0:02

Hi, my name is Marshall and

0:04

I was an investigator for the Coast Guard for

0:06

over 30 years. Before

0:10

I begin, I'm not going to

0:12

give any last names or overly personal

0:14

information for the protection of

0:16

myself and those involved. As

0:19

I write this, using the first

0:21

names of my superior still feels like

0:23

sacrilege. However, following

0:26

the events of this story, I

0:29

had signed an NDA pertaining to

0:31

what was uncovered during the investigation.

0:34

Given that I'm now staring down the

0:36

barrel of a nasty cancer diagnosis, I

0:39

no longer care for my career or life.

0:42

But I don't want to hurt

0:44

anyone else in the process. Despite

0:47

the danger of disobeying a federal

0:49

NDA, I feel that

0:52

people deserved another truth about

0:55

what lurks in their coastal waters.

1:00

During my time as an investigator for

1:02

the Coast Guard, my days

1:04

were spent stopping drug runners, hanging

1:06

around the docks and yelling at

1:08

drunk party boat captains. However,

1:11

every single serviceman or member of

1:14

law enforcement has a couple

1:16

of cases which they cannot forget, no

1:18

matter how desperate they are to do so. The

1:22

SS Napoli was one of those

1:25

cases. It

1:27

was 1997 and I

1:29

had been an investigator for the Coast Guard

1:32

for three years and was stationed

1:34

in Portland where my partner John and I

1:36

got the call. According

1:38

to our dispatch, there was

1:40

a small cruise vessel which had

1:43

veered into a restricted commercial waterway.

1:46

Having nothing better to do and

1:48

not wanting to look too lazy around our

1:51

superiors, we made our way to

1:53

our small patrol boat where we

1:55

were met by one of the senior

1:57

investigators named Eric. John,

2:00

Marshall, you're both late." Eric

2:03

said as he stood in front of our

2:05

boat with his arms crossed. I

2:08

didn't know this was going to be so serious, John

2:11

said as we walked towards the boat. It's

2:14

always serious, Eric said

2:16

as he stared daggers at John. This

2:20

search has become a high priority and we're

2:22

just wasting time standing here, so move

2:24

your asses. Declaring

2:27

at John for another second, Eric

2:29

turned around and quickly made his way

2:31

aboard the boat. Screw

2:34

me, John said as he gave

2:36

me a look of dejection and annoyance. I

2:39

was really hoping this would be a quick call. I

2:43

looked at John and gave him a shrug as

2:45

I boarded this ship. During

2:47

my time being stationed in Maine, I

2:50

had heard from several of my colleagues that

2:52

Eric had a reputation for being a by

2:55

the books hard ass. It

2:58

was his way or you were just in the way,

3:01

my friend Pete would tell me. I

3:04

should have known that once Eric had

3:06

become involved in the investigation that this

3:08

was going to be more than a

3:10

routine stop. However,

3:13

even with the knowledge of how

3:15

Eric conducts his investigations, we

3:18

were all unprepared for the turn that

3:20

this case would take. It

3:23

took us about 20 minutes to get to

3:25

the site of the SS Napoli. When

3:28

we got there, we found that she

3:30

had drifted into a sandbar and had

3:32

gotten stuck. Despite

3:35

this, we could hear the loud sputtering

3:37

of the engine desperately clinging

3:39

on for dear life as its

3:41

rotors were being enveloped by sand.

3:45

Hello, this is the US Coast Guard,

3:48

Eric stated over our boats PA. Turn

3:51

off your engines and come out on top of your deck.

3:56

We waited for a minute before Eric

3:58

repeated the message. This

4:00

is the US Coast Guard. Turn off your

4:03

engine and come out or we will board

4:05

your ship." Eric boomed

4:07

over the loudspeaker, clearly annoyed

4:09

at the lack of response. "'Screw

4:13

this,' Eric said as he

4:15

drew his pistol. "'We're boarding

4:17

now.'" Eric

4:20

had John put down our anchor and

4:22

the three of us boarded this ship. "'As

4:25

soon as we stepped aboard, I

4:28

noticed several pile of clothes neatly

4:30

folded along the deck's edges.' "'Maybe

4:33

they went for a swim,' John

4:35

said sarcastically as he

4:37

simultaneously avoided looking at Eric." "'Enough

4:41

clowning around. Let's go turn

4:43

off the engine,' Eric

4:45

said as his words trailed off." John

4:49

and I both looked in the

4:51

direction where Eric was staring and

4:54

saw a limp hand holding a pistol

4:56

on the ground. "'John,

4:59

get to our boat and call this in. We

5:02

have one confirmed casualty.' Without

5:06

saying a word, John quickly leapt

5:08

from the Napoli onto our ship and

5:11

made his way to the radio. With

5:13

his gun drawn, Eric motioned for

5:16

me to follow him and we quickly

5:18

breached the helm of the ship. When

5:22

we got inside, we found

5:24

the heavily decomposed body of a man

5:26

in his mid-fifties with an exit

5:28

wound on top of his head. As

5:31

Eric radioed John to relay the man's

5:33

information, I stared

5:35

mindlessly at the back wall of the

5:37

helm, which had become adorned

5:40

with the man's dried blood and brain matter.

5:43

"'Marshall,' Eric yelled, snapping

5:45

me out of my daze. "'Sorry,

5:48

sir,' I said as I

5:50

regained my composure and started searching

5:52

the pockets of the man's pants

5:54

for any identification.' "'It's

5:57

okay,' Eric said." in

6:00

a surprisingly understanding tone. Let's figure

6:02

out who this man is and

6:04

how he got here. Reaching

6:08

into his left front pocket, I

6:11

found his wallet and pulled out his ID, which

6:14

caused a loose photo to fall in the

6:16

process. It

6:18

looks like his name was Wendell

6:20

Kramer, I said as I

6:22

handed Eric the man's ID. As

6:26

I went to put the man's wallet on the table, I

6:29

saw the small photograph and picked it up.

6:33

In the picture was Wendell and

6:35

what appeared to be his wife and two

6:37

older children as they stood in

6:39

front of the Bellagio in Las Vegas.

6:43

Looks like he had a family too, I

6:45

said as I handed Eric the photograph. Wife

6:49

and two kids, Eric said

6:51

as he looked out the open doorway. How

6:54

many piles of clothing were there? Three

6:57

sir, John said as he made his

6:59

way into the helm, stopping just short

7:01

of the corpse. Christ,

7:04

do you think it could have been a murder-suicide

7:07

situation, John said as he looked

7:09

down at the man's body. I

7:11

think that I need to see the living quarters

7:14

of the ship first before I have any theories,

7:17

Eric said as he walked past John. John,

7:20

you're coming with me. Marshall,

7:22

I want you to see if we missed anything in

7:24

the helm. Yes sir,

7:27

I said as Eric and John made their

7:29

way to the deck below. As

7:35

soon as Eric and John were out of sight,

7:37

I quickly ran out of the hall and threw

7:39

up over the side of the ship. During

7:43

the first three years as an investigator,

7:45

I'd only been part of one other case

7:48

involving a death and it

7:50

had happened earlier the same day.

7:52

Never before had I ever seen

7:54

the effects of advanced decomposition on a

7:56

dead body, nor had I

7:58

ever smelled the blending. of the sea

8:01

water and advanced rock before. After

8:05

composing myself, I made my

8:07

way back into the helm and

8:09

started searching for any evidence. As

8:13

I looked back at the wall behind the dead body,

8:16

I noticed that there had been a

8:18

small circular glare of light at head

8:20

level. Turning

8:22

around, I saw a

8:24

VHS camera propped up onto a shelf.

8:28

So I think I found a camera, I

8:31

said over the radio as I

8:33

picked it up and pressed the eject button. There's

8:36

a tape inside of it too. Thank

8:39

you for the update Marshall, Eric

8:41

said. Come down below and bring

8:43

the camera with you. Without

8:48

any hesitation, I put the tape back in

8:50

the camera and made my way down the

8:53

stairs to the living quarters. John

8:56

and Eric were sitting down at a table

8:58

in a small kitchen. Did

9:01

you find anything down here? I

9:03

said as I sat next to John and

9:06

put the camera on the table. Nothing

9:09

to give any probable cause, but

9:11

we did find four suitcases belonging to

9:13

two women and two men. Eric

9:16

said as he put two new AA

9:18

batteries into the camera. He

9:21

also found batteries, John

9:23

said as Eric quickly smiled before

9:25

going back to his cold gaze.

9:29

Are we going to watch the tape? I

9:31

asked as Eric turned the camera on, causing

9:33

it to sound its start up jingle. Of

9:37

course it's evidence and we have nothing else

9:39

to go off of. Eric

9:41

said as he checked the time in the

9:43

recording. Looks like there's

9:45

about an hour's worth of footage on here. John

9:49

and I sat in anticipation as

9:51

Eric put the camera back on the table and

9:54

hit play on the VHS recorder. The

9:57

first clip started off with a woman running

9:59

a black and white striped bikini sunbathing

10:01

on the deck of the ship, while

10:04

two people could be heard having a splash

10:06

fight in the water. Hi

10:09

everyone, a man said as he

10:11

zoomed in on the sunbathing woman. Here

10:14

is my beautiful and not at all

10:16

cranky Clara. A window,

10:18

stop that, the woman said playfully

10:21

as she sat up. And

10:23

this is my not at all annoying

10:25

husband. Ooh,

10:27

burn, the man said laughing. Dad,

10:31

I'm hungry, yelled a

10:33

boy in his mid teens as he climbed the

10:35

ladder to the deck. And can

10:37

we please not have pork chops again? A

10:40

younger girl chimed in. The

10:42

man then turned the camera to face himself, revealing

10:45

himself to be the same man that we

10:47

found in the helm. Being

10:50

a parent is such a rewarding experience.

10:53

Window said sarcastically as

10:55

he was sprayed with water. Hey,

10:57

cut that out. The

11:00

video then cut to black before

11:02

starting clip two. Hey,

11:05

assholes, the boy from before said

11:07

as soon as the second clip began. Today,

11:10

I'm going to be pranking my dad by

11:13

pushing him overboard. Like

11:15

hell you are, Connor, Window said as

11:17

he grabbed the camera. You couldn't

11:19

trick me if you tried. Yeah,

11:21

Connor, you'd have to be smart to do that.

11:24

The young girl said she walked by the

11:26

camera to sit at the kitchen table. Screw

11:29

you, Sam, Connor said in

11:31

an annoyed tone. Hey, be

11:34

nice to your sister, Wendell said

11:36

sternly. Fine,

11:39

Connor said as he sat down. Dinner's

11:42

ready, Clara, Wendell called out

11:45

before giving an annoyed look to the camera.

11:48

The camera then went black again. As

11:52

I watched these clips, I couldn't help

11:55

but think about the man whose lifeless

11:57

body is lying directly over our

11:59

head. It

12:01

doesn't get any easier." Eric

12:04

said. What? I

12:06

said as I snapped back to reality. This

12:09

isn't the first time I've had to go through footage

12:11

like this. Eric said as he

12:13

gave me a sad look. Seeing

12:16

someone's ghost, their memories, the life

12:18

they've left behind. Just try

12:21

not to get too caught up in it. Remember,

12:24

we need to be here for them so they

12:27

can rest knowing someone was able to tell their

12:29

story. Thanks,

12:31

sir. I said as I looked

12:33

down at my hands. Eric

12:37

nodded and clicked play on the camera,

12:40

which started up clip three. In

12:43

this clip, it was now night

12:45

time and the family was staring at

12:47

something off in the distance. Wendell,

12:51

do you have the camera ready? Clara

12:54

said in nervous excitement. You

12:56

have to film this. I

12:59

just turned it on. I'm right behind you. Wendell

13:02

said as he approached his wife and kids.

13:05

As he got behind them, the camera

13:07

showed four blue orbs of light hovering

13:10

over the ocean. What

13:12

are those things, Dad? Connor asked

13:15

as he turned to face the camera. I

13:19

don't have any idea, buddy. Wendell

13:21

said as he zoomed in on one of the

13:23

orbs. When he

13:26

did, you could see that

13:28

the orb was pulsating as if to

13:30

mimic the water below. Wendell,

13:33

I don't like this. Clara

13:36

said nervously. Yeah,

13:38

let's all go downstairs and play some board games.

13:42

Wendell said with clearly fake

13:44

enthusiasm. As

13:46

Wendell started to put the camera down, he

13:49

quickly froze. Suddenly, a

13:52

faint sound could be heard off in

13:54

the distance. Is

13:56

that singing? John said as

13:59

he leaned towards the camera speaker. Come

14:02

on kids, let's get downstairs," Windle

14:05

said in a more concerned tone than before.

14:09

The camera once again cut to black, leaving

14:11

us in pure disbelief. You

14:14

all heard that right, John said

14:17

as he quickly looked at Eric and me.

14:20

Yeah, yeah, I

14:22

think I heard something, I said

14:24

before being cut off by Eric. I

14:27

didn't hear anything, Eric said as

14:30

he pressed play on the camera. Let's

14:32

just keep watching. Dad,

14:35

get the camera quick, you need to

14:37

see this, Sam yelled from the

14:39

top deck. Windle

14:42

then ran up the stairs to see that the bright

14:44

lights were much closer now.

14:48

What the hell? Windle muttered

14:50

under his breath. As

14:54

he stared at the pulsating orbs, the

14:56

singing from the third clip had become much

14:58

more audible. John

15:01

then paused the recording and turned to face

15:03

Eric. See, don't you

15:05

hear the singing? John exclaimed,

15:08

the orbs are harmonizing. Eric

15:12

said nothing and pressed play on the

15:14

camera. The clip

15:16

continued with Windle filming the orbs. Suddenly

15:20

the song that was being sung began

15:22

to shift. Windle,

15:25

Clara, Connor,

15:28

Sam, the orbs sang.

15:32

As they sang, it sounded as if

15:34

they were producing multiple octaves of sound

15:36

at once, producing a rolling

15:39

sound of harmonies at a

15:41

perfect pitch. As

15:43

we listened to the track through the VHS, I

15:46

felt the hairs on my arm begin to stand up.

15:50

Sam, honey, let's go to bed.

15:53

It's late, Windle said as

15:56

he started to walk towards his daughter. Having

16:00

either not heard her father or

16:02

did not care to listen to him, stayed

16:04

perfectly still as she continued to

16:06

stare into the orbs floating ten

16:08

feet above her head. "'Sam!'

16:12

Wendell yelled, snapping Sam out of her

16:15

days. "'Dad!' Sam

16:17

muttered groggily. "'It's

16:20

okay, baby,' Wendell said, clearly

16:22

shaken by what had just transpired.

16:25

"'Let's get you to bed. You asleep

16:27

walking again?'" The

16:31

clip went to black, and John pressed

16:33

the play button with no hesitation. Eric

16:37

and I looked at each other as the clip began.

16:40

"'Clara! Connor! Sam!' Wendell

16:43

called out as he left his bed and

16:45

entered the living quarters." All

16:48

around him, the sound from earlier had

16:50

gotten loud to the point of causing

16:53

the VHS's microphone to start clipping. The

16:56

blue light given off by the orbs had

16:58

surrounded the boats, causing rays of

17:00

blue light to cast throughout the cabin. As

17:04

Wendell panned the camera around the room, he

17:07

heard the faint sounds of talking above deck.

17:10

"'Hold on, I'm coming!' Wendell

17:13

yelled as he ran up the stairs. As

17:16

soon as he reached the top deck and turned to face

17:18

the bow of the ship, he

17:20

instantly froze. Clara, Connor,

17:23

and Sam were standing

17:25

completely nude and facing the ocean.

17:28

"'What the hell is going on?' Wendell

17:30

yelled. As

17:34

he made his way towards his family, he

17:37

stopped and screamed as

17:39

four creatures began to rise in front of

17:41

his family. As the

17:43

skinless humanoids began to tower over the

17:45

three, they began to unhinge

17:47

their jaws and produced two

17:50

black tentacles which emitted the same

17:52

light blue glow as the orbs.

17:56

The three of us and Wendell watched in

17:58

horror as three of the creatures." as

18:00

they pressed their tentacles over Clara,

18:02

Connor, and Sam's faces. As

18:05

the tentacles latched onto their faces, they

18:08

appeared to suck away at their skin. Stay

18:12

away from my family, you freaks, Windle

18:14

cried out. As

18:17

soon as he spoke, the fourth creature

18:19

began to shuffle towards him, walking

18:21

as though their legs did not match

18:23

their autonomy. Windle

18:25

began to slowly back away as the

18:28

creature made a break towards him. The

18:30

sudden speed of the creature caused me

18:32

to flinch as Eric

18:34

sat stoically and John sat

18:37

transfixed. Windle

18:39

quickly rushed to the helm and slammed the

18:41

door shut just as the creature was about

18:43

to grab him. Damn

18:46

it, damn it, what are those things? Windle

18:48

muttered as he tried to catch his breath while he

18:51

locked the door. After

18:54

a minute of composing himself, Windle

18:57

pointed the camera towards the window and

19:00

walked off to the left side of the screen. From

19:03

the hatch, we watched as

19:05

the formerly skinless creatures started

19:07

to take on facial features from the

19:09

family members, becoming twisted

19:12

versions of the loving family we

19:14

had seen on TV. The

19:17

placement of hair on the creature's heads

19:19

were matted and off-center. Their

19:21

mouths, which were still unhinged, looked

19:24

crooked and broken, and

19:26

the creatures bulged from the skin they

19:28

adorned like a tight-fitting suit. As

19:32

soon as Windle came back on screen

19:34

and looked at the window, he vomited

19:36

at the abomination before

19:38

recoiling due to a loud banging sound

19:41

from the other side of the door.

19:45

Windle, locked up in horror, is

19:47

the face of the skinless creatures suddenly appeared

19:50

from the other side of the hatch window.

19:52

It smiled at

19:54

Windle as it began to bang

19:56

its head furiously against the door. Take

20:00

this," Windle screamed as he

20:02

drew a pistol and fired three shots through

20:04

the door. As

20:06

the shots rang out, the deafening scream

20:09

of pain could be heard from the other

20:11

side of the door. Got

20:14

you. Windle cheered as

20:16

he looked out the window. As

20:19

soon as he saw the scene outside,

20:21

his pride had quickly soured to dismay

20:25

as he began to sob. I

20:27

don't know how to live without you, Windle

20:30

said as he stared down the pistol. I'm

20:33

so sorry, everyone. I love

20:36

you so, so much. For

20:38

anyone who finds this, my coordinates is

20:40

43.6 to minus 69.7. If

20:45

you see blue orbs over the water, run.

20:52

As soon as he said this, Windle picked up

20:54

the camera and placed it on the shelf beside

20:56

the door. Out

20:58

of sight of the camera, the sound of

21:00

the engine wrong to life can be heard as

21:03

a single gunshot exploded through the mic,

21:06

leaving just the sound of the singing from

21:08

behind the door. Suddenly,

21:11

after several minutes, the

21:13

sound of banging resumed and

21:15

a loud crash was heard off camera. After

21:19

several moments of shuffling, the

21:21

creature that was behind the door appeared and

21:25

stared directly at the camera, causing

21:27

John to let out a blood-curdling

21:30

scream. What the

21:32

hell? John screamed as he shot out

21:34

of his chair. The

21:36

sudden reaction caused Eric and I to flinch

21:39

as John began pacing around the cabin. John,

21:43

are you okay? Eric asked

21:46

as he got up. Its

21:48

face, John screamed. Its

21:50

damn face. I

21:52

know. I don't think I'll ever be

21:54

able to unsee that skinless freak, I

21:56

said. What the hell are you

21:58

talking about? John said as

22:00

he stopped pacing and stared at me. The

22:04

creature, I said in

22:06

a confused tone. It

22:08

didn't have skin and was all muscle and tendon.

22:11

It had my face, Marshall. You

22:14

didn't see my face? John

22:16

pleaded. It smiled at me

22:18

with my own damn face. Eric

22:21

shot a glance at John before giving me

22:23

a worried look. Grab

22:26

the camera. We need to leave

22:28

now. Eric said, but

22:31

it had my face, sir. John

22:33

muttered between fits of crying. Now

22:36

let's go. Eric

22:38

yelled. Eric

22:41

stormed out of the cabin as I

22:43

helped an inconsolable John up the stairs

22:45

and onto our boat. The

22:48

ride back from the SS Napoli was

22:50

tense and silenced between John's

22:52

constant whimpering. As

22:55

soon as we made it back to dock, two

22:57

members of the Coast Guard were waiting to

22:59

escort John to our field office. As

23:02

I was about to get off the ship, Eric

23:05

put his arm out to stop me. Sir?

23:09

I said before being cut off. What

23:12

I'm about to tell you is extremely

23:14

important, so I need you to listen.

23:17

Eric said as he looked around to make

23:19

sure no one else was in earshot. Of

23:22

course sir. What is it? I

23:25

asked. You didn't

23:27

see anything today. Eric

23:30

whispered. Of course sir, I

23:32

won't tell anyone. I replied. Eric

23:36

just shook his head and stared at me. Even

23:40

if you saw something, you never

23:42

saw anything. You never heard anything.

23:45

You know nothing. Eric

23:48

continued. I'm only

23:50

telling you this because I have no

23:52

choice. Those

23:54

creatures you saw are sirens. Like

23:58

from the Odyssey, I asked. Similar,

24:02

Eric said, as he became slightly

24:04

more relaxed. We

24:06

pray on those who allow themselves to be

24:08

open to their calls. As

24:11

soon as you leave here, listen to

24:13

your favourite album or do something to rid

24:15

yourself of the mark. What

24:18

about John? I asked as

24:20

I watched him struggle to walk with

24:22

his escorts. I

24:24

told him to watch over him, make sure he doesn't

24:27

do anything stupid and hope

24:29

that God's grace is in his favour. Eric

24:32

said as he pulled out a cigar

24:34

and lit it. Now go,

24:37

you're dismissed. Yes sir,

24:40

I said as I gave a salute and

24:42

walked back to the office. For

24:48

the next couple of hours, I took

24:50

Eric's advice and listened to some music

24:53

and watched a late night Celtics game on

24:55

TV with my friend Pete and some other

24:57

colleagues. Just

24:59

as Brucebound missed another two point shot, Eric

25:03

burst into the office. Where

25:05

is Marshall? He yelled. I'm

25:08

right here sir, I said where are

25:10

they, as the guys who are watching

25:12

the game with me tried to distance themselves. Follow

25:16

me now! He yelled as

25:18

he slammed the door. I

25:21

stood in the room, confused for a

25:23

second, before grabbing my coat and rushing

25:25

for the door. Poor

25:27

guy, Pete said as I rushed out

25:29

of the room. As

25:32

soon as I left the office, a marshal

25:34

was waiting for me holding an M16. We

25:38

have a serious issue, Marshall, Eric

25:41

said as he handed me the keys to the boat.

25:44

What's wrong? I asked nervously

25:46

as I eyed the assault rifle. John

25:49

stole one of our boats and

25:52

I think I know where it's going, Eric

25:54

said as he began to briskly walk to

25:56

the boat. Where

25:58

is he going? I asked. I asked as I

26:00

tried to catch up. The

26:03

coordinates in that video is going

26:05

back to the site where the incident happened. Eric

26:08

said as he picked up his pace. Why

26:11

would he do that? He was terrified

26:13

of those things, I asked as

26:15

we neared the boat. Just

26:18

as we were about to board the boat, Eric

26:21

turned to look at me. Because

26:23

he never listens, Marshall. He

26:26

embraced the song. And

26:28

now they have a hold on him. Eric

26:31

and I then boarded the ship and

26:34

sped off into the night towards where

26:36

Wendell had reported the incident. By

26:39

the time we arrived near the location, it

26:42

had been about an hour since we had left the

26:44

dock. Ahead of us,

26:46

we saw the footlights of a ship in the

26:48

distance. And to my horror, a

26:52

bright blue orb hovering in the sky.

26:55

Damn, it might already be too late. Eric

26:58

said as he turned the safety off the M16. What's

27:02

the plan, sir? I asked as

27:04

the floodlights came closer. We

27:07

save John if we can, and I shoot

27:09

anything that's not human. Eric

27:12

said as he pulled earplugs from his pocket and

27:14

handed them to me. As

27:17

we approached the side of the boat, I

27:19

saw John standing on the bow, nude

27:22

and staring at the sky while the

27:24

orb above him was singing just

27:27

as it had in the video. John,

27:31

John, John. John,

27:35

what the hell are you doing? Eric

27:37

yelled. John

27:39

didn't respond. John, if

27:41

you don't answer me, I'm going to board this

27:43

boat and haul you off myself. Eric

27:46

yelled as he prepared to disembark. Just

27:50

as Eric was about to board John's boat, a

27:53

creature started to crawl from the water

27:55

onto his boat, standing

27:58

before John was one of the most powerful. of

28:00

the eight-feet tall, skinless sirens.

28:04

Oh damn, Eric said as

28:06

he raised his rifle. Before

28:09

he could shoot the creature, John

28:12

turned around and fired two shots from

28:14

his revolver at Eric, hitting him

28:16

in the shoulder. As

28:18

Eric laid bleeding on the floor of our boat, John

28:21

turned back towards the creature as

28:24

his tentacles exploded from its face

28:26

and latched onto John's skin. As

28:30

the creature began to harvest John's skin, John

28:33

started to moan with

28:36

delight. Not

28:38

wanting to see John consumed, I

28:41

grabbed a medical kit from the helm of our

28:43

boat and rushed over to Eric to stabilize his

28:45

wounds. Don't worry

28:47

about me, son, Eric said

28:49

between gritted teeth. You

28:51

need to take that thing out. I

28:55

nodded and carefully grabbed the M16 from

28:57

beside Eric. Once

29:00

I had it in my hands, I quickly

29:02

spun around and fired several shots of

29:04

the creature. The

29:06

creature turned around to look at me, and

29:09

I saw that half of its face now

29:11

resembled my partner John, while

29:14

the other half still was primarily

29:16

muscle. It

29:18

snarled at me, showing off its

29:20

various rows of different sized teeth. When

29:24

I was able to see this creature up close, I

29:27

realized that it looked like

29:29

it was made of human beings stacked upon

29:31

each other. Its

29:33

legs had different joints and knees that

29:36

did not function. Its

29:38

hands had tens of fingers that didn't move.

29:41

Its face had several jaws and

29:43

mouths of various sizes moving in

29:45

unison. It

29:47

was as if it was a Russian nesting doll

29:49

of flesh and bone. After

29:52

a moment of staring me down, the

29:55

creature lunged for me. I

29:58

quickly sprayed the rest of the magazine into

30:00

the creature. As

30:02

I did, thousands of teeth and

30:04

bone exploded from his face and

30:06

torso, and the creature fell forward

30:08

into the sea. Staring

30:11

back at Jon, I saw him

30:13

gasping on the floor of his boat, drenched

30:16

in blood, and missing several layers

30:18

of muscle and flesh from his

30:20

face. As he turned to look

30:22

at me, he

30:24

smiled before the creature, which

30:26

I thought I had killed, grabbed him by

30:28

the legs, and dragged him below the surface

30:31

of the water. Having

30:33

no bullets left, I watched in

30:35

horror, as the man I

30:37

had worked with for the last three

30:39

years was dragged down to a watery

30:41

hell. After

30:46

a moment of standing, defeated, and

30:48

utterly dumbfounded, I made

30:51

my way over to Eric and handed him

30:53

the rifle. "'You

30:55

did good, son,' he said

30:57

as he lit another cigar. "'But

31:01

Jon's dead,' I replied, barely

31:03

able to hold back tears. "'You

31:07

did what you could,' Eric said

31:09

between puffs. "'Now, let's

31:12

get the hell out of here.' I

31:18

wish I could say that I became Rambo

31:20

and hunted down the creature that killed my

31:22

friend. But

31:24

I didn't. I

31:26

knew that Jon was a dead man as soon

31:28

as he set sail for those damned creatures. But

31:31

every day, I think about all

31:33

the ways I could have stopped him. Eric

31:37

and I would go on to work

31:39

together on many unexplainable cases after this

31:41

one. But those

31:43

are all stories for another day. For

31:46

now, as a former

31:48

Coast Guard investigator, if

31:51

you see blue orbs in the sky and the

31:53

open ocean, run

31:55

like hell. And

31:58

don't ever listen." Listen

32:01

to their song.