This happened in 2019. I had always been an avid hiker, and when I heard about the beautiful trails in the Swiss Alps, I knew I had to go. So, I packed my bags and set off on my adventure.
The first few days were amazing. The views were breathtaking, and I felt like I was in a postcard. I had the trails all to myself, and I was loving every minute of it. But as I was hiking deeper into the mountains, I started to feel like I was being followed. The trail was deserted, and I had not seen any other hikers for hours, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching me. I kept turning around to see if anyone was behind me, but there was never anyone there.
I tried to tell myself that it was just my imagination playing tricks on me, but the feeling persisted. I started to feel paranoid and anxious, my heart racing with fear. I was so focused on the feeling of being followed that I didn’t even notice the beauty of the mountains anymore.
The feeling became even stronger as the day went on, and I started to hear strange noises behind me. At first, I thought it was just the wind, but as I turned around, I saw something that made my blood run cold. There, standing on the trail behind me, were three creatures. They were unlike anything I had ever seen before. They were tall and thin, with elongated limbs and heads that seemed too large for their bodies. Their skin was a sickly gray color, and their eyes were black and soulless.
I froze, unsure of what to do. The creatures just stood there, staring at me. I pulled my phone out to take a picture of them, but as soon as I did, they started running towards my and it made me panic. I lost my balance, fell on the ground, losing my phone in the process. I knew I had to get away FAST, so I got up and started running as fast as I could.
I ran for what felt like hours, but I couldn’t shake them. Every time I looked back over my shoulder, I saw that the creatures were following me.
They were always there, just behind me, their elongated limbs allowing them to keep pace with ease. I was terrified and I didn’t know what to do.
After a while, I stumbled upon what looked like an abandoned bunker deep in the mountains. I had heard that there were many bunkers made by the Swiss army in the Alps, but I never thought I would find one. I pushed open the rusty door, and as soon as I stepped inside, chills went down my spine. The walls were covered in carvings depicting the same creatures that were following me. I knew that I was not the first person to see these creatures. A tunnel went further into the mountain, but it was pitch black inside of it and I decided to stay within the first room. Old planks and empty beer cans were scattered on the floor.
I barricaded the door and huddled in a corner, trying to catch my breath. But I could still hear them outside, rustling in the bushes. I peeked out a small opening in the wall and saw that they were hiding behind the trees, watching the bunker. They would occasionally poke their heads out, their black eyes staring at me. This went on for the whole night, and I was too scared to sleep.
In the morning, the creatures were still there, lurking outside the bunker. I knew that I couldn’t stay there forever, so I decided to explore deeper into the bunker. I walked down the dark and damp corridor, feeling my way with my hands, touching the walls and using an old rotten broom as my guide. As I walked, I felt as if someone was watching me, but I knew it couldn’t have been the creatures as I would probably have heard them destroy the barricaded door of the bunker.
I finally reached the end of the corridor and opened the door to a large room. Inside, I felt something hanging on my right, I couldn’t quite tell what it was, could be clothes, maybe an uniform, or old rags, but I felt a metal helmet, it was clearly a helmet. And on my left, I felt a machine, I couldn’t tell what it was, but I heard a soft humming noise coming from it. I reached out blindly, trying to find the source of the noise, and my hand landed on a switch. I flipped it on, and the machine came to life.
Suddenly, the room was flooded with light and it blinded me for a second. I could see that this room also had carvings against the walls, just like the ones I had seen previously. Even though the room looked odd and creepy, the fact that it wasn’t pitch black anymore was somewhat relieving.
There was a greenish door leading further into the bunker, and I noticed that the machine also triggered lights in the corridor that led me to this room. I turned around and got scared for a second when I saw the old army uniform, hanging on the wall. It looked damp and moldy, as if it had been here for decades.
I was starting to feel lightheaded, which was probably normal. After all I hadn’t slept for over a day and the only food I had eaten was a local chocolate coated wafer bar and a small sausage. I didn’t pack a lot of food as there were small villages or rest stops everywhere in the Alps, and I had plans to sleep at a hotel the night prior. I was wondering if they tried to contact me, or alerted the authorities ? Maybe a search party was looking for me. But there was no way they would find me in this bunker. I sat down on the ground and leaned against the wall, trying to gather my thoughts and come up with a plan.
As I sat there, I noticed a shadow on the wall, coming from the entrance corridor. At first, I thought I was hallucinating, but no, I wasn’t. It was moving. It was them. The creatures that had been following me were now inside the bunker. I quickly got up and slammed the door shut, which luckily could be closed from the inside. As soon as I did, I heard them rushing towards the door. I turned to the other door, but it was locked.
I was trapped, with the creatures closing in on me. I could hear them scratching at the door, their elongated limbs reaching through the cracks. I remember thinking “This is it. This is how I die.”
I knew that I was going to die there, alone in that bunker, in a foreign country.
But then, I remembered the old Swiss army uniform hanging on the mannequin. For some reason, my survival instincts kept making me look at that uniform. Was it because uniforms have a sense of authority? Was it because of its rotten smell? Was I going crazy? I don’t know.
I quickly put it on and grabbed the helmet, hoping it would give me some protection if the creatures attacked me. The creatures broke through the door, and I braced myself for the worst. But as they approached me, they suddenly stopped. They stared at me for a moment, then turned and fled back into the wilderness, as if they were scared.
I never found out why they didn’t attack me, but I was just glad to be alive. I quickly made my way back to civilization, but until today I never spoke of the creatures I had encountered. I knew no one would believe me anyway, and I didn’t want to be known as the crazy hiker who claimed to have been followed by monsters in the mountains.