There's Something in the Forest

[00:00:00] Welcome to Scary Story Podcast. Today we have a story about what you requested over on Spotify's Q&A section of the last story, the one called Maps. Thanks for all the ideas by the way. This time though in the questions for this episode

[00:00:14] we're gonna reverse the roles so you can ask me any question you want over on the Q&A or over on Instagram or TikTok and I'll answer them. It'll give me something to post. The info is in the description of this episode. Here we go.

[00:00:27] My name is Edwin and here's a scary story. I couldn't even look at Jacob's mom without bursting into tears. The desperation in her voice became etched to my mind. No one should ever go through something like this. A parent's worst

[00:00:48] nightmare. The money for the search and rescue helicopters was used up in 36 hours and now we were relying on the state and local municipalities to help with the search for Jacob. He was an avid hiker and understood everything

[00:01:02] there was to know about those mountains so we were surprised to know that it was only his dog that returned back to the car that day and was waiting for his owner. That's until the security guard from the parking lot alerted everyone of

[00:01:14] a missing hiker. Due to the heavy fog out in the forest, helicopters proved to be less useful in the mornings so the search was limited between 10 in the morning until about an hour before sunset. But we couldn't wait. The four of us had

[00:01:32] grown up together practically and we had taken many trips out to the forests up in the northeast many times before. But if this proved anything was that if Jacob had a tough time in the area right at the end of summertime when there were no

[00:01:46] challenges due to the weather, then we probably wouldn't stand a chance. He was the best hiker out of all of us. He had done long multi-day treks even internationally. Those were his vacations. Still we had to figure it out. So with my

[00:02:03] law enforcement background I went to work trying to find as much information as possible as to where he might have gone. Kerry, his wife, logged into his computer for us but we couldn't find any information except for the passes he bought for the parking lots and

[00:02:17] registering himself at the trailhead which I then remembered sometimes required you to state your route and return window. The local police department had already gotten a hold of that information and requesting it without jurisdiction was a tough thing to do. Although the guards and park

[00:02:35] rangers gave us his registration information when he found out what we wanted to do, which was go look for him by ourselves. You guys outdoors people? He asked us during our very first meeting. I don't

[00:02:48] know who we were trying to fool. This guy obviously knew all about the mountains and forests in the area along with some of the legends. Enrique was a photographer and would do treks every once in a while and Matt was more into

[00:03:01] video games and chess. A champion on the regional level and the smartest person I knew. The park ranger could tell. I didn't have much outdoor experience aside from the hikes we all did together with some fishing at times but there was a reason

[00:03:16] I joined law enforcement as soon as I could. That was for things like these. Being able to work in the office and figure things out. Jacob was the outdoors guy. Marcus's peak was Jacob's destination. A three-day walk up toward

[00:03:32] the lakes. It was a steep climb on some parts but since his dog Timber was with him he would likely be going around the main section and sticking to the dirt paths. His wife liked to joke that he took better care of Timber than her. I

[00:03:46] remember Timber barking back at the woods when we arrived at the trailhead the day Jacob went missing. He would run out toward the path and then come back to us trying to push us to go. Everyone, the rescue team leaders, the rangers that

[00:04:00] got involved in the search asked us to find as much information as we could about where he could have gone but to not put ourselves in danger. When we decided to go looking for our friend while the rest of the group of search

[00:04:12] volunteers were starting to get organized that's exactly where we would end up. Danger. Places we were never supposed to see. Timber would not leave our sides and I decided to bring him along. He had a dog vest and a small

[00:04:29] water bowl and a sweater tied to it. We got our gear together and set out very early one morning after getting our updates from the search team. Matt figured out the route for us and the most efficient way to begin crossing the

[00:04:41] areas. He brought along the GPS, a satellite phone and everything we could possibly need to find our way back. First aid kits, medicine and bear spray Enrique reminded us when we were in the car. People in the area had been spotting

[00:04:57] more bears in there and with those thoughts we all grew quiet. What if Jacob had been attacked? I mean it wasn't a thought we wanted to have but it was better to begin to face it now. Timber had been on alert since Jacob went

[00:05:14] missing, standing by the door while waiting at Carrie's house. Since her parents had been staying with her they claimed to see the dog trying to run away on several occasions as though he knew where to find him. Timber was uneasy

[00:05:28] the whole drive there until we got to the entrance to the trail just before sunrise. We started whining and trying to climb out the window. We got him ready in the car and as soon as he got on a leash he leaped out and tugged his way

[00:05:41] straight to the trail. We would be out for three days in the worst of scenarios and in about eight hours in the best of cases, assuming we had found Jacob alive and well making our way back to the car or getting help to come find us. We had

[00:05:56] camping gear to be able to go deeper into the mountains. Those trails were not for ATVs or bicycles. The type of trail we were on would only be accessible on foot or helicopter. But we were determined to get ahead of the

[00:06:10] volunteer groups, some of which had gotten Matt very angry because of their lack of efficiency and irrational fears of non-existent beings. His words, not mine. He was a very logical guy and it took him a bit to truly express himself and

[00:06:27] explain what he was talking about. But from what we gathered, some of the volunteers were there just to get out of work and others were hobby search and rescue people, believe it or not. But what really pissed them off were those that

[00:06:40] said that they hoped they would not be the ones to find Jacob. Those who have found victims before have become traumatized and even though I knew where Matt was coming from, I understood whoever had said that. Finding someone

[00:06:55] first meant finding a dead body sometimes. Something they wouldn't be able to deal with. It was tough either way. I mean you want them to be found but hope that you're not the one who does that if they're dead. And what's this thing about non-existing beings or whatever?

[00:07:13] Enrique asked from behind me. About the things they say that roam out here and they weren't talking about the bears neither. They actually believed in them as if creatures were actively hunting for people out here and they were afraid of

[00:07:26] encountering one of them. You could tell Matt was still pretty angry. I knew of the myths quite well in fact. It was through my grandpa that I learned of all the legends and monsters that were said to roam around the Great Lakes and Canada.

[00:07:40] Of the ghost ships and sightings of late creatures. The area was full of stories like that including tales that came from Native American tribes like the Ojibwe. Stories of a tall humanoid type creature that would prey on humans and eat them.

[00:07:57] Enrique and I were more cautious when it came to dangers in the dark. Not just from bears but from things that we couldn't explain. Things our families had told us about and why we shouldn't step into the woods in the dark. The campfire

[00:08:14] was at its peak when we finally had our dinner ready. Imitation mac and cheese with white cheese powder mixed with water. Timber had his own food and was staring out into the woods anxious to keep walking. His bowl untouched. Despite

[00:08:30] walking for hours the dog kept his attention straight ahead. Tugging at the leash the whole way and yet he wanted to keep going toward the peak where Jacob was heading when he vanished. Nobody spoke very much. Her voices were nearly

[00:08:45] gone from yelling out Jacob's name as we walked. The toughest part of the hike would be the following day and not because of the difficulty of the climb. We would avoid it altogether like we suspected Jacob had done to save timber

[00:08:58] from climbing on sharp rocks. But that would also mean that we would have to be off map like Matt had called it. For a few hours he would be away from the marked trail. Something Jacob would do quite often on his own but it would be through

[00:09:14] the dark side of the hill. The one rarely walked through by newcomers because of the long distance it would take to get to Marcus Peak. The locals would avoid it because of the stories that surrounded it. The fire was dying out at around 9

[00:09:31] at night. We had already set up our tents with Matt being the first to say good night. Enrique and I stayed up for a bit looking at the glowing red and orange in

[00:09:41] the fire pit. And timber was sitting next to us staring into the dark. It was a kind of quiet that was loud enough to bring out your fears and still enough to calm you down in a bizarre balancing act. One that involved hoping that all of it had

[00:09:58] been a dream. The fire had died out about 15 minutes after that and I was about to go into my tent when I heard timber huff and puff toward the trail we were gonna take the next day. And then he got in a protective stance and started

[00:10:18] growling deeply and then he started backing away. What's wrong timber? Enrique asked looking out into the woods. Two red glowing embers could be seen from the shadows between the trees. We looked at each other acknowledging that

[00:10:38] we could both see it. At about two meters off the ground the two lights rose even higher as timber burst into a full-on defensive bark backing away toward us. Enrique and I stood up and faced the thing that was in the dark. I then

[00:10:56] reached into my pocket to grab the flashlight and when I aimed at it timbers barks became yelps. Enrique screamed and I stood there frozen as this thing stared us down. A tall and abnormally thin human like figure with

[00:11:14] pale skin that looked like it had just come out of the trees. Its eyes were no longer glowing red against the light. They were deep and dark gaseous. It stood maybe 20 feet away from us completely still. Timber had stopped barking as he

[00:11:32] backed away from it. And then my light turned off. Matt laid out a scream from inside his tent as I shook the flashlight to try to get it to work but

[00:11:42] all he did was flash on and off on and off. Enrique was moving in the dark and I could hear him yell. I suspected he had tripped over the unburned logs on the fire pit

[00:11:53] while running toward Matt's tent. We both yelled out for Matt but his screams only got louder until we heard the sounds of ripping fabric. His screams moved over the dark woods as a strobe of my flashlight shined on the trees. His

[00:12:10] screams turned to echoes in the distance and soon they were gone. Enrique turned on his flashlight and aimed it at Matt's tent. It had been torn open and we called for him but Enrique said to grab Timber's leash and head back to the car right

[00:12:30] then and there in the dark. With any luck we would be there after sunrise. But still we grabbed our backpacks and left everything else where it was afraid of that thing we had just witnessed. We ran for the first half hour and then once

[00:12:47] we reached a clearing we stopped to catch our breaths. We didn't know what to say to each other. Matt was the one with the satellite phone and he always had it strapped onto his body but neither of us wanted to go after him. Even our most

[00:13:02] logical idea seemed completely crazy at that time. But I know we had decided the right thing. We weren't about to go chase after that thing that was out in the woods. Especially in the dark. And so we half ran half walked the whole way back

[00:13:18] with Timber leading the way occasionally stopping to look back at us and behind us. The Sun had just come up when we made it back to the car. The security guard spotted us and left his booth to run up to us. We explained what had

[00:13:34] happened something that visibly shocked him. We had just seen a creature out there that took Matt and we needed help immediately. And I don't know how I remembered this at that moment but Matt had given me a code for his GPS tracker

[00:13:49] that could be looked up online. And so I asked the guard about an internet connection which he responded that was only available at the main office a couple of miles north where the parking lot was. But to get on the truck and head

[00:14:02] over there with him. We got there and I entered the information and my heart dropped when I saw the tracker still moving at an abnormally high speed around the hills of the mountain. The guard was calling emergency services

[00:14:18] while we were watching it unfold. Enrique was recording the screen with his phone. We traced it as it moved around the hills and then either climbed or went into the mountain. For the tracker lost connection. It was helpful to the police

[00:14:35] though. Although in their final statement they said that the disappearance had been due to an animal attack. They had come to the conclusion once they had found parts of Matt and Jacob's body on the trees. The entrance of the remote

[00:14:49] caves on the east side of the mountain. Just a day after Matt's disappearance. Thanks to the GPS coordinates Enrique and I don't walk in the woods anymore. And sometimes when we talk about it we try to convince each other that we saw

[00:15:07] something normal. An animal of some sort. But deep down we know it wasn't anything like it. We started believing in things that as Matt said were non-existent beings. Scary Story Podcast is written and produced by me Edwin Covarrubias.

[00:15:33] Remember to drop your questions in the Q&A section on Spotify or send them over to my Instagram or TikTok. It'll be some of the first stuff I post so it'll be cool. My username is Edwin Cov. That's E-D-W-I-N-C-O-V. Next check out my other

[00:15:49] podcast called Horror Story. It's about true dark events. Like our last episode with the tragic story of a cult that believed in aliens and they ended up dying. All 39 members that were left all at once. It's not recommended for young

[00:16:04] audiences because the material is real and it includes actual recordings of the members. You can find it by searching for Horror Story on your podcast app. Don't forget to give Scary Plus a try if you're on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. There

[00:16:18] should be a button for Scary Plus on there to try it for free. That way you get the episodes without ads. Don't forget to drop some stars and tap follow to get the next story. Anyway, thank you very much for listening. See you soon.