رونوشت کامل THE DARK REALM: Something Is Floating At The Edge Of The Jungle | #MidnightInTheMacabre

of 34 00:02:30.219 --> 00:02:33.710 all places. Hadn't seen him since. Turned out he saw 35 00:02:33.750 --> 00:02:36.500 a good bit of action, and really missed it. The 36 00:02:36.539 --> 00:02:39.639 way a retired boxer misses getting his head bashed, I guess. 37 00:02:40.500 --> 00:02:43.300 A good guy, if quick to talk himself up a 38 00:02:43.319 --> 00:02:47.340 bit much. As for Domingo, we all found it funny, 39 00:02:47.590 --> 00:02:50.409 including him, that he was not connected to any of 40 00:02:50.509 --> 00:02:54.409 us in any way. After a sweet two-day stay at 41 00:02:54.449 --> 00:02:57.449 a swank French resort on the beach, we stowed our 42 00:02:57.490 --> 00:03:00.819 gear on the Jeep and checked out. Then came time 43 00:03:00.840 --> 00:03:03.270 to stand around in the parking garage and show off 44 00:03:03.330 --> 00:03:07.289 our weapons. A long-held tradition in the world of ex-military 45 00:03:07.330 --> 00:03:12.310 men who still did military stuff. Everybody had a handgun, naturally, 46 00:03:12.930 --> 00:03:15.180 and we all got to spit a lot of technical jargon. 47 00:03:16.080 --> 00:03:18.680 Mine was just a No Frills. 32, but I kept 48 00:03:18.719 --> 00:03:21.979 her clean, so the fellas showed it some love. Bolin 49 00:03:22.000 --> 00:03:26.000 had a brand new top-of-the-line game rifle, courtesy of the company. 50 00:03:26.830 --> 00:03:30.180 Domingo carried a 12-gauge It looked like it loved him, 51 00:03:30.620 --> 00:03:34.949 if that makes sense. Cracking wise the whole way, we 52 00:03:35.409 --> 00:03:38.590 rode a good 30 miles up North Sang, a rougher 53 00:03:38.650 --> 00:03:40.710 road than I'd ever seen back when I was a 54 00:03:40.770 --> 00:03:44.430 punk hellraiser out in the mountains of North Carolina. The 55 00:03:44.469 --> 00:03:47.930 road ran out, literally just ended at the edge of 56 00:03:47.990 --> 00:03:51.110 a high bamboo forest, so we hiked to the big 57 00:03:51.189 --> 00:03:54.110 open field that EM's boys and the scouting choppers had 58 00:03:54.169 --> 00:03:57.939 settled on. The file said it never got too overgrown. 59 00:03:58.599 --> 00:04:02.460 thanks to rocks and bad soil. The hike was less 60 00:04:02.479 --> 00:04:05.060 than half a mile. There wouldn't have been much to 61 00:04:05.139 --> 00:04:08.099 it if not for the viney ground cover that was 62 00:04:08.199 --> 00:04:13.259 always snaring our boots, the soul-sapping heat, and the relentless insects. 63 00:04:14.439 --> 00:04:17.399 As rough as the jolting ride had been, the slow, 64 00:04:17.680 --> 00:04:21.930 plodding passage was probably worse. At least to the jeeps 65 00:04:21.970 --> 00:04:25.850 we had some wind hitting us. This stifling stillness made 66 00:04:26.050 --> 00:04:29.750 every breath feel like a cup of hot sweat. Don't 67 00:04:29.769 --> 00:04:33.709 get carried off, boys, Hap quipped, futilely waving through a 68 00:04:33.810 --> 00:04:37.009 roiling cloud of big-ass black bugs

we would soon come 69 00:04:37.069 --> 00:04:41.910 to call buzzbats. On either side, the jungle gradually opened 70 00:04:41.970 --> 00:04:45.689 up again into sparse tree lines. Beyond the field was 71 00:04:45.730 --> 00:04:49.060 a dense little jungle of teak and bamboo about 500 72 00:04:49.060 --> 00:04:53.699 yards square. Hap, doing a decent Rod Serling, gave his 73 00:04:53.759 --> 00:04:58.160 section a name, too. You have entered the Dark Realm. 74 00:04:59.680 --> 00:05:03.490 We all laughed at that little verbal swerve. About 50 75 00:05:03.490 --> 00:05:06.269 yards back from the dark realm, we set up camp. 76 00:05:06.889 --> 00:05:10.689 A tent for the radio, collapsible chairs, stove, and sleeping bags. 77 00:05:11.589 --> 00:05:13.550 Then we headed in to check out the spots that 78 00:05:13.689 --> 00:05:18.540 EM's helicopter pilots had chosen in their godlike wisdom. Despite 79 00:05:18.560 --> 00:05:22.459 the hardships, we all got along fine. Once we established 80 00:05:22.519 --> 00:05:26.180 a decent workflow, we started dropping wisecracks again, with Trainer 81 00:05:26.240 --> 00:05:29.410 the de facto cut-out target for a while. Then it 82 00:05:29.430 --> 00:05:33.250 was my turn. Around twilight, it finally cooled down some, 83 00:05:33.610 --> 00:05:37.689 but we were just about drained. The buzzbats got worse. 84 00:05:38.329 --> 00:05:41.339 The jokes petered out, and we just focused on reaching 85 00:05:41.360 --> 00:05:45.939 the day's goal. We were behind by about an hour 86 00:05:46.100 --> 00:05:48.980 when Trainer and Hap started pacing off a line toward 87 00:05:49.000 --> 00:05:52.610 the field's edge, with Bolin tagging along. I was on 88 00:05:52.670 --> 00:05:56.050 radio with them. They plunged into the tree line behind 89 00:05:56.089 --> 00:05:59.519 a curtain of vines. I gave them about ten seconds, 90 00:05:59.600 --> 00:06:03.139 then cleverly asked, You there yet? I got hit with 91 00:06:03.180 --> 00:06:05.399 a slug of static so loud, it could have come 92 00:06:05.459 --> 00:06:07.600 out of a stadium amp at a Led Zeppelin show. 93 00:06:08.519 --> 00:06:10.980 I tossed the radio away and fell back on my ass, 94 00:06:11.459 --> 00:06:13.639 staring at it, lying there in the brush like it 95 00:06:13.660 --> 00:06:17.959 was a hornet's nest. Swan? Domingo shouted from the other 96 00:06:18.019 --> 00:06:21.620 end of the camp. What the hell was that? Radio 97 00:06:21.699 --> 00:06:26.459 Ed Bananas! A weird tingle crept up my neck. like 98 00:06:26.480 --> 00:06:29.019 that high alert you get on night patrol, or so 99 00:06:29.100 --> 00:06:32.959 I hear. The two-way blasted again, just as loud. This 100 00:06:33.019 --> 00:06:37.019 time I cried out. What are you doing, man? Domingo yelled. 101 00:06:37.720 --> 00:06:41.040 This damn radio! I got up and walked a circle 102 00:06:41.079 --> 00:06:44.819 around it, scared to pick it up. The lazy violet 103 00:06:44.860 --> 00:06:49.279 South

Pacific twilight suddenly flashed bright as high noon. I 104 00:06:49.319 --> 00:06:51.430 looked up to see a hazy ball of blue light 105 00:06:51.550 --> 00:06:54.569 cross the sky to the right, over where Traynor, Happ, 106 00:06:54.670 --> 00:06:58.529 and Bolin were. It wasn't all that fast— moved more 107 00:06:58.569 --> 00:07:00.990 like a train than a comet— but it came and 108 00:07:01.029 --> 00:07:03.649 went like the kind of uneasy dream you might have 109 00:07:03.689 --> 00:07:06.310 when you're napping on duty and part of your brain 110 00:07:06.389 --> 00:07:10.920 knows not to drift too far. I stood there, blinking 111 00:07:10.959 --> 00:07:14.139 at the smeary trail it left on my retina. The 112 00:07:14.180 --> 00:07:18.899 radio sounded again, normal this time.' You there, swan?' Glad 113 00:07:18.939 --> 00:07:22.649 to hear Hap's gravelly voice, I picked it up.' Here.'' 114 00:07:21.839 --> 00:07:26.120 You see that crazy light thing just now?'' Sure did.' 115 00:07:26.360 --> 00:07:29.360 I answered. You don't know what it was? How the 116 00:07:29.399 --> 00:07:32.579 hell would I know? Hap said. He must have forgotten 117 00:07:32.600 --> 00:07:35.060 to release the button. I could hear him breathing like 118 00:07:35.120 --> 00:07:38.779 he'd just done a full PT. We're heading back. Don't 119 00:07:38.800 --> 00:07:42.620 mind telling you. We're all a little spooked. Roger that. 120 00:07:43.199 --> 00:07:45.329 Let's wrap it up for the day and smoke a J. 121 00:07:46.589 --> 00:07:49.250 Just set it for the rhyme, hoping to break some tension. 122 00:07:50.750 --> 00:07:53.480 By then, Domingo had come over. There was still too 123 00:07:53.500 --> 00:07:55.579 much flare in my eyes to see his expression, but 124 00:07:55.639 --> 00:07:58.139 I figured it was the same as mine. If it 125 00:07:58.180 --> 00:08:02.100 was wartime, I'd dismiss that as some kind of mortar anomaly, 126 00:08:02.420 --> 00:08:04.939 he said. Man, if I saw that thing in the 127 00:08:04.980 --> 00:08:08.279 middle of the night, I'd surrender, quick as hell, I said, 128 00:08:08.899 --> 00:08:13.410 like I knew anything about firefights and mortars. We headed back, 129 00:08:13.470 --> 00:08:17.629 feeling kind of weirdly energized. A tingle, I dare say. 130 00:08:18.730 --> 00:08:20.370 My first thought was that there was a lot of 131 00:08:20.449 --> 00:08:23.649 static electricity or something in the air in the wake 132 00:08:23.689 --> 00:08:28.189 of the meteor, I decided it was. Hap and Bolin 133 00:08:28.209 --> 00:08:30.829 built the campfire like it was the most important task 134 00:08:30.870 --> 00:08:34.179 in the world, exchanging this weird look the whole time, 135 00:08:34.279 --> 00:08:39.799 but no conversation. A weird thing I noticed. The buzzbats 136 00:08:39.919 --> 00:08:43.960 were gone. I don't know anything about Vietnamese insect life, 137 00:08:44.399 --> 00:08:47.029 but I'd never known the mosquitoes back home to pack 138 00:08:47.070 --> 00:08:50.370 it in this early. Duarte went straight to the main 139 00:08:50.429 --> 00:08:54.190 tent and radioed the bosses. First thing he mentioned was 140 00:08:54.250 --> 00:08:57.330 the light we saw. There was silence on the other end, 141 00:08:57.990 --> 00:09:01.409 long enough to have us thinking we'd lost communication. For 142 00:09:01.480 --> 00:09:04.679 some reason, I got this sudden panic, like we'd all 143 00:09:04.720 --> 00:09:09.480 be stuck out here. Forever. Then someone came back on 144 00:09:09.539 --> 00:09:12.600 and told Duarte to log it along with our progress. 145 00:09:13.700 --> 00:09:16.070 Duarte asked us all to describe it for his write-up. 146 00:09:17.110 --> 00:09:19.809 Traynor was the closest to an artist among us, so 147 00:09:19.970 --> 00:09:22.730 he sketched it for what it was worth. Any of 148 00:09:22.830 --> 00:09:26.330 us could have scribbled a fuzzy ball. Still, the trees 149 00:09:26.370 --> 00:09:29.350 and shadows he added for perspective made for a nice touch. 150 00:09:30.720 --> 00:09:33.779 I made supper my business, a small matter of opening 151 00:09:33.840 --> 00:09:37.720 cans and boiling water. It was full dark when we 152 00:09:37.779 --> 00:09:41.059 settled in around the fire. Bolin kept his rifle right 153 00:09:41.100 --> 00:09:43.799 up against him like a new girlfriend, and I was glad. 154 00:09:44.659 --> 00:09:47.490 Then we finally started talking about the bright-as-hell elephant in 155 00:09:47.500 --> 00:09:50.169 the room. My papa saw one of those things in 156 00:09:50.230 --> 00:09:53.210 our vineyard when he was a boy. Duarte began, checking 157 00:09:53.269 --> 00:09:57.450 our faces. Sampled his own product, sounds like, said Hap, 158 00:09:57.610 --> 00:10:01.049 through a mouthful of spam. We all laughed at his delivery, 159 00:10:01.330 --> 00:10:05.419 better than Johnny Carson. Duarte laughed the loudest, then went on. 160 00:10:06.340 --> 00:10:08.879 The fire sparking in his eyes like the cigarette tips 161 00:10:08.960 --> 00:10:11.940 advertising the street corner hookers we'd all gawked at a 162 00:10:11.980 --> 00:10:15.419 block from the hotel. From about twenty meters away, he 163 00:10:15.500 --> 00:10:19.240 saw a shining... He held out his hands, rounding his fingers. 164 00:10:19.830 --> 00:10:24.529 A circle. A machine. Duarte was a good sport about 165 00:10:24.570 --> 00:10:27.470 being ribbed, but he couldn't mistake the discomfort he felt. 166 00:10:28.230 --> 00:10:30.610 He put out legs on the soil, there in the 167 00:10:30.629 --> 00:10:33.629 middle of the field. A kind of ramp dropped from 168 00:10:33.649 --> 00:10:36.809 the bottom, and a little man stepped down. Pa said 169 00:10:36.870 --> 00:10:40.820 he saw the little man's face. We stared at Duarte, 170 00:10:41.169 --> 00:10:43.700 his features dancing in the firelight like the shadows of 171 00:10:43.799 --> 00:10:47.159 startled rabbits as he shoveled

in a mouthful of cheap-grade meat. 172 00:10:47.659 --> 00:10:52.730 just peering deep into the little tin cavern. So, what'd 173 00:10:52.750 --> 00:10:55.429 he look like? asked Bolin with a nervous little chuckle. 174 00:10:56.529 --> 00:11:01.629 Duarte's dad? deadpanned Hap. Like Duarte, only stained all purple, 175 00:11:01.669 --> 00:11:05.950 I expect. We laughed our cans off, sending echoes into 176 00:11:05.970 --> 00:11:09.799 the ebony antique trees, the dark realm across the field. 177 00:11:10.500 --> 00:11:16.139 The spaceman moron! Trainer cackled. Hap kept a straight face, 178 00:11:16.179 --> 00:11:18.440 of course, but there was some wonderment there in those 179 00:11:18.600 --> 00:11:22.960 orange-lit crow's feet and laugh lines. Duarte leaned so far 180 00:11:23.019 --> 00:11:26.559 forward I thought his mind might catch fire.' He couldn't remember,' 181 00:11:26.669 --> 00:11:30.789 Duarte said.' Papa remembers everything else. The little ship, the 182 00:11:30.830 --> 00:11:34.610 man's uniform, but the face is a blur.'' What the 183 00:11:34.649 --> 00:11:39.629 hell does that mean?' Trainer wondered. Duarte shrugged.' Papa said 184 00:11:39.669 --> 00:11:42.019 it was like that part of his memory, just that 185 00:11:42.200 --> 00:11:46.250 one little section was erased.' Duarte thought for a second. 186 00:11:47.029 --> 00:11:50.509 Paint it over. Bolin looked back toward where we'd seen 187 00:11:50.529 --> 00:11:53.789 the flying crash. Then at Hap, like he was hoping 188 00:11:53.830 --> 00:11:58.169 for a skeptical quip. What if they can just mold 189 00:11:58.210 --> 00:12:01.610 our memories like clay so we don't even know if... 190 00:12:01.889 --> 00:12:10.220 Who's they, Bolin? Hap interrupted. Bolin shrugged. Whoever's piloting these, uh, things? 191 00:12:11.399 --> 00:12:15.740 Bolin stood about 6'4, weighed an easy 240. But right then, 192 00:12:15.980 --> 00:12:18.000 with his eyes all bugged out, he sounded so much 193 00:12:18.019 --> 00:12:21.299 like a vulnerable ten-year-old that he almost looked like one, too. 194 00:12:22.179 --> 00:12:25.419 We all burst out laughing.' I never said that light 195 00:12:25.460 --> 00:12:31.440 was a... a spaceman,' backtracked Duarte.' Yeah, pretty much did, Frenchie,' 196 00:12:31.679 --> 00:12:36.279 I said.' Sad your dad saw one, anyway.'' Ugh!' Duarte 197 00:12:36.340 --> 00:12:39.830 shook his canteen, tossing his empty meat can into the fire.' 198 00:12:39.559 --> 00:12:44.559 I don't know.'' Got a whiz!' Domingo grunted, checking his 199 00:12:44.600 --> 00:12:47.740 hip for his sidearm, a nice nickel beretta that I coveted. 200 00:12:48.679 --> 00:12:50.820 We all knew to keep the bathroom business out from 201 00:12:50.860 --> 00:12:53.200 the camp, so as not to bring all kind of 202 00:12:53.299 --> 00:12:55.980 wildlife traipsing up to see who was marking their turf. 203 00:12:56.779 --> 00:12:58.440 We'd settled on a spot at the edge of the 204 00:12:58.480 --> 00:13:02.379 Dark Realm, a good twelve yards from camp. Yeah, it 205 00:13:02.419 --> 00:13:04.019 was a bit of a walk, but it beat having 206 00:13:04.059 --> 00:13:07.470 a three-foot monitor lizard crawl into our sleeping bags or 207 00:13:07.549 --> 00:13:11.750 being pissed on head to toe by agitated monkeys. We 208 00:13:11.789 --> 00:13:14.799 moved on to other topics. What we did before this gig, 209 00:13:15.200 --> 00:13:20.230 what was next, anything but the flying light. Hey, Domingo 210 00:13:20.250 --> 00:13:26.769 called to us. Guys! Can't find your wanger? Asked Hap. Predictable, 211 00:13:26.909 --> 00:13:29.149 I know, but like I said, it was his delivery 212 00:13:29.200 --> 00:13:33.440 that made all the difference. Get out here! We all 213 00:13:33.460 --> 00:13:37.259 grudgingly stood up and trudged toward the dark realm. The 214 00:13:37.299 --> 00:13:39.059 laughs were gone by the time we made out the 215 00:13:39.100 --> 00:13:43.129 shape of Domingo. There were no animal sounds. I felt 216 00:13:43.169 --> 00:13:47.629 a heavy vacuum, a feeling of absence, not just in myself, 217 00:13:47.740 --> 00:13:51.980 but coming from the other fellows, too. Come here! Come here! 218 00:13:52.419 --> 00:13:56.600 Domingo whispered. As we came up beside him, Domingo jabbed 219 00:13:56.639 --> 00:13:59.759 his finger at a section of blackness, maybe six yards away. 220 00:14:00.299 --> 00:14:04.759 Look there for a second. Let your eyes adjust. As 221 00:14:04.820 --> 00:14:09.230 I did, a perfect circle about eight feet wide formed, 222 00:14:09.710 --> 00:14:13.240 like sand washing away from a seashell. It was then 223 00:14:13.570 --> 00:14:18.750 Hap clicked on his flashlight. Don't, I said reflexively. Not 224 00:14:18.789 --> 00:14:23.450 a flat circle. A solid sphere. Matte black and smooth 225 00:14:23.509 --> 00:14:27.169 like polished onyx. By the time we all spouted our 226 00:14:27.220 --> 00:14:30.720 variations of what the hell, Hap walked right up within 227 00:14:30.759 --> 00:14:33.659 a couple of feet, trailing his beam over the surface. 228 00:14:34.860 --> 00:14:39.730 It's a fallen satellite, offered Torte. Yeah? Well, it ain't 229 00:14:39.759 --> 00:14:43.470 finished falling then, said Hap, shining his light at the 230 00:14:43.509 --> 00:14:45.370 bottom curve of the thing to show us it was 231 00:14:45.509 --> 00:14:48.769 hovering at least a foot above the ground. We all 232 00:14:48.789 --> 00:14:52.490 just stared at it for maybe a minute, Hap covering 233 00:14:52.649 --> 00:14:56.190 every visible inch with the beam, walking a wide circle 234 00:14:56.230 --> 00:15:00.870 around it. Anything? I asked. I don't see whatever is 235 00:15:00.929 --> 00:15:05.710 suspending it, Hap answered. Yeah, sure is quiet, Trainer said. 236 00:15:06.470 --> 00:15:09.429 It's not giving off any heat. Hap came back over 237 00:15:09.480 --> 00:15:12.279 to stand beside us for a second, then drew his

knife. 238 00:15:12.960 --> 00:15:16.039 Hold on, I said. It might shock you or something. 239 00:15:17.259 --> 00:15:19.779 Dorte took his insulated gloves out of his back pocket 240 00:15:19.860 --> 00:15:22.360 and tossed them to Hap. He slid them on, and 241 00:15:22.379 --> 00:15:25.840 we all stepped back exactly as far as he stepped forward. 242 00:15:26.759 --> 00:15:30.500 Bolin raised his rifle. Hap didn't make any kind of 243 00:15:30.570 --> 00:15:33.730 production out of it, just strode up and dragged his 244 00:15:33.769 --> 00:15:38.049 knife blade across the surface of the thing. It sounded muffled, 245 00:15:38.610 --> 00:15:42.850 like it was coated with Teflon or industrial plastic. Everybody 246 00:15:42.889 --> 00:15:45.230 who had a light was holding it right where Hap 247 00:15:45.409 --> 00:15:49.580 used the knife. There was no scratch or mark at all. 248 00:15:50.480 --> 00:15:55.120 Hap slid his rubber-coated fingers across it. What's it feel like? Nothing. 249 00:15:56.220 --> 00:16:01.000 No heat? Vibrations? Nothing. Hap sheathed his knife and came 250 00:16:01.039 --> 00:16:04.669 back to our group. Domingo, you done your business? He asked. 251 00:16:05.210 --> 00:16:08.710 Shake it off and let's get back. We're just gonna 252 00:16:08.789 --> 00:16:12.139 bed down with this thing floating out here? Trainer asked. 253 00:16:12.879 --> 00:16:15.980 Hap is right, said Duarte. We finish eating and we 254 00:16:16.000 --> 00:16:18.100 get some sleep. We'll take a closer look at this 255 00:16:18.179 --> 00:16:23.039 object in the morning. Object? I said. I guess I 256 00:16:23.059 --> 00:16:24.830 felt a little weird to talk about it like it 257 00:16:24.879 --> 00:16:29.350 was mundane or even real. Maybe we should have somebody 258 00:16:29.370 --> 00:16:35.210 stand guard tonight? said Trainer. You volunteering? I asked. Why 259 00:16:35.230 --> 00:16:38.889 don't we do two at a time for two-hour shifts?' Me? 260 00:16:39.169 --> 00:16:43.070 I need sleep.' Cap started back to camp.' You fellas 261 00:16:43.129 --> 00:16:47.110 do what you want.' As with his jokes, his brush-off 262 00:16:47.149 --> 00:16:49.379 carried a lot of weight. It made us feel like 263 00:16:49.440 --> 00:16:53.259 superstitious rubes. If the others were like me, they were 264 00:16:53.299 --> 00:16:55.580 weighing how they'd tell the suits at E.M. that we 265 00:16:55.600 --> 00:17:01.070 got behind schedule because of something floating black what's-it. Topic 266 00:17:01.110 --> 00:17:06.430 of guard shifts was dropped.' Ah, okay. I'm a light 267 00:17:06.470 --> 00:17:10.299 sleeper anyways.' Bolin checked his rifle magazine and his sidearm 268 00:17:10.380 --> 00:17:13.529 as he started back to camp, giving the sphere one 269 00:17:13.630 --> 00:17:26.170 last glance. We sat down and dug back into our rations. 270 00:17:27.029 --> 00:17:30.019 Silent at first, then pointedly trying to find a topic 271 00:17:30.059 --> 00:17:33.079 of conversation that would make the black thing easier to ignore. 272 00:17:34.079 --> 00:17:38.130 Everybody finished eating in a hurry. It was a cool night, 273 00:17:38.579 --> 00:17:40.619 so we all decided to roll out our sleeping bags 274 00:17:40.660 --> 00:17:45.619 around the fire. Nobody suggested ghost stories. I thought of 275 00:17:45.640 --> 00:17:48.759 the resort, where we had just spoiled ourselves silly on 276 00:17:48.779 --> 00:17:51.799 the company dime. Our game of chicken fight in the 277 00:17:51.859 --> 00:17:55.819 indoor pool had me smiling. Without a word, Trainer popped 278 00:17:55.880 --> 00:17:57.960 up from his sleeping bag like he'd just realized he 279 00:17:58.000 --> 00:18:01.460 left the oven on. Piss for me, too, would you, Trainer? 280 00:18:02.029 --> 00:18:06.460 mumbled Happ. Trainer didn't answer or laugh or even bother 281 00:18:06.480 --> 00:18:09.140 to slide on his boots. He just walked toward the 282 00:18:09.180 --> 00:18:13.200 tree line, the dark realm, straight as a pin. Left 283 00:18:13.220 --> 00:18:17.099 your boots, dumbass, I called. I watched him till he 284 00:18:17.140 --> 00:18:19.799 merged with the dark. Then I closed my eyes and 285 00:18:19.859 --> 00:18:22.200 pretended for the first time in my life that a 286 00:18:22.240 --> 00:18:24.700 nice house and a family were waiting for me back 287 00:18:24.759 --> 00:18:28.240 in Knoxville, instead of my empty apartment where I didn't 288 00:18:28.269 --> 00:18:32.750 even bother to hide my hustler magazines. Where the hell 289 00:18:32.769 --> 00:18:37.759 did he go? whispered Bolin. Huh? I must have dozed off. 290 00:18:38.059 --> 00:18:41.529 It took me a second to realize he meant trainer. Pissing. 291 00:18:42.650 --> 00:18:48.829 Twenty minutes? Bolin whispered. Hope he took his teddy, grumbled Hap. 292 00:18:49.569 --> 00:18:53.880 So she don't get too lonesome. Probably having trouble with 293 00:18:53.920 --> 00:18:58.660 his butt hatch, added Domingo. Go help him, swan. Har har, 294 00:18:59.019 --> 00:19:02.940 I said. Just as I dozed off again, A clattering 295 00:19:03.000 --> 00:19:05.799 sound jerked me awake. It turned out to be Hap 296 00:19:05.880 --> 00:19:08.680 kicking over the coffee pot. I raised my head and 297 00:19:08.720 --> 00:19:11.859 saw a trail of glowing sticks and coals. He'd just 298 00:19:11.900 --> 00:19:15.680 walked right through the fire, like a zombie. Good thing 299 00:19:15.720 --> 00:19:18.440 he'd bedded down with his boots on. I sat up 300 00:19:18.500 --> 00:19:20.619 and watched him tread off toward the tree line, just 301 00:19:20.660 --> 00:19:25.329 like Trainer. You gonna get Trainer? I asked. Hap just 302 00:19:25.349 --> 00:19:28.670 kept walking, not even stumbling in the dark, making a 303 00:19:28.769 --> 00:19:34.880 beeline for the tree line, if you will.' Swan!' called Bolin.' Domingo!' 304 00:19:36.019 --> 00:19:39.480 We answered in a groggy chorus.' That was weird as hell, 305

00:19:39.500 --> 00:19:43.630 don't you think?' He was up, stomping out the stray embers.' 306 00:19:43.210 --> 00:19:47.289 Maybe they're sexy for each other.' No one found my 307 00:19:47.309 --> 00:19:52.680 little quip funny.' You going after them, Bolin?' Nah. He 308 00:19:52.720 --> 00:19:57.049 bedded back down. Just getting annoyed, that's all. I peered 309 00:19:57.109 --> 00:19:59.750 out toward the tree line, though I couldn't really see 310 00:19:59.829 --> 00:20:02.670 past ten or twelve feet. I was just hoping those 311 00:20:02.730 --> 00:20:07.049 two bozos weren't planning some summer camp boogity-boogity garbage. If 312 00:20:07.089 --> 00:20:10.130 they did, I was ready to give them nothing. just 313 00:20:10.369 --> 00:20:13.519 act like I slept right through it. But I wasn't 314 00:20:13.619 --> 00:20:17.359 sleepy any longer, that was for sure. I looked at 315 00:20:17.420 --> 00:20:20.119 Bolin and then Domingo, and I could tell they were 316 00:20:20.160 --> 00:20:22.759 both fixated on the tree line too, and the big 317 00:20:22.859 --> 00:20:28.960 black ball that undoubtedly still hovered there. Damn it, somebody's 318 00:20:29.000 --> 00:20:32.000 got to go check on those two. Before I finished, 319 00:20:32.059 --> 00:20:34.619 Bolin rose and walked off the same way as Trainer 320 00:20:34.660 --> 00:20:38.509 and Hap, leaving his rifle by his sleeping bag. It 321 00:20:38.549 --> 00:20:41.049 occurred to me right away then that the way he 322 00:20:41.109 --> 00:20:44.490 walked was the same as the other two. Their stride 323 00:20:44.529 --> 00:20:49.700 was weirdly confident, efficient, considering how dark it was and 324 00:20:49.799 --> 00:20:55.299 what was out there.' Bowling!' I shouted. Domingo repeated. He 325 00:20:55.339 --> 00:20:57.319 was looking at me, but the fire was too low 326 00:20:57.359 --> 00:21:00.750 for me to make out his expression. Probably for the best.' 327 00:21:01.509 --> 00:21:04.519 You guys pulling some kind of joke?' he asked me.' 328 00:21:04.130 --> 00:21:09.079 If so, I'm not in on it. You swear?' Let's 329 00:21:09.099 --> 00:21:11.900 just go out there, I suggested, to see what's what. 330 00:21:12.799 --> 00:21:16.859 We'll give him a minute, I guess. You're the boss, Applesauce. 331 00:21:18.339 --> 00:21:21.829 I couldn't see squat, so I just listened. The silence 332 00:21:21.890 --> 00:21:26.910 was solid. Complete. I didn't like it. I got up 333 00:21:26.970 --> 00:21:29.430 and shoved my feet into my boots. Let me go 334 00:21:29.470 --> 00:21:31.549 take a whiz, and we'll walk out there and bust 335 00:21:31.569 --> 00:21:36.509 their chops, I told Domingo. He didn't respond. I ventured 336 00:21:36.549 --> 00:21:39.529 out about ten paces, the opposite direction of the Dark Realm, 337 00:21:39.890 --> 00:21:42.970 more than far enough for Camp Protocol. Did my biz. 338 00:21:43.589 --> 00:21:49.009 Hustled back. Let's go, I said. Domingo didn't answer. I 339 00:21:49.049 --> 00:21:51.809 found my flashlight and clicked it on. His empty sleeping 340 00:21:51.869 --> 00:21:54.150 bag just lay there like he was never planning to 341 00:21:54.269 --> 00:21:58.369 use it again. Domingo? I shouted out for the others 342 00:21:58.470 --> 00:22:01.619 and got nothing. All right, but cry it out loud, 343 00:22:02.079 --> 00:22:08.160 I called. It sounded lonelier than it did angry. Har har! Okay, 344 00:22:08.339 --> 00:22:10.940 now I knew it was a prank, and I'd been 345 00:22:10.980 --> 00:22:14.359 elected the mark. I had to admit, it was funny. 346 00:22:15.240 --> 00:22:20.869 At first. And then, yeah, I got seriously spooked. Now, 347 00:22:21.569 --> 00:22:25.069 it was just irritating. I betted down again, but it 348 00:22:25.089 --> 00:22:28.849 was all show, and I was my own audience. I 349 00:22:28.869 --> 00:22:31.920 couldn't keep my eyes closed for fear they'd dogpile me 350 00:22:32.019 --> 00:22:36.900 or douse me or something else idiotic. After about five minutes, 351 00:22:37.240 --> 00:22:40.200 I wasn't worried about that kind of crap anymore. They 352 00:22:40.240 --> 00:22:42.230 had to know this job was too big a project 353 00:22:42.269 --> 00:22:45.990 to be messing around into the late hours. Besides, that 354 00:22:46.269 --> 00:22:51.289 big black spider's eye was out there. I checked my. 355 00:22:51.250 --> 00:22:53.799 32 and hugged it against my chest. I thought about 356 00:22:53.839 --> 00:22:57.099 calling out to the others again, but it just seemed 357 00:22:57.140 --> 00:23:00.660 absurd to think they would hear me. Staring at the 358 00:23:00.700 --> 00:23:03.980 dark husks of their sleeping bags, I realized that each 359 00:23:04.019 --> 00:23:06.720 of them had gotten up and walked off at intervals 360 00:23:06.799 --> 00:23:10.099 of about 20 minutes. I hadn't checked my watch in 361 00:23:10.140 --> 00:23:12.400 a while, but it felt like at least 10 since 362 00:23:12.460 --> 00:23:16.490 I'd come back to find Domingo gone. I'd felt scared 363 00:23:16.529 --> 00:23:19.970 and alone before, but not with weird crap like this 364 00:23:20.029 --> 00:23:23.509 going on. Being a million miles from home made it 365 00:23:23.549 --> 00:23:28.319 a million times worse. I decided to radio headquarters. If 366 00:23:28.380 --> 00:23:31.019 I had to, I'd make up something and beg them 367 00:23:31.059 --> 00:23:33.579 to come and get me. You can bet I wasn't 368 00:23:33.619 --> 00:23:36.119 going to stay the night out here. One way or another, 369 00:23:36.140 --> 00:23:40.230 I just wouldn't. That was settled. But it wasn't the 370 00:23:40.309 --> 00:23:43.430 radio tent where I found myself heading. It was the 371 00:23:43.470 --> 00:23:48.269 tree line. I had no control over my own legs. 372 00:23:49.559 --> 00:23:54.160 Something buzzed in my head. Not words, but something intelligent 373 00:23:54.819 --> 00:23:59.240 and insistent and irresistible. I tried to call out,

but 374 00:23:59.279 --> 00:24:01.839 my voice wouldn't work. It felt like parts of my 375 00:24:01.920 --> 00:24:05.339 brain had been hijacked. As soon as my legs took 376 00:24:05.380 --> 00:24:08.200 me past the fire, I immediately lost my sense of place. 377 00:24:08.769 --> 00:24:11.809 I couldn't see where I was going. But I knew. 378 00:24:12.710 --> 00:24:16.289 I was going to the sphere. Its control was quickly 379 00:24:16.329 --> 00:24:19.829 spreading like an infection, erasing my will, but not my 380 00:24:19.890 --> 00:24:23.410 helpless terror. With an exhausting effort, I looked behind me. 381 00:24:24.410 --> 00:24:27.109 I only saw the dim orange embers of our campfire. 382 00:24:27.470 --> 00:24:31.190 fading fast. I still had a gambler's chance, and the 383 00:24:31.230 --> 00:24:34.690 game was Russian roulette. I raised my pistol in front 384 00:24:34.710 --> 00:24:37.069 of me, aiming along the center of my forced path, 385 00:24:37.349 --> 00:24:40.630 and squeezed off three shots into the dark, into the sphere. 386 00:24:41.630 --> 00:24:45.289 There was no sound of impact or ricochet. Then I 387 00:24:45.309 --> 00:24:48.890 thought of Hap's knife. How it didn't even leave scratch. 388 00:24:50.099 --> 00:24:52.819 I had three shots left, and with vines of unholy 389 00:24:52.880 --> 00:24:55.880 influence taking root in my brain like a parasite weed, 390 00:24:56.500 --> 00:25:01.359 a sickening choice. I had just enough time to end myself. 391 00:25:02.480 --> 00:25:04.890 Just as I raised the. 32 to my head, my 392 00:25:04.950 --> 00:25:08.529 legs started working faster, as if to outrun my trigger finger. 393 00:25:09.190 --> 00:25:10.990 I was almost at a run when I thought of 394 00:25:11.170 --> 00:25:13.990 one other option, and cursed myself for not coming up 395 00:25:14.029 --> 00:25:16.529 with it in time to help the others. I put 396 00:25:16.549 --> 00:25:20.259 the gun barrel against my right knee and fired. Damn 397 00:25:20.279 --> 00:25:22.920 did it hurt! I fell to my side, absorbed in 398 00:25:22.960 --> 00:25:26.940 the sudden burning agony of splintered bone and joint. Without 399 00:25:26.980 --> 00:25:30.609 control of my legs, I hit the ground hard, knocked breathless. 400 00:25:31.380 --> 00:25:34.289 But my good left leg was still trying to walk, 401 00:25:34.849 --> 00:25:37.789 heel and toe arcing back and forth in the dirt 402 00:25:37.849 --> 00:25:41.910 like an upended wind-up doll. To hell with it, I 403 00:25:41.950 --> 00:25:44.269 thought out loud, and blasted a hole right through the 404 00:25:44.309 --> 00:25:47.089 top of my left foot. I screamed like a new 405 00:25:47.130 --> 00:25:51.309 arrival in hell. My legs still tried to move, alternating 406 00:25:51.349 --> 00:25:54.829 in a shaky, grounded dance. I raised the gun to 407 00:25:54.869 --> 00:25:57.619 my head once more. ready to make use of that 408 00:25:57.759 --> 00:26:01.119 last round to keep from facing both the

unknown and 409 00:26:01.180 --> 00:26:06.000 this searing pain, if I somehow started moving again. My 410 00:26:06.079 --> 00:26:10.559 legs went limp. They'd been released. If only they had 411 00:26:10.599 --> 00:26:14.240 gone numb, too. I guess I was no longer suitable 412 00:26:14.299 --> 00:26:18.380 for its... their purposes, or just not worth the trouble. 413 00:26:19.779 --> 00:26:23.099 The crawl back to camp, about 20 yards, was sheer hell. 414 00:26:24.259 --> 00:26:27.089 I couldn't look behind me. dead certain that if I did, 415 00:26:27.150 --> 00:26:29.430 I'd see that thing coming at me like a ten-ton 416 00:26:29.490 --> 00:26:34.009 boulder rolling downhill. It was a good three hours before dawn. 417 00:26:35.130 --> 00:26:38.490 Thinking of Duarte's dad and the blur-faced being that landed 418 00:26:38.529 --> 00:26:41.730 on his grapefield, I was too terrified to crawl into 419 00:26:41.769 --> 00:26:44.630 the radio tent, not even for the first aid kit. 420 00:26:45.599 --> 00:26:49.259 Nothing in there would ease my pain anyway. I'd suffer 421 00:26:49.299 --> 00:26:52.240 till dawn, if I lived, and then make the call. 422 00:26:53.740 --> 00:26:56.519 I had my last bullet, the most precious possession I 423 00:26:56.819 --> 00:26:59.900 have ever owned, and I had my watch to tell 424 00:26:59.940 --> 00:27:03.660 me how long it was until dawn. There were lots 425 00:27:03.680 --> 00:27:06.529 of cold little nuggets floating around in my head to 426 00:27:06.589 --> 00:27:11.089 keep me company. Like, what if dawn never came? I'd 427 00:27:11.130 --> 00:27:14.890 be easy prey for the jungle's sharp-toothed regulars, or worse, 428 00:27:15.430 --> 00:27:20.150 for that godforsaken black sphere. My bad luck was what 429 00:27:20.230 --> 00:27:23.400 ran out, though. Duarte's accounting of the light must have 430 00:27:23.420 --> 00:27:26.750 lit a fire under somebody's can. A rescue team rolled 431 00:27:26.829 --> 00:27:29.630 in double time, just as day broke, along with a 432 00:27:29.670 --> 00:27:31.869 couple of suits who grilled me for 10 minutes or 433 00:27:31.910 --> 00:27:35.309 so about the last 24 hours, which wasn't exactly doing 434 00:27:35.349 --> 00:27:38.279 me a favor. I was already trying to forget it. 435 00:27:39.779 --> 00:27:41.380 As I lay there in the bay of the chopper, 436 00:27:41.859 --> 00:27:44.900 the pilot handed me a canteen of, judging by his 437 00:27:44.940 --> 00:27:49.819 Tennessee accent, moonshine. Maybe he nipped while flying, or maybe 438 00:27:49.859 --> 00:27:53.319 he brought it just for me. I didn't care. While 439 00:27:53.359 --> 00:27:55.839 I was being carried out, a handful of rangers checked 440 00:27:55.900 --> 00:28:01.009 the area. They didn't find anything or anyone, including my pals. 441 00:28:02.829 --> 00:28:05.329 These days I get around my place okay with a cane, 442 00:28:06.089 --> 00:28:08.569 got full retirement, long as I keep my mouth shut, 443 00:28:08.869 --> 00:28:11.950 and neighbors on both sides keep me from feeling too alone. 444 00:28:13.539 --> 00:28:17.480 I'm always watching the trees around twilight, though, and I 445 00:28:17.559 --> 00:28:26.349 always keep my lucky bullet handy. Thanks for joining me. 446 00:28:26.869 --> 00:28:33.329 Find more horror fiction at weirddarkness.com slash midnight. I'm Darren Marlar, 447 00:28:34.039 --> 00:28:37.440 and I hope you'll join me again soon at Midnight 448 00:28:38.440 --> 00:28:39.180 in the Macabre.