Two unforgettable experiences in a soldier's trauma…
Many years ago, before I was born… the soldier, sitting beneath a tree on a night watch, felt a bone-chilling breeze. The wild animals of the jungle stirred, their cries fading one by one, as only a single footstep echoed closer.
The soldier raised his alert, placing night-vision goggles over his eyes, but saw nothing, only trees… and a silence that pressed on the soul. Still, the sound of the footstep grew with every second, approaching to within a meter. In a surge of panic, he fired at the sound, alerting his comrades. When they arrived, all they found were enormous footprints, three times human size, with hooves unlike any known creature.
The next day, the camp moved. Along a long-abandoned path toward the mountain, the first group vanished without a trace, while the second group, including the soldier who had faced the footstep, was attacked. Amid the gunfire, a blood-curdling scream tore through the night, a wail that froze the blood.
As they pressed forward, they found a deserted curve. There, a hole the size of a small wall clock sucked the air with insatiable hunger. At its entrance, only uniforms and weapons remained, their owners erased from existence.
The scream was not human: it was the echo of those ripped from the world by an ancient, forgotten force. Upon reaching their destination, the officer explained what had occurred, and the soldier realized the indigenous legends of the jungle were truths the government hid, disguising disappearances as massacres or abductions.And so, the jungle devoured the trusting, leaving only stories of fear and mystery.