I want to start off by saying I am not a huge fan of the outdoors. I’m a city boy, the idea of sleeping in a tent and shitting in a hole in the ground doesn’t appeal to me. Having said that, like a dumbass I agreed to go on a camping trip and now, I am currently healing from a fall that is likely going to end up with my arm being amputated due to being mangled beyond repair..
I’ve asked my younger brother to tell my story here because he is the only one who believes me. It’s wild to think that I almost took him with me. I am so fucking glad I didn’t.
It was supposed to be two nights and my cousin George along with his wife (Tammy) promised I wouldn’t have to do anything other than get drunk. They emphasized that part and sweetened the pot by telling me there would be some cute girls coming with another group we were supposed to be meeting at the campsite.
I’ve gone camping before but I was with my parents and barely able to formulate sentences. According to George, the location was so undisturbed that we were probably going to be the first people to camp there. He went on and on about the spot, in his words: “This place is fucking amazing.”
To be honest there aren’t enough words in the human language to convince me camping could be fun. The memory I had of camping was filled with bugs, crying and being too hot. On the other hand, free booze and a shot at some “alone time” with a lady friend didn’t sound bad. I should’ve known better though, I’ve known George my entire life and he’s always had a habit of over exaggerating things. Like the time he said we could get a ton of free weed from this farmhouse out in the country. What we wound up with was a handful of buds and an ass full of birdshot from the farmers’ shotgun.
After five hours on the road we arrived at a rest stop outside of St. Elias national park. The people we were supposed to be meeting were running a little late so we pulled in there to wait for them. For once in his life, George was telling the truth and when the others finally arrived I was surprised to see Gail had come along. (The lady friend.) We were dating at one point but she broke up with me after learning about my drinking problem. Which is some bullshit because he likes to drink too and loves my personality. She knows I treat her well. The only problem I have with drinking is running ou- wait that came out wrong, ok, maybe I do drink a bit more than your average person but I keep my shit together. I rarely get blackout drunk and it’s not like I spend my days in a drunken haze, a glass or three after a long day at work is well deserved if you ask me. Sue me.
Anyway, once we were all together we headed for George’s secret spot. As we pulled off the road he started getting excited. “You won’t find this place on google maps I promise you that. Wait till you see the view, it’s gonna blow your mind.”
He and Tammy chatted the whole way while I sat in the back polishing off my signature Everclear and Kool-aid combo. After a teeth rattling ride down a few dirt roads we pulled into a clearing. I’m not sure how it happened but we were sitting high above the forest looking out over everything. Once again George was on the money, I was actually blown away.
I don’t remember exactly how long it took to get all the tents set up but the sun was setting as I watched Gail and this chick named Samantha get the fire started. Looking at the grade “A” cheek display in front of me I started thinking this camping thing wouldn’t be so bad. Soon the crackling of the fire along with the laughter of everyone having a good time made me forget where I was.
On second thought, that could be from the drinks to. (Maybe I do have a problem.) In any case it wasn’t long before George, Tammy and a few of the others decided to do a little exploring leaving me alone with Gail.
For the most part we didn’t have much to talk about. We made light conversation but eventually wound up just sitting there till Gail realized how long the others had been gone. ”It’s getting pretty late, shouldn’t they be back by now?”
I hadn’t really thought much about it but seeing the concerned expression on her face gave me a bad feeling. The longer we waited that feeling took over. Gail started calling out to them hoping they’d respond but all she got was the sound of her own voice echoing back at her. She glanced over at me sitting by the fire polishing off my third or fourth beer and shook her head.
”Pete, would you stop for a second and go look for them? I’m starting to get worried.” I could definitely feel the concern in her voice. I nodded and took a deep breath. “Alright, alright.” I mumbled.
Tossing my empties and a pile of empty snack wrappers in a bag, I got up and stretched. I honestly didn’t want to do it, like I said before I’m a city boy. Sending me out there to find them would just result in another one of us getting lost. At the same time I thought this might be my chance to win her back. Putting on a brave face, I grabbed the flashlight and told her to get the radio from the truck.
“If I don’t come back in an hour, contact the forest rangers. Whatever you do, don’t wander off just in case they come back before me.” I added.
Once I was sure which direction they went I started out. I hadn’t been on the trail long before I found Tammy’s backpack hanging from a tree. After a quick inspection of it I noticed blood on the straps. “George! Tammy! Where are you?! If you can hear me, say something!” I didn’t bother calling the others, mainly because I couldn’t remember their names. I only remembered Samantha because she had an amazing ass but since they should’ve been together I figured it didn’t matter.
I stood there for a long minute waiting for a response, when it didn’t come I grabbed the backpack and kept going. I didn’t want to wander too far from camp and not be able to find my way back so when I felt like I’d gone far enough I turned back.
When I turned around I spotted something I didn’t remember passing, there was this old dark almost blackened wooden post about four or five feet tall sticking out of the ground. Like it was staked to the earth by someone. Hanging from it was some sort of ornament made from bones, feathers and hair.
I stood there for a second watching it sway in the cool night air. I couldn’t have missed something like that, I wasn’t that drunk. Using my flashlight to get a better look at it I noticed some odd symbols carved into the post. I’d be lying if I said they looked familiar, honestly I had no idea what I was looking at. Trying not to think about it I shrugged it off and got moving, the moment I passed it I heard voices calling from somewhere in the darkness. I couldn’t make out what they were saying at first but the longer I stood there I could clearly make out two words “Help us.” and “This way.” every so often.
At the time, I was starting to feel more than a bit of anxiety and wasn’t really sure what to make of everything going on. I tried calling out to them but no one called back, it was so dark out there I could barely see a few feet ahead of me even with the light. I yelled and told them I was going to go back to camp to call for help and they should stay put. The voices suddenly stopped, I tried two or three more times but all I could hear was the wind rustling through the trees. “What the hell is going on?” I said to the air around me as I walked back.
I don’t know how I did it but somehow I ran all the way back to camp. When I got there Gail was gone, everything seemed okay, the fire was still lit and everything was in place so I thought maybe she’d gone to use the restroom. I didn’t want to panic, for all I knew this was some stupid prank and I was playing right into iit. Gail could even be in on it. The more I thought about it, the more I was sure they were just fucking with me and they’d come jumping out from behind a tree at any moment.
With that in mind I tossed Tammy’s bag down by their tent then pulled out my smokes and grabbed another beer from the cooler. If they were messing with me the joke would be on them I wasn’t going to play along anymore.
Hours passed, if this was a joke it wasn’t funny. I decided it was time to call for help but when I went to where we’d parked, the cars weren’t there. My heart sank and my mouth went dry, I was standing there staring at two empty patches of dirt. I didn’t know what to do, I told myself if this was a prank I was going to beat the shit out of George when I saw him.
Deep down something told me this was serious, I wasn’t going back in those woods but it was a five hour drive back to the city there was no way I could walk.
The rest stop was the only realistic option, I thought if I followed the dirt road we drove in on I could get back to the highway and hopefully get back there. That turned out to be a lot harder than I thought, I couldn’t tell you how many times I tripped over rocks or nearly broke my ankles stepping in potholes. By the time I made it to the highway I was covered in mud and tired as hell but words can’t capture how relieved I actually was.
The road ahead was dark, there were no street lights but the moon was surprisingly giving me more than enough light to work with. I noticed how beautiful the moon was, as it was full and shining brightly over the cloudless sky. I walked for what felt like hours until I came to a familiar looking dirt road that led into the woods. I laughed to myself thinking all these cut-offs looked the same then pushed on, feeling like I had to be close. After an hour or so I started feeling like someone was watching me, I would hear sounds or catch glimpses of something moving just out of view. I tried shining the flashlight on whatever it was but there was never anything out of the ordinary in sight.
I walked till my feet hurt and I was sober now, the road seemed to go on forever and the entire time I couldn’t shake that feeling. As badly as I wanted to keep going I just couldn’t, I needed a break. Making sure I was visible from the road, I sat on a rock near the tree line, that’s when I heard it for the first time.
“Hello! Is anyone out there?! If you can hear me, yell!?”
The voice sounded slightly like Tammy but somehow it also sounded like George. It echoed around me coming from every direction. With each cadence the voices changed, at one point I could’ve sworn I heard myself. If I hadn’t been scared before, that did it, the longer the voices droned on the less natural they sounded. It got to the point they seemed like a recording playing on a radio with dying batteries and some kind of wet sound. The voices slowed and distorted, finally fading into the background becoming barely audible.
Ignoring the pain in my feet I got up and started jogging, I wasn’t sticking around to find out what was going on. Years of drinking and smoking turned that jog to a brisk walk. I’d been going for a few minutes when I caught a glimpse of something moving in the brush. Thinking it might be one of the others I clicked on the flashlight and turned to get a look.
It was George, he was standing just outside the tree-line staring at me. “George!? What the fuck man!? Where is everyone?!” He didn’t respond, I tried calling him again but he didn’t budge. At this point I was starting to feel like I was losing my mind. When I shone the light toward him he finally reacted.
“The… flashlight.” He spoke. “Turn off…. the…. light.” His words were lifeless, it didn’t sound right, his lips were moving but the words weren’t coming from him. I realized he was coated in a dark colored liquid from the chest down. I could smell some kind of strange almost burnt odor.
“What happened to you, where is everyone?” As those words left my lips George opened his mouth and tilted his head back.
“Dude, are you okay? Quit screwing around, we should get out of here.” Instead of responding to me he let out a high pitched whine that made my head rumble. Dropping the flashlight, I clamped my hands over my ears trying to muffle to sound but it didn’t work. My head was beginning to ring and the sound got louder and louder until my vision blurred.
It was here when horrible pulses and flashes of strange visions occurred. It was as if dark red and black tendrils were invading my eyes and visceral images of George and my friends completely torn apart with their organs spilling out. The darkness wrapped themselves closer to the center of my eyesight and I feebly tried to put some force in standing up, but my legs felt so weak I could barely move. Dropping to my knees, I thought I would black out then the sound and visions abruptly stopped and George was gone. “What the FUCK?!” I remember crying out.
Confused and hurting, I fought my way back to my feet just as something came crashing through the darkness. It stormed out into the road ahead of me and suddenly I couldn’t breathe. I felt a tear stream down my cheek and the cold of the night caused my entire body to shake. The dark skin glistened in the moonlight as it turned and looked at me. I could make out fur and what looked like sticks or bones on certain sections of its body but its eyes felt like they were digging through my soul, ripping reality apart.
I wanted to scream but no words would come out. As it stepped closer my body trembled at the sight of it even more. A misshapen oversized skull with large yellow eyes capped its almost humanoid frame. Its protruding lower jowl with exposed tusks and rows of jagged teeth quivered dripping that same dark liquid I’d seen on George. The smell it gave off was sweet, almost floral, the aroma filled my lungs replacing the air around me forcing me to wheeze and drool trying to catch my breath.
A burning in my gut followed by crippling agony drained what little energy I had left forcing me to my knees. I was about to die, there was no doubt in my mind this was it. With tears streaming down my cheeks I closed my eyes accepting my fate. My arms fell limply at my sides and a growl came from in front of me that resonated through my body vibrating my bones.
The fingers of my left hand grazed something that slightly rolled when I touched it.
“The flashlight.” George’s voice replayed in my head, “Turn off the light.” I figured it could work and I found the energy to grab it, press the button. and aim it at the creature.
It instantly recoiled whining and whimpering attempting to escape. I watched as smoke began to rise from where I was aiming. It’s cavernous mouth was about to swallow me whole and fresh air suddenly filled my lungs as it scurried away, vanishing in the trees. As soon as it was out of my sight the forest came to life with the voices of my friends echoing around me. I was absolutely horrified. What the hell are these things?
Getting to my feet was a struggle and ignoring the voices was even worse but I managed both. Gripping the flashlight I staggered down the dark highway until I came to another dirt road leading into the forest. This wasn’t a new path, the rock I’d sat on to rest was there. I spun to look back in the direction I’d come from and was greeted by the same view of the same road with the exact same damn rock.
I told myself this wasn’t happening this had to be a dream, maybe I’d gotten too drunk and passed out. Then I heard the rustling of leaves and the snapping of twigs as the breeze brought in that disgustingly sweet odor the creature gave off. It was behind me, slowly shifting my eyes and turning to look back. I saw multiple sets of yellow eyes watching me from the darkness of the forest.
Without thinking I ran down the dirt road, I could hear them all around me running and calling my name. In my panic I wasn’t paying much attention to my footing and I smacked against a rock and I stumbled before crash landing in some mud. I frantically began pushing myself up and made sure the flashlight didn’t get damaged. Quickly, I aimed the flashlight around. I couldn’t see any of those things, but I saw something lying in the road ahead of me.
Once I was standing I eased my way towards it, shining the light on it I saw a familiar pair of hiking boots it was Gail. She was a mangled mass of shredded flesh, her legs were splayed out in unnatural positions revealing shards of splintered bone. I couldn’t process what I was seeing, my stomach lurched and I puked.
I couldn’t take it, I rushed past her trying not to look. Picking up my pace I pushed on. After a few minutes I saw another body this time it was George. He’d been torn in half, the upper part of his body crawling dragging his intestines along in a last ditch effort to escape the undeniable. That broke me, I stood watching for a moment till he gurgled out his last breath and dropped face down in the dirt.
Laughter, deep guttural laughter filled the air. They were having fun with me, playing with my torment. Swallowing the lump in my throat I tried to find the will to keep going, I ran until I couldn’t hear them behind me. Along the way I saw more bodies, everyone I’d come with was now mangled and dead but I had to keep moving. I couldn’t let them take me. I eventually came to the end of the road and could see the dim light of a fire in the distance.
I still hadn’t accepted the reality of what was happening so in my mind it had to be another group of campers. “Please let them have a radio.” I thought to myself pushing my body to jog towards the light. The closer I got the sound of people having a good time slowly came into focus.
For a second I thought it could be the creatures trying to lure me until I stopped to look back and saw Samantha standing in the middle of the road.
I knew for a fact I’d seen her dangling from a tree but, there she was, completely naked and covered in blood. My instant reaction was to take a step back, when I did, she took a step forward. The moment I turned to run away she screamed and came rushing after me. A mixture of fear and adrenaline surged through me pushing my body to exhaustion.
As I kept pushing myself, my eyes could understand what was happening. The path to the light twisted and turned thinning to the point it was almost impassable then opening into a clearing. Was I losing consciousness? I could see shadows moving in the light. That moment of distraction came at a price, the root of a nearby tree snagged my foot and sent me sailing through the air. I came down hard, dropping the flashlight in the process. It landed aimed at Samantha who was standing a few feet away not moving. The light caused her skin to smoke and blister still she didn’t move until I did. When I scooted back she lurched forward and burst into flames in the warping light. Heaping clumps of her flesh melted away from her body turning to ash before they hit the ground.
Understanding the light was the only thing saving me, I grabbed it being sure to keep it on her. I watched her burn away to nothing before I got up and made my way to the clearing. The moment I stepped off the trail my heart dropped into my stomach. There were two vehicles sitting in front of me, our two vehicles. I couldn’t believe it, my brain wouldn’t let me process what I was seeing. Slowly walking up to Georges S.U.V. I extended a trembling hand and ran it across the smooth metal smiling at the feel of it. I wanted to laugh, I wanted to cry but mostly I wanted the keys so we could get out of there.
“I found him, he’s over here!” A familiar voice called as beams of light hit me and George came running over. “Where’d you go? We’ve been looking for you all night, you can’t get drunk and go wandering around out here this place isn’t mapped, remember?”
I was speechless, I broke down into a blubbering mess once we were all back in camp. I tried explaining it to them but they kept insisting I was just drunk and had imagined it all. It was a lot to take in, I eventually gave up on convincing them and everyone settled into their tents for the night. Between the stress of everything and total exhaustion, sleep came easy. I was awakened a while later by warm kisses on my neck and soft hands in places they shouldn’t have been. Slowly opening my eyes I see Gail’s beautiful face as she kisses her way down my chest before vanishing beneath the covers. The smell of her perfume lingered in the air as I lay there enjoying every second of what was happening.
The longer it went on the stronger the aroma became. It got to the point I couldn’t breathe and panic set in. Tossing the blanket off us I gasped, Gail’s shredded mangled face smiled up at me and I screamed. There was a split second I considered putting the blanket back and letting her finish but the thought of dying is a hell of a mood killer. I backwards crab-walked out of the tent as quickly as I could and ran directly into George. When I looked up at his face it split open releasing a wave of sweet smelling liquid that washed over me then everything went black.
I had some kind of dream where I was floating, or maybe slowly falling. All around me was total darkness, but I could see my hands and limbs. Below me was some kind of pit. I could see a strange light rise from within the depths of this world I was now dreaming. The black liquid was in there.
I then heard a voice. It was so horrible, sending an electeic shock through me, but it was so commanding and I felt it inside of my very being. It was not of this world. It couldn’t be. The only way of spelling the words I heard would be something like:
“Ymg’ ephaiah ph’nglui mgepmggoka.” And I somehow knew what the words meant. It was like a primal feeling. (You will be taken in.)
While I weightlessly lowered into the cavernous floor, it spoke again and a cacophony of sickening crunchy wet sounds could be heard. With growing fear I noticed black tendrils begin to rise up from the tar like substance.
“If ymg’ mgathg ya, Y’ ephaihaunt ymg’ n’ghftephai ph’nglui n’gha.” (If you decide to reject me, I will haunt you even in death.)
I tried to close my eyes and tell myself I wasn’t here. I imagined myself in the woods trying to get out of this hell. I kicked, screamed and by some force, I was able to withstand the nightmare and pull myself back. Suddenly I could hear the sounds of people talking but everything was still completely pitch black. It felt like something was over my eyes and entire body. I wasn’t unconscious anymore now and I had to have been encased in something that didn’t allow me to move or see. I was completely covered in that black liquid.
There was another couple that made the trip with us, I can’t remember their names or what they look like but I heard their voices. They sounded completely fine! Then I heard another voice. It almost sounded like the voice I hward in that strange dream I just went through.
“The acceptance awaits. Take him to the overlook. Our assimilation shall not be interrupted.” A venomous and female voice demanded. It sounded as if the earth itself was speaking for her. The sound of dirt and insects crawling in your ear as she spoke. I felt myself being dragged across the ground. By the time we stopped moving I was still feeling rough from that run. I guess the terrain must have damaged whatever I was wrapped in because it felt less constricting and moveable enough for me to feel it loosen its grip.
I waited until I couldn’t hear those voices and once they were gone I started feeling around and found a hole big enough to slip my fingers through. It took some real effort to peel my way out and when I did I was looking at a deflated sack of what seemed to be rotting skin and that dark liquid. It throbbed and squirmed for a few seconds before shriveling up and going still. Those soft voices were wailing in agony as it did. When I finally took my eyes off it, I turned and my jaw dropped.
The view was breathtaking. It was an overlook. It had to be the one George spoke about. I was high above the forest staring at the mountains. It didn’t seem real. I felt like I was on another planet. Trees were all below me and I felt as if they were the grass itself and giants walked here. The terrain was absolutely stunning.
From behind me, low guttural growling made my world quake, I didn’t want to turn around. The shrill voice spoke again. “You will become one with the darkness or you will be devoured by it.”
I didn’t want to see them but I couldn’t help myself. I had to look. There were four of those creatures along with the woman. When I looked directly at her it was as if I were seeing thousands of faces all at once, constantly writhing and squirming. It was horrifying. She looked like everyone and no one at the same time. What stuck out the most this time, was she was holding that dark post I passed on my way to look for the others. Seemingly as if it were some kind of tool she used.
My choices were to get eaten or learn to fly it seemed, and I wasn’t getting eaten. I turned and bolted for the cliff behind me with those things closing in. I was almost at the edge, flailing my arms as I ran to jump into the air one of them collided with me from the side and everything faded to black again.
I was suddenly in an empty black space again, it was actually quite peaceful.. Much better than what has been happening. Flashes of light flooded my vision warping into shapes, some were those tendrils again but they were connected by massive bolts of electricity and gradually morphed into a clear image. The shape of a person above me, then a voice, a scared female voice begging me to stay with her cut through the silence. Slowly the sound of helicopter blades chopping through the air filled my mind as the world around me fell back into place. I was being flown out of the forest with Gail while the paramedics were working on me.
I’ve been in the hospital for the last three weeks, both of my ankles were broken and my right leg had major damage. My right arm is also completely destroyed. When I was able to finally speak I explained everything I just told you and they did not believe a word.
Here’s where things get even more concerning. According to Gail we were all on a late night hike when the couple that was with us completely snapped. They apparently tortured the four of us then forced us to jump off a cliff into the field of trees below. Which could explain why I saw bodies hanging from trees. They’d drugged our food and water which then explained my insane account of what happened. She escaped when the pair had to chase me to the overlook.
The problem with that is, I didn’t drink the water or eat the food. I had alcohol and brought my own snacks. If I hadn’t gotten hung up in the trees I would’ve died. Tammy and Georges bodies were identified on the rocks at the base of that cliff. Samantha was nowhere to be found but presumed dead. I don’t know how I feel about that.
It’s beyond tragic and I will never forget about any of this for as long as I am alive. The names the other couple used turned out to be false and no one’s been able to find them. I can’t understand why this would happen, but those people were definitely there with us. That’s the one part of our stories that matched up, though. Neither of us can remember exactly what they looked like.
Out of everything that happened, I think the fact that they’re still out there somewhere bothers me the most. I wish I could tell you more but that is all I know.
Anyway, my name’s Pete and now you understand why I say this is the last time I’ll ever go camping.
Fuck camping.