WEBVTT 1 00:00:08.880 --> 00:00:13.000 I'm from southeast Texas and my encounter happened on land 2 00:00:13.119 --> 00:00:17.679 bordering the Big Thicket National Preserve along the Netches River. 3 00:00:18.480 --> 00:00:21.719 You described the swamplands of this area in Steve Lilly 4 00:00:21.839 --> 00:00:26.399 Number thirteen. My encounter happened forty miles away in a 5 00:00:26.440 --> 00:00:30.120 small town called Spurger. I've been in the woods hunting 6 00:00:30.120 --> 00:00:32.679 and fishing all my life and never had a strange 7 00:00:32.719 --> 00:00:37.640 occurrence until twenty twenty four. During the deer season. It 8 00:00:37.719 --> 00:00:40.079 was both seasons in December, and I was spending as 9 00:00:40.159 --> 00:00:43.079 much time in the woods as I could. It was 10 00:00:43.119 --> 00:00:46.039 a rare year when it snowed here in our area, 11 00:00:46.560 --> 00:00:50.280 and I wanted to bag a deer. I slept out 12 00:00:50.280 --> 00:00:53.359 into the woods at two PM and started walking to 13 00:00:53.520 --> 00:00:56.039 a big flat that I knew of where I thought 14 00:00:56.119 --> 00:00:59.479 some deer and hogs might be. And when I got there, 15 00:00:59.560 --> 00:01:03.520 the woods were dead silent. I didn't think much of it, 16 00:01:03.560 --> 00:01:08.239 so I just sat down and I waited. Fifteen minutes later, 17 00:01:08.599 --> 00:01:10.959 maybe one hundred yards away, on the other side of 18 00:01:11.000 --> 00:01:14.599 the flat, I caught movement and I READI my Mossberg 19 00:01:14.719 --> 00:01:18.359 Model five hundred. I assumed I was looking at a 20 00:01:18.400 --> 00:01:21.200 hog because it was low to the ground and dark 21 00:01:21.319 --> 00:01:24.879 reddish brown. All of a sudden, this thing stood up 22 00:01:24.920 --> 00:01:28.359 on two legs. It was at least eight feet tall, 23 00:01:28.920 --> 00:01:32.519 and I was petrified. I had always believed in bigfoot 24 00:01:32.560 --> 00:01:35.799 and had listened to your podcast, but I couldn't believe 25 00:01:35.840 --> 00:01:38.280 one was standing right in front of me, only one 26 00:01:38.319 --> 00:01:42.159 hundred yards away. Just when I thought the creature was 27 00:01:42.200 --> 00:01:45.159 about to leave, I heard a loud whoop to my right. 28 00:01:46.040 --> 00:01:48.200 Then I watched the creature in front of me lean 29 00:01:48.239 --> 00:01:53.200 his head back, cup his mouth and whooped back. This 30 00:01:53.280 --> 00:01:55.799 scared the crap out of me, and I started running. 31 00:01:56.719 --> 00:01:59.719 I'm a state qualifier in the one mile run on 32 00:01:59.799 --> 00:02:02.519 the track and in the three point two mile run 33 00:02:02.560 --> 00:02:06.319 across country, but I haven't ever run as fast as 34 00:02:06.359 --> 00:02:09.759 I did in those woods that day. I made it 35 00:02:09.800 --> 00:02:12.360 to my four wheeler and I left, and I have 36 00:02:12.560 --> 00:02:16.280 never been back since. Thanks for listening to my story. 37 00:02:16.719 --> 00:02:19.159 I'm a huge fan. Thank you man. Thank you for 38 00:02:19.199 --> 00:02:22.159 being a fan and sending the letter in. This is 39 00:02:22.280 --> 00:02:25.520 a teenage boy who sent this in. I thought this 40 00:02:25.680 --> 00:02:29.039 was a good story. Thank you very much, sir. All right, 41 00:02:29.039 --> 00:02:31.879 all right, welcome to the podcast. I appreciate you clicking 42 00:02:31.919 --> 00:02:35.400 on the video. I really do appreciate it. Got a 43 00:02:35.400 --> 00:02:38.560 couple of things to say here. First, my brother works 44 00:02:38.599 --> 00:02:42.000 with a man. I was in my brother's office not 45 00:02:42.120 --> 00:02:45.159 too long ago, and this guy said are you Are 46 00:02:45.199 --> 00:02:48.240 you Cam Buckner And I said yeah. He said, you 47 00:02:48.280 --> 00:02:51.479 tell those stories on YouTube and a podcast, don't you. 48 00:02:51.479 --> 00:02:54.639 I said yeah. He said, my grandfather listens to your 49 00:02:54.719 --> 00:02:57.879 podcast as much as he can, really likes it. And 50 00:02:57.919 --> 00:03:00.680 I said, well, what's his name? He told so I 51 00:03:00.719 --> 00:03:04.639 wanted to say hi to Lynn Cornelius. Lynn is a 52 00:03:05.000 --> 00:03:09.280 champion archer. He's about my age, and he's had to 53 00:03:09.280 --> 00:03:12.719 put down shooting a bow because he's got back problems. 54 00:03:12.759 --> 00:03:14.919 And I hear he's gonna have to have his knee 55 00:03:14.960 --> 00:03:18.479 replaced pretty soon. I don't do this hardly ever. I 56 00:03:18.479 --> 00:03:21.919 don't say hi to people like you know, there's I 57 00:03:21.919 --> 00:03:23.960 don't know, I just don't think of it or whatever. 58 00:03:24.319 --> 00:03:26.280 But this man lives right here in my town. I 59 00:03:26.319 --> 00:03:28.719 want to say hi to Lynn. I haven't met Lynn, 60 00:03:28.719 --> 00:03:31.639 but I hope to meet him someday. Anyway, Lynn, thanks 61 00:03:31.639 --> 00:03:34.400 for listening to the podcast. I really appreciate you. Okay. 62 00:03:34.439 --> 00:03:37.680 The other thing I wanted to tell y'all is or 63 00:03:37.960 --> 00:03:42.120 ask you have y'all tried the new hamburger at McDonald's 64 00:03:42.199 --> 00:03:45.719 called the Big Arch. I'm not a big McDonald's fan. 65 00:03:45.919 --> 00:03:49.039 I kind of like their fish sandwiches. I like their 66 00:03:49.080 --> 00:03:54.080 French fries. My wife likes the frape's, the caramel frape. 67 00:03:54.240 --> 00:03:56.680 She's a freak for those things. She loves them. But 68 00:03:56.879 --> 00:03:58.919 she's like me, she doesn't really care for the food. 69 00:03:59.360 --> 00:04:01.759 But I had to try that Big Arch not too 70 00:04:01.800 --> 00:04:04.680 long ago, and it just didn't do anything for me. 71 00:04:05.199 --> 00:04:07.680 I mean, it wasn't bad, but it wasn't that great. 72 00:04:09.080 --> 00:04:12.280 I'm a Burger King guy. I love a double whopper 73 00:04:12.319 --> 00:04:16.279 with cheese. Also like a Wendy's triple Man. That is 74 00:04:16.319 --> 00:04:20.759 a delicious burger. I like five guys. I like hardyseburgers. 75 00:04:21.560 --> 00:04:25.480 I like the Sonic double cheeseburger. But my favorite is 76 00:04:25.519 --> 00:04:28.920 the Burger King Whopper. About once every two years, i'm 77 00:04:28.959 --> 00:04:31.879 real hungry and I get a triple whopper. Oh man, 78 00:04:31.920 --> 00:04:34.639 the more meat the better. Anyway, I was just thinking 79 00:04:34.680 --> 00:04:36.600 the other day while I was eating that Big Arch 80 00:04:36.639 --> 00:04:39.720 and not being very impressed. I wonder what you guys 81 00:04:39.759 --> 00:04:42.160 in the audience like to eat in fast foods. Let 82 00:04:42.160 --> 00:04:45.040 me know in the comments section. What's your favorite fast 83 00:04:45.079 --> 00:04:48.319 food is. I don't eat it much. I usually pick 84 00:04:48.399 --> 00:04:52.519 up something maybe once every two weeks or so. Sometimes 85 00:04:52.600 --> 00:04:56.040 once a week. I'll get something small, the double fishful. 86 00:04:56.160 --> 00:04:58.120 I like to get the fish file at at McDonald's 87 00:04:58.160 --> 00:05:00.279 and get them to put two pieces of fish it. 88 00:05:00.279 --> 00:05:02.959 It's pretty good. Anyway, I'm just rambling. I was just 89 00:05:03.000 --> 00:05:05.680 wondering what y'all thought if y'all tried the big Arch, 90 00:05:06.079 --> 00:05:08.800 if y'all tried the new Whopper, you know, the new Whopper. 91 00:05:08.879 --> 00:05:12.240 The Whopper is new and improved. It's got real mayonnaise 92 00:05:12.279 --> 00:05:14.160 on it now. And they changed their bun, and I 93 00:05:14.279 --> 00:05:17.480 was worried the bun would be dusty, you know, dry 94 00:05:17.519 --> 00:05:20.079 and dusty and fall apart. But it's not. It holds 95 00:05:20.079 --> 00:05:24.439 together pretty good. Probably full of preservatives and things unhealthy 96 00:05:24.519 --> 00:05:27.720 for us, but it was really good. It's better than 97 00:05:27.759 --> 00:05:30.519 it was two months ago. Anyway, let me know what 98 00:05:30.600 --> 00:05:32.839 y'all like in the fast food realm. All right, let's 99 00:05:32.879 --> 00:05:36.319 get on with this podcast. Thanks for indulging my tangent. 100 00:05:36.600 --> 00:05:38.839 I appreciate you. I think I've got three or four 101 00:05:38.879 --> 00:05:46.439 stories in this podcast. All right, here we go. My 102 00:05:46.560 --> 00:05:51.000 first encounter with sasquatch happened in the nineteen seventies when 103 00:05:51.040 --> 00:05:55.000 my family lived in southern Oregon, south of Grant's Pass, 104 00:05:55.480 --> 00:05:59.240 in a heavily wooded area. Our house set on a 105 00:05:59.240 --> 00:06:01.480 little dirt road in the woods at the base of 106 00:06:01.519 --> 00:06:04.600 a large mountain, with some cleared land for hay and 107 00:06:04.839 --> 00:06:09.800 sheep grazing. One evening, my brother and his friend volunteered 108 00:06:09.839 --> 00:06:12.360 to prepare dinner while my mom and I were in 109 00:06:12.399 --> 00:06:16.680 the living room watching TV. Down the short hallway, I 110 00:06:16.680 --> 00:06:19.480 could hear my older brother and his friend talking and 111 00:06:19.600 --> 00:06:23.879 laughing and having a good time. Suddenly they went silent. 112 00:06:25.040 --> 00:06:27.639 My mother called out to them, but got no response. 113 00:06:28.399 --> 00:06:31.959 We exchanged worried looks and quickly went down the hall 114 00:06:32.040 --> 00:06:34.759 to the kitchen to find my brother and his friend 115 00:06:34.800 --> 00:06:40.319 frozen like statues, paralyzed by fear, and staring at the 116 00:06:40.439 --> 00:06:43.920 kitchen window. I turned my head to see what they 117 00:06:43.920 --> 00:06:47.199 were looking at, and in an instant, my life changed. 118 00:06:47.879 --> 00:06:51.720 Looking into the kitchen was a ssquatch. It was tall 119 00:06:51.839 --> 00:06:54.360 enough to look into the window that was eight feet 120 00:06:54.439 --> 00:06:57.759 off the ground, and wide enough that its shoulder extended 121 00:06:57.839 --> 00:07:01.920 past either side of the frame. Its face was twice 122 00:07:01.959 --> 00:07:04.600 the size of a human's and so close to the 123 00:07:04.680 --> 00:07:08.839 window that it fogged the glass with each breath. Its 124 00:07:08.879 --> 00:07:12.720 skin was pale and its hair was gray and white. 125 00:07:12.800 --> 00:07:15.680 Its eyes shifted upward to my mom, who was standing 126 00:07:15.680 --> 00:07:20.160 directly behind me. Its curious stare turned hostile, and it 127 00:07:20.199 --> 00:07:23.839 began to snarl like a dog, its lips thinning and 128 00:07:24.199 --> 00:07:29.279 head lowering and a threatening posture. Its anger was clearly visible, 129 00:07:30.040 --> 00:07:31.959 and what I didn't know at the time was that 130 00:07:32.000 --> 00:07:35.720 my mom had been involved in witchcraft, the bad kind 131 00:07:35.759 --> 00:07:41.720 of witchcraft, the kind that summons dark things into your house. Somehow, 132 00:07:41.759 --> 00:07:46.639 the sysquatch sensed it about her, and it reacted. My 133 00:07:46.720 --> 00:07:49.480 mother was too scared to move. I turned to look 134 00:07:49.480 --> 00:07:52.279 at her, and when I looked back, it had disappeared. 135 00:07:53.439 --> 00:07:55.600 I stepped over to my brother and his friend to 136 00:07:55.639 --> 00:07:59.120 shake their arms, but their muscles were so tense they 137 00:07:59.160 --> 00:08:02.560 barely moved. I looked at my mother again and she 138 00:08:02.680 --> 00:08:05.839 was still frozen. I called out to her, but she 139 00:08:05.879 --> 00:08:09.519 wouldn't respond, so at that point I got a little scared. 140 00:08:10.519 --> 00:08:12.639 The three of them stayed that way for a couple 141 00:08:12.720 --> 00:08:16.959 more minutes before finally snapping out of it. For months 142 00:08:17.000 --> 00:08:19.279 after that event, I had to walk down that little 143 00:08:19.319 --> 00:08:23.199 dirt road alone to catch the school bus every morning. 144 00:08:23.240 --> 00:08:26.480 I was terrified of what I couldn't see, of what 145 00:08:26.639 --> 00:08:29.879 was watching me from the woods. But sometimes I could 146 00:08:29.920 --> 00:08:33.159 hear something else out there keeping pace with me, and 147 00:08:33.240 --> 00:08:37.279 I knew it was that sisquatch. Occasionally I could even 148 00:08:37.360 --> 00:08:41.879 see him out there, his grayish white outline clearly visible 149 00:08:42.080 --> 00:08:45.919 against the darkness of the forest. I saw him many 150 00:08:45.960 --> 00:08:50.360 times afterward, and eventually I grew comfortable with his quiet, 151 00:08:50.399 --> 00:08:55.519 distant presence. I got the impression that he was considerably older, 152 00:08:56.159 --> 00:08:59.159 a loner of sorts, and had taken a liking to 153 00:08:59.200 --> 00:09:03.759 me for some reason. After years of other sightings, I 154 00:09:03.799 --> 00:09:06.559 had the chance to interact with them. I bought a 155 00:09:06.639 --> 00:09:10.360 Native American finger flute at the old trading post in 156 00:09:10.440 --> 00:09:14.200 a nearby town, and one evening just over a month ago, 157 00:09:14.679 --> 00:09:17.679 I visited a spot where they've been coming regularly for 158 00:09:17.720 --> 00:09:21.919 the last few years, right before dark. I was given 159 00:09:21.960 --> 00:09:25.240 a small tour of the area and shown many signs 160 00:09:25.279 --> 00:09:28.519 of their visits. I left the flute lying on the 161 00:09:28.559 --> 00:09:31.799 picnic table on the hilltop and the woods and I 162 00:09:31.879 --> 00:09:34.600 sat in the vista area down below to wait for 163 00:09:34.679 --> 00:09:40.000 the Sasquatches to come and they did. At least four 164 00:09:40.120 --> 00:09:43.080 or five of them showed up that evening. We could 165 00:09:43.120 --> 00:09:47.639 hear their heavy footfalls crunching through the woods, each step muffled, 166 00:09:48.000 --> 00:09:52.480 sometimes breaking branches, along with the unusual knocks, whoops, and 167 00:09:52.519 --> 00:09:56.759 whistles and chirps and grunts and growls as they communicated 168 00:09:56.799 --> 00:10:01.120 with each other. Forty five minutes after after sunset, I 169 00:10:01.159 --> 00:10:03.679 heard the sound of a flute from atop the hill 170 00:10:03.799 --> 00:10:07.679 two hundred yards away. It was faint at first, and 171 00:10:07.720 --> 00:10:12.480 then suddenly loud as one of them started wailing on it. 172 00:10:12.480 --> 00:10:16.480 It was an incredible special thing to witness. I've been 173 00:10:16.519 --> 00:10:20.919 studying and researching them for forty three years now. I've 174 00:10:20.919 --> 00:10:24.600 been blessed to see sixty different sidequatches, and I've been 175 00:10:24.639 --> 00:10:31.759 blessed to hear them dozens of times more than that. Okay, 176 00:10:31.759 --> 00:10:35.559 here's a short little dog story that I got a 177 00:10:35.600 --> 00:10:38.639 few weeks ago. I thought it was really good. When 178 00:10:38.679 --> 00:10:41.559 the van door opened, my four great nephews and nieces 179 00:10:41.679 --> 00:10:46.159 rushed out like a tumbling waterfall. Excitedly, they ran into 180 00:10:46.240 --> 00:10:49.320 the house and yelled in unison, Mom, there's a dog 181 00:10:49.399 --> 00:10:52.480 in the front yard. Can we keep it? Please? Please? 182 00:10:52.519 --> 00:10:55.639 Can we keep it? Before their mom could answer, they 183 00:10:55.639 --> 00:10:59.759 were already petting the most pitiful looking dog you could imagine. 184 00:11:00.440 --> 00:11:03.279 This poor thing was dirty as a mud pie, and 185 00:11:03.279 --> 00:11:06.240 its hair was matted and knotted for months of neglect, 186 00:11:06.639 --> 00:11:11.360 and it smelled like last week's garbage. On closer inspection 187 00:11:11.559 --> 00:11:14.440 by their mom, it was determined that it was a female. 188 00:11:15.159 --> 00:11:17.840 She had crushed all over her eyes and ambled as 189 00:11:17.919 --> 00:11:20.960 if it were her last steps on earth, and with 190 00:11:21.039 --> 00:11:24.240 pleading eyes, all four kids begged their mother to keep 191 00:11:24.240 --> 00:11:28.279 her to them. It wasn't a dirty, stinking dog, it 192 00:11:28.399 --> 00:11:33.159 was a living creature who needed love. They named her Mercy. 193 00:11:33.840 --> 00:11:36.120 She got a good bath and a flee shampoo, and 194 00:11:36.200 --> 00:11:39.039 her hair was blow dried as if she were a queen. 195 00:11:39.759 --> 00:11:42.240 They made a bed for her with blankets, and she 196 00:11:42.320 --> 00:11:47.720 fell asleep. Mercy had had a rough life. Mom took 197 00:11:47.759 --> 00:11:49.559 her to the vet the next day and the news 198 00:11:49.679 --> 00:11:53.679 was not good. She was thirteen years old, probably blind, 199 00:11:53.960 --> 00:11:57.919 and had arthritis in her hips and legs. She also 200 00:11:58.159 --> 00:12:02.879 had an embedded chip she had belonged to someone. The 201 00:12:02.960 --> 00:12:07.279 chip information revealed the family's name and address. They were called, 202 00:12:07.320 --> 00:12:10.519 and after a brief conversation, they asked that the dog 203 00:12:10.919 --> 00:12:15.399 not be returned. They did not want her back. Their 204 00:12:15.440 --> 00:12:18.360 son had been in a terrible car accident and needed 205 00:12:18.399 --> 00:12:21.679 long term care, and caring for Mercy was too much 206 00:12:21.720 --> 00:12:26.159 for them. The poor dog had traveled fifteen miles from 207 00:12:26.200 --> 00:12:30.039 where her owners lived. She had suffered through cold nights 208 00:12:30.120 --> 00:12:33.559 and hunger and thirst, and somehow had stopped at the 209 00:12:33.639 --> 00:12:39.279 right house. Mercy lived two more years. Sophia, the youngest 210 00:12:39.279 --> 00:12:41.799 of the family, would wrap her up and carry her 211 00:12:41.879 --> 00:12:45.240 like a baby. She would sing to her too. The 212 00:12:45.320 --> 00:12:50.360 song went like this, I'm not gonna sing it, Mercy, Mercy. 213 00:12:50.519 --> 00:12:53.159 She likes to go to work, work, work, tork twork. 214 00:12:54.120 --> 00:12:55.559 I wish I could put a tune to that, but 215 00:12:55.600 --> 00:12:59.519 I can't sing. Mercy would be let out in the 216 00:12:59.559 --> 00:13:02.320 backyard to do her business, and as soon as the 217 00:13:02.360 --> 00:13:04.759 door was open, she would run out like a puppy 218 00:13:04.759 --> 00:13:08.159 with new legs. When she was ready, she would walk 219 00:13:08.200 --> 00:13:11.559 back in slower now, as the aches in her legs 220 00:13:11.639 --> 00:13:16.679 reminded her of her advanced years. For those fleeting moments, however, 221 00:13:16.759 --> 00:13:21.399 she remembered her puppy life. Eventually, she could not walk 222 00:13:21.440 --> 00:13:24.600 well and would stumble and lose her balance, and then 223 00:13:24.639 --> 00:13:27.559 she stopped eating, and it was decided to put her 224 00:13:27.600 --> 00:13:31.320 to sleep. There wasn't a dry eye in the house 225 00:13:31.399 --> 00:13:33.960 as she was taken to the vet for the last time. 226 00:13:34.840 --> 00:13:38.039 She was cremated, and her ashes are still with the family. 227 00:13:38.879 --> 00:13:41.639 That old dog couldn't have stumbled upon a more loving 228 00:13:41.720 --> 00:13:45.480 family that day. It's hard to say who was luckier, though, 229 00:13:45.840 --> 00:13:48.879 Mercy or the family who had the joy of loving 230 00:13:48.919 --> 00:13:52.919 her for the final years of her life. Oh what 231 00:13:53.039 --> 00:13:57.799 a good story. I just love these dog stories. Please, 232 00:13:57.919 --> 00:14:00.919 if you have a dog story, send me more. I 233 00:14:00.960 --> 00:14:04.159 know I've got probably a half a dozen left to do. 234 00:14:04.320 --> 00:14:07.360 And you know this isn't really a dog story channel, 235 00:14:07.720 --> 00:14:11.879 but I like throwing them in, so this is good 236 00:14:11.919 --> 00:14:13.879 for me. I don't know. I have a lot of 237 00:14:13.919 --> 00:14:16.000 thoughts on dogs, and I could go on and on 238 00:14:16.080 --> 00:14:20.799 about it, but they really are special animals. They're domesticated animals, 239 00:14:20.799 --> 00:14:26.679 and they absolutely need humans to survive. They need pack leaders. 240 00:14:27.000 --> 00:14:31.440 They're not like coodies or wolves or they are pack animals, 241 00:14:31.480 --> 00:14:33.639 but they need a human to lead them anyway. That's 242 00:14:33.639 --> 00:14:36.320 all I'm gonna say. I love this dog story, and 243 00:14:36.360 --> 00:14:39.440 I'm so glad this family took that dog in. And 244 00:14:39.519 --> 00:14:42.440 it doesn't matter if a dog's old or young. You 245 00:14:42.440 --> 00:14:44.720 can give that dog a good home and a good 246 00:14:44.759 --> 00:14:49.200 life anytime you want so. Great story, great dog story, 247 00:14:49.240 --> 00:14:56.080 Thank you very much. My current position is a federal 248 00:14:56.120 --> 00:15:01.360 swat officer on a specialized response team. It requires intentional 249 00:15:01.480 --> 00:15:08.600 omissions for personal safety and to maintain professional confidentiality. After 250 00:15:08.679 --> 00:15:12.279 fifteen years as a patrol officer and a SWAT operator, 251 00:15:12.600 --> 00:15:16.039 I thought I'd seen it all. I've tracked murderers deep 252 00:15:16.120 --> 00:15:19.799 into the woods. I've searched dope houses where the walls 253 00:15:19.879 --> 00:15:24.279 sweated rot, where mattresses crawled with bed bugs, and the 254 00:15:24.360 --> 00:15:29.000 air tasted like burnt chemicals and mold. I've locked eyes 255 00:15:29.039 --> 00:15:33.679 with men whose souls had already fled, pupils stretched wide, 256 00:15:33.919 --> 00:15:39.720 glassed over, staring straight through me. The physical scars, they're real, 257 00:15:40.080 --> 00:15:43.799 they're etched into my skin, But it's the memories that 258 00:15:43.879 --> 00:15:49.320 stay loud. It was October twenty eight, just after twenty 259 00:15:49.360 --> 00:15:53.240 three hundred hours. The world outside my cruiser was a 260 00:15:53.240 --> 00:15:56.559 mailstrom of wind and rain, the kind that feels like 261 00:15:56.639 --> 00:16:01.120 ice needles on your exposed skin, ord like it always 262 00:16:01.279 --> 00:16:06.639 does with that voice from dispatch, calm, professional reading from 263 00:16:06.720 --> 00:16:09.440 a glowing terminal, like she wasn't about to walk me 264 00:16:09.519 --> 00:16:13.919 into something I'll never forget. Sera nine oh four, respond 265 00:16:14.000 --> 00:16:18.759 to nine to one one, call possible livestock mauling, frantic 266 00:16:18.960 --> 00:16:24.840 elderly male, came the voice from dispatch. Normally I would 267 00:16:24.879 --> 00:16:27.399 chalk it up to a mountain lion, maybe a rogue 268 00:16:27.480 --> 00:16:32.120 black bear. That standard fair in the sticks within My 269 00:16:32.240 --> 00:16:36.039 cell rang and dispatch patched the original nine to one 270 00:16:36.120 --> 00:16:39.679 one audio recording to my phone. And I'll never forget 271 00:16:39.720 --> 00:16:43.279 that voice crackling through the rain. In the static, the 272 00:16:43.360 --> 00:16:47.159 old man was sobbing. He wasn't just afraid, he was broken. 273 00:16:47.919 --> 00:16:51.200 His breath hitched with every word. A sound that drilled 274 00:16:51.200 --> 00:16:56.360 into my bones, that was, he stammered, his voice thin 275 00:16:56.480 --> 00:16:58.639 and ready, like a wire about to snap. 276 00:16:59.240 --> 00:17:03.559 I've ever seen as black as pitch, eyes like fire, 277 00:17:03.639 --> 00:17:06.799 And the way it moved fast, it was too fast, 278 00:17:06.920 --> 00:17:08.799 like a shadow ripping through the air. 279 00:17:10.000 --> 00:17:13.519 He trailed off. His voice was brittle, as if speaking 280 00:17:13.599 --> 00:17:16.440 about it was enough to invite it back, as if 281 00:17:16.480 --> 00:17:20.359 the very air around him still vibrated with its presence. 282 00:17:21.319 --> 00:17:24.119 And then a choked, sob raw and desperate. 283 00:17:24.279 --> 00:17:27.279 God help me, I sound it made. 284 00:17:28.519 --> 00:17:31.920 I flipped on my emergency lights, the red and blue 285 00:17:31.960 --> 00:17:36.319 glow stuttered across the trees, stretching shadows out like limbs. 286 00:17:37.240 --> 00:17:41.119 I punched the address into my unit's GPS. The ranch 287 00:17:41.160 --> 00:17:44.240 set far outside of town, nestled against the base of 288 00:17:44.279 --> 00:17:47.720 a thick pine ridge, a pocket of isolation that cell 289 00:17:47.839 --> 00:17:53.480 towers barely reached. I drove and the rain intensified, a 290 00:17:53.559 --> 00:17:57.599 solid sheet of cold water, slicing down, clinging to the windshield. 291 00:17:58.519 --> 00:18:02.000 The wind screamed across the highway, a high pitched moan 292 00:18:02.160 --> 00:18:04.960 through the skeletal branches of the trees, like a living 293 00:18:05.079 --> 00:18:09.519 thing in agony. It took fifteen minutes to reach the turnoff. 294 00:18:10.279 --> 00:18:12.880 The old ranch road was little more than a muddy 295 00:18:12.880 --> 00:18:17.599 scar through the woods, winding deeper into the blackness. My 296 00:18:17.680 --> 00:18:21.200 tires slipped more than once, growing in protest, and I 297 00:18:21.240 --> 00:18:24.440 nearly got stuck for good at the final treacherous ben. 298 00:18:26.039 --> 00:18:28.640 When I finally pulled into the property, I turned off 299 00:18:28.640 --> 00:18:31.680 the lights, I killed the engine, and I stepped out. 300 00:18:32.400 --> 00:18:37.039 That's when I felt it static, that deep down, narrow 301 00:18:37.359 --> 00:18:41.720 level alertness. It's one they don't teach you at the academy. 302 00:18:42.400 --> 00:18:45.559 Not the edge of your seat adrenaline of a foot pursuit, 303 00:18:45.960 --> 00:18:49.839 not the sharp fear before a breach. No, this was different. 304 00:18:50.759 --> 00:18:54.039 It crawled under the skin like ice water. It was 305 00:18:54.079 --> 00:18:57.559 a sensation without a source, like the world had gone 306 00:18:57.720 --> 00:19:02.039 just one degree too quiet, effecating vacuum, Like the shadows 307 00:19:02.079 --> 00:19:05.599 were pressing closer than they should, not just dimming the light, 308 00:19:05.720 --> 00:19:11.319 but consuming it whole, like I wasn't alone, And if 309 00:19:11.359 --> 00:19:14.880 you felt it, you know exactly what I mean. Some 310 00:19:15.000 --> 00:19:19.880 officers get stuck with drunks. Others are magnets for DV calls. 311 00:19:20.480 --> 00:19:20.559 Me. 312 00:19:21.400 --> 00:19:24.400 I get the ones where something doesn't line up, where 313 00:19:24.440 --> 00:19:27.359 the air feels heavier than it should, and the silence 314 00:19:27.440 --> 00:19:32.880 starts watching you. They call them suspicious circumstances. It's what 315 00:19:32.920 --> 00:19:35.599 they say when something's wrong, but no one wants to 316 00:19:35.640 --> 00:19:39.200 admit how wrong it is. It's a phrase dressed in 317 00:19:39.359 --> 00:19:44.160 sterile intent, meant to keep it clean and measured. But 318 00:19:44.240 --> 00:19:47.279 what it really means is this, You're not gonna like 319 00:19:47.359 --> 00:19:51.039 what you find. No other officer in this valley has 320 00:19:51.119 --> 00:19:54.319 responded to more of these than I have. It's not 321 00:19:54.400 --> 00:19:58.640 a badge of honor, it's a weight. The old ranch 322 00:19:58.680 --> 00:20:01.960 house was dark, a weather beaten shell of timber and 323 00:20:02.079 --> 00:20:05.920 rusted metal that looked like it had been abandoned decades ago. 324 00:20:06.920 --> 00:20:10.240 There was no porch lie, there was no movement. The 325 00:20:10.279 --> 00:20:13.039 only sign of life was the faintest flicker from a 326 00:20:13.079 --> 00:20:17.960 single window. Then the front door creaked open, groaning on 327 00:20:18.119 --> 00:20:22.799 rusted hinges. There stood the old man. He was a wraith, 328 00:20:23.799 --> 00:20:26.799 wrapped in a threadbare wool blanket that clung to him 329 00:20:26.880 --> 00:20:32.279 like wet paper, barely concealing his trembling. His eyes were white. 330 00:20:32.519 --> 00:20:36.519 They were dilated, darting frantically from side to side, like 331 00:20:36.640 --> 00:20:40.440 prey that knew the predator wasn't far off, that it 332 00:20:40.480 --> 00:20:43.359 was still lurking just beyond the periphery of his vision. 333 00:20:44.440 --> 00:20:47.279 They held a haunted, vacant look, as if he'd seen 334 00:20:47.400 --> 00:20:51.319 things no human was meant to see. Come this way, 335 00:20:51.640 --> 00:20:55.160 he said, his voice barely audible over the howl of 336 00:20:55.160 --> 00:20:58.359 the storm. He didn't speak again as he led me, 337 00:20:58.680 --> 00:21:02.279 stumbling rather than past the main barn and through a 338 00:21:02.319 --> 00:21:05.680 thicket of broken fencing and trample brush. It looked like 339 00:21:05.720 --> 00:21:09.519 a herd of stampeding elk hauld pass through the chicken 340 00:21:09.559 --> 00:21:11.720 coop looked like it had been hit by a bomb. 341 00:21:12.279 --> 00:21:16.680 Wooden slats were splintered outward, and jagged edges pointing accusingly 342 00:21:16.759 --> 00:21:20.599 at the stormy sky, as if something enormous had ripped 343 00:21:20.599 --> 00:21:27.079 its way in with a grotesque, unimaginable strength. Feathers bloodied 344 00:21:27.119 --> 00:21:31.119 and matted. It covered the ground in a wide, macabre art, 345 00:21:31.480 --> 00:21:35.279 and inside was carnage. There were dead chickens everywhere, their 346 00:21:35.319 --> 00:21:40.839 small bodies mangled beyond recognition, half eaten. Not the clean 347 00:21:40.920 --> 00:21:44.200 punctures of a bobcat or a blunt trauma of a bear. 348 00:21:45.119 --> 00:21:49.920 These birds had been shredded, torn apart, with deliberate, sadistic cruelty. 349 00:21:50.960 --> 00:21:52.920 I turned to question the old man, but he was 350 00:21:52.960 --> 00:21:57.079 already stumbling, his gaunt frame swaying toward the lamb pin. 351 00:21:58.000 --> 00:22:01.720 That's when the smell hit me. It was a suffocating 352 00:22:01.880 --> 00:22:06.559 wave of rot. It was musty, wet fur, and something else, 353 00:22:06.559 --> 00:22:11.519 something utterly alien and foul. It was sour, like spoiled meat. 354 00:22:12.440 --> 00:22:15.960 My stomach turned, and a burning acid rose in my throat, 355 00:22:16.440 --> 00:22:19.599 and I fought down the urge to vomit. The lamb 356 00:22:19.640 --> 00:22:24.880 pin was worse, far, far worse. The bodies of six 357 00:22:25.039 --> 00:22:29.279 young lambs lay strewn like broken dolls, their tiny limbs 358 00:22:29.359 --> 00:22:33.920 twisted at impossible angles. The air here was even heavier 359 00:22:34.400 --> 00:22:39.640 thicker with that awful, putrid stench. I dropped to one knee, 360 00:22:39.799 --> 00:22:43.319 the cold mud soaking through my uniform pants, to inspect 361 00:22:43.359 --> 00:22:46.359 the ground. There were no signs of a bear or 362 00:22:46.400 --> 00:22:50.000 a cat. The rain had softened the mud, making tracks 363 00:22:50.039 --> 00:22:53.119 easier to read. But what I saw chilled me to 364 00:22:53.200 --> 00:22:57.440 my core, a deep, bone aching dread that bypassed all 365 00:22:57.480 --> 00:23:03.440 my training. There were massive footprints, bipedal undeniably, but with 366 00:23:03.559 --> 00:23:08.640 long clawed toes like a monstrous canine. Some had an 367 00:23:08.680 --> 00:23:13.480 extra unsettling indentation at the heel, like a distorted human print, 368 00:23:13.559 --> 00:23:18.759 overlapping a wolf's, or perhaps a second digit. One track 369 00:23:19.039 --> 00:23:23.599 I estimated was nearly seventeen inches long. It sunk deep, 370 00:23:23.759 --> 00:23:27.960 suggesting an impossible weight over it, a crushing pressure no 371 00:23:28.119 --> 00:23:32.039 animal I knew could exert. Whatever it was, it walked 372 00:23:32.039 --> 00:23:37.839 on two legs, and it was immensely powerful. My heart 373 00:23:37.880 --> 00:23:42.359 hammered against my ribs. The old man, still trembling, pointed 374 00:23:42.400 --> 00:23:46.119 a skeletal finger toward the dense black tree line. It 375 00:23:46.200 --> 00:23:49.799 went that way, he whispered, It went into those pines. 376 00:23:51.119 --> 00:23:53.240 I told him to return to the house and lock 377 00:23:53.319 --> 00:23:58.319 the doors to barricade himself in. He hesitated, his eyes 378 00:23:58.400 --> 00:24:01.839 wide and vacant, staring pain asked me into the impenetrable 379 00:24:01.920 --> 00:24:07.160 darkness it watches, he said, his voice was cracking. It 380 00:24:07.279 --> 00:24:11.799 was a dry rasp. I see it in the tree sometimes, 381 00:24:11.880 --> 00:24:16.319 just the eyes, like fire, like hate. It knows when 382 00:24:16.359 --> 00:24:20.839 you're looking, it knows when you're not. He turned, then, 383 00:24:21.119 --> 00:24:25.000 slow and shuffling, a man utterly defeated, leaving me alone 384 00:24:25.079 --> 00:24:29.799 with storm and the black, silent pines that stretched into infinite, 385 00:24:29.880 --> 00:24:36.240 suffocating voids. I drew my glock nineteen, the familiar weight 386 00:24:36.440 --> 00:24:40.759 of small comfort, and turned on the flashlight. The powerful 387 00:24:40.799 --> 00:24:43.880 beam cut through the oppressive darkness and jagged arcs as 388 00:24:43.880 --> 00:24:48.519 I moved toward the woods, each step deliberate. My boots 389 00:24:48.559 --> 00:24:52.359 sucked into the thick, half frozen mud and moss. Rain 390 00:24:52.480 --> 00:24:55.880 flew sideways, hitting me in the ear and drumming a frantic, 391 00:24:56.000 --> 00:25:01.279 disorienting rhythm on the brim of my hat. The temperature 392 00:25:01.359 --> 00:25:05.039 dropped ten degrees in the span of twenty feet, an 393 00:25:05.119 --> 00:25:10.519 unnatural coal that seeped into my bones. Branches creaked above me, 394 00:25:10.640 --> 00:25:13.880 groaning under the weight of the wind, and pine needles 395 00:25:13.920 --> 00:25:19.160 fell relentlessly like icy rain. The underbrush clawed at my legs, 396 00:25:19.200 --> 00:25:23.000 like unseen hands tangling in my boots. And then I 397 00:25:23.079 --> 00:25:26.319 heard it. It was a growl. It was a low, 398 00:25:26.519 --> 00:25:29.839 resonant growl, not like a dog or a wolf, but deeper. 399 00:25:30.279 --> 00:25:33.119 And it rumbled in my chest, vibrating my ribs like 400 00:25:33.119 --> 00:25:36.319 a sub wolfer, a sound that seemed to come from 401 00:25:36.359 --> 00:25:41.799