1 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:07,040 Speaker 1: Most people think search and rescue is all adrenaline and helicopters. 2 00:00:07,040 --> 00:00:11,880 Truth is, ninety percent of the job is boredom, checking radios, 3 00:00:12,039 --> 00:00:15,599 re stocking gear, driving home. Because the missing hikers showed 4 00:00:15,640 --> 00:00:18,239 up at a gas station before we even laced our boots. 5 00:00:20,199 --> 00:00:23,000 I signed up as a volunteer after moving back home. 6 00:00:24,079 --> 00:00:26,199 I figured it was a good way to give back 7 00:00:26,760 --> 00:00:30,960 and maybe feel useful again. Our SAAR unit covers a 8 00:00:31,000 --> 00:00:36,479 massive stretch of mountain forest crags, all trails, floodplains, abandoned 9 00:00:36,479 --> 00:00:41,600 logging roads. Beautiful if you're just hiking it, deadly if 10 00:00:41,640 --> 00:00:45,799 he gets stuck overnight. We're based out of a small 11 00:00:45,840 --> 00:00:50,479 depot near the ranger station. It's mostly paid staff. The 12 00:00:50,600 --> 00:00:54,640 volunteers like me are floaters filling gaps. When numbers get 13 00:00:54,719 --> 00:00:58,960 low or terrain's too rough to cover fast, they pair 14 00:00:59,079 --> 00:01:04,159 us up. There's always one experienced with one volunteer. My 15 00:01:04,239 --> 00:01:07,239 guess is that we don't cause another rescue while out 16 00:01:07,280 --> 00:01:14,000 in tricky conditions. Regard an alert. At four seventeen p m. 17 00:01:14,920 --> 00:01:18,079 A heavy winter storm was rolling in fast, soon to 18 00:01:18,120 --> 00:01:23,840 slam the region with snow, wind and zero visibility. Multiple 19 00:01:23,920 --> 00:01:26,799 hikers had reported seeing a little girl in a red 20 00:01:26,840 --> 00:01:31,200 coat near the ridge trail, wondering alone, no adult in sight, 21 00:01:32,760 --> 00:01:35,599 No one knew where she came from. No reports of 22 00:01:35,599 --> 00:01:39,799 a missing child matched the description. The Sheriff's office kicked 23 00:01:39,799 --> 00:01:44,879 at the essay r immediately when I checked in. I 24 00:01:45,000 --> 00:01:49,079 prayed to be pared with any one except Riker, the 25 00:01:49,120 --> 00:01:52,719 oldest guy there by at least two decades. He looked 26 00:01:52,760 --> 00:01:54,959 like someone who had carved a man out of rawhide 27 00:01:55,000 --> 00:01:58,480 and bad memories, talked less than any one, and was 28 00:01:58,519 --> 00:02:02,480 apparently a nightmare to work with. And my timing must 29 00:02:02,519 --> 00:02:06,079 have been divinely unlucky, because he was the only senior 30 00:02:06,200 --> 00:02:10,080 left for me to partner with. We gathered gear from 31 00:02:10,080 --> 00:02:15,919 the supply trailer radios, thermals, maps flares. As I clipped 32 00:02:15,960 --> 00:02:19,000 on my head lamp, Braiker handed me something I hadn't 33 00:02:19,039 --> 00:02:23,879 seen anyone else use, a brass whistle, worn smooth from 34 00:02:24,000 --> 00:02:28,719 years of handling. Only use it if you get turned around, 35 00:02:29,520 --> 00:02:33,800 he said, very slow, and only head toward the returning whistle, 36 00:02:34,360 --> 00:02:37,199 he added, brandishing his own whistle that he had tied 37 00:02:37,240 --> 00:02:42,240 around his wrist. I stir did it? What else would 38 00:02:42,240 --> 00:02:47,360 there be to head towards? I asked? He paused, looked 39 00:02:47,439 --> 00:02:50,719 up at me for the first time. If you hear 40 00:02:50,759 --> 00:02:56,680 another whistle, he said, just follow the sound, never the voice. 41 00:02:57,960 --> 00:03:04,080 He never elaborated and walked off, adjusting his pack. That 42 00:03:04,400 --> 00:03:09,719 stuck with me more than it should have. The storm 43 00:03:09,800 --> 00:03:12,599 hadn't broken yet, but the air was dense with it, 44 00:03:13,080 --> 00:03:17,159 like something holding its breath. The light was already going gray, 45 00:03:17,639 --> 00:03:21,120 bleeding out behind the thickening clouds. As our team leader 46 00:03:21,199 --> 00:03:25,240 handed out the search grids. Most units were assigned to 47 00:03:25,280 --> 00:03:28,400 the western trailheads, where hikers might have had a better 48 00:03:28,520 --> 00:03:32,240 chance of surviving a cold night. But when my name 49 00:03:32,319 --> 00:03:35,520 was called and I saw I was with Riker, he 50 00:03:35,639 --> 00:03:39,879 spoke up before I could even step forward. We'll take 51 00:03:39,919 --> 00:03:44,039 Grid E. That wasn't where the girl was last seen. 52 00:03:44,800 --> 00:03:49,400 It wasn't even near the usual trails, But no one argued. 53 00:03:50,400 --> 00:03:54,400 Riker had seniority, a lot of respect, even if he 54 00:03:54,520 --> 00:04:01,520 never talked much. We geared up with thermal layers, waterproof jacket, radios, headlamps, 55 00:04:01,520 --> 00:04:05,680 and GPS. I carried a PLB in case of signal failure, 56 00:04:05,960 --> 00:04:11,039 a map and a digital compass with storm calibration. Ryker 57 00:04:11,240 --> 00:04:16,879 didn't bring a map, he never did. They loaded us 58 00:04:16,920 --> 00:04:20,160 into snow appeals and trucks then split us into grid 59 00:04:20,240 --> 00:04:24,000 pairs along the ridge's perimeter. By the time Ryker and 60 00:04:24,040 --> 00:04:27,680 I got to our drop point, Grid three E, the 61 00:04:27,759 --> 00:04:30,680 sun had already dipped and the tree line looked like 62 00:04:30,720 --> 00:04:36,600 a black mouth yawning open. Ryker said nothing, just clicked 63 00:04:36,600 --> 00:04:41,079 on his light and stepped into the woods. I followed 64 00:04:42,480 --> 00:04:48,279 behind us. The last trace of daylight vanished ahead the 65 00:04:48,360 --> 00:04:53,600 trees and frost, and somewhere out there a little girl 66 00:04:54,000 --> 00:05:00,800 who wasn't supposed to be here. As we entered the 67 00:05:00,839 --> 00:05:05,000 tree line, the wind shifted hard, snapping across the branches 68 00:05:05,079 --> 00:05:09,240 like warning cracks. The dirt trail dissolved quickly into rock 69 00:05:09,279 --> 00:05:13,240 and dead fall. I marked opposition with orange flagging tape 70 00:05:13,279 --> 00:05:18,759 every thirty meters. Visibility dropped. Fog didn't roll in so 71 00:05:18,879 --> 00:05:22,199 much as rise from the earth, like steam, curling around 72 00:05:22,199 --> 00:05:27,360 her ankles and thighs. This grit's a mess, I said, 73 00:05:27,759 --> 00:05:30,800 trying to sound casual. You really think she came this 74 00:05:30,879 --> 00:05:37,759 way not recently? Raker muttered, but she always circles east. Eventually, 75 00:05:40,040 --> 00:05:43,319 that stuck with me. I almost asked what he meant, 76 00:05:43,759 --> 00:05:48,240 but he was already moving again. The forest was loud 77 00:05:48,279 --> 00:05:51,920 in a strange way. Rayker seemed more distracted with every 78 00:05:51,959 --> 00:05:59,399 step he stopped, sometimes turned his head slightly and just listen, 79 00:06:00,480 --> 00:06:03,360 like the woods might say something if you were patient enough. 80 00:06:04,959 --> 00:06:10,000 I called it in a location pace visibility. I kept 81 00:06:10,040 --> 00:06:12,959 lugging time stamps on our GPS to make sure we 82 00:06:13,000 --> 00:06:17,120 could double back, But something about the terrain felt slippery, 83 00:06:17,800 --> 00:06:23,120 like we're always veering a few degrees off course. After 84 00:06:23,199 --> 00:06:28,920 half an hour, Riker finally spoke again. What would you do? 85 00:06:29,680 --> 00:06:33,079 He said? If you found her and she asked for help? 86 00:06:35,079 --> 00:06:39,439 What do you mean if she was scared, bleeding, looked 87 00:06:39,519 --> 00:06:42,160 you in the eyes and asked you to take her hand, 88 00:06:42,759 --> 00:06:49,639 would you I thought he was joking. Yeah, I said, 89 00:06:50,199 --> 00:06:55,480 that's literally why we're out here. But he didn't laugh 90 00:06:55,560 --> 00:07:01,240 it off, just kept moving. I started watching him a 91 00:07:01,279 --> 00:07:05,399 little closer, keeping mental track of how he walked too quietly, 92 00:07:05,920 --> 00:07:08,360 how he didn't react to the windchill like I did, 93 00:07:08,920 --> 00:07:12,199 how his boots never left deep prints, even in the 94 00:07:12,279 --> 00:07:16,680 soft moss. I was about to ask how long we'd 95 00:07:16,680 --> 00:07:21,879 stay out before heading back. When we both stopped. There 96 00:07:21,959 --> 00:07:30,079 was a voice farther in Hello. No crunch of movement, 97 00:07:31,040 --> 00:07:34,879 just that one word, drifting out from deeper in the woods. 98 00:07:35,639 --> 00:07:39,720 We scanned the direction, our headlamps flickering across tree trunks 99 00:07:39,720 --> 00:07:46,920 slick with mist. Then Riker pointed at eye level, snagged 100 00:07:46,920 --> 00:07:53,560 on a broken limb of pine sapling, was a mitten, red, small, 101 00:07:53,720 --> 00:07:58,759 and woolen. It was too bright and clean. The storm 102 00:07:58,800 --> 00:08:02,160 had already dusted the tree with frost and debris, but 103 00:08:02,279 --> 00:08:06,759 the mitten was untouched, fresh, as if some one had 104 00:08:07,000 --> 00:08:12,720 just placed it there. Riker silently stepped forward, ducking under 105 00:08:12,759 --> 00:08:17,439 the limb. I followed, but the unease I'd felt earlier 106 00:08:17,680 --> 00:08:21,279 had crawled up into my throat. Now it wasn't the 107 00:08:21,360 --> 00:08:26,439 storm that scared me. It was the idea that maybe 108 00:08:26,839 --> 00:08:34,440 Riker wasn't looking for the girl at all. We kept moving. 109 00:08:34,879 --> 00:08:37,679 The ground beneath us began to angle upward into a 110 00:08:37,759 --> 00:08:41,799 slow but constant incline that turned our boots into dead weights. 111 00:08:42,759 --> 00:08:47,559 My thighs burned, breath fogging in tight bursts. The wind 112 00:08:47,600 --> 00:08:51,559 had picked up, pushing sideways, now sharp enough to sting 113 00:08:51,639 --> 00:08:56,559 the skin. Snow had begun falling in dry, whispering flakes, 114 00:08:56,799 --> 00:09:00,240 collecting in the folds of my hood and glove seams. 115 00:09:00,720 --> 00:09:05,919 The radio crackled uselessly every few minutes, too much interference. 116 00:09:06,720 --> 00:09:11,320 We hadn't heard from Bay since the first mile. Visibility 117 00:09:11,399 --> 00:09:16,399 dropped to maybe thirty feet. Trees loomed closer together, the 118 00:09:16,519 --> 00:09:20,600 bark slick with wet. My map showed we were near 119 00:09:20,639 --> 00:09:23,960 the ridge line, but nothing about the place felt right. 120 00:09:25,200 --> 00:09:28,200 I kept one hand on the compass, watching it twitch 121 00:09:28,360 --> 00:09:36,679 like a dying insect. Then Raiker stopped. He raised her 122 00:09:36,679 --> 00:09:42,320 hand silently. There, just beyond a thicket of bare brush 123 00:09:42,600 --> 00:09:47,600 and frost laced undergrowth, a small figure stood between two trees, 124 00:09:48,759 --> 00:09:57,399 red coat hood up. She was facing us, watching. Even 125 00:09:57,480 --> 00:10:00,519 in the snow dimmed light, I could see how bright 126 00:10:00,600 --> 00:10:04,399 the coat was, clean and untouched, like it had never 127 00:10:04,480 --> 00:10:08,279 brushed a single branch or patch of mud. She didn't 128 00:10:08,279 --> 00:10:12,799 even look hurt or scared. I lifted the radio, but 129 00:10:12,960 --> 00:10:16,080 Riker grabbed my wrist gently before I get pressed the 130 00:10:16,159 --> 00:10:24,240 call button. Don't he whispered, what, don't engage? Let her go? 131 00:10:27,000 --> 00:10:30,399 I stared at him, trying to read his face, but 132 00:10:30,480 --> 00:10:34,200 he was as blank as the tree line. That's what 133 00:10:34,320 --> 00:10:39,159 we're out here for, I said, stepping forward. She's not alone, 134 00:10:39,759 --> 00:10:43,399 he said. You follow her, you'll find out what she's with. 135 00:10:45,919 --> 00:10:49,960 I hesitated. I told myself he was just being paranoid, 136 00:10:50,399 --> 00:10:52,960 that maybe all these years in the woods had made 137 00:10:53,000 --> 00:10:56,399 him see ghosts, whether or none. He was just a 138 00:10:56,519 --> 00:11:00,679 scared girl, maybe in shock. That's why she wasn't crying, 139 00:11:01,080 --> 00:11:05,679 why she didn't move. I stepped past the thicket, docking 140 00:11:05,720 --> 00:11:10,039 through brittle branches. My boots crunched loudly, and the sound 141 00:11:10,120 --> 00:11:16,919 made her head tilt slightly. And then she moved. She 142 00:11:17,080 --> 00:11:21,600 turned and walked. She weaved between trees, red coat flickering 143 00:11:21,639 --> 00:11:26,559 between trunks like a thread being pulled. I followed, and 144 00:11:26,840 --> 00:11:29,919 just before she slipped behind a thicker cluster of pines, 145 00:11:31,320 --> 00:11:37,080 she turned her head and smiled, like she knew something 146 00:11:37,159 --> 00:11:43,200 I didn't. I kept pushing forward, but she kept slipping away. 147 00:11:44,320 --> 00:11:47,200 Every time I thought I'd close the gap, she'd dart 148 00:11:47,279 --> 00:11:50,559 behind another tree or vanished behind a cluster of brush. 149 00:11:51,919 --> 00:11:55,159 She never ran, just moved fast enough to stay out 150 00:11:55,159 --> 00:12:00,279 of reach. I contemplated why she was moving away from me, 151 00:12:00,759 --> 00:12:03,879 Geared with the familiar colors of search and rescue in 152 00:12:03,960 --> 00:12:08,320 the beginnings of a heavy storm. The only reasonable explanation 153 00:12:08,759 --> 00:12:10,720 would be that she was leading me to someone who 154 00:12:10,799 --> 00:12:15,039 she came with her parent or guardian stuck somewhere nearby. 155 00:12:16,440 --> 00:12:22,360 This only added urgency to the situation. The snow fell 156 00:12:22,399 --> 00:12:26,200 harder now. My boots punched through crust and sank into 157 00:12:26,200 --> 00:12:29,960 the earth beneath. Wind howled through the pines, giving the 158 00:12:30,000 --> 00:12:34,639 illusion of voices cries that almost resolved into words, then 159 00:12:34,759 --> 00:12:40,000 vanished again. My radio was hissing with static. I filmed 160 00:12:40,000 --> 00:12:45,320 the call button anyway, Braiker, I'm tracking her. She's moving 161 00:12:45,399 --> 00:12:49,639 east northeast. I'm going to try, and the signal cracked 162 00:12:49,960 --> 00:12:56,399 and then dropped entirely dead. I stopped for a moment, 163 00:12:56,759 --> 00:13:01,799 fighting the urged to panic. I wasn't trained for solo tracking, 164 00:13:02,399 --> 00:13:05,360 and if something went wrong now, there'd be no one 165 00:13:05,399 --> 00:13:11,120 to triangulate my location. But I'd just seen her clear 166 00:13:11,159 --> 00:13:16,279 as day. If she were injured, confused, or worse, I 167 00:13:16,320 --> 00:13:20,080 couldn't just turn around, And I didn't want to come 168 00:13:20,120 --> 00:13:24,440 back and admit I left a child to die alone 169 00:13:24,679 --> 00:13:31,639 in the cold. So I pressed on the trees, closed 170 00:13:31,639 --> 00:13:36,320 in tighter. Visibility dipped again. My breath came in hitches. 171 00:13:36,360 --> 00:13:44,919 Now then she was gone. I turned in a slow circle, 172 00:13:45,240 --> 00:13:51,039 scanning for movement. Nothing. I checked the ground, but there 173 00:13:51,080 --> 00:13:55,440 were no prints. The air went still, no wind or sound. 174 00:13:56,879 --> 00:13:59,440 I reached for the whistle Wriker had given me and 175 00:13:59,600 --> 00:14:05,480 raised it to my lips. One sharp blast. The sound 176 00:14:05,600 --> 00:14:13,799 bounced through the woods and varnished. I waited. Then an answer, 177 00:14:14,960 --> 00:14:21,600 same pitch, same duration. I exhaled in relief. Riker must 178 00:14:21,600 --> 00:14:26,000 have heard me. He'd be coming now. But then before 179 00:14:26,039 --> 00:14:30,360 I could call again, her voice followed the whistle. It 180 00:14:30,519 --> 00:14:36,759 wasn't Riker's. A soft, lifting voice, clear as day, floated 181 00:14:36,799 --> 00:14:46,440 through the trees. Hello, it was her. I froze. My 182 00:14:46,519 --> 00:14:51,679 brain scrambled to rationalize it. What if I hadn't lost her, 183 00:14:52,039 --> 00:14:55,440 but she lost me, guiding me to somewhere that needed 184 00:14:55,480 --> 00:14:59,559 my attention. I thought about the direction of each sound. 185 00:15:00,240 --> 00:15:03,440 The returning whistle came from behind, where I could only 186 00:15:03,440 --> 00:15:07,240 assume Riker was, but the voice was from her head, 187 00:15:07,720 --> 00:15:12,080 roughly the way I was being led. If she answered, 188 00:15:12,799 --> 00:15:16,639 she was close. I had to reach her, And if 189 00:15:16,759 --> 00:15:19,559 Riker had heard me, he'd be heading my way anyway, 190 00:15:20,320 --> 00:15:25,759 he'd know the grid pattern, he'd catch up. So I 191 00:15:25,840 --> 00:15:32,679 turned toward a voice and moved carefully but quickly. My 192 00:15:32,759 --> 00:15:37,960 compass needle spun once, then stuck, But I pushed forward. 193 00:15:38,519 --> 00:15:42,559 The slope changed under foot, the snow deepened, the trees 194 00:15:42,600 --> 00:15:47,279 grew denser, limbs gnarled and reaching, some wrapped to the vines. 195 00:15:47,360 --> 00:15:51,559 I swore hadn't been there. Minutes ago. I passed under 196 00:15:51,600 --> 00:15:56,360 a natural arch of branches and realized I no longer 197 00:15:56,519 --> 00:16:06,799 recognized the landscape, completely lost. And then I saw her. 198 00:16:07,679 --> 00:16:11,440 A break in the trees revealed a shallow clearing. The 199 00:16:11,440 --> 00:16:14,639 girl in the red coat stood in the middle, hands 200 00:16:14,639 --> 00:16:23,480 set aside, waiting, but she wasn't alone. Behind her, something 201 00:16:23,600 --> 00:16:29,000 tall and gray loomed still as a statue. At first 202 00:16:29,200 --> 00:16:33,159 I thought it was the shade of a tree, but 203 00:16:33,200 --> 00:16:38,519 then it blinked. Its face was wrong, not shaped for eyes, 204 00:16:38,799 --> 00:16:44,960 not made for locking, but it had seen me, and 205 00:16:45,039 --> 00:16:59,039 the girl smiled again. For a heartbeat. None of us moved. 206 00:16:59,519 --> 00:17:02,279 The girl and the red coat stood perfectly still in 207 00:17:02,320 --> 00:17:07,359 the clearing, her boots planted neatly together, her chins slightly lifted, 208 00:17:07,960 --> 00:17:13,720 waiting almost politely with the thing behind her. That's what 209 00:17:13,880 --> 00:17:18,160 froze my breath in my throat. It was hunched low 210 00:17:18,240 --> 00:17:22,240 to the ground, long limbed, like a starving animal, its 211 00:17:22,279 --> 00:17:27,000 joints bent at angles that shouldn't exist. Its skin was smooth, 212 00:17:27,440 --> 00:17:32,240 sickly gray, stretched too thin, like wet paper. Over Stick's 213 00:17:33,119 --> 00:17:36,559 head tilted in my direction as though it was sizing 214 00:17:36,599 --> 00:17:42,119 me up. It didn't move, not an inch, but the 215 00:17:42,160 --> 00:17:47,240 girl did. She turned a little toward me, and then 216 00:17:48,480 --> 00:17:58,000 she spoke, help me, it's so cold. Her voice was soft, warm, 217 00:17:58,759 --> 00:18:04,480 and disturbingly calm, but her mouth didn't open, not even 218 00:18:04,519 --> 00:18:08,799 a twitch. The words just slipped into the air between us, 219 00:18:09,160 --> 00:18:12,960 as though the space itself had spoken them. The thing 220 00:18:13,039 --> 00:18:19,680 behind her shifted, only a tremor, like something contracting unseen muscles. 221 00:18:20,920 --> 00:18:26,240 Looks like you'll be the next one, she said, although 222 00:18:26,279 --> 00:18:29,400 I couldn't make sense of it. My stomach dropped so 223 00:18:29,599 --> 00:18:34,839 hard my knees almost went with it. Then it started 224 00:18:34,960 --> 00:18:39,559 slinking toward me. That was when I realized the girl 225 00:18:39,759 --> 00:18:44,559 wasn't separate, she wasn't herself. They were both sides of 226 00:18:44,599 --> 00:18:49,799 the same coin. She was a luwer, a mask, something 227 00:18:49,839 --> 00:18:53,720 the creature used to draw people in, and the creature, 228 00:18:54,319 --> 00:18:58,839 the real creature, was the thing behind her, the horrifying 229 00:18:58,960 --> 00:19:03,839 mass watching me, breathing without lungs, speaking without a voice. 230 00:19:05,440 --> 00:19:09,920 My heart thundered against my ribs. I stumbled backward, boots 231 00:19:09,920 --> 00:19:14,960 slipping in the snow. My throat tightened, but I couldn't scream. 232 00:19:15,400 --> 00:19:20,000 Panic rose so sharp it felt like electricity. All I 233 00:19:20,039 --> 00:19:28,880 could think was get out. I turned and ran. Branches 234 00:19:28,960 --> 00:19:31,759 slapped my arms, My breath tore out of me in 235 00:19:31,920 --> 00:19:35,720 sharp bursts. The trees blurred and twisted around me as 236 00:19:35,759 --> 00:19:39,640 I sprinted, not caring where I was going, just away 237 00:19:40,359 --> 00:19:43,759 away from that thing, away from its voice inside my head, 238 00:19:44,279 --> 00:19:47,440 away from the smile on her face that shouldn't exist. 239 00:19:48,839 --> 00:19:53,599 But the forest didn't cooperate. Every direction looped back in 240 00:19:53,680 --> 00:19:57,480 on itself. No matter which angle I turned, I hit 241 00:19:57,559 --> 00:20:01,160 the same gnarled birch, the same rot and stump, the 242 00:20:01,200 --> 00:20:04,359 same fork in the path. It was like the woods 243 00:20:04,440 --> 00:20:08,039 were squeezing me inward, nudging me back toward the clearing. 244 00:20:09,400 --> 00:20:13,119 Every shadow felt too close. Every creak of a branch 245 00:20:13,200 --> 00:20:19,079 sounded like a step, and then a wet, scraping sound 246 00:20:19,200 --> 00:20:25,880 behind me, fast getting closer. I stumbled, hitting my knee 247 00:20:25,920 --> 00:20:31,400 hard on a route. I twisted around. The girl stood 248 00:20:31,480 --> 00:20:37,480 five feet away, head tilted behind her. The creature unfolded itself, 249 00:20:37,880 --> 00:20:42,759 rising taller, too tall, its limbs uncoiling like ropes soaked 250 00:20:42,799 --> 00:20:47,839 in oil. It reached toward me, and, if you could 251 00:20:47,839 --> 00:20:53,319 call it that, stretched out fingers like brittle twigs. I 252 00:20:53,400 --> 00:20:57,000 froze in absolute terror as it neared inches away from me. 253 00:20:59,160 --> 00:21:03,279 Then something slammed into me from the side, an arm 254 00:21:03,359 --> 00:21:06,519 hogged around my chest, a hand clamped over my mouth. 255 00:21:07,640 --> 00:21:10,519 I didn't even have time to react. My body was 256 00:21:10,599 --> 00:21:13,960 hauled backward into the brush as the creature's reached slice 257 00:21:14,000 --> 00:21:17,240 through the space where my face had been. My head 258 00:21:17,359 --> 00:21:22,279 hit earth, breath knocked out of me. I thrashed instinctively 259 00:21:23,000 --> 00:21:29,160 until I heard a voice in my ear, quiet riiker. 260 00:21:30,680 --> 00:21:33,680 He dragged me behind a fallen log, keeping one hand 261 00:21:33,720 --> 00:21:37,680 over my mouth and the other gripping something, maybe a knife, 262 00:21:37,920 --> 00:21:42,960 maybe at all. I didn't know. My vision blurred with panic. 263 00:21:44,000 --> 00:21:48,680 I couldn't speak, breathe right, or think. Everything was shaking. 264 00:21:49,759 --> 00:21:54,200 The creature moved into the clearing, searching a shape shifting 265 00:21:54,240 --> 00:21:59,640 in the dark. Its blank head tilted listening. I barely 266 00:21:59,680 --> 00:22:03,160 unders what happened next. I heard a crack of something 267 00:22:03,960 --> 00:22:09,240 metal hitting wood, riker pushing dirt a distraction throne. It 268 00:22:09,359 --> 00:22:12,079 was a scuffle too fast and quiet for my panic 269 00:22:12,200 --> 00:22:18,079 mind to track, but it worked. The creature moved away, 270 00:22:18,599 --> 00:22:22,279 its long limbs folding into the trees, melting into the 271 00:22:22,400 --> 00:22:27,240 darkness without sound. Riker didn't let me move until a 272 00:22:27,279 --> 00:22:31,279 full minute of silence passed. Only then did he whisper, 273 00:22:31,839 --> 00:22:34,720 voice shaky in a way I'd never heard from him. 274 00:22:36,720 --> 00:22:43,880 Don't ever let it near you again. We tumbled down 275 00:22:43,920 --> 00:22:47,720 an embankment, sliding through frost hardened leaves and loose mud 276 00:22:48,160 --> 00:22:51,039 until we crashed through a curtain of pine bows and 277 00:22:51,119 --> 00:22:57,240 into a hollowed out shelter. It wasn't natural canvas, splendid 278 00:22:57,279 --> 00:23:02,279 with dirt, old brush stacked to hide it outline inside, 279 00:23:02,640 --> 00:23:06,519 he was just tall enough to crouch a rusted lantern, 280 00:23:06,559 --> 00:23:11,079 burned low supplies lined the corners, flares, cans of food, 281 00:23:11,599 --> 00:23:14,319 torn mats with years of notes edged in redd ink. 282 00:23:15,680 --> 00:23:18,400 Ryker shoved the flap closed and pressed a hand to 283 00:23:18,440 --> 00:23:21,680 my chest to keep me still. I could feel his 284 00:23:21,759 --> 00:23:28,000 heart beat pounding through his gloves. You okay, he finally asked. 285 00:23:29,519 --> 00:23:33,799 I couldn't speak. I just nodded. He looked me over, 286 00:23:34,279 --> 00:23:36,799 then let out a breath that shock more than it 287 00:23:36,839 --> 00:23:41,839 should of. He sat, leaned back and wiped a hand 288 00:23:41,880 --> 00:23:46,880 down his face in the flickering lantern light. He looked 289 00:23:46,880 --> 00:23:52,799 older than I realized, worn out from a hard life. 290 00:23:53,119 --> 00:23:58,920 You saw it, he said the girl. I nodded again. 291 00:24:00,240 --> 00:24:05,119 He gave a dry, humorless chuckle. She gets better at 292 00:24:05,119 --> 00:24:14,480 pretending every year. I swallowed. What what is it? He 293 00:24:14,559 --> 00:24:19,000 didn't answer right away. Instead, he opened a thermos and 294 00:24:19,079 --> 00:24:23,119 poured two small cups of black coffee. I took mine 295 00:24:23,160 --> 00:24:30,480 with shaking hands. It waits, he said, finally, out there 296 00:24:30,680 --> 00:24:34,480 in that tree line. I've never found any information on it. 297 00:24:35,079 --> 00:24:38,480 I don't know what the hell to call it, but 298 00:24:38,599 --> 00:24:43,160 it takes the shape of something innocent, I said. He 299 00:24:43,240 --> 00:24:49,640 looked at me. She's not innocent, though anything, but she's bait. 300 00:24:50,400 --> 00:24:53,480 It lures with hope, the kind of hope only a 301 00:24:53,480 --> 00:24:59,519 good person would follow. He tapped his chest. You chaste 302 00:24:59,680 --> 00:25:04,759 because you thought she was real, Because you cared. He 303 00:25:04,839 --> 00:25:10,000 leaned forward. Now, eyes wet, voice tight. That's why I 304 00:25:10,079 --> 00:25:12,920 joined Search and Rescue. That's why we all do it, 305 00:25:13,519 --> 00:25:18,039 because we want to help, and it knows that it 306 00:25:18,160 --> 00:25:24,400 waits for people like us. I remembered her smile, the 307 00:25:24,400 --> 00:25:27,680 way it hadn't reached the eyes, and the things standing 308 00:25:27,720 --> 00:25:31,880 behind her. How it didn't speak, but I heard it. 309 00:25:34,200 --> 00:25:37,599 I heard a voice in my head. I whispered, but 310 00:25:38,240 --> 00:25:45,279 it wasn't her talking. Riiker nodded slowly. She's not real. 311 00:25:45,920 --> 00:25:47,960 A rubber worm on the end of a fish huck, 312 00:25:48,440 --> 00:25:51,079 showing whatever it is you need to see so it 313 00:25:51,119 --> 00:25:56,680 can hook you in. I thought about this. If there 314 00:25:56,680 --> 00:26:00,279 are reports of an injured animal or something menial, it'd 315 00:26:00,279 --> 00:26:04,279 be pushed off until after the storm. But the reports 316 00:26:04,319 --> 00:26:07,599 were perfect to get a whole team sent out, a 317 00:26:07,680 --> 00:26:12,000 plethora of victims to choose from. But this also raised 318 00:26:12,079 --> 00:26:17,119 more questions. What does it want? What happens if it 319 00:26:17,200 --> 00:26:23,000 catches you? I asked. Raiker paused, thinking of the best 320 00:26:23,000 --> 00:26:27,759 way to word his response. It wasn't always a girl 321 00:26:28,599 --> 00:26:31,519 when I first saw it, who was a nice old man. 322 00:26:32,319 --> 00:26:35,440 We're on a family trip. I was showing my family 323 00:26:35,519 --> 00:26:40,640 the world. All it took was one touch. It marks you, 324 00:26:41,400 --> 00:26:49,599 curses you. Once you're tagged, you belonged to it. There 325 00:26:49,640 --> 00:26:53,880 was something hollow in his voice. He was cryptic, but 326 00:26:53,960 --> 00:26:59,240 I started piecing it together. Having calmed down somewhat, I 327 00:26:59,279 --> 00:27:02,960 looked around the bar anchor again, the maps, the supplies. 328 00:27:04,240 --> 00:27:08,400 This wasn't a rescue cash, this was a hunting blind, 329 00:27:09,400 --> 00:27:16,880 A war room. You've been tracking it, I said, for years, 330 00:27:17,480 --> 00:27:22,960 he said, before you were ever brought in. He laughed again, 331 00:27:23,720 --> 00:27:29,759 but not humor darker. I've seen others go missing. I've 332 00:27:29,799 --> 00:27:34,000 tried marking its movements, testing how it chooses. I even 333 00:27:34,039 --> 00:27:39,839 tried baiting it once. He didn't elaborate. I didn't ask. 334 00:27:41,400 --> 00:27:44,279 He stared into the corner like it held answers he 335 00:27:44,319 --> 00:27:50,680 hadn't found. I'm slowing down, he admitted. I don't move 336 00:27:50,839 --> 00:27:56,119 like I used to. Visions worse handshake sometimes. You know 337 00:27:56,200 --> 00:27:59,319 how many years I've prepped this place, how many storms 338 00:27:59,319 --> 00:28:04,759 I've waited, hoping i'd find a weakness. He looked at me, 339 00:28:04,839 --> 00:28:11,400 then really looked at me, you know, he said, staring 340 00:28:11,440 --> 00:28:15,039 at the dirt floor. I once heard her say something 341 00:28:15,039 --> 00:28:24,480 to me. I looked up what he swallowed, I forgive you. 342 00:28:28,079 --> 00:28:31,119 The words lingered in the stale air, like a breath 343 00:28:31,160 --> 00:28:35,160 and cold glass. I've been trying to figure out what 344 00:28:35,240 --> 00:28:39,599 I'm being forgiven for ever since, he said. I don't 345 00:28:39,599 --> 00:28:44,880 think she meant it, but god, it almost sounded sincere 346 00:28:47,400 --> 00:28:51,279 I watched him. I'm sure if I should respond. He 347 00:28:51,359 --> 00:28:56,079 seemed lost in the memory, haunted by something. Only he'd witnessed. 348 00:28:57,960 --> 00:29:02,720 Then he straightened up and reached under a tarp in 349 00:29:02,759 --> 00:29:08,559 the corner. He pulled out a weapon, a compact rifle, 350 00:29:08,960 --> 00:29:12,759 lovingly maintained its barrel wrapped in cloth to keep the 351 00:29:12,799 --> 00:29:18,480 cold from seizing the metal. My chest tightened. What are 352 00:29:18,519 --> 00:29:24,960 you doing, Raiker lifted the gun, checked the chamber, and 353 00:29:25,039 --> 00:29:29,640 nodded to himself. This is the best chance I've had 354 00:29:29,640 --> 00:29:34,599 in years, he said. Storm's covering movement. It hunts better 355 00:29:34,680 --> 00:29:39,079 in clear air. You're not going out there, I said, 356 00:29:39,480 --> 00:29:44,559 you can barely. He rolled up his sleeve, and my 357 00:29:44,680 --> 00:29:50,720 words died. His forearm was pale as candlewax, mottled with 358 00:29:50,839 --> 00:29:55,519 deep blue patches. Streaks of white frostbites spied it beneath 359 00:29:55,519 --> 00:30:00,400 the skin, but worse at the center of it, with 360 00:30:00,480 --> 00:30:08,079 the clear impressions of fingers curved inward like hooks, a 361 00:30:08,119 --> 00:30:16,680 perfect handprint. I'm already gone, Reiker said, marked it touched me. 362 00:30:16,839 --> 00:30:22,519 When I hauled you out of the clearing. My stomach dropped. Reriiker, 363 00:30:23,720 --> 00:30:29,759 you didn't feel it. That's good, he breathed out a 364 00:30:29,880 --> 00:30:36,920 shaky but relieved sound. Maybe you'll last longer than I did. 365 00:30:37,799 --> 00:30:41,039 I'm not letting you go alone, I said, rising to 366 00:30:41,119 --> 00:30:44,680 my feet. We can raid you in. Help call the state. Call. 367 00:30:45,720 --> 00:30:49,359 There's no one left a call. He actually smiled at that, 368 00:30:50,039 --> 00:30:53,920 a real smile, the first I'd seen from him, A 369 00:30:54,079 --> 00:30:59,000 small sad thing. You think I haven't tried, he said. 370 00:30:59,799 --> 00:31:02,960 I've done this longer than you've been shaving. I've chased 371 00:31:02,960 --> 00:31:06,400 her for years, hoping i'd find the loophole, a weakness, 372 00:31:06,720 --> 00:31:12,960 a pattern. His hand tightened on the rifle. I never did. 373 00:31:13,759 --> 00:31:18,759 But if I'm going to die anyway, he shrugged, might 374 00:31:18,799 --> 00:31:22,279 as well go out swinging. It's the best excuse I've 375 00:31:22,319 --> 00:31:28,599 ever had. Breaker. Please. My throat was tight, and not 376 00:31:28,799 --> 00:31:33,599 of guilt, helplessness, and something like grief twisted inside me. 377 00:31:35,039 --> 00:31:38,839 This man had saved my life, and it had cost 378 00:31:38,920 --> 00:31:42,960 him his, and now he was walking into the dark 379 00:31:43,319 --> 00:31:47,599 to pay the rest of the price. Alone. He put 380 00:31:47,599 --> 00:31:52,200 a hand on my shoulder. Stay here, no matter what 381 00:31:52,319 --> 00:31:55,559 you hear. When the storm breaks, wait for the team, 382 00:31:56,240 --> 00:32:01,279 walk out when the sun's up. Don't run, don't follow her. 383 00:32:03,480 --> 00:32:07,119 He pulled the flap open. The cold wind slapped my face, 384 00:32:08,359 --> 00:32:12,440 and then he stepped out into the black. I scrambled 385 00:32:12,480 --> 00:32:20,960 toward the exit riker with a flap drop shot. For 386 00:32:21,039 --> 00:32:23,960 a moment, there was only the roar of the storm, 387 00:32:25,559 --> 00:32:35,359 then a gunshot, sharp echoing another, then a scream, raw 388 00:32:36,039 --> 00:32:39,119 torn from someone who had no hope of surviving what 389 00:32:39,240 --> 00:32:48,119 they were facing, and then silence. The storm swallowed everything. 390 00:32:50,640 --> 00:32:54,119 To honor Riika, I did as I was told. I 391 00:32:54,160 --> 00:32:59,160 stayed in the shelter. Hours passed, the lantern dimmed, my 392 00:32:59,240 --> 00:33:02,880 breath fogg in the cold, but I had time to 393 00:33:02,960 --> 00:33:07,640 look around see what he'd really been doing. There were 394 00:33:07,640 --> 00:33:11,480 notes everywhere, wrapped in protective film to stop the elements 395 00:33:11,480 --> 00:33:15,720 at eating the pages. Notes on locations hot and cold, 396 00:33:15,759 --> 00:33:21,799 areas of sightings, unexplained disappearances. It was a clinical detail, 397 00:33:22,359 --> 00:33:27,920 and assimile of the way he presented himself. However, like 398 00:33:28,000 --> 00:33:31,240 I had witnessed something no one else in the Essaar 399 00:33:31,400 --> 00:33:39,240 team had seen besides me, I found his heart, something 400 00:33:39,359 --> 00:33:42,160 so dear that I could almost feel it beating in 401 00:33:42,240 --> 00:33:47,359 my hand. A small square that told a biblical size story, 402 00:33:48,400 --> 00:33:52,160 A worn out polaroid of a happy family with a 403 00:33:52,200 --> 00:33:58,119 snowy backdrop. Riiker, young and full of energy, surrounded by love, 404 00:33:59,200 --> 00:34:03,720 and between him and his partner, a joyous little girl 405 00:34:05,720 --> 00:34:10,800 in a red coat. It must have been taken. Not 406 00:34:10,920 --> 00:34:14,559 long before she was taken, absorbed by the thing that 407 00:34:14,679 --> 00:34:18,639 became his obsession, an incident that turned his story from 408 00:34:18,719 --> 00:34:26,519 growth to loss. Riker never came back. When the blizzard 409 00:34:26,599 --> 00:34:30,360 eased at dawn, I crawled out of the bunker, half 410 00:34:30,400 --> 00:34:35,159 expecting to see him slumped outside, But there was nothing. 411 00:34:36,760 --> 00:34:40,519 Only one thing sat in the mud, untouched by snow, 412 00:34:42,039 --> 00:34:48,079 his old brass whistle. They found me in the early morning, 413 00:34:48,519 --> 00:34:51,679 slumped against a pine stump, with my radio dead and 414 00:34:51,760 --> 00:34:55,679 my coat soaked through. I don't remember what I said, 415 00:34:56,400 --> 00:35:01,000 just that I was called disoriented and alone. Search and 416 00:35:01,039 --> 00:35:05,760 Rescue huddled around, full of panicked questions and relief. I 417 00:35:05,840 --> 00:35:08,760 told them Riker and I got separated in the storm. 418 00:35:09,440 --> 00:35:12,320 I tried to keep to the trail. I must have tripped, 419 00:35:12,559 --> 00:35:16,440 lost my bearings, fell down a slope. I don't remember. 420 00:35:16,760 --> 00:35:21,599 I don't remember. I don't remember. They didn't press further. 421 00:35:22,599 --> 00:35:27,480 Riker's absence said enough. I took a break from essay 422 00:35:27,599 --> 00:35:33,800 r after that, said I needed time. They didn't argue 423 00:35:34,039 --> 00:35:38,639 for a while. I tried to live normal, sleep, work, pretend, 424 00:35:39,760 --> 00:35:43,480 but every creek outside made my breath hitch. I started 425 00:35:43,480 --> 00:35:46,719 watching the tree line through my window, started keeping a 426 00:35:46,719 --> 00:35:50,480 flashlight next my bed started waking up with a sense 427 00:35:50,840 --> 00:35:55,000 that some one had just left the room. A month 428 00:35:55,079 --> 00:36:01,239 passed then too, but I couldn't stay away. It felt 429 00:36:01,280 --> 00:36:06,679 like a compulsion. I signed back up. Some of the 430 00:36:06,719 --> 00:36:11,920 same faces were still around, Carl, Dana, the Captain, but 431 00:36:12,039 --> 00:36:17,559 a lot of new ones too, college kids, drifters, hopefuls. 432 00:36:18,079 --> 00:36:21,760 I kept to myself, did the refresher's course past the 433 00:36:21,840 --> 00:36:28,760 new field drills. I didn't talk about Ryker. Then one evening, 434 00:36:28,880 --> 00:36:33,320 during gear check, the call came in a hiker and 435 00:36:33,440 --> 00:36:38,880 reported seeing someone limping near Deer Hollow Trail mail mid forties, 436 00:36:39,280 --> 00:36:43,400 walking with a pronounced drag like an injury. Every time 437 00:36:43,440 --> 00:36:47,159 they got close, he slipped out of view. The report 438 00:36:47,239 --> 00:36:51,519 said he kept looking back but never called out. Bad 439 00:36:51,559 --> 00:36:54,960 weather was coming in overnight, too cold for someone to 440 00:36:55,000 --> 00:37:01,599 be wandering alone injured. We were mobilized. They split us 441 00:37:01,599 --> 00:37:05,400 into search grids. I was assigned west, just like before, 442 00:37:05,920 --> 00:37:09,199 but talked them into letting me go east, just like before. 443 00:37:10,320 --> 00:37:13,400 They were confused by this, but still unsure of how 444 00:37:13,440 --> 00:37:16,440 to handle me, so let me do my own thing. 445 00:37:17,960 --> 00:37:22,199 My partner this time was Lucy new Girl nervous energy, 446 00:37:22,320 --> 00:37:27,800 but capable. Didn't talk much, which suited me fine. We 447 00:37:27,880 --> 00:37:31,760 hiked through thick frost and bramble, radio's crackling as the 448 00:37:31,760 --> 00:37:36,519 wind picked up. Snow was coming fast, the air already 449 00:37:36,599 --> 00:37:43,440 sharp enough to bite. Then, just like before, a voice 450 00:37:43,639 --> 00:37:51,360 cut through the woods. Hey, it's someone there. My feet 451 00:37:51,440 --> 00:37:57,880 frozen place. It was Riyker's voice. Hey, I am hurt, 452 00:37:58,360 --> 00:38:04,079 need a hand over here. Lucy perked up. That must 453 00:38:04,079 --> 00:38:10,000 be him, But the tone was wrong, the urgency too measured, 454 00:38:10,400 --> 00:38:15,320 too performative compared to the reserved way Riker always presented himself. 455 00:38:16,840 --> 00:38:22,239 I turned slowly between the trees, maybe thirty feet out. 456 00:38:23,159 --> 00:38:27,480 I saw him or the thing wearing him, just the 457 00:38:27,639 --> 00:38:31,119 edge of a figure half hidden behind a birch head 458 00:38:31,199 --> 00:38:35,039 down coat torn at the shoulder, like he wanted me 459 00:38:35,119 --> 00:38:40,119 to come closer, like he didn't think I'd learned. Lucy 460 00:38:40,280 --> 00:38:47,360 started forward. I grabbed her arm hard, don't She looked 461 00:38:47,360 --> 00:38:55,039 at me. But he's he's not not anymore, Lucy shook 462 00:38:55,119 --> 00:39:00,599 me off. What the hell are you talking about? Answer? 463 00:39:01,400 --> 00:39:04,760 My hand instinctively went to my coat pocket, felt the 464 00:39:04,760 --> 00:39:12,440 weight there the whistle. A minute passed, then another, the 465 00:39:12,559 --> 00:39:18,119 vigor stayed still too still, seem the fishmen didn't want 466 00:39:18,159 --> 00:39:21,159 to scare the fish away by tugging the string too much. 467 00:39:23,239 --> 00:39:27,760 I turned back to Lucy, come on, we're heading back. 468 00:39:29,639 --> 00:39:33,760 She started to protest again, but I spoke before she could. 469 00:39:34,639 --> 00:39:37,960 Storms coming in fast. Anyone in that condition wouldn't have 470 00:39:38,039 --> 00:39:42,119 made it this far without shelter. If he's real, he's 471 00:39:42,159 --> 00:39:47,880 already dead. I don't know if she bought it doesn't matter. 472 00:39:48,960 --> 00:39:54,320 She followed. We regrouped with the team. I made my report, 473 00:39:54,880 --> 00:39:58,119 referred to the snow, the wind, the lack of tracks. 474 00:39:58,960 --> 00:40:01,719 I said it didn't match up. I said, we need 475 00:40:01,760 --> 00:40:05,719 better weather, infrared and maybe a drone sweep in the morning. 476 00:40:07,000 --> 00:40:10,280 They logged it, called off the search until the storm passed. 477 00:40:11,639 --> 00:40:15,360 Back at base, I stowed my gear. Then I went 478 00:40:15,400 --> 00:40:20,199 to the locker room. There in my personal bag, beneath 479 00:40:20,239 --> 00:40:24,159 a medical pouch and my backup radio, was the thing 480 00:40:24,599 --> 00:40:31,360 I hadn't dared carry until now, a firearm. Riker's old 481 00:40:31,440 --> 00:40:34,840 side arm. I'd found it hidden in the bunker after 482 00:40:34,880 --> 00:40:40,039 the storm passed, along with his journal, his maps, his mission. 483 00:40:42,239 --> 00:40:45,039 I signed back up for search and rescue because it 484 00:40:45,159 --> 00:40:49,000 was what I knew, But I stayed because it was 485 00:40:49,039 --> 00:40:52,280 what I had to do. I don't know if the 486 00:40:52,320 --> 00:40:57,280 creature can be killed, but I can try. I know 487 00:40:57,400 --> 00:41:03,599 Ryker tried. No, it's my turn.