Weird shit I’ve seen in the Marines 2b
Following the mysterious ‘incident’, I was told that I was going to be sent down the mountain to answer a few questions. To be honest, I was relieved. It was cold and I didn’t want to hike anymore. Everyone else in my company sort of just believed what they were told. He came down with ‘mountain sickness’ and just walked 30 kilometers over the course of a few hours.
I tried to tell a few people about all the creepy shit I had been noticing, just to make sure I’m not going crazy. Before anyone could respond, my squad leader pulled me aside and told me “Don’t talk about these things, okay?”. Maybe he knew something I didn’t.
But yeah, cool. They sent us up here… knowing something was fucking off. Typical military BS. Just stick our heads in the sand and pretend everything is great. I was glad I was leaving for a few days but there was nothing but complete dread whenever the idea of coming back entered my mind.
The Humvee to take me back down finally showed up and the ride was uneventful. They took me to a small, concrete office-like building. The military police guys were just like me and had a job to do, they got a statement and asked if I noticed the guy anything ‘unusual’ about the guy before he disappeared. Nope. Seemed normal to me.
Then the NCIS guys came in, I’ve dealt with them before over something else and they are usually good natured guys. Not these ones. Brisk, to the point, and methodical. They read off all the facts about the case like they were reading the nutrition info on a cereal box. Unsurprised and monotone. They’d definitely seen this before. They asked the same questions. When I had told them about all the creepy things I had noticed, they told me that I was probably suffering from mountain sickness too. I was beyond pissed but I knew better than to argue with them.
Another thing, they asked me if I had taken any pictures that day. I told them I didn’t, but I thought that was strange. Next, they asked if they could swab my boots. To this day, I am honestly confused as to why the hell they did that. I don’t know if they were fucking with me or it was part of something else. My ONLY assumption is that this ‘thing’ alters the the surrounding area on a microscopic level. Maybe there was isotope it produces that may have stayed on my boots? I have no clue but if anyone has any similar stories or information on why they did that, please let me know.
At the conclusion of my interview, they made me sign a document stating that I wouldn’t talk about anything and that they would contact me when I was free to disclose any information. This was a few years ago and they never got back to me, so it may not be legal to talk now, but I have a cards up my sleeve that I’m not going to talk about.
Anyway, I walked back to our fabulous 5 star concrete huts to get some sleep. Thankfully, I wasn’t alone as there were a few guys that stayed back because they had sickle cell anemia and could actually die if they went above a certain altitude. I took one of the best hot showers I’ve ever had in my life and headed to my bunk. I was exhausted, but I still couldn’t sleep. Now, I rarely smoke, but I still carry a pack on me just to make lucrative trades or sell to desperate nicotine fiends in the field. I felt like now was a good time to smoke so I went outside. Maybe it would calm me down. All was going well until that dreadful feeling came back again. Shit, the treeline was maybe 40 meters away. I don’t know how the hell it followed me or why. Could there be more than one?
I stomped out my cigarette and went back inside. I managed to calm myself down and fall asleep but I would always wake up suddenly after maybe 10 minutes. No dreams, just the overwhelming feeling that you’re being observed.
The next day, I packed all of my gear into the Humvee and helped the driver load some stuff into the back. The drive was uneventful and I managed to catch some sleep, only to be woken up by rough terrain here and there. When we finally arrived, it was almost afternoon and the company was preparing to cover some serious terrain that day. Just my luck.
Before I knew it, we were trodding up a steep mountainside. I didn’t think it could get any worse until it began to sleet heavily. It was bad. The wind picked up and it felt like we were being cut with glass. I couldn’t see. People were getting lost and the rocks were slippery. We hiked for hours upon hours and I swear these mountains were trying to kill us. The sun began to set and our clothes began to freeze on us.
If that wasn’t bad enough, I’d notice that our compasses were acting weird. No matter how hard you tried, you would eventually end up walking towards the base of a particular mountain that was nicknamed Devil’s Incline on our map. This was a military map that someone had made in the 1980s, I don’t know if I’ll be able to find it. Coincidentally, I also got that same feeling of being stalked again. Fuck.
Anyway, our guides get us to the right destination - a place called Sardine Rock. As soon as we stop, people start shaking violently because they are no longer hiking and producing 0 body heat. Someone was smart enough to predict this and had two man tents driven up to our rendezvous point on massive trucks. We RARELY use tents, but this was literally a life or death situation.
To make things worse, the wind picked up and it started to downpour violently. You couldn’t hear yourself talk. It was chaos. If you’ve ever set up a tent in the wind, you’ll know how impossible it is. By the time we had everything staked in, the tent had a few inches of water at the bottom. Our sleeping systems are waterproof but our entire bodies were soaked to the bone, so they eventually became wet from the outside in. Then the temperature dropped and things got worse.
Being in the military, you always have to have someone on watch. Since there was still sunlight out, I volunteered to stand it while everyone else hid in their tents. Here’s a picture I asked a friend to take, just to illustrate the misery. My GoreTex/rain jacket is completely soaked through. Worst day of my life.
Finally, I got back inside of my tent and tried to get some rest. I don’t remember falling asleep, but I was suddenly woken up to someone outside asking for help. It was the same voice of the guy who went ended up 30km. Except that guy is still in the hospital. He would call out someone’s name and say it a few times and then try to get them outside. I think it was my squad leader who yelled at everyone to stay the fuck in our tents and not to go outside.
For the next few minutes, he practically begged us. It sounded like he was in the treeline maybe 20 meters away. Somehow guessing our names. Here it was, trying to break us down when we were at our lowest point. It could have gotten right through our tents, but it just wanted to fuck with us.
Finally, it stopped and just as I thought it was gone. I heard it say my name twice, in a taunting kind of tone. Then a huge tree came tumbling down and that was it. Thanks dick. Traumatized, everyone stayed inside until their tents until we heard trucks coming. Over the radio, we were told to pack our tents in less than 30 seconds and get on the trucks. We have no more than 5 minutes. I wasn’t going to be the first one to step outside, so I waited until a good number of people got out. I’ve never seen a group of people move faster in my life. The tents were stuffed into their bags, poles bent, and bags were halfway on our bodies. People practically stumbled into the trucks.
We were told that we were being evacuated due to terrible conditions and that we were heading back to base. But we all knew the real reason. I was relieved to be out of the cold, but we were still on this damn mountain and that thing would still be able to find us. When we got back, we all showered and got into dry clothes. No one talked, they just went to sleep and tried to understand what had gone down that day. Each and every single one of them realizing that we would likely go back up there in a few days.
Here’s another picture of a friend taking a break before we stepped off on our hike that day.
