> 00:19:57.960 I look at it, like its existence hurts. Do you 322 00:19:58.039 --> 00:20:01.119 feel it? I think we shoul leave it alone. I 323 00:20:01.160 --> 00:20:04.039 don't know what it is. I mean, it's cool, don't 324 00:20:04.039 --> 00:20:06.359 get me wrong, and thank you for showing it to us. 325 00:20:06.799 --> 00:20:10.720 But what if it's poisonous or something, said Macklin, all 326 00:20:10.759 --> 00:20:12.519 the more reason we need to get rid of it. 327 00:20:12.559 --> 00:20:17.240 Greg said. It pulsed again and shuddered under the stress 328 00:20:17.240 --> 00:20:20.279 of the damage that it had withstood. From Greg's hue, 329 00:20:21.200 --> 00:20:24.720 Colin could feel it. Its presence was made of pain 330 00:20:25.079 --> 00:20:30.279 and soreness, a future, disgusting, tight, miserable, tenderness that only 331 00:20:30.359 --> 00:20:34.759 more pain could destroy. He wanted desperately to rip it 332 00:20:34.799 --> 00:20:37.880 out of the Earth's poor body, and it needed to 333 00:20:37.920 --> 00:20:42.160 be removed, whatever it was, and some deep instinct within 334 00:20:42.240 --> 00:20:45.720 him was screaming at him to do so. Isn't it 335 00:20:45.799 --> 00:20:50.400 just going to keep regenerating, maclan asked. It regenerates faster 336 00:20:50.519 --> 00:20:52.720 than I can pick at it. But if all of 337 00:20:52.799 --> 00:20:54.880 us are picking at it, then I think we can 338 00:20:54.920 --> 00:20:56.960 pick it all the way off before it has time 339 00:20:56.960 --> 00:21:02.119 to regenerate. That's a good idea, said Macklin, looked at 340 00:21:02.200 --> 00:21:05.480 Colin in disbelief. I think you should do this in 341 00:21:05.519 --> 00:21:09.880 the morning, MacLean said, no. Greg said he took his 342 00:21:09.960 --> 00:21:12.519 hands out of his pockets, and the others saw that 343 00:21:12.599 --> 00:21:17.839 they were covered in something gloves. Maybe it looked like 344 00:21:17.960 --> 00:21:21.000 hundreds of smaller versions of the bump in front of them, 345 00:21:21.119 --> 00:21:24.759 coated the entirety of his hands up to his wrists. 346 00:21:25.839 --> 00:21:29.519 It was a sea of individual wartz, rubbing through and 347 00:21:29.599 --> 00:21:33.680 against each other, creating a long, solid skin layer of 348 00:21:33.839 --> 00:21:39.720 rough growth. Hard wiggling, moaning warts were cracking around his 349 00:21:39.839 --> 00:21:45.039 palms and fingers and deconstructing his skin. His knuckles split 350 00:21:45.119 --> 00:21:47.960 open and his hands were falling apart as he reached 351 00:21:48.000 --> 00:21:52.119 down and grabbed two fistfuls of the excruciating life form. 352 00:21:52.640 --> 00:21:56.039 Soon Colin found himself digging into the mixture as well. 353 00:21:57.960 --> 00:22:00.720 The hard shell of it broke open upon impact with 354 00:22:00.799 --> 00:22:05.839 his determined claws and released a terrible chitney of porous flesh. Underneath. 355 00:22:07.000 --> 00:22:10.880 It was an enormous wart, threatening the very woods it 356 00:22:10.960 --> 00:22:16.440 was attempting to call home. A loud flashlight beam crashed 357 00:22:16.440 --> 00:22:19.279 through the cracks in the trees behind them. As Dane 358 00:22:19.279 --> 00:22:22.400 emerged from the woods. What the hell is that thing? 359 00:22:22.640 --> 00:22:25.480 He said, I don't know, but they want to pick 360 00:22:25.519 --> 00:22:29.000 it out of the ground, said micheln Oh, my god, Greg, 361 00:22:29.039 --> 00:22:32.759 your hands are disgusting. What happened? Stop touching that thing? 362 00:22:34.440 --> 00:22:38.119 Dane hurried over to the two men. The flashlight glared 363 00:22:38.160 --> 00:22:41.240 an aggressive wake up called a Colin's eyes, and he 364 00:22:41.319 --> 00:22:44.880 was pulled from his daze. He backed away from the 365 00:22:44.960 --> 00:22:48.559 lowesome wart and he threw up. He rubbed his arms 366 00:22:48.559 --> 00:22:51.759 and hands into the dirt to cleanse the disgusting material 367 00:22:51.839 --> 00:22:57.359 from his skin. Overwhelming fear obscured his consciousness, and he 368 00:22:57.400 --> 00:23:00.720 scratched his hands along the rocks and dry land until 369 00:23:00.759 --> 00:23:04.440 they were bloody and any infected layers had been removed. 370 00:23:05.279 --> 00:23:08.200 We did it, Greg said, as he dropped the last 371 00:23:08.279 --> 00:23:13.160 handful of work tissue to the ground. A crater sat 372 00:23:13.200 --> 00:23:16.599 staring up at them, surrounded by the dead remnants of 373 00:23:16.680 --> 00:23:22.319 its former body. Hard sharp edges struggled to create new warts. 374 00:23:22.880 --> 00:23:26.319 It rattled and died. Now we have to burn all 375 00:23:26.359 --> 00:23:29.839 of this. We're not carrying that stuff back to camp, 376 00:23:30.000 --> 00:23:33.119 Dane said. And we're definitely not starting a fire out 377 00:23:33.119 --> 00:23:36.480 here without someone from the park Service being present. We 378 00:23:36.480 --> 00:23:40.559 could burn the whole woods down. We have to, said Greg. 379 00:23:41.559 --> 00:23:44.400 Your hands are messed up, Greg, and you pissed yourself. 380 00:23:44.519 --> 00:23:48.000 Look at you, Dane said, I'm taking you back to camp. 381 00:23:48.119 --> 00:23:53.480 Let's go. Dane grabbed Greg's arm. Macklin blinked, and Dane 382 00:23:53.599 --> 00:23:56.160 was suddenly on his back, with Greg on top. Of him, 383 00:23:56.240 --> 00:23:59.440 pinning his shoulders to the forest with his knees, while 384 00:23:59.440 --> 00:24:04.200 a drop bottle blood of fizzled ale beside them. Greg 385 00:24:04.240 --> 00:24:08.599 grabbed Dane's face with his bumpy, agonizingly warp coated hands. 386 00:24:09.359 --> 00:24:12.759 The warts on his fingertips found their way into Dane's 387 00:24:12.839 --> 00:24:16.559 mouth and scraped against his front teeth. We have to 388 00:24:16.640 --> 00:24:21.279 burn it. Greg stood up, and Dane hopped to his feet, spitting, 389 00:24:21.960 --> 00:24:27.200 I'm getting a park ranger, You're being ridiculous, dude. Dane 390 00:24:27.240 --> 00:24:30.839 and Macklin helped Colin to his feet and they left. 391 00:24:33.480 --> 00:24:36.359 At the lodge, the three men asked the lone ranger 392 00:24:36.440 --> 00:24:38.880 on duty for the evening if she had ever seen 393 00:24:39.000 --> 00:24:43.039 any kind of growth that resembled their friend's obsession. She 394 00:24:43.200 --> 00:24:47.000 asked them if they had taken any sort of hallucinogenic drugs, 395 00:24:47.319 --> 00:24:49.480 and then asked if they had taken any drugs of 396 00:24:49.519 --> 00:24:52.519 any kind, and then she shook her head and agreed 397 00:24:52.559 --> 00:24:56.759 to drive them back to camp. When they returned to 398 00:24:56.799 --> 00:25:01.160 Colin was the first to start crying. In that clearing 399 00:25:01.319 --> 00:25:04.599 where the stars had bestowed the power of their blessing, 400 00:25:04.839 --> 00:25:08.240 lay a shriveled body next to a smoldering pile of ashes. 401 00:25:09.400 --> 00:25:12.920