Located outside of a small town lay an unsuspecting river named Snake River. It stretched through a thick forest, winding between the hilly terrain and continued on through the land before emptying into a lake further south.
The name however held more meaning then just it’s wildlife and geography. Locals also attribute the name to the incidents that happen after a person visits this river. Gradual loss of health combined with excessive open wounds that appear in twos, have many comparing it to being bitten multiple times by a snake. These wounds can appear days after the visit.
I work for the Environment and Chemical Health Agency and this river caught my attention as I was reading local news stories from other areas. People of the town, which was half a state over, were terrified of this river. The governing body insists that there is no foul play happening at this river but it falls on unconvinced ears. From paranoia to superstition it was clear that something was scaring the townspeople. With a long weekend from my job I figured it was a perfect opportunity to go there myself.
As I was packing my gear I began to run through the equipment I would need. Water purity tests, soil composition analysis tools, detailed maps of the area, figuring this was enough for basic research. I grabbed my outdoor bag, which had everything you’d need to brave the wilds and camera equipment to document any findings. I figured this would be an overnight trip so I brought my tent as well. As I was loading up the car my mind went though all the possible reasons these events were happening;
Chemical leaks
Waterbourne pathogens
Wildlife
Cover-ups
Something darker
My realistic answer was it must be something related to pollution but I decided to stay open minded into this situation. The drive there was scenic, transitioning from urban design to a natural one. I stopped at a local diner to find entrance trails for snake river.
There were a few people inside and booths around the diner filled the air with the noise of conversations and clinking sliver wear. I took a seat at the bar and a woman asked me what I’d like to eat. The waitress taking my order was beautiful but apathetic to her job. She had red hair that bounced as she looked up and down from her notepad, scrawling my order on a ticket. Placing it into window separating the kitchen from the rest of the diner, she turned to look at me.
“So what are y’here for? This town doesn’t have many faces”
She asked, no grin or smile could be seen
I was caught off guard and stumbled on my response
“I uhh.. I came to investigate snake river”
Immediately her eyes darted across the room, making sure she was the only one who heard
“I wouldn’t” she was blunt and serious.
She walked away to faux clean the counters and I could tell I wasn’t getting anything else from her. After receiving my food, which the waitress handed me in silence. I used my phone to find the best entrance to a very wide part of the river. Doing so was important because I wanted to see what the chemicals are that accumulate in more stagnant parts.
A service road ran about half a mile away from this part of the river. It was put there for maintenance of the power lines. I decided this would be the best way to get by the river.
Tipping the waitress, who was glancing at me occasionally through the ticket window, I got up and left. I wanted to walk through the town before I examined the river to get a feel for things. It was a busy, but small town, though you could tell poverty struck the area.
It felt strange to see so many people since the woods around were so remote. Old cars lined the streets, rusted but running. Most of the businesses were supply stores with their products advertised in the windows. Alleyways separated some stores with bins, rubbish and discarded items. The occasional stray cats, content with pawing at the air, inhabited them. The People came and went with a purpose though, with no time for meandering. The town seemed always on edge, always darting their eyes into the forest line as if watching out for something. I caught a glimpse of a man who hobbled to his car, he was distraught. Groaning with each step, his face winced, while he scratched at his skin. He was close enough for me to see, there were multiple open sores that stayed in pairs. I knew this was another victim of the river and kept my distance, just in case.
I pressed on towards my car and after getting myself situated made my way to the service road. After many turns going deeper into the forest, the canopy thickened and everything beneath was shaded. With my windows open I could feel the air get colder while I watched the landscape darken.
There was no sign for the turn I had to make and I ended up on a dirt road. It was heavily overgrown and all that I could see were the two tracks made by maintenance vehicles. The road was in disrepair, massive holes and rocks littered the path. With enough clearance underneath the car I was able to navigate it, just barely. I arrived at the place marked in my phone, there was no turn-off or a place to park so I nestled my car in-between the road and forest line.
Gathering the supplies out of my car I admired the simple beauty of the area. In the deeply shaded brush, the few rays of light that penetrated the canopy displayed particles hanging in the air. Small insects darted through the beams trying to catch anything they can. The sounds of distant animals could be heard but didn’t see any, I think my car drew too much attention and most of them skittered off.
Starting my investigation, I trekked in to the brush. One thing that caught my eye was the abundance of poison ivy. Growing in any space that would support it, the plants would cling to trees, other plants, and themselves, to create a tangled mass. Many of the plants had leaves missing or half chewed off, someone’s been hungry. Looking closer, I saw the ground around the area was littered with deer tracks and deduced the culprit.
I did start to wonder if the reason for these strange events was as simple as poison ivy but I still wanted to investigate every other avenue.
Moving branches and vines as I walked deeper into the forest the felt more humid, and I could tell the river was getting closer. Mosquitoes swarmed my body, with the only thing saving me was sleeves and pant legs. As I stepped over a log I heard a very familiar rattle, with little time to react. Feeling a thud against my boot I quickly took a few steps away and turned around. Guarding it’s home, a rattle snake was coiled and ready to strike again. I knew this couldn’t be the culprit, since marks would appear after the incident and rattle snake venom was no joke. It was not something you walk off nor something unseen.
I continued on, eventually finding my way to the side of the river. The waters current was mild here, small sticks and leaves floated by gently and the banks smelled of algae. Finding a small clearing beside the water and set to work unpacking my gear. I went to gather firewood from around the area, now cautiously avoiding big logs for fear of another attack. I heard this strange noise farther into the woods, like metal banging against rocks. I thought it was just debris getting caught in the river, and moved on.
By the time I had finished setting up camp the sun started to set. I was thankful since the heat of the day would be swallowed by the cold night. The night-life of the woods started to stir and soon they could be heard, filling the forest with chirping, croaking and calling. I laid down in my sleeping bag and let my mind wander. The wildlife was at healthy populations, the plants were growing fine, it perplexed me as to why these events were happening. If this was a hoax then why did the townspeople look so worried, and what about the man who was a living testament? I drifted off to sleep, but the peace didn’t last long…
CRACK!
My eyes shuttered, unsure of what I heard
CRACK! CRACK!
The wildlife went quiet and with my senses returned I was fully awake. The forest was silent now, with the sound of my own breath bouncing off the tents walls. I grabbed my flashlight and slowly unzipped the tent, peering into the darkness I listened quietly.
CRACK!
Almost breaking my neck I turned towards the source and shone my flash light in the direction. Trees and underbrush filled the cone of light, moving the light towards a larger tree I saw the rustling of leaves on the forest floor but couldn’t make out anything before it flitted away.
At the time I didn’t know what to do, so I started to walk towards where I heard the noise. Getting closer, I started to smell something akin to fireworks and it wasn’t until I saw someone laying on the ground, I approached them and shone my flashlight down. A man, wielding a pistol, was on his back breathing heavily. Marks covered his body and it was clear he was near death. A very dented and empty cage sat beside him, still locked. With his eyes bleeding he saw me approach him. Opening and closing his mouth in vain I knew he was trying to talk to me but couldn’t. He coughed, with blood dripping down the side of his mouth and coarsely said
“if they smell you… they will always find you….” I propped his head up and tried to ask him what happened and all he replied was
“They will be fed”
He started to seize up, and before long he died. Fist still clenched around the pistol. I ran back to my camp, and tried to call the police but there was no service. I knew I would have to drive out so I hiked back to my car. It was difficult at night, with the path I made in my head becoming lost to the fears and panic. Trying to stay calm, I realized I had completely forgotten how to get back. I only just managed to make it back to the river and followed it along until I saw my campsite again. Safe, for the time being. I started to breathe, and with the adrenaline fading, felt a sharp pain on my leg. Blood seeped through my pant leg and started to drip onto the forest floor. I looked over the rest of my body and all feelings came to a stop when I saw a peculiar mark. Two sores, side by side. Coming from where I ran, I heard another familiar noise. The crunch of leaves as something moved over them drew closer. From one direction, then many. I jumped into my tent and closed the flap, with the noises coming from the perimeter of my campsite. Something, or someone occasionally brushed against my tent and then continued to move around my camp, looking for me. They eventually gave up and the forest went quiet again. In complete darkness, from fear of being seen by my lights I tried to figure out what to do when I remembered my camera.
An Optical Pro 1680, top of the line quality with not only night vision, but thermal as well. I figured I could use this to really see what’s out there, and hopefully find my way back to the car.
Booting it up the welcome screen lit up my tent, and soon displayed on screen it’s view. Turning on the night vision I crept out of my tent once again. The green haze filled the screen but proved effective as I could see everything without being seen myself. With a clear head and my camera I almost immediately found the path to my car and ran towards my only way out. Approaching the car, my heart crashed. With tires slashed and windows broken my car wouldn’t be going anywhere. Keyed into the sides of my car were various insults and depictions of snakes. On the hood of the car an even more ominous message was scratched in.
They will be fed
I knew it must’ve been the same man who died. Emotions ran through my head. I wasn’t only scared but now irate. I only came here to help people but with every interaction I was shunned away or even hunted. I knew something bigger was going on here so I started to record everything. I decided to go back to the body and gather evidence to bring home. It was a long hike back and I was frequently stopped by the sounds of something stalking me through the dead leaves. I switched from thermal and night vision to try and spot the culprit but there was never anything there. Finding the man’s body again I panned over him making sure to focus on each wound and the pistol, for the police investigation to go smoothly. I had the night vision on but fumbled my camera, accidentally switching it to thermal vision. Looking at the screen I could see the body clear as day, still warm after dying. I saw a black area over part of his body, almost like a tendril. My camera was malfunctioning, or just broke from the chaos. I brushed it off and went to record my campsite making sure to explain the events that happened on film. It was almost twilight, as the sky transitioned from black to dark blue. I was tired, I wanted for this to end but I knew there was still a very long walk back to town. I left most of my gear at the campsite, bringing only my camera. Stopping at my car, I reviewed the footage I already took and something caught my eye. Cutting to the parts with my thermal vision on, I saw the extent that my camera was malfunctioning. Dozens of black tendrils would be present during these parts of the recording. Almost invisible, I could only see them since the heat from the previous day kept the forest one shade of blue brighter while they stayed darker. I wasn’t concerned about the camera breaking though, I just wanted to escape with my life. The morning came full swing as did the heat. It must have been a combination of exhaustion and heat as I felt heavy. Like tangible stress that hung off me and it kept putting more weights on. I walked on the service road for what felt like miles, eyes darting into the forest line. I tried to let my stress go by messing with my camera, though the thermal vision must’ve completely busted. Everytime I would look around, black lines would be present almost everywhere.
I eventually made it back to town and immediately rented a car and left. There was no way I was staying local with the reception my car had. I’m now in a hotel room outside of town, writing my report on these events in order to get a full environmental investigation done. I already turned in my camera and explained to the police what happened. They took the dead body seriously but claimed it was a drug overdose with the wounds on him unrelated. The very same wounds that now appear on multiple parts of my own body. Unable to do a toxicology report, I have to wait until I drive back to the lab where I worked.
Continuing forward after this debriefing, me and a handful of other researchers will be going back to Snake River in order to deduce the real cause of what has unfolded.