Category: Ninth Triad

The Test

On April 16, 2023

Word Count: 7,352

Due to the horrid state of the current economy, I found myself in dire financial straits. I lost my job because the company with which I worked for twenty years went bankrupt. My job was gone, my pension was gone, and if I did not come up with a lot of money fast, I was going to lose the house my grandfather built with his own two hands.

Jobs were scarce. I was truly desperate for money, and I took any work I could get. I was working three part-time jobs at fast food joints, but that was not even remotely close to what I needed. I sold my luxury car and bought a small economic vehicle instead. I let my gardener go, so now I was doing the yardwork. I cut every expense I could trying to hold on to the house that was in my family for three generations.

I felt like I was going to lose my mind trying to figure out what to do. The house was paid for. There was no mortgage on the house and no liens of any sort, with the exception of the lien from the IRS. That should be a crime in my opinion. I owned the house outright, but because I could not pay my taxes this year after losing my job, the government was going to take it and auction it away.

I talked to one of my girlfriends yesterday who gave me one course of action that could save me at least for the short term. It is not something I would ever consider on my own, but it could really help me out at this point. A small pharmaceutical company needed test subjects for some experiment they were performing. It paid enough to knock away my tax debt and get me caught back up on the rest of my mounting bills.

The idea of being a guinea pig for the testing of some new drug caused me a lot of anxiety, but I was simply out of options. I went through the initial exam and signed up to be a part of the trial the next morning. I was supposed to refrain from alcohol, illicit drugs and sex for two weeks before the drug trial was to begin. The facilitators told me to remain active, but not to overdo it physically for the last week before I was to report to the testing location.

I would get paid at the end of the last day of the trial, then I could set my financial worries to ease for a large part of the year anyway. I wondered if all clinical trials paid this well, or if there was something special about this one. It paid more than I made in a year when I had a good steady job.

I had to drive for more than two hours down a long road out into the forest where the testing facility was located. It seemed strange they would have their testing center so far out in the middle of nowhere. I spent one hour driving down the highway until I got to my exit, then drove two hours from there. Multiple turns along the way made me happy they provided me with a map.

This must be a major testing facility or something, because the building was huge. It was shaped like a trapezoidal prism and had six stories that rose above ground. I had no doubt they had at least two basement levels, possibly even more than what showed on the surface. Every medical facility always seemed to have basement levels for the morgue and what not.

A helicopter pad obviously occupied the roof as the building had a helicopter sitting on top of it. I did not know much about these things, but there appeared to be two more helicopter pads on the ground. I could not help but wonder why they needed so many. I began to have second thoughts, since it appeared they needed to have the ability to fly multiple test subjects to hospitals or something. Were I not so absolutely desperate for cash, I probably would have left.

I parked my car in the designated area, took a few deep breaths and walked across the parking lot to the building. As soon as I entered, there was someone waiting to greet me. She went over the rules, expectations and such with me again as she led me into a private room. There she had me remove all of my clothes, including my rings and earrings. Next, I had to shower with a special soap and a rag for ten minutes in extremely hot water.

Finally, I was led down a confusing maze of hallways, through the commons area for the test subjects and to the room where I would sleep for the next few weeks. I thought there would be more people involved in this study, but there were only eight bedrooms in this section of the building. I assumed all the test subjects would be held in the same area, but perhaps they had multiple smaller wards such as this one in other parts of the facility.

My arrival made six subjects, and the last two arrived within the hour. It was fortunate I was not one who had trouble making conversation with complete strangers, because there were no TV’s, newspapers, or magazines. The facility did provide us with games and such, but unless someone was going to play solitaire, you still needed to talk to someone else.

The group consisted of me and three other women, and four men. I know we were under observation the entire time, but I was still a bit shocked they had both the men and the women in the same ward. Maybe they were doing different combinations of people in different wards. The size of this ward was miniscule compared to the size of the parts of the building visible above ground, so I could not imagine this whole building was built to observe this one small wing.

Slightly less than two hours after the last subject arrived, a dry monotone voice spoke over the PA system. The voice informed us we would be called one at a time to receive our first dose of the substance they were testing on us. One person would be called every ninety minutes beginning at six in the morning until everyone received their shot. Two of us were to be injected with the placebo, and the other six would receive the substance the voice only described as RT-220.

My pulse increased, and I could see the anxiety on the faces of the others as we listened to that bland voice drone on about the procedure. No mention of what this substance was or what it was intended to do was made, only how the study would be conducted. Three times a day we were to get our weight and vital signs taken. We were to refrain from using our names, and instead we were to use our assigned number as instructed at intake. The men were 1 through 4 and the women were 5 through 8.

Among other things, we were to provide a urine sample in the morning and after supper. At mealtimes we had to eat everything they gave us. We could drink all the water we wanted to drink, but only water.

After listening to that voice go on and on with the instructions, I began to question my presence here. I really did not want to be the guinnie pig for something I was not even the slightest bit aware of what it was supposed to do. This was the only way I could come up with that would earn me enough to keep the house my grandfather left my mother, and my mother left me.

For twenty minutes we listened to the man on the PA give us our instructions. By the time he was finished, I could not remember half of what he said. His voice was so flat and boring; it was extremely difficult to listen to him while staying focused.

The first few days passed, and no one felt anything out of the ordinary. It did not take us long to figure out 3 was a real jerk, and 6 was a little miss priss who thought she was better than us even though she knew nothing about us. It was going to be difficult being trapped in here with individuals like them for several weeks without a break. I thought that would probably end up being the worst part of this whole thing.

Some of us worked to get along. It made the time pass so much faster when there was not someone in the room with which I dreaded having to spend time. I spend a lot of time playing games with 1, 2, 4 and 8, or working puzzles with 1 and 5. Prissy little miss 6 continued to act as if she was too good to sit and spend time with the rest of us, and she generally spent most of her time sitting in her room writing what I assumed was her journal.

It was early in the morning of day six of the study, and I was having breakfast with everyone but 6. For some reason 6 was not there for this morning meal. I wondered where she could be. We received our regular wake-up call this morning, and we all weighed in and had our vital signs taken. She was there for all of that, but she wasn’t here for breakfast.

I did notice 6 was being very quiet this morning, but most of us usually are at that time of day. After I finished eating, I walked to the end of the hallway where 6’s room was fully expecting to find her back in her bed. She was not in there though. I went back and checked the commons area, which was the only place left she could be, but she was not in there either.

The others were returning from lunch, and I asked them if they knew where 6 was. None of them had any clue where she might be. They all remembered seeing her at weigh in and vitals this morning too, but nobody could recall seeing her after that at all. It seemed to me like it would be rather stupid for her to leave the trial when she was already one-third of the way finished with it, but perhaps she could not handle being cooped up in here with us “lesser” people anymore.

A few hours after lunch that dry, monotone voice came over the PA system again. This time the man explained 6 did in fact choose to leave the trial, and for the rest of the time there would only be the seven of us. We all did feel something of a sense of relief not having her here with us anymore. Now I wished 3 would leave. If he left, the last two weeks of the trial would be a snap.

Two more days came and went as usual, but on day nine of the trial things started to become scary. Four of us were sitting around playing a game of spades when 1 fell on the ground and began having convulsions. He started to foam at the mouth, but what really made this terrifying was the foam coming out of his mouth was a bright orange color. I would expect it to be white, but it was as orange as the fruit.

Someone was obviously keeping an eye on the monitors, because within thirty seconds of his collapse the doctors, nurses and orderlies were there taking care of him. They made the rest of us go to our rooms until they got the situation under control. The medical personnel got 1 strapped to a gurney and quickly wheeled him out of the ward. As they were taking him down the hallway and out the doors, 1 as best as I can describe it was growling. He did not sound like he was gurgling foam from his mouth. He literally sounded like a large angry dog growling at his nemesis.

Several of us looked out the doors to our rooms to look down the hallway, but there was nothing we could see. The doors at the far end of the ward had no windows, so what was on the other side of the double doors was obscured from our vision. I wished I could see what was going on, so I could see what was happening to 1.

I jumped, and my stomach churned as sparks momentarily filled my eyes when I heard the clanging of metal pans, trays or something crashing to the floor on the other side of those doors. The noise was far away and faint, but we could all clearly make out the sounds of a struggle taking place. I screamed, as did 8, when we heard the distinct sound of three gunshots being fired. The commotion on the other side of the door ended almost immediately.

“Oh my God, did they just shoot 1?” 5 asked.

“I-I-I think they du-did. I think so,” 2 replied.

I stood there leaning against the door frame with my gaze fixed to a single spot on the floor. It was difficult for me to believe this really happened. He seemed just fine, then 1 fell on the floor having what I thought were seizures as he tore at his own clothing. I saw the look on his face as he writhed around on the floor. He looked terrified, like he was looking right into the face of the devil himself.

What did they inject us with? What did I let them put in my body?

We were told when we were sent to our rooms that we were to wait in them until we were instructed otherwise, but as we talked about what happened we all eventually took a few steps into the hallway. I do not think anyone was doing this to be defiant, we were all really freaked out by the scenario we built in our own minds. At the moment there was no way for us to really know what actually occurred on the other side of the doors, so our imaginations filled in the blanks.

For the most part we all agreed what we believed happened was 1 somehow broke through the straps holding him on the gurney, and then he probably began attacking the medical staff. I am sure it was protocol to call security when the medical professionals came into the ward to get 1 and take him out. In an uncontrolled rage, 1 started attacking the staff, and security had no choice but to shoot him. No one really had a guess one way or another if they thought 1 survived the gunshots or not.

A male voice, different from the dry voice that usually came on over the PA, instructed us all to return to our rooms. It told us to stay there for the remainder of the day. Our supper meals would be delivered to us, and we were to eat in our rooms. None of us were sure if we were to remain in our bedrooms for our safety or for the safety of others.

I never expected anything like this to happen during this study. I suppose I knew there was a possibility something could go wrong, but this seemed to be turning into a nightmare. My thoughts turned to who might be the two placebo recipients.

They did not tell us it would be one man and one woman, but all of us assumed as much. It was obvious 1 was not a placebo, so that gave the remaining men a thirty three percent chance of being safe. None of the remaining women were showing any side effects, but we did not know what the situation was with 6 since she left the study early.

The official story the administrators gave us was that 1 was epileptic and did not inform anyone during his sign up or intake. They wanted us to believe that 1 had a seizure because he had not been taking his medications since the study began. The noises we heard were just him turning the gurney over and knocking over racks filled with various hospital supplies.

None of us believed this cover story of theirs. There was no way the administration was going to convince me those last three loud bangs we heard were anything but gunshots. It was the general consensus among the remaining test subjects that the RT-220 did something that drove 1 mad, something like what rabies could do to a person.

I was sitting in the commons area with 2 and 8 debating whether or not to continue with the study or if we should go ahead and leave. As we were having this discussion, 5 came out of her room with her stuff in a bag, informed us she was leaving the study and headed for the exit. When she reached the double doors, she found they were locked. 5 banged on the doors and tried her best to bust them open.

The rest of us sat there and watched her for a minute thinking someone would come and open the door. While 5 continued to try to force her way out, the three remaining men went to the door to help her. They never told us we were going to be locked in. We were supposed to be allowed to leave any time we wanted. If that was the case, then why was I watching three strong men ram helplessly into two magnetically locked doors.

I looked up at one of the cameras in the commons area and began shouting at them to let us out. This was the final straw for me and probably for everyone else as well. As soon as they came and opened these doors, I was leaving.

No one ever came to the exit. Instead, that dry monotone voice came on very loudly over the PA and instructed 2, 3 and 4 to stop their assault on the doors. The three men did not listen, and they continued to try to force the doors open. The voice on the speaker system stopped and an extremely high-pitched whistle replaced it. This caused all of us to fall to the floor covering our ears in a futile effort to stop the extreme pain it inflicted.

The squeal stopped after ten seconds, and then we heard nothing else over the PA system. Everyone was either cussing, screaming, or rubbing their ears with their fingers. I could tell just by looking at the others that they were currently as deaf as I was. It seemed like something out of a horror movie. This was only supposed to be a trial for a new medication. Now we were all being held against our will.

Before our hearing returned, 3 moved a chair under one of the cameras in the commons area in an angered attempt to rip the camera from the wall. When he reached up and put his hands around it, he received a shock strong enough for us to see, but with our ears still ringing we could not hear the loud crack that accompanied it. He was thrown off the chair, and 3 landed hard on his back.

I ran over and helped the other two men check on 3 and get him back on his feet. The charge was only enough to cause pain, but not physically damage him. 3 probably took more damage when he hit the ground than he did from the shock.

When our hearing finally started to return, everyone seemed to be in a state of chaos. It was not until we could hear well again that we all stopped talking at once so we could try to figure out what was going on and what to do. Every one of us was clearly upset, but we had to calm ourselves down if we wanted to have any hope of getting out of this horrible situation.

We looked around for anything to help us open the doors as we made note of all the visible cameras. It seemed the administrators already thought of those things. The cameras were electrified and there was nothing large enough to help us pry open one of the exit doors. Thanks to this historic recession, I was going to die in some lab rather than living in my beautiful home.

That all-too-familiar voice blasted over the speakers and told us all to go into our rooms until further instructed. We stood there for a moment, afraid to act one way or another. The voice came back on and told us to go to our rooms until further instructed or what it called “incentive” would again be employed. Nobody wanted to be locked in their rooms, but they wanted to go through that torture even less.

We were stuck in our rooms for two excruciatingly long hours before I heard the magnet lock on my door release. The voice told us it was mealtime and for everyone to go and consume everything provided. That was the normal procedure all along, so I had to wonder what the motivation behind pointing out that one particular instruction again was. Following our meal, we were told to return to our rooms.

Everyone was quiet during the supper meal. We were all in something of a state of shock and denial. It was difficult for us to fathom the dire position we were in at the time. This seemed like something that only happened in movies or books, but not something that happened in real life. We did not know if we were ever going to get out of this alive.

During the night I awoke to the sound of 4 vomiting in his bathroom. He went on for a couple of minutes, and then I heard the magnetic locks holding the exit doors release. Four hospital personnel pushing a gurney rushed to 4’s room, and they were accompanied by two security officers. Judging by the clacking and clanking I heard, the security officers were heavily armed.

Something was wrong with 4. Even before the facility personnel reached his room, 4 went from vomiting to sounding like someone stuck a sock in his mouth. It almost sounded as if his tongue had swelled in his mouth. Listening to that, then hearing him suddenly stop seconds after the orderlies and security arrived frightened me terribly. There was a real possibility I could die here, and that thought caused a churning in the pit of my stomach.

What scared me down to my core was the fact I heard all of that through my solid wooden door. I could identify the medical staff from the security staff by the sound of their shoes and clothing. I clearly heard 4 in his room gagging, even though both of our doors were sealed. These bastards were doing something to us that was changing us. I bet 6 never left at all. I bet she was dead and on a dissection table in the lower floors of this building.

I did not go back to sleep after this. It was in part due to what I heard and how it made me feel, but I felt no need to go back to sleep. I felt as though I had a full night’s rest despite the fact I only slept for a few hours. They were doing something to me that was changing me fundamentally from the inside.

I was glad when I heard the doors unlock and a large meal cart roll onto the ward. There were two orderlies and two armed security guards. Breakfast was delivered to our doors, and after the four left the ward, the voice instructed us to take our meals into our rooms and eat them there. My stomach was growling when my food arrived, and I ate it all in less than three minutes. I never scarf my food down like that, but for some reason I could not help myself.

We were released from our rooms and instructed to bring our lunch trays and utensils and deposit them in the proper place in the commons area. I asked the others if they heard what was going on in 4’s room last night, but they all said they slept through the night hearing nothing. Wondering about my inquiry, 5 asked me what I heard. I told them what I was able to hear last night, but I did not get into too much detail. I did not what to make them afraid of me because I was changing.

3 was being a lot quieter today than he usually was, even after what happened over the last few days. He almost seemed to be going through the motions, but no one was home. Staring at his tray, 3 was not paying attention to the conversation the rest of us were having about our situation and how we could possibly get out of it.

Suddenly and without warning, 3 jumped across the dinner table and slashed 5’s throat with his fork. He gouged her neck with so much force the fork cut three inches deep into her flesh. As 5’s blood gushed out of her gaping wound, 2 tackled 3 in an attempt to stop him.

Within a few seconds of 3 attacking 5, the high-pitched whine came over the PA system again. 8 fell to the floor screaming in pain, but it did not seem to bother the rest of us very much. In fact, I did not ever really notice except for the fact that 8 was writhing in agony.

I ran over to try to help 2, who had 3 on top of him with a stranglehold around his neck. Grabbing 3 by the shoulders, I attempted to pull him off of 2. Instead, I lifted him up and threw him across the room. He hit the counter hard and fell to the floor in an unconscious heap.

I stood there in shock looking at the crumpled body on the floor. The screech coming from the speakers finally stopped and I heard the sound of the double doors unlocking. Moments later armed security in black tactical gear surrounded us as several medical personnel rushed over to 5. It was too late; she was already dead by the time they entered the ward.

The armed guards ushered 2, 8 and I back to our room as the others removed 3 and 5 from the ward. I heard them in there cleaning up the blood for more than an hour. The noise of the brushes on the tiled floor grated on my nerves, and I was so glad when they finally finished. I paced around my room trying to decide what I should do.

Over and over, I played it in my mind how I lifted 3 like he was nothing but a rag doll and threw him twenty feet through the air. I was sure he was still alive at first, but then I really began to wonder if I killed him. He did not give me any other choice. He already killed 5 and he was trying to kill 2. Because she was squirming on the ground in pain, 8 could not help. All I intended to do was try to pull him off of 2. I never in my life expected I would throw him against the counter like a wet towel.

If I was able to do that, I wondered if I would have the strength to push these magnetically sealed doors open. Remembering the cameras in my room, I tried not to appear as if I was devising my escape. Only three of us remained, and while I was still not sure who received the placebo, I was positive it was not me.

We remained locked in our rooms until after lunch the next day. All our meals were delivered to our rooms until then. I was glad to finally get out so I could move around some. The rooms the facility provided for us were not too small, but they were not big enough to give any walking around room.

I sat with 2 at the table nearest the exit doors putting together a puzzle. We did not talk much about what happened yesterday. We did not talk much at all. My attention was focused on the television I could hear through the doors and down the hall. Someone was watching the news, and I was glad to hear anything about the outside world.

I slapped my hand over my mouth and began crying as I listened to the report. The newscaster announced there was a single car accident this morning in which the driver was killed on impact. The reason it upset me as it did was because when they gave the name and age, they gave my name and age. The people conducting this study never planned on letting us leave. I was sitting right here, but they already had their cover story for my death running on the news.

Terrified and distraught, I jumped to my feet and ran to my room. Unsure of what was wrong with me, 2 followed me to my door. By the time he got there, I was sitting in my bed with my knees pulled up to my chest, my face half buried in my knees, and 2 asked me what was wrong.

Under my breath I barely whispered out the words, “I’m dead.”

“You don’t know that,” 2 said. “You might be one of the placebos.”

I jerked my head up to look at him. I whispered those words very faintly, and my mouth was covered by my knees yet 2 still heard me. That meant he was probably experiencing the same effects as me. If that was true, I was sure we could break out of here together.

I tested him again. Lowering my head so that the bottom half of my face was resting between my knees, I told 2 to nod his head if he could hear me. With my arms wrapped around my legs, I chuckled slightly when 2 softly nodded his head two times. At this time, I told my fellow test subject we should go back to the commons area. There we could sit in separate areas, yet still whisper our conversation back and forth to each other.

We found 8 still sitting there looking over the wall. She turned her attention to us and said, “Aren’t they pretty?”

We asked her was what pretty, and she said, “The lines on the walls. The glow around the cameras is so beautiful, so blue.”

I took a couple of steps away from her, and so did 2. We did not know if she was about to go crazy like 3 did yesterday, so we felt having more distance between her and us was prudent. I watched how her eyes traced horizontal and vertical lines on the walls. It occurred to me that 8 might be looking at the electric wiring inside the walls. I very lightly whispered to 2 that I thought 8’s vision expanded like our hearing did.

Walking back over to her, 2 asked 8 if she saw anything around the doors. She told us it was painful to look at it too long, but the top and bottom edges of the doors emitted a deep violate hue. I told her it was probably because of the magnets they had in place. With the abilities the three of us had, 2 suggested that we would be able to force our way out of here. I was frightened, but I had to agree with him.

Staring at a single spot on the wall, 8 got up from where she sat and walked straight to the place her gaze was affixed. She traced her finger in an L-shape, then there was a loud pop, and the cameras began smoking. Turning to look back at us 8 said the cameras and microphones were all disabled.

The three of us ran over to the double doors, but before 2 and I had time to attempt to force them open, 8 told us to wait. She examined the wall, found the right place, and traced her finger along the current. We could hear the magnetic locks unlatch, but by this time we could hear the armed security trotting their way down the hallway.

With the locks undone, it was a minor effort for 2 and I to rip both of the doors off the hinges. Holding the thick wooden door in front of him, 2 began rushing toward the guards. They stopped their advance and began firing, but their guns were not quite powerful enough to make it through the thick wood.

I moved over to stand sideways beside 2. He threw what was left of the door, after the bullets chipped away, at it at the security officers. When he did this, I stepped around and got in front of him with the door I held. Quickly rushing forward, it did not take long at all for 2 and I to incapacitate the guards. I held to the belief the guards were all unconscious, but with my newfound herculean strength I could not help but wonder if I killed any of them.

Kneeling down to examine a patch on one of the officer’s uniforms, 2 looked over to us and informed us these were no security guards. These were Army personnel. We were not the subjects of an experiment for a pharmaceutical company. We were the subjects of a military experiment.

“What kind of experiment would the military be running on us?” I inquired.

“They were giving us injections of a substance discovered in a Mayan temple,” 8 told us. “It was found to alter DNA in certain plants and animals.”

2 asked how she knew this. As she motioned toward the nurses’ station 8 replied, “The computer told me.”

I could hear more soldiers coming as could 2. When we informed 8 of the change in our current situation, she began looking over the lines of electricity she could see flowing through the walls and floors. Finding what she was looking for, 8 squatted behind a reception desk and told 2 and me to do the same.

As soon as all the soldiers were out of the hallway and into the main area, 8 pressed her hand against the spot she chose on the wall. A surge of power flowed from her hand into the wiring in the walls. The surge caused a massive eruption of electricity in the area the soldiers occupied. In only a few seconds 8 was able to incapacitate a dozen armed and armored soldiers.

I did not know how much longer we could continue to fight our way out of here. It was clear we had to find an exit soon or make one of our own. I strongly disagreed, but 2 was rather insistent we should destroy this facility. If all of the RT-220 was here, we could destroy it all at once.

I thought we should allow them to keep using it, allow them to make more of us. What concerned 2 was if they started changing soldiers to be like us. That would bring our planet to a whole new level of warfare. 8 was indifferent on the subject. She seemed to be experiencing some state of peace or euphoria.

As if she was looking out a window, 8 said, “If we can get over there to that transformer station, I could light the whole place up like New Years.”

Walking over to the wall through which 8 appeared to be looking, 2 began pounding at the concrete wall with his bare fists. After removing two feet of concrete, he ran into a heavy iron plate he could not damage enough to remove.

Frustrated, 2 leaned against the wall with his hand on the hard steel. Suddenly the steel began to liquify. It was not melting, instead it was moving like mercury, it was acting as if being a liquid was its natural state. Resuming his assault on the concrete, 2 broke through two feet of concrete, a foot thick steel wall, then three more feet of reinforced concrete before reaching the fresh air of outside.

As we prepared to jump the three stories to the ground, I noticed both 2 and 8 looked extremely pale, almost white. Their eyes were also changing. I imagined my eyes looked silver like 2’s eyes did, but 8 had eyes the color of copper. I was sure that had something to do with her ability to see and manipulate electro-magnetic fields.

My anxiety levels increased sharply at the idea of jumping down 30 feet. I know I was stronger than before, but I was not sure if I was more durable. 2 lifted 8 and we jumped together. The air around us wavered almost like water and carried us all the way to the transformer. I could not say for certain at the time, but I think I was the one who did that. It appeared our newfound abilities were evolving quickly.

When we touched the ground, the wavering air remained until my anxiety over the jump subsided. Liquifying the metal enough to give him a grip, 2 ripped the door off the transformer box and 8 began to examine the flow of energy through it. It took her several minutes, and it was not long before we could hear three helicopters off in the distance. There was no doubt they were headed in this direction.

Finally, 8 found what she needed. She touched the circuitry inside like she was striking the keys of a piano, and a burst of violet light flashed from her hands. Almost instantly I could hear light bulbs erupting, computers bursting into flames and electric showers causing fires throughout the building.

I was relieved to see at least some of the personnel inside exiting the building. I was now in agreement the research needed to be destroyed, but I did not want to kill all those people inside though. Most of them probably had no idea what was really going on in there, and it would be wrong for them to have to die because of it.

Before we were spotted, 2 tugged 8 and I by the arms and told us we had to run. There was nothing more for us to do here, so the three of us turned and ran into the dense forest. How fast we were running exactly I could not say, but we moved much faster than any normal human was able. We were obviously no longer normal humans.

Bounding through the trees as fast as we were, I was still able to keep a detailed eye on my surroundings. The trees were not a blur as I ran past them; instead, I saw the trees in intricate detail. I was able to make out the dry leaves on the forest floor even with the canopy overhead blocking out what little moonlight there was. Easily dodging any obstacles in our way, the three of us quickly put a significant amount of distance between us and the facility we left behind in flames.

I do not know how they tracked us down, but we suddenly found the helicopters were right over us. Trees exploded into splinters and the ground exploded around as the military helicopters unloaded their guns at us. Smoke, dirt and debris suddenly filled the air around us. Giant shards of wood sailed through the air in every direction, but we managed to dodge any significant obstacles.

It was something I could not put into words so that humans could understand it, but basically I knew the large rounds were coming before they fired them. All three of us easily dodged the artillery as we could see where it was going before their ammunition ever left their cannons. Avoiding the large chunks of shattered trees flying all around us was even easier.

Regardless of our ability to evade their fire, it was only a matter of time before they switched from artillery rounds to missiles. I was sure we would not be able to dodge an onslaught of those. I was scanning the landscape for somewhere to run or somewhere to hide when 2 sprung behind me and caught a falling tree I somehow failed to notice.

He lifted the log, which was the top half of a large pine tree one of the helicopters ripped apart with its shells, over his head and threw it top first at the nearest copter. With amazing aim, 2 threw the tree into the blades spinning above the craft causing it to come crashing to the ground. Running, we could hear it as it obliterated the trees behind us as it fell hard and fast. The explosion that followed threw the three of us to the ground.

Thinking they had us pinned, the other two helicopters began to unleash on us. I knew they had us at this point. We were not able to get up and run again fast enough to avoid this barrage. Prepared to accept death, the three of us were shocked when everything slowed to a stop. Splintered fragments of trees hovered in the air above us, and the heavily destructive ammunition froze in position before it could strike.

I glanced around to find we were surrounded by two dozen beings who looked a lot like us. These beings lacked some of the human facial features such as the nose and ears, but it was clear we were becoming like them. Clearly these are the ones responsible for the placement of the RT-220 in the first place.

They stood around us as if they were watching this whole time. When we stood, the dirt and splinters drifting in the air around us pushed out of the way like wiping dust off a counter. It was as if we somehow stepped outside the normal flow of time.

To say I heard it would be to categorize it wrong, but I heard them in my head telling us we were safe now. They did not use English. In fact, they did not use words at all. Instead, they communicated it in such a way that we just knew we were safe.

A vaguely rectangular light appeared nearby, and the beings surrounding us slowly began to enter. We were told we could come with them, that they would save the three of us, but they would not save the others. I was not sure what they meant by that, but before I could ask my question out loud, I already began to receive my answer.

This world was coming to an end soon, and these alien beings knew this. Their desire was to save us all, but they did not know if they could trust us. They placed the mutagenic substance here to allow us to evolve, to develop into one of them. Instead of using the compound for the betterment of all mankind, humans looked for a way to use it as a weapon of war. For that, these extra-dimensional aliens deemed the human race was not worth saving.

This whole time the military was testing the RT-220 on people, they did not know they were being watched. They did not see the otherworldly observers all around them studying their every move. Those performing the experiments on us thought the test was a failure because we turned out to be uncontrollable. What they never realized was they were the ones being tested, and very miserably they failed the test.

We Didn’t Know

By Mychal Wilson

On March 18, 2023

In Aetet 3, Ninth Triad

Word Count: 5,359

It was a beautiful early summer day. The sun was shining, there were only a few clouds in the sky and a light breeze prevented it from feeling too hot outside. It was the perfect weekend to go on a fishing trip.

My friend Brad and I planned this trip three weeks ago, and we were so happy to find the weather was beautiful and not gray and raining. Brad’s wife brought their two kids over to my house where my wife was staying behind with our son.

I was so happy to be able to go off on this three-day fishing trip. We got everything packed and loaded yesterday, so all we had to do was hook the boat up to the truck and go. We got off to a very early start since the lake we were headed to was a little shy of being a two-hour drive. We did not want to get there too late because we still had to get our tents and camp set up, and our yo-yos tied to some trees.

Every month Brad and I take a mini vacation while our wives watch the children, then two weeks after that Brad and I watch the children while our wives go out and have some fun. Their time away usually did not last as long as ours simply for the fact they spent their money on their weekends much faster than me and Brad. Brad and I slept in tents, ate what we caught and drank beer. Our idea of a great time away from the wives and kids was very cheap compared to our wives’ time away from us.

The drive was very beautiful and scenic. Wildflowers of all colors covered the shoulders of the road and were visible in the open fields on either side of the pavement. Large oak trees dotted the landscape here and there which provided shade for the numerous cattle grazing the bright-green fields. Man-made ponds were located near most of the trees to provide the cattle with water to drink.

We never saw this end of the countryside before as we never went to this particular lake before this. Brad heard about it from another friend of his, and after locating it on a map, we decided that was where we would go fishing this time. We found the lake on a map, so we knew how to get there. Where to go once we got there, we would have to figure out after we got there.

As we got closer to the lake, we saw more trees and less open space. Neither of us knew if the lake was in a forest or in the open, we only knew where it was. Judging by the gradual increase in the number of trees, I thought the lake was probably surrounded by forest. When we got to our turnoff, we found ourselves driving down an old dirt road running through some very dense woodlands.

Driving much slower now, it took us thirty more minutes before we finally spotted the lake. We got out of the truck and walked over to the water to try to figure out how we were going to launch the boat. There did not seem to be any constructed boat landings in this location. I suggested we keep driving a bit more as I was sure there would be a boat ramp somewhere.

We never saw any signs saying this was private property, therefore I assumed this beautiful lake would attract a lot of fishermen. The road was relatively smooth, but the surrounding terrain was very rocky. More than a few cliff faces provided a border for the water’s edge, some of them rough and some of them smooth and eroded. Following another thirty minutes of driving, we located a spot that should be perfect for releasing the boat.

We got everything loaded into the boat then I guided Brad as he backed the truck down to the water. In less than five minutes we had the boat in the water and the truck parked well off the road. This was a routine we went through on numerous occasions, so we performed the task like clockwork. Everything we needed would not fit in the boat at once, so once we found the place we were going to make our campsite we would have to come back and get the rest.

The lake was beautiful, surrounded by trees, rocks and cliff faces. I was really surprised we did not see any other people out here boating, fishing or skiing. The hidden body of water was more than adequately sized for all three of these activities to be going on, but so far it appeared Brad and I were the only ones here.

We spotted a nice area with a small clearing that had a natural grass-covered ramp running to the water from the surface six feet above. The ramp fell between two large rock formations and provided an easy way back up to the flat surface at the top. Brad and I unloaded the boat, set up our tents and went back to get the rest of our things. By the time we were finally finished, it was already noon. Our original plan was to be fishing for several hours by now, but that did not happen the way we planned.

Since it was so late already, we decided to fish from the bank and see what kind of luck we had there. We got a few nibbles here and there, but the water here was too shallow for the larger fish. Brad and I both caught some brim, and I got one decently sized catfish, so we had our supper to fry up tonight.

Once three o’clock came around we brought the beer cooler down to the water’s edge with us. That was one rule we had when we went out fishing; we never started drinking before three in the afternoon. That prevented us from drinking too much too early, crashing and passing out before the sun went down.

By the time we were ready to stop fishing and clean our catch, we caught nearly two dozen fish. Sure, some of them were small, but we had plenty to feed us well tonight. I could not wait to chow down on some fresh fish, and it did not get any fresher than being caught to fried in a couple of hours.

When we first started these trips, we used a stand and built a fire to heat the oil to fry our fish, but on one trip the oil got hot enough to ignite. The hot grease spilled on the ground and the fire destroyed a lot of our gear. Since then, we bring a safe propane tank with an adjustable burner hookup to do our cooking.

We decided against lighting a campfire tonight as we both planned to try to get to sleep soon after we ate. We passed a spot in the lake on our way out here with several large trees reaching far over the water, and we thought that would be a good place to put some spring-loaded yo-yos for catching perch and other top feeders. In order to do much catching with those, we needed to get them out as early in the morning as we possibly could. That meant waking up an hour before sunrise so we would be on the water by sunrise.

We were on our second post-meal beer when we heard something off in the distance. It was so far away and so faint, I was unable to discern what it could be. We both remained quiet, looking out into the forest, as we waited for the sound to come again. After a few more minutes, we heard it a second time. It sounded almost like children trying to imitate the sound of a flock of sheep. There was something more, something that did not sound natural about these noises.

At this point Brad and I decided a campfire would probably be a good idea after all. I surely did not want whatever animals that made noises like that coming anywhere near our camp. Brad got the fire started while I made sure all of our lanterns had plenty of butane. We did not really care for burning our lanterns all night, but the extra light might help keep those animals, whatever they were, at bay.

I was tired and half drunk, so it did not take me long to pass out once I climbed inside my comfortable sleeping bag. I awoke to the eerie baying sound we heard earlier; except this time, it was much closer. It sounded like it could be within fifty feet of our campsite. Now that I could hear it more clearly, I would call it more of a cackling sound than a baying.

It was simply impossible to describe as it sounded absolutely nothing like anything I ever heard before. In all my years of hunting and fishing, I heard all sorts of animals from a wide variety of places, but I never heard anything that sounded like this.

The strange noises did not last long, so I assumed whatever creatures were making them must have passed on by us. Just in case, I retrieved my pistol from the waist of my shorts and laid it beside my pillow. If something did come tearing into my tent, I wanted to make sure I could give it a good reason to go away.

The next morning, I inquired of Brad as to whether he heard the noises in the darkness around midnight. He told me no; he managed to sleep soundly through the night. I was sure it was probably some sort of weasel or small rodent making the strange sounds, but I would feel a lot more at ease if I knew for sure.

It did not take long to get our yo-yos set up. Many of the trees had low lying but sturdy branches to which we could tie the fishing contraptions. Now with these set, we needed to come back approximately once an hour to remove anything we caught and rebait the hooks. During the wait times Brad and I spent either top fishing for bass or sank our hooks low for catfish.

It was so nice being out here all alone. It was so peaceful and quiet; I was satisfied with the fact no one else was out here. My best friend and I sat quietly in the boat with our bait in the water listening to all the wonderful songs nature had to sing for us. The sounds of the birds and insects made me feel calm and serene. Occasionally we would hear fish nipping at the surface, or turtles jumping off a log when something startled them.

Top fishing was not doing us a lot of good in the spot we chose, but we did manage to catch eight catfish. Each time we caught a fish, we tossed it into a cooler filled about two-thirds of the way full of ice. We would dig away some ice to make room for the new fish, toss it in and cover it back up with ice again.

Our yo-yos did surprisingly well for the day. We generally found them to work better at night and when it was cold, but we figured we would try them anyway. We pulled nine white perch out of the lake before we finally decided to head back to our camp and get off the water for a while. Before leaving, we made sure all of the yo-yos were tripped so they did not catch anything after we left. Without coming out to check them regularly, some fish might suffocate before we got around to coming back.

As we cleaned our new catch, Brad and I discussed whether we would like to get back out on the lake to do some more fishing before the sun set, or should we rest up and go out for some night fishing. We would be heading home by dark tomorrow, so we figured if we were going to do any night fishing, it was going to have to be tonight.

Brad fried us up some more fish as I took the remainder of the fillets, rolled them in wax paper and packed them in a clean cooler filled with unused ice. We always kept one cooler for no other reason than to store our catch once we cleaned it. That way the meat stayed fresh and uncontaminated.

We went ahead and swapped out what gear we needed in the boat to go from day to night fishing. Getting everything we needed in the boat, then doublechecking to make sure we had what we needed, Brad and I each retired to our respective tents to grab a few hours of sleep before we set out on the lake tonight.

There was still a good hour of sunlight left when I woke up from my nap. Going over to our beverage cooler, I popped myself open a beer before waking Brad. The ice-cold brew tasted amazing after waking up in that sauna of a tent. Even with the flaps open, I was still sweating.

Guzzling the rest of my beer, I grabbed the drink cooler, Brad grabbed the cooler for the fish we caught, and we headed down the natural ramp to our boat. By the time we cast off from shore, it was almost completely dark. We scouted a few places earlier for where we might want to fish tonight, so we headed to the one we thought would give us the best haul.

The insects were loud enough to be noticeable earlier, but I really loved to listen to the insects at night. In addition to the insects, frogs of all sorts were out in the night croaking, ribbeting and singing their individual nocturnal songs. Every so often it all came together and for a moment they all sang in harmony, and it sounded like the angels singing.

I did not know why, but the sounds of nature always made me feel such at peace. There was no doubt that was why I loved my and Brad’s fishing trips. It gave us time to be away from all the stresses of normal life where we could enjoy ourselves and forget about everything else for a few days.

I started out the night fishing the bottom for catfish, but after catching three of them I decided to switch. Instead of bottom fishing, I switched to fishing with a lure. The moon was out bright tonight, so the twinkling of a spinning lure moving through the water ought to land me at least a bass or two.

Brad started out aiming for the smaller fish. He caught two dozen brim in the first hour alone. Deciding we had enough of those for now, he went to fishing a little deeper with a larger hook in hopes of catching more white perch.

In slightly under two more hours, I added three largemouth bass and Brad added six more perch. It astounded me that there were not any other fishermen out here on this lake. My best friend and I were doing great, so it appeared to me this must be a closely guarded secret. Brad never said anything about his friend telling us not to tell anyone else about this place, but he may have simply forgotten to mention it.

I was changing the lure on my line for a hook to go back to catfishing, and Brad already had his line in the water when we heard that strange, creepy noise again. This time it sounded like it was coming from the top of an eight-foot cliff that made up the boundary of this section of the lake.

This time, being out on the water, we were able to hear the sounds much more clearly. It was a guttural, throaty, goat-like cackle, and there were more than just a few of them. Both of us quietly reeled in our lines, gently set down our poles and removed our firearms from our hips.

I made a soft hiss to get Brad’s attention, then I indicated to him I was going to start paddling us away from this area. We were only fishing ten feet away from the water’s edge. Whatever was making that noise was right above us, and that potentially put us in an extremely vulnerable position. Brad took a seat as I moved us away so he would not fall into the water, but he kept his pistol held firmly in both hands.

Paddling as quietly as I possibly could, I moved us sixty feet or so from the short cliff. Taking care to make as little noise as possible, I told Brad I was going to crank the motor and get us out of here. It would be a lot of noise, but there was no way we were going to quietly paddle our way back to our camp in any less than a few hours.

My friend agreed with me, so once we got a little farther away, I started yanking the cord trying to get the motor started. After I cranked it five times without it starting, I really began to worry. Luckily on my sixth attempt, the motor started roaring. We heard eerily high pitch screaming coming from the top of the rocks we just left, and then in a second it was gone. I believed the loud sound of the boat motor on the water scared away whatever was up there.

Brad now sat in the front of the boat with a spotlight to watch for any obstacles that might be floating in the water. Both of us had our firearms holstered since we needed to be able to use our hands for other things. I never thought to turn on the nighttime running lights, but I did not suppose it really mattered anyway. There was no one else out here on this lake.

It felt like it took us twice as long to get back to camp as it did to get to the fishing spot, and we were moving much faster than we were earlier. Images of all sorts of nasty creatures ran through my head as I pondered what it was up on that cliff making those strange cackling sounds. I did not know if those were the same ones we heard near our camp, or if there were multiple groups of them roaming the forest.

When we reached the shore where we set up our camp, I was not thinking, and I did not raise the motor soon enough. It hit the bottom hard and sheared the pin that kept the prop in place. Once Brad pulled the front of the boat onto land, I jumped out of the back of the boat to retrieve the prop from where it laid in the bottom of the shallow water.

I examined the boat’s motor and there appeared to be no damage other than a few scrapes and the stripped pin. We should easily be able to rig something up using any number of items from our list of fishing equipment. Brad waited until I was out of the water and we both climbed the steep hill as fast as we could.

I noticed immediately and pointed out to Brad that something got into our coolers where we were storing the fish. They were opened, but not overturned. Any wild animal would open the cooler by turning it over on its side, but something opened the lids and left them open.

It was obvious from looking around that whatever took the fish from the ice filled coolers also rummaged around our camp before leaving. As quickly as we could, Brad and I started packing up and bringing our things down by the boat. He suggested we take the most expensive things first, and I had to agree with him. It took two trips to get everything out here, and we did not want to have to come back for more of our things once we left.

All the while we did this, we both found several items that should serve well as a pin to hold the prop in place until we could get back to the truck. I worked on using several pieces of thick copper wire as a makeshift pin to keep the blades and motor connected hopefully at least as long as it took us to get back to where we parked the day before. Once this task was complete, I went back up the hill to help Brad with the last of our things.

I arrived to what remained of our camp to find Brad standing motionless. I could see the terror on his face as he stared at something concealed behind my tent. From my position I could not see what it was, and I did not want to get any closer to find out one way or another. I could not and would not abandon my friend though, and my mind raced as I tried to figure out what to do.

Finally, I drew my pistol from my side and slowly started inching my way toward my friend. I wished he would give me some indication of what to do, but his gaze was fixed on something outside my view. My knee popped and a fraction of a second later I heard those high-pitched screams. Those things did not see Brad standing there until they heard the crack of my bum knee.

I saw the abominations as they fled from our presence. The creatures were small, only a few feet tall, and ran on their hind legs. They looked like goats, like little goats that walked in the upright position. Black fur surrounded their eyes which blended straight into their thick eyebrows. They looked like a lot of pictures of the devil I saw during the course of my life.

Terrified beyond imagination, I fired off three shots from my pistol without even thinking about it. I struck one of the creatures and brought it down, but the rest of them got away. As I stood there in a state of shock, Brad began calling my name. He had to call out to me several times before I finally noticed him.

He was saying we had to go after them. I told him there was no way I was chasing those little creatures anywhere, especially into a dark forest. I said we should get back to the truck and go, just get out of here now. That was when Brad informed me that unfortunately, one of the creatures ran off carrying his fanny pack, which held among other things the keys to the truck.

My stomach churned at the thought of hunting those things down, but if we had to, we had to. I reloaded my pistol and grabbed the biggest flashlight we had. Brad put a banded light on his head and carried another flashlight in his hand. Armed with guns and flashlights, we started down the hill leading through the woods in the direction we saw the creatures flee.

Before we left our camp, I took a closer look at the thing I shot. It almost had a human-like quality to it. Instead of feet or hooves, it had three hoof-like toes on each foot about the thickness of a man’s pinky finger. Short white fir covered its lower body and back. Its arms and hands were like those of a human child with the addition of being covered in a fine, white, felt-like fur. The face was like that of a small goat except that it had no horns on its head.

Brad sternly told me to get moving. We could not let them get too far with our keys or we would never get them back. Reluctantly following him, we ventured deeper into the forest. The ground was rough and rocky for the most part, and we had to be careful so as not to trip or lose our balance and fall. I really did not think there was any hope of getting back our keys, but I would help my friend try.

Those little creatures moved fast, so if they kept on going after leaving our sight, they would be long gone by now. The only hope we had of getting the keys to the truck back was if they only ran a short way and then hid. It was like trying to rabbit hunt in the dark using a pistol while terrified out of our minds.

We searched the forest for fifteen minutes when we heard something that made our bones chill. It was like a loud baying scream, like the sound of a tortured soul. This did not really sound like the small creatures we encountered. Whatever made this noise sounded much larger than those things.

That was it. I was done trying to find the keys we were certain never to find. I told Brad I was going back to the boat, keys or no keys. We could at least take the boat back to the road and walk from there. Searching the forest for his fanny-pack was a futile endeavor. I think that baying scream scared Brad as much as it did me, because he afforded me no opposition on the matter.

We were about half-way back when we heard something coming through the brush. It was moving quickly and would be on us soon. Close to us was a rock formation primarily consisting of three large slabs. It appeared that underneath the slabs was sufficient room for Brad and me to hide. We managed to get ourselves well-hidden before the beasts arrived. We could not see much of them because of our positioning, but we did get a good look at their feet. The feet were the same as the one I shot and killed, except these were much larger and more developed.

Moments later we again heard that baying scream, but this time it was joined by the cries of the others. That was when I realized what I did. Those creatures rummaging through our camp and the ones making all the noise on the cliff, they were just children playing. We were so terrified of the unknown, we never stopped to consider anything. I shot and killed a small child in cold blood, then I looked at it like it was a dead rat.

I was at a complete loss of what to do. All I could think about what the fact that I murdered a child, an innocent child, all because I was afraid of what I thought it was. Now it looked like these beings were gathering together to hunt us down. If that was indeed the case, I would not let Brad suffer for my sins.

I could not say how long we stayed hidden under that slab of rock. I had on my watch, but I had not looked at it since we were out on the boat fishing. I could see what time it was now, but I had no clue what time it was when we hid. Everything remained quiet, and we saw no more feet passing by, so we decided to come out of our hiding places and start trying to get out of here.

Going back to our camp was not an option. If those creatures had any sense, they would leave some of their people waiting at the camp for us to return. Instead, we decided to make our way to a narrow part of the lake and swim over to the other side from there. That would put us close to the truck. Then we could smash the window of the truck and use the navigation service to send out the authorities.

Our camp was to the north, the goat beings came from the south, and we started off to the west. Brad and I tried the best we could to refrain from making any noise as we made our trek in the darkness. Obviously, we could not use our flashlights. Those would just let those creatures hunting us know exactly where we were. We were just going to have to travel by moonlight alone.

This was not an easy task by any means. The moon was out bright, and the pine trees in this area did not provide as much canopy cover as hardwood trees, but it was still very difficult to see where we were going. The semi-rocky ground presented many opportunities to trip on a stone jutting from the ground and fall. I was sure those beings would have a heightened sense of hearing, so remaining quiet was essential to our survival.

When I heard a horn sound not too far behind us, I was sure we were spotted. Those things wanted revenge for me killing one of their children, and I could not blame them for that. If someone shot my child in cold blood, I would take justice out on them myself. Brad had nothing to do with that child’s death, and I could not let him suffer for my ignorance and fear.

Suddenly I cried out in pain and fell to the ground. Brad stopped to help me, but my leg was broken. I was not going anywhere. Brad insisted he could help me along, but I was not going to let him get caught because of me. I insisted he think of his wife and kids. I was not going to make it out of here alive, and there was no point in the both of us dying.

My friend did not want to abandon me, but he knew the reality of the situation just as much as I did. There was no way he could outrun these things supporting me with a useless leg. Tears ran from his eyes the final time I told him to go, get away from here and get back to his family. He threw his arms around me and hugged me tight. We were best friends since grade school. We never did anything without the other one. Now he had to go and leave me here to die to save his own life.

Finally, Brad turned and continued running toward the thinnest section of the lake. Once I was sure he was gone, I stood up and began walking back toward the sound of the horn. The only hope Brad had of getting away was if these creatures got what they wanted, so I had to make him think he had no choice but to leave me behind.

Several of the goat-men emerged from the darkness from all directions. Very slowly and with the tips of my fingers, I dropped the shells from my gun. I hung my head in shame as I stretched my arms out wide, holding the butt of my pistol with the tips of my index finger and thumb.

One of them grabbed my firearm from me from behind, then I felt them seize both of my arms. The creature who was standing directly in front of me, staring at me as the others took hold of me began walking toward me as it withdrew a large bone knife from its scabbard. There was no doubt in my mind this was the father of that poor child I murdered. Even though it was not human, I could still see the pain and anger in its face.

I cried out in agony as I was struck behind the knees with a wooden rod. No doubt my legs really were broken now. The creature in front of me grabbed my hair and forced me to look it in its eyes. It raised its polished blade high in the air, and just before he brought it down, I told him through teary eyes, “I am so sorry. I am a father too. We didn’t know.”

Another Statue

By Mychal Wilson

On March 11, 2023

In Aetet 3, Ninth Triad, Vastness of Reality

Word Count: 6,006

We had several days of unrelenting heavy snow here in the northern region of the mountains during the past few weeks. Today, even though the temperature was still extremely frigid, it was beautiful and sunny. I was cooped up in the house alone for more than a week, and I felt like I was about to go absolutely stir crazy.

The only road leading from my house to town was closed, as were many of the roads beyond that. I was unable to go to work, the grocery store or anywhere. Fortunately, I stocked up on food and supplies when I initially heard some bad weather may be pushing its way into the region.

The only times I went outside during this extended storm were to shovel off my back porch and around the garage door. If I did not shovel regularly, I would not be able to get out of the house once the snow finally ended. Even the phone lines were down so I could not call anyone. I was up here all by myself.

I felt blessed being given a nice day like it was today, so I decided I would get out my snowmobile and check out the surrounding countryside. I wondered if the whole region got hit with as much snow as what fell on my house. After getting dressed in the appropriate attire for this type of outing, I headed to the garage. First checking to make sure the gas tank was good and full; I opened the garage door before turning on the engine.

As I allowed it about ten minutes to warm up, I checked all of my supplies to make sure they were all there. I had my tent, emergency mylar sleeping bags, hand warmers, a flare gun and three flares, a heated thermos, a first aid kit and various other supplies. Confident I had everything I might need, I climbed aboard and rode up a snow ramp I made from my driveway surface to the top of the heavily fallen snow. There must have been at least three to four feet of new snow in most places.

I knew all the land to the south-east, but I never took the time yet to explore the wilderness to the north. I decided since today was my first day out of the house in almost a week, I would go check out the partially forested areas I had yet to see. The southern area was mostly just farms not worthy of the time it would take to explore.

With work, and the long commute to and from, I did not have a lot of time to do much exploring since I inherited the house from an uncle last spring. It is presumed he went out on his ATV and some sort of accident befell him during this outing. His ATV and some climbing gear seemed to be the only things missing from the house after his disappearance. Search and rescue found some of his belongings, but never did find him. The final conclusion was wild animals got to his body before the recovery team could.

I never knew my uncle personally. I grew up in the south, and probably only saw him twice in my life. That was when I was very little. I could scarcely remember what he looked like, and I was sure most of those vague memories of his face were from photographs my grandmother used to show me.

He and my father became rather wealthy together prospecting in precious metals. My father relocated with my pregnant mother to the city where I was born and raised. My uncle, who had no family of his own, moved way out here where he lived the rest of his life all by himself. He left me an amazing two-story log house and a lot of land, but it was extremely lonely up here.

Becoming aware I was standing there staring off into the distance, I shook my head and tried to clear my thoughts. I did not want to dwell on those emotional issues today. Today I planned to enjoy this day of sunshine and no strong winds.

Turning the throttle, I was quickly on my way. The wind was extremely cold on my face, but the parka I was wearing was amazingly efficient. I could not imagine what the wind, both from the harsh weather and from the wind created by the moving vehicle, would do to exposed skin in this extreme cold.

As I approached a clearing in between two large, pine forest patches I turned back to look at my new rustically luxurious home. It really was a beautiful house, and the location was great for someone who wants solitude. I had no real friends when I was a little kid, and I would not say anyone I knew today was a friend. I guess by nature I am a lonely creature like my uncle.

I could not cruise at the fast pace I would like to since I was not yet sufficiently familiar with the terrain. If I was moving along too hastily, my reaction time would be reduced. If my reaction time was reduced, I may very well run into a rock buried in the snow or a fallen tree trunk that would halt my vehicle underneath me instantly.

This was the top of a mountain, but one would not know that from seeing a small section. The mountain top was very wide and relatively flat. Coming from the southeast, the climb up the mountain was so gradual, one would hardly notice the incline. This way was obviously hillier and steeper, and this side of the mountain ended with a sheer cliff face. I never saw the cliff from the top, but I do remember seeing the massive stone precipice once from down in the valley when I was very little.

Stopping for a moment while I decided on which way to proceed, I turned off the motor so as not to waste fuel. Choosing a point off in the distance, I got a bearing on my direction with my compass. I wanted to make sure I got a good measurement on my direction so in the unlikelihood I got lost, I could find my way back with minimal difficulty.

I was startled at first but was in something of a state of awe when I saw a large herd of white-tailed deer crossing from one forest patch to the other. I never saw that many deer so up close like this; it was really quite a majestic thing to see. By my best estimate, I would say there were probably two dozen of them.

Several had antlers, but most of them did not. The largest of the males and no doubt the leader of the herd had twelve points at least. I was really glad I chose this route. Perhaps nature would reveal some more of herself to me on this outing.

My camera was packed on the back of my snowmobile, so I was unable to get a photo of the beautiful sight. I could reach it without getting off my vehicle, but I knew any motion would probably send the herd running. I waited until most of them passed before trying to retrieve my camera from behind me. Sure enough, that movement was enough to startle them, and they ran off in an instant. Sticking the camera in one of my pockets, I wanted to make sure I did not miss another photo opportunity like that again.

Soon after that, the ground started to become much rockier and tree filled than the terrain closer to home. Even with the snow as deep as it was, rocks and boulders still stood high above the snowline. I probably should have turned back at that point, but I wanted to do a little more exploring.

Moving even slower than before, I did my best to watch for any obscured obstacles in front of me. My goal was to get to that cliff face today. How far away it was exactly I did not know, but I did not think it could be too incredibly far.

The endless white snow played an optical trick on me. I thought I was simply rounding the top of a hill in between two rock formations, but instead I found myself careening over the edge of a thirty-foot-high cliff. Everything suddenly seemed to go in slow motion for the next few seconds. The snowmobile was falling straight down in a nosedive. I was in a temporary state of shock as I watched the ground approaching. My instincts obviously kicked in because I pushed myself away from the snowmobile as hard as I could, so we did not end up landing in the same place.

That quick reaction saved my life. The snowmobile hit the ground and shattered into a million pieces. I landed hard, but the deep snow did a lot to help break my fall. When I stood up, I was standing in a two feet deep impression shaped like me. My body was going to hurt, but I did not think I had any serious injuries. I wished I could say the same thing about my transportation. It was never again going to move under its own power.

It looked like my pack of supplies remained intact. I felt a sense of relief when I checked the back of the wreckage and found the stuff in my pack seemed to be just fine. If I got stuck out here in the wilderness tonight, I would have a warm tent and warm water to drink. Digging out my compass, I got a bearing on the direction to my house.

I was going to have to find a way to go around this cliff. I was not a skilled climber at all, and my thick clothing was not conducive for scaling stone. Without any climbing gear I was not even going to chance it. I would rather face the weather than try to climb the face of that cliff, even if it was much shorter than the one I originally sought.

Keeping the three-story cliff on my left side, I began to walk. Hopefully I could find a short enough section that would allow me to climb back up to the hilly surface above. I did have a nylon rope in my pack, but I had no idea how to use it for climbing. It seemed finding a location easy enough that I could ascend was really my only option.

I had a few hours until the sun began to set, and I traveled a fair distance on the snowmobile to end up here. Now I really wished I stayed inside today. I was getting cabin fever, so I wanted to get out for a bit. Now making it back home before dark was going to be difficult if not impossible.

The temperature was well below freezing, but my clothing was very warm and insulating. I had heavy thermals on, my snow suit and parka on over that. Between those and my own natural body heat from the physical exertion of hiking through this snow my body stayed warm. When evening came, followed by darkness the temperature was going to drop drastically. I was going to have to wait to see how well my clothes helped me at night.

I began to wonder if I should set up my tent and shelter down until morning. Before I did that, I tried walking a bit further looking for a way back up the cliff. Before it started getting dark, I erected my tent and filled my heated thermos with snow. I did not want to wait until I could not see before preparing to stay put for the night.

I never used a mylar sleeping bag before. I saw them on the shelf at the store and thought they would be good to have in my emergency pack. It was supposed to reflect eighty percent of the body heat back in toward the occupant. Hopefully it really worked as advertised. If not, I may freeze to death before the night was at an end.

The wind blew hard all night long, but my short tent held firmly in place. The canvass flapped and rattled the entire time, making it virtually impossible to get any sleep. I was happily surprised the mylar sleeping bag really did do a spectacular job of keeping me nice and warm.

I did not notice the snow that covered my tent halfway to the top until I woke up the next morning. What time it was exactly I did not know, but I did know it was very early in the morning. The sun could not be more than an hour above the horizon. I tried to stuff my mylar sleeping bag back into its original carrier but found that to be an impossible task. I rolled it up as best I could before stuffing it into my pack. Unzipping the tent, I began to dig my way out to the surface.

It did not take long to get out of my tent and get it stashed away as well. The canvass shelter was small and compacted well making it easy to store. I drank the water I had in my heated thermos and refilled it with some of the freshly fallen snow. That would be my water for drinking later. I returned that to my pack, threw it over my shoulder and resumed walking along the low cliff face.

Following the cliff for several miles, I eventually found what I needed. An old rockslide created a climbable ramp I could use to get back to the level above me. I was really beginning to worry that I would not find a way back up there, and without getting back to the top of the cliff, I was not going to find a way home.

Climbing the rockslide was not as easy as I initially anticipated. The blowing snow last night coated the rigid stones with a slick layer of white ice. Several times my feet slipped out from under me, but I was able to catch my balance before I was sent plummeting down the heap of rocks. With the top only a few feet away, I grabbed onto an exposed root to help pull myself up the rest of the way. I should have been more cautious because the root I gripped was not attached to anything but loose dirt. The dead root came free from the snowy ground, and I lost my balance, falling to my right.

Agony sent sparks through my eyes as my right foot caught in a space between two large rocks. My curses echoed through the snowy terrain as I tried to twist my body enough to free my overstretched ankle. It did not take much effort to free my foot once I adequately turned myself over, but the damage was already done. I did not think I broke anything, but I held no doubts that I severely sprained it.

How was I going to make it back all that way with one bad foot? Was I going to die out here now?

I managed to get myself rolled over to my left side and tossed my pack up to the level ground only feet away from me. Using my arms and my one good leg, I slowly pulled myself the rest of the way up the rockslide. My painfully injured ankle bumped and scraped against the cold stones, and the jagged edges dug into my ribs and hip. It was extremely painful, but eventually I got my entire body off the rockslide and onto the level above.

Rolling over onto my back, I removed one of my gloves and felt around my snow suit. I was sure I tore it on the rocks, but the padded clothing held up much better than I expected. That was a great relief. I figured my chances of survival would drop dramatically if I ripped holes in my protective clothing. Things were bad enough already with my demolished snowmobile and a sprained ankle. I did not need any more misfortune to pile up onto my current problems.

I did not even bother with trying to stand. As intensely as my ankle throbbed, I knew there was no way my weight was going to be able to remain supported on it. I scanned around and thought for a few minutes considering what possibilities I had. There was a tree line perhaps fifty yards or so away from me, and the ground sloped downward in that direction. There I hoped I could find a broken limb big enough to utilize as a make-shift crutch.

Rummaging through my pack, I removed the used mylar sleeping bag and spread it out on the ground. It took me a few minutes, but I finally managed to get my whole body on it while keeping it spread smooth on the snow. I put my pack on the sleeping bag with me, and using two tent spikes I slowly pulled my way over the snowy ground. With the downward slope, and the slipperiness of the mylar on top of the snow, it only took me about thirty minutes to reach the tree line.

I rolled off the mylar bag and positioned myself on my hands and knees. Being very careful to keep my injured foot off the ground, I crawled into the cluster of leafless trees in search of a crutch. I found several branches that seemed about the right size, but their crooked shapes would make balancing difficult.

I was getting really worried about the true direness of my predicament. Several hours already passed since sunrise, and I made it less than a hundred yards from the cliff’s edge. Unless I could find a way to speed up my progress, I would probably freeze to death out here if I did not starve first. Personally, I would have rather died in the snowmobile crash than to freeze to death.

Trying to keep myself from going into a panic, I continued searching for something to help me walk. Thirty minutes further into my search I finally found a long sturdy limb with a V-shaped branch at one end. Although not as good as store bought crutches, the makeshift implement served its purpose well.

I now found myself faced with another problem. If the snow was deep at all, the butt end of my crutch and my left leg could easily puncture right through the surface. I had to stay in some of the rockier areas where the snow was shallow, and the rough ground the rocks provided was difficult to navigate with one foot out of commission.

As I rounded a large outcropping, I almost fell to my back. I very abruptly found myself walking right up on somebody standing inside a rock fissure. After the initial shock of seeing someone out here wore off, I called out to the person. I was so glad I found someone out here, even if they were trespassing on my land. He probably hid in the rocks when he saw me coming.

My brief sense of relief quickly faded when I noticed the person was not moving. Something did not look right about this at all. A feeling of dread made my stomach churn as I looked upon the figure in front of me. I took a few steps toward it so I could get a better look at it.

Briefly I thought it might be a statue of some sort, but the bits and pieces of wind torn clothing on it made me think otherwise. The flesh was black and dry from the exposure to the freezing air with a papery texture that reminded me of a wasp nest. The face of the ice mummy was contorted and its mouth wide open as if to scream. The arms appeared to be trying to swat something away, something that terrified this man immensely.

I would expect to find a body in this deteriorated condition out in this frozen region, but I would expect to find it on the ground. It made my body run cold with nearly crippling fear to think of how someone could die and remain standing long enough to dry into a frozen desiccated mummy like this. Not even the negative temperatures and high winds could cause a man to freeze while standing.

As quickly as I possibly could, I put some distance between me and that hideous standing corpse. Suddenly I began to feel an unshakable sense of paranoia, like the very rocks and trees were watching me, stalking me. I nearly fell several times as I repeatedly turned back to make sure that dried up horrific thing was not following me.

Absolute fear and adrenalin helped numb the pain in my foot allowing me to pick up the pace a bit. I was still hampered by my injury, but the only thought on my mind was getting away from that abhorrent corpse statue. I truly hoped getting away would mean I was back at home by dark. Since I varied my speed so much and fooled around on my snowmobile coming out here, I really had only a vague idea of how far away I was from my nice warm house.

I began to tremble, not from the cold but from the terror filling my heart and mind as I watched the sun drop slowly to the horizon. I was not back to anything I recognized yet, and I was going to end up caught out here at least one more night. The idea of being out here in the wilderness with that dried up mummy, and even worse whatever did that to him, welled up terror in me like I never knew.

I continued on until the sun began dipping below the horizon line. I quickly looked for a place to set up my tent. I did not know where would be the safest and where would be the most perilous to sleep. I eventually chose a small cluster of trees next to a large boulder for the concealment it provided.

Setting up my tent did not take very long, but I could not use the sleeping bag I used last night. Since I was using it as a sled of sorts, it was wet with snow melted by the friction. That wet would become ice in the cold night air, so I had to get out my back up bag.

Using sticks and snow, I tried to conceal my tent as best as I could. I was no survivalist, and by the time I was done with my camouflage attempt, I think my tent was more obvious than before I tried hiding it. I hoped it would look natural enough to fool anything looking for me, and I propped some sticks along the tent. Maybe that was just me being paranoid, but I was sure there was something out there watching me.

Climbing into my little tent and into the mylar sleeping bag, I zipped up the front flaps and pulled my knees as far as I could to my chest. My ankle throbbed intensely, and I was terrified beyond imagination. I did not think there was any possible way I was going to sleep tonight. I was wrong about that. Between the horror I experienced, the feeling of lurking doom, the physical exertion and lack of food for more than a day, I actually fell asleep very quickly.

I awoke and it was still dark outside. I stayed hidden in my tent until I saw the light of the morning sun hit the side of this flimsy shelter. I could not hear anything, but I was sure there was something moving around in the darkness outside my tent. I remained as quiet as possible, but in my crippling dread of what was out there stalking me my breaths sounded to me like the roar of a lion.

There was no snow last night, so at least I did not have to dig myself out this time. I got my things gathered up and packed, then I was back on my way as quickly as I could. The skin-chilling sensation of having an unseen observer lurking about remained with me.

Glancing all around me for anything out of the normal as I continued to limp my way back home, I scanned the area for any signs of movement. Not knowing what I was looking for, I could not shake the feeling something was watching me. There was something stalking me; I just knew it. There was some sinister creature, some malevolent force that wanted to turn me into one of those frozen statues. I sensed its horrible presence like I sensed the cold air.

I tried to remain near the tree line when I could. I did not care for being out in the wide open. Whether the trees provided me with any coverage, with any protection, I did not know. I did know being in a clearing provided me with no coverage at all as well as making it difficult for me to utilize my makeshift crutch in the deeper snow. This was best to try to keep myself as hidden as possible. If I pushed myself hard, I could be back home by the end of the day.

I momentarily felt better about my situation when I saw a small herd of deer grazing among the trees in a small patch of forest. If something was skulking around, the deer would certainly be spooked. That feeling quickly passed once I realized the deer were not moving. They were standing as still as, well as still as statues. I could not see if they were in the same condition as the man I encountered yesterday, and there was no way in hell I was going to get any closer than I already was in an attempt to find out.

I could not fathom what in this world could possibly do something like this. There could not be any sort of natural creature that could kill in such a manner. If it was not something natural, then it had to be something supernatural. If it truly was something supernatural, I did not think I had any chance of survival.

I knew I was not too incredibly far from my house, and I pushed myself even harder to get back to its safety and comfort. Feeling no sense of security near the trees anymore, I veered out into an open clearing. At least in the open I might be able to see whatever left that man and those deer nothing but freeze-dried mummies before it got to me. If those deer in the trees were not able to sense this thing though, I probably did not have much hope. Those deer looked like they were still grazing when they died.

It was getting hard to stick to rockier ground. The snow here was deeper and spread more evenly than the ground I traveled thus far. This made walking with a crutch and injured ankle even more difficult than before. I had to make it over this next hill, then I was quite sure I had a gentle downward slope the rest of the way to my house. If I had to, I could slide on my mylar sleeping bag as I did before.

Getting up this hill was going to be the most difficult part of my journey. It was much steeper than any incline I encountered so far, and it was deeply packed with snow. As I forced my way through the snow, I found it was as deep as my waist. There was no way I was going to be able to push my way through that much snow. Using my crutch, I began to pack the icy flakes down in order to create a makeshift trail for me to use.

It seemed to be working. My progress was very slow, but I was making it up the hill. Suddenly I cried out in pain as I lost my balance. My good foot slipped and instinctively I tried to stabilize myself with my injured foot. When I did, both of my legs buckled underneath me, and I was sent rolling back down the hill. I did not think about what I was doing. I threw my arms out in an attempt to halt my fall, which turned out to be a critical mistake.

By the time I reached the bottom of the hill and the initial onset of confusion subsided, my right shoulder was dislocated, and I was positive I broke one of the bones in my right forearm. The pain was so incredibly intense, I thought for a moment I was going to pass out. What was supposed to be a short outing on my snowmobile turned out to be the worst experience of my life.

I was laying there in the snow with half of my body disabled. When I fell, my pack came loose and landed approximately thirty feet away from me. I was on the last leg of my journey home, no pun intended, and I was not going to give up on living quite yet. I forgot about my pack. I was almost there, so I did not really need it anymore. Instead, I began crawling on my left side back to the trail I created for myself.

Tears involuntarily rolled down my cheeks as I thought about the direness of my situation. The salty drops froze almost immediately to my wind burned face. I was so close. I was almost home, and then I was sure I would be safe. I still needed medical attention, but I would still be safe.

Inch by inch I worked my way back up the hill using the trail I already made. There was no way I was going to give up on living; I enjoyed life way too much to simply throw in the towel. I did the only thing I could and kept driving, kept pushing myself to make it over the ridge. The agony from my injuries was beyond description. I had a broken arm, a dislocated shoulder and a sprained ankle, all of which were on the right side of my body.

I almost made it back to the point on the hill where I fell and crippled my arm, and I then saw it. God help me, I saw it. My heart pounded in my chest as I stared up at the nameless horror. Not even in the darkest of legends had I ever heard of such a thing as this described. All this time I felt like I was being stalked, being watched, but I never saw anything. Now I understood why.

The creature, I guess it could be called a creature, had an oblong body about six feet in length and three feet wide. Dozens of one-foot-long multi-jointed legs ending in needle sharp points ran the full length of its body. The monster was almost completely transparent, and it appeared to be crystalline in nature. A pattern of hexagonal scales or facets, I could not say for certain which one, covered its insect-like body.

Although it was flying, it had no wings that I could see. It appeared to hover in place, seeming to disappear from one place and reappear only feet away every few seconds. I screamed as I desperately tried to pull myself the rest of the way up this snow-covered hill. I pleaded to God for help, but none came. The thing seemed almost amused with my anguished struggle to get up this snow-packed hill, as it darted back and forth for several minutes while I tried to pull my broken body through the three-feet deep snow.

Suddenly it began to make a noise. It began with a low hum, but it quickly became a deafening strum that caused the surface snow to dance. It almost sounded like thousands of crystal chandeliers crashing to a cement floor simultaneously. Bawling as I tried in vain to climb the hill with half of my body broken, I rolled over onto my back to look at the thing.

I really believed the horror was enjoying itself playing with me like a cat with a mouse. I did not even know if the unnatural thing understood the concept of pain as I did. What its true intentions were was anyone’s guess, but I believed with everything in me that it was playing with me. It was taunting me, mocking my agony and having fun in the process.

I begged and pleaded for it to please go away and leave me alone, but I do not think it understood me. As far as I knew, it had no sense of hearing. This thing, this horrific crystalline beast was so alien, I doubt very seriously it had the same five senses I had. I cried and hoped it would understand my fear and leave me alone. Whether or not it reacted to the terror it was putting me through, I could not say.

The icy demon curled its legs to its side, sank down to hover only a few feet above me, and opened an aperture in its body. I could see the dark purple flesh leading to the monster’s gullet. It was not truly transparent because I was able to see its disgusting insides. Instead, it somehow seemed to move light around itself to keep itself hidden.

I felt a strange tingling for a fraction of a second, then a burning pain coursed through my entire body. This unnatural monster began drawing the warm fluids out of my body, which tore through my clothing as it was extracted from my flesh. My individual cells ruptured as the unholy terror pulled my bodily fluids out of me like a mist into what might be called a mouth. I thought I was in pain before with my broken and bruised limbs, but that was very minor to the agony I now suffered. It only lasted for a minute, but it might as well be eternity.

My once living pink skin was now papery and gray. My whole form was now the same as that of the ice mummy I encountered nestled in the crevasse yesterday. My body was deceased and rigid, yet inside it somehow my mind remained alive. I could still see and hear, although I could no longer move my eyes. It did not even have the decency to kill me. The unholy thing fed off the fluid in my body but left me frozen like this forever.

Any question regarding its intent or motivation was made clear. This horrific thing was going to leave me stuck in my own dead body. I did not think there could be anything more torturous than spending eternity trapped in your own petrified corpse. The flying monster was truly a wicked and evil thing from another time or another place.

The virtually invisible demon picked my mummified corpse up and carried me far into the wilderness. I could see the snow covered, rocky landscape passing underneath me as well as the wind roaring through my ears. I even felt the creature’s legs gripping onto my body as it carried me away.

If someone were to come looking for me, they would not go far if they found my body where I was close to my home, so the thing moved me to make me harder to find. Like it did with the ice mummy I found yesterday, the malicious creature set me down in a clearing in the center of a cluster of large rocks where I would spend all the time until the world ends as another statue.