I was never one for cave exploration. In fact, I’d always been deathly afraid of the dark, cramped spaces. But as a sergeant in the military, I didn’t have a choice when I was assigned to a special ops team in Iraq.
It was 2003 and our team was on a mission to take out a group of high-ranking terrorists in the mountains. We’d been at it for weeks, trudging through the harsh terrain and dealing with the scorching heat.
So when one night we started hearing strange noises coming from a nearby cave, close to where we were sleeping, my commanding officer didn’t hesitate to send me and another soldier, a young private named Jones, to investigate.
I tried to protest, but the sergeant was having none of it.
“You two have the best weapons,” he said gruffly. “I need you to go in there and see what’s making those noises. And be careful!”
“But what makes those sounds? Some animals?” I asked.
“I have no fucking idea, but it’s loud and strange,” the sergeant responded. “I hope it’s not Iraqi forces hiding there. If you see any of them, immediately call for backup. It can be a secret base or whatever.”
“Why would we hear such noises from a hidden Iraqi base?” Jones asked. “It can’t be an OPFOR base, they would stay silent, trying to stay hidden. I think it’s just some stupid animal.”
“Well, you’ll find out in no time,” the sergeant said. “Be back before midnight.”
I swallowed hard and tried to steady my nerves as Jones and I made our way into the dark cave, our flashlights our only source of light.
As we moved deeper into the cave, the strange noises grew louder and more distinct. It sounded like a cross between a growl and a hiss, and it sent shivers down my spine.
I knew we were in way over our heads, but it was too late to turn back. We had to find out what was making those noises, no matter the cost.
Whatever it was, it constantly made these strange sounds. It ended for one or two seconds, then it started again.
The cave was a twisted, winding labyrinth of darkness. As we made our way deeper into its depths, the air grew colder and damper. The walls seemed to close in around us, and I could feel the weight of the mountain above us bearing down.
Our flashlights barely penetrated the thick darkness, casting shadows that seemed to dance and writhe along the walls. The floor was slippery beneath our feet, and I could feel the wetness seeping through my boots.
The strange noises echoed all around us, seeming to come from every direction at once. It was impossible to tell how far we had to go, or what lay ahead. All I knew was that we had to keep moving, to find out what was making those noises and put a stop to it.
I tried to stay focused, to keep my mind on the mission. But it was hard, with the darkness and the cold and the constant, menacing sounds. I couldn’t shake the feeling that we were being watched, that something was stalking us through the shadows.
I glanced at Jones, and saw the fear in his eyes. I knew he was thinking the same thing. We were in over our heads, and there was no telling what we would find in the darkness of that cave. It was so strange, when we were sent in, we both thought it must’ve been some strange animal, but at that moment, we both feared something horrifying. The sound became louder and louder.
As we went on, the thigh cave led into a much larger space, full of other caves, all of them leading into somewhere else. There was a huge space above us, we felt like we could dig through the ceiling and immediately reach the top of the mountain.
“Look, skeletons,” Jones said, pointing his gun and flashlight toward a pile of corpses.
“Looks like there were really Iraqis down here, eh?” I walked closer to it. The skeletons were in military uniforms, no question, they were part of the Iraqi forces. “Can you tell how they died?”
“Let’s see,” Jones kneeled beside the corpses. He had some medical knowledge, I hoped he could say something interesting. “Looks like their skull was crushed with something, but I think it wasn’t a stone. It rather looks like they were killed by some animal with a strong hand, maybe it even had claws.”
“So it was just some animal, like we said. Nothing to worry about.”
“Are you crazy?” he glanced at me. I could see fear in his eye. “There were armed soldiers, and something could still kill them. I think we should get the fuck out of here.”
“I don’t see any weapons,” I said, looking closer at the bodies. One of them had a pocket knife, but no rifles or pistols.
The strange sound was louder than before. It sounded like it was coming from one of the smaller caves. It looked like a fucking labyrinth. And I thought I could hear some Iraqi sentences too, but maybe I was just hallucinating.
“Behind you,” Jones shouted, pointing his rifle towards something behind my back.
I immediately raised my gun and looked behind me, and there it was. Some green creature with multiple legs and arms, I couldn’t count how many. It was kinda humanoid, but it had no eyes. Its skin was greenish, but I can’t remember any more details, my brain tries to forget it as much as possible.
The creature screamed as we both fired at it, then collapsed, soaked with its own blood. We were almost shitting ourselves, we never saw something like that before. Then we heard even more screams. I looked around, and they were everywhere. I think there were almost 30 of those fucking things.
One jumped at Jones, hitting his head with its strange hands, then stabbing through his flesh with its terrifying claws, ripping his head from his body.
“Need backup, need backup,” I shouted to my radio. “Jones is KIA, repeat, Jones is KIA. These things are everywhere, send backup immediately.”
I retreated as I was still shooting at them, trying to keep them away, as they were screaming even louder with their terrible voices. I entered that one tunnel where we came from, and ran.
I was lucky they didn’t follow him. I was so relieved when I finally reached the end of the tunnel, then immediately collapsed on the ground as the other soldiers were rushing towards me.
I woke up in our medical tent, with the sergeant beside my bed.
“What the fuck was down there?” he asked. “I sent down a fucking team of 20 after you came back, and they all died. What the hell killed them and Jones?”
“I don’t know! I don’t know,” I almost cried. It was so surreal. “There - creatures, fucking creatures with tons of limbs and no eyes. And those horrible screams!”
“I’ll have to speak to the higher-ups.”
I don’t know who decided what to do next, but later the sergeant told me to never speak about these events to anyone. I don’t agree with this decision. These things are living underground, and they can easily kill us. Everyone should know about them!