NIGHTMARE ANTHOLOGY: True Chills And Twisted Legends

This is a true-life story. • Year: 1959 • Country: Soviet Union (now Russia) • State/Region: Sverdlovsk Oblast • Place: Dyatlov Pass, in the Ural Mountains Enjoyyyy. 1st Person POV – Zinaida Kolmogorova The cold bit into my skin harshly; it was as if the mountains themselves were angry at our presence. I huddled deeper into my coat, seeing my breath forming clouds in the night air. The fire was dying quickly, crackling faintly as the only sound in the Ural wilderness. Igor sat nearby, and with the low glow of light from the flames, I was able to see his face. He was jotting something down in his journal, furrowing his brows like he did whenever he was thinking about something. He always looked so confident, even when the rest of us doubted our ability to finish this treacherous pass. "Zina," he called. "How are you holding up? I forced a smile on my face. "I've been warmer, but I'll live." He chuckled softly, but it didn't reach his eyes; none of us had been warm since we started this journey. You see, the temperatures had dropped far below what we'd expected, and even Yuri, the joker of the group, had stopped making funny quotes and jokes of the situation we were in. Now the wind was howling loudly outside our tent, sounding like a sad wail and making the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. I glanced at Ludmila, who was sitting with her knees pulled to her chest, staring blankly at the fire. Her lips were blue, and the exhaustion from all we had been through was resting on her pretty face. "This storm is getting worse," she murmured. "Maybe we should turn back." However, Igor shook his head. "We're close to our goal now, just one more day, and we'll reach the summit." Hearing this, Yuri laughed bitterly from his corner. "Assuming the mountain doesn't swallow us whole before then, that is. ------- We tried to sleep, but the wind didn't let us; it screamed against the tent, making the tent's fabric ripple like it would tear it off soon in seconds. ...And I lay at my corner still awake----- there was no way I could sleep in this cold, especially with how chill my clothes felt against my skin. And it was at that moment that I heard... a low hum coming from afar. At first, I thought it was just the wind playing tricks on me, but then it grew louder. It was a strange sound, and I had never heard anything like it, so I sat up, looking around the tent as I did. "Did anyone else hear that?" Rustling from the other side of the tent, Igor's head popped up. "What is it?" "That noise," I whispered back to him. "It's coming from outside, can't you hear it?" We all listened then, but the hum was gone, leaving only silence. ...Too much silence actually, even the wind was now quiet as it seemed to have died down. "We should check it out," said Rustem, grabbing a flashlight from beside his makeshift pillow. "No," Igor said rather quickly. "It's too cold out there, we must stay in the tent. Whatever that noise was is not our concern." "But what if it's someone in trouble?" Rustem countered. He was right though, I thought silently; the sound I heard sounded like a mechanical hum----- surely only machines could make that sort of noise. ... and machines meant humans. Igor hesitated, thinking over Rustem's words, then sighed. "Fine. I'll go with you, but we'll just take a quick look. Zina, stay here." I nodded and watched as Rustem, Igor, and Yuri stepped outside with their flashlights into the dark night to search for the sound's source. The rest of us huddled together, waiting for them to come back, and I told myself that once they were back, we'd all sleep against each other----- Privacy and courtesy would have to wait till we got back to the city----- I didn't want to die of cold. Minutes passed, then there was a scream, and I bolted upright, feeling my heart race. It was Yuri's voice. "They're coming!" he yelled. His voice was filled with terror, and I swear, I had never heard him sound that way before. Just then, Igor and Rustem burst back into the tent and immediately slammed the flap shut behind them. Their faces were pale, and Igor's hands trembled as he struggled to zip the tent closed. "What happened?" I asked, wondering where Yuri was. "There's… something... out... there," Rustem stammered. "Something?" Ludmila repeated; she was panicking already. "Is it a polar bear?" "No, and it's not human," Igor said urgently. "We need to leave now." So we grabbed whatever we could, shoving supplies into some bags and throwing on our worn boots. And as we stumbled out of our tents, the cold mercilessly began biting at our skin. I had thought that inside the tent was cold, but outside was FREEZING. "Where are we going?" Yuri shouted over the wind. "Away from here," Igor shouted back. "Everyone stick together!" Suddenly the hum sound returned, but louder this time, and with a faint light glowing in the distance. I swear my heart skipped two heartbeats when I looked ahead and caught a glimpse of something moving in the snow. "What is that?!" Ludmila cried. "They're following us," Rustem shouted, his panicking voice making Ludmila scream again. "What is that?!!!" "Keep moving!" Igor ordered, not giving her any reply. ------------------- The figures---- whatever it was----- chasing us, drew closer, but they didn't walk... If they did, I should have heard their footsteps as they ran. ... But I didn't; I don't think any of us did. My lungs burned and cooled in a huge contrast as I pushed myself forward, urging my feet to take me faster away, but the snow was not helping me in any way; instead, it was dragging at my feet like quicksand. Minutes later, Rustem stumbled and fell, and we heard his cry of pain. My heart couldn't take it, so I turned back to help him, but Igor grabbed my arm. "Leave him!" "We can't!" I shouted while tears were streaming down my face and freezing before they managed to touch my cheeks. However, Ignor pulled me anyway, refusing to let me go back while Rustem screamed and groaned behind us as the figures reached him, doing something to him that made him hurt. Then there was silence. Cold and frightened as we were, we found shelter in a cluster of trees that had branches that had no leaves, but at least the heavy trunk was shielding us from the worst of the wind. My body felt numb, and I just couldn't stop shaking, both from the fear and cold. Beside me, Ludmila sobbed quietly, hitting the side of her head with her hands. "They're gone," Yuri's voice was hollow as he spoke. "... Rustem's gone too." Igor looked at me, with guilt on his face. "We couldn't save him." "What were those things?" I asked. Igor shook his head, "I don't know." We all knew we had to leave there, and so we left, but we didn't make it far before the figures found us again, and the worst part was... We couldn't see them. One by one, they picked us off. Yuri was the next to be taken, and Ludmila was the last. I swear I saw a large arm carry her up into the air; I tried to save her, I really did... but all I got in my hands was her tongue. ... and blood. I screamed. -------- When the rescue team found me days later, I was the only one left. They said I was delirious, babbling about figures and strange lights. Days later, an official report was written and claimed that we'd died from hypothermia and injuries caused by an 'avalanche.' But I know the truth. We weren't alone on that mountain, and whatever was out there… is still waiting for their next victims. --- The Dyatlov Pass claimed nine lives that winter, and till this day, no one knows what truly happened. But... if you ever hear a hum in the wilderness, run, do not look back.