My name is Nikolai Volkov and I was a Russian soldier who was present in the invasion of Ukraine back in May. I was a rifle man part of 6th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade and I was in a squadron with 6 other soldiers: Ivan, Pavel, Dimitri, Sergei, Mikhail, and Andrei. We were deep behind enemy lines and had been fighting for months, facing constant attacks from Ukrainian forces. We were exhausted and on edge, never knowing when the next attack would come.
One night, we decided to take up in an abandoned village to rest and avoid being seen by drones using their thermal imaging. The night was quiet and we woke up around 4 am to pack up in order to leave. As we left and traversed the Ukrainian wilderness, we saw a cave and decided to take a look inside to see if there were any signs of enemy activity.
My squad and I froze and our blood ran cold as we entered the cave. Inside, we saw a disturbing, hunchbacked old woman with what appeared to be a horn on her head. She was surrounded by a mass grave of civilians, their bodies twisted and contorted in grotesque positions. The smell of decay and rot filled the air, making it difficult to breathe. The cave walls were slick with moisture, and the sound of dripping water echoed through the chamber.
The old woman was facing us, smiling with metallic-like teeth that glinted in the dim light. Her eyes seemed to glow with an otherworldly energy, and her skin was unnaturally pale. We could feel her gaze piercing into our souls, and a sense of dread washed over us. We knew immediately that she was pure evil.
We were frozen in fear, not knowing what to do. The old woman cackled maniacally and began to shuffle towards us, her gnarled hands reaching out. Ivan, the youngest member of our squad, screamed and the sound echoed through the cave. Without hesitation, Dimitri and Mikhail stepped forward and aimed their rifles at the old woman. She lunged at Ivan with lightning speed, knocking him to the ground. Dimitri and Mikhail fired their rifles, but the old woman seemed unphased by the bullets. She cackled maniacally and grabbed Ivan, pulling him deep into the cave.
We all scattered, trying to get as far away from the old woman as possible. I stumbled and fell to the ground, looking up just in time to see her disappearing into the darkness with Ivan.
I looked around frantically, trying to figure out what had happened. My squadmates were all huddled together, looking just as shocked as I was.
“What the hell was that?” Pavel exclaimed.
“I don’t know,” I said, my voice shaking. “But we have to go after her. We can’t leave Ivan behind.”
We quickly gathered our things and followed the old woman into the cave, our rifles at the ready. The darkness seemed to close in around us, and we could feel the old woman’s presence growing stronger. We followed the sound of her cackling until we reached a deep chamber in the cave. There, we saw the old woman standing over Ivan, her claws extended. Ivan was lying on the ground, his face mutilated beyond recognition.
Without hesitation, Dimitri and I aimed our rifles and fired. The old woman lunged at us, knocking our rifles out of our hands. She was too fast, too powerful. We were outmatched. We knew that we had to retreat. As we fled from the cave, we heard the old woman’s cackles echoing behind us.
We didn’t stop running until we reached the Ukrainian lines, where we surrendered ourselves and became POWs. We were devastated by the loss of Ivan and knew that we could never go back to that cave.
As we sat in our cell, we couldn’t shake the feeling that the old woman was still out there, lurking in the shadows. We couldn’t explain how she had survived the bullets or how she had managed to outmaneuver us. We knew that she was more than just an ordinary old woman - she was something dark and ancient, with powers beyond our comprehension.
I write this story with a phone that a Ukrainian I befriended gave me. I hope this story serves as a warning to others about the dangers of the old woman and the horrors that lurk in the Ukrainian wilderness. If you ever find yourself in the depths of that country, be warned: don’t venture into the caves. You never know what you might find lurking in the darkness.