Deer tripod skinningpyschic in bouctouche

Blachowicz here.
Kept yah’ waiting, huh? Heh, sorry about that one, but I can explain. As we all know… we lost a few good men the last few months.
That’s the brutal part of a hybrid war like ours: We’re fighting a foe unconventional, with half our arsenal tied down because those who grant us authorization are either in disbelief of the true facts, or scared… or already assimilated. That being said our momentum recently was a change not seen in years, and because of that… despite the losses we have garnered, we were close through a breakthrough. One last night Krol pulls myself and other two must trusted squad leads into the back of our COP. There is one of our equipment cages, surrounded by m-bitter radios, tripods, and several hundred thousand dollars of equipment he brought us around a simple worn table. Before us he laid a map of eastern poland… red markings indicating cells that seemed to dot the countryside like a pestilence, or used to… as deep gashes of advance from raids had trisected their lines, even if ones did pop up in the interior.
It was a back and forth; an outside virus infecting Polska at it’s heart, and we were the antibodies sent to drive them out. To which… Major Krol points to one of the largest symbol on the map: a dark red diamond, the NATO symbol for an enemy unit, deep inside of an untouched wooded area, adjacent to a mountain ridge. Several jagged lines indicated entrenchment, with red horizontal lines indicating possible enemy control… or our contested control, for over 20kms surrounding it. Letting us all look, the Major lit himself a cigarette.
“Sir, you sure it’s wise to smoke in here with the dive tanks just behind us” 1st Squad’s lead quipped. “Fuck off” Krol dryly said.
“Alright… this is it… this is the one we’ve been searching for for years, this is the nucleus my predecessor commander died trying to find” he says, pointing to it. Not far from Zamosc, it was almost touching the border with Belarus, the contested area indicating the Strigoi did operate over it… indicating one of the largest spill through points. “-It’s an old soviet bunker, made during their 1960s initiative it was designed to hold the munitions and manpower of several units in the event of a NATO first strike” Krol explained. “It’s gotta be massive then…” I said gazing at the map; “Didn’t the army demolish all of the old soviet hulks near Belarus to prevent any infiltrations?” 3rd Squad’s lead asked. “National Police took the effort over… and by extension, the Strigoi. It was halfway demo’ed before they burrowed into it and have been using it as a bridgehead ever since. This is it…” Krol said. He looked around at all of us, a sense of certainty I had never seen before as he blew smoke from his nostrils; “We’ve been fucking around in the dark for so long, it’s hard to believe we’ve made any progress, but this is it. With this gone, this will set them back over a decade and the momentum will finally shift into our favor… into Poland’s… -Europe’s”.
I swear there was almost a flash of joy, of pride in his eyes and a phantom of a smirk before reality set back in “That being said… we can’t leave this to chance, especially not something as important as this. We’re going to have to go there ourselves… clear through every inch of that place, and tear it all down, piece by piece. I will be straight with you all… when we go, there will be some of us that aren’t coming back. -but we are going… a whole generation is counting on us, and unborn billions rely on us to succeed”. We all nodded, a silent agreement washing over us as we took this upon ourselves. Echo-1 spoke up: “So… They’re authorizing a raid? How big?”. “We’re rolling in as a hard target, armor, explosives, and air support” Krol answered, taking a drag off his cigarette. “Aviation? How the hell did we get that approved, we’ve gotten attempts shot down four times due to those leeches” I said in disbelief. “There’s too much evidence here pointing to the human trafficking tied to their actions… We’ve finally got too much weight pinning them down, to keep the hammer from slamming into their necks” Krol chuckled. He looked around “Any questions?”. “When?” Echo-3 asked. “Three hours. We’re hitting them in the dead of night, only time we could get the birds authorized. Get your boys ready. We’re rolling out” Krol said, dying the cigarette bud out on the table. I can’t begin to tell you the euphoria we felt leaving that cage, as our men started arriving, they did so a lot quicker, and with their heads a lot higher than they had in weeks. As Second Squad’s lead we were going to be one of the main arms of attack into the bunker, thus I made sure we had a breacher loaded with enough thermite, charges, and tools to cut through anything. Our shield bearer we ready to go, as was our assaulters, grenadiers, and machine gunner. I double checked each and everyone of their weapons; ensuring the feeder paws of our squad’s belt fed were intact, making sure every breach charge we had was properly set and packed. There was going to be no mistakes, no slip ups. The margin of error needed to be the smallest it had ever been for us tonight if we were going to make the gore spilt worth it.
Finally… there on the outside of the building, the bright LED lights kept the darkness of the ensuing night at bay as the roar of our MRAPs could be heard. It was said once that war is 99% peace, and 1% chaos, they were right. The slow periods where the blood slowed and the doubt creeped in was the worst… yet we all kept it at bay. We needed to, there was going to be no backing down tonight. All three squads were up, all of us ready to go… we circled up… short stares and shaky nods telling us one things: We were in this together, till the end… the finish line so many before us had been searching for, we were being granted tonight.
A single set of footsteps could be heard as we turned, Major Krol stepping into the center. He took the last drag of a cigarette, throwing it down to the ground and stamping it out onto the damp concrete. He looked around… his chin strap blowing in the weak air as he met everyone of our gazes… then mine… then looked around. “I want you to remember every detail of tonight, as you have every other night… when you are situationally aware, scanning for the enemy, liberating the subjugated, I want you to remember the sting of anxiety, the shake of adrenaline, the chill of the bunker, the heat of your weapon as it cuts them down… because tonight we are going to write every fine detail of our victory, their defeat, in history…” Krol’s words echoed deep into our souls. He paused for a moment, staring around he looked down… a small pause before he said “When you are ruthless in combat, remember to be patient, and reserved in victory. This conflict is for our existence… a lot of innocents have bled due to the mistakes of those who failed to listen, a lot of our brothers are now laid under because we had to bridge the gap of uncertainty with their lives. We remember them now… but in an hour? We forget them… when we raise our barrels, when we cut into those foes, and we liberate Polska!! This does not end tonight, but history puts everything in it’s place, and patience is the companion of the victor… All of our hard work will be cemented, no matter the obstacles we face in that darkness… no matter the demons, the blood, no matter what incomprehensible horrors, we will make them comprehend that to invade our land, to bleed our people, the justice will be paid in full… Load up. It’s time*”*.
The purpose in our steps was heavy as we climbed the back ramps of the MRAPS; Four of the heavily armored vehicles, one for each squad with an additional for attached personnel including our JTAC, the term means Joint Terminal Attack Controllers. With air support requisitioned to us for this operations, there needs to be a definite liaison on the ground who can directly communicate to the birds, and coordinate their fire and progress. I’d worked with many of them in the past, resourceful guys, quick thinking though I guess that comes with the position they hold of needing to quickly figure out what bombs to drop, on which target, at what precise points, whilst taking contact. He loaded in the lead vehicle with Major Krol… and soon, our convoy kicked off.
The drive was several hours as myself and my squad sat in the back of that forty ton goliath, the rumbling of the engine keeping us awake as the crap heater fought to keep the cold from the outside frost from setting in. I looked around to each of them, some were catching some sleep because even with the circumstances… better to get all the energy you can, than to stay awake for nothing. Others were checking their weapons… My gunner locked eyes with me, the same one from the village extraction… many of these men I had trained with for a while now, fought with for months.
We may have met on unconventional circumstances but those in JW Grom thrive on austere chance and create opportunity from scratch. I was pulled from my thought by the sound of a transmission, my peltors were set up for dual comms so I could both receive information from the Major and other leads, whilst communicating with my team.
Krol himself sent out: [“Approximately 10 minutes from enemy AO…”]. As the rest of the squads acknowledged, I quickly sent out [“Echo-2 Copies”], before kicking the boots of any of them sleeping: “Look alive, we’re here”. Through the exterior net armor of the MRAPS, and the bars protecting the small reinforced windows, we could barely see jack shit. I reached up, turning off the overhead light as we all looked through our nods to scan the outside. A dark wall of dense trees was shown before us, making it difficult to see… in addition to night vision capabilities we had also requisitioned ourselves some thermals… when mounted onto rifles they were bulky, made it a pain to aim down quickly, but considering the supernatural capabilities of spotting our foes we needed every advantage necessary.
I flipped out one of my tubes… scanning the outside with my scope. I looked over to one of my assaulters who had been assigned to man the turret of the MRAP, seated near the view screen as he controlled the 50. Cal. Each of the vehicle turrets had been assigned a direction to cover… we took the 9 o’clock, the left flank. “See anything?” I asked. He shook his head; “Negative… wait… I’ve got two cold signatures, front left heading to our rear”.
I quickly scanned the far tree line, at approximately 60 meters off our left were two cold signatures… followed by a third heading to our front… then another. They were surrounding us, moving at speeds so fast I could barely keep my reticle on them. Is this what the National Police saw? What they faced at that lodge without the benefit of a foot of heavy armor protecting them on all sides. Then… suddenly. Something slammed into the side of our MRAP so hard, it caused it to shake. From over the leader comms, Echo-3 quickly shouted [“Contact right!! 4 hostiles!!”].
One of the Strigoi… so bold, had charged and slammed into the side of our MRAP. I quickly looked to see the figure, a dark blue mass of cold energy through my thermal, back away without so much as a stagger… as they tried to flee into the woods, the white hot justice of Echo-3’s gun fired at them, cutting them down. “Blachowicz I’ve got a few breaking for our vic” my man on the turret called out, I spun around, spotting out the window.
Just then, Major Krol announced [“weapons free, watch and shoot for targets of opportunity…”]. I turned to him… “take those fuckers out-”. Without hesitation my vic’s turret began to quickly target them, and through the darkness I saw a stream of outgoing fire bisect one of them, the ISR of the black blood freaking out the optic so badly it didn’t know what temperature to register it as… but it did register it. As another was cut down, one broke through the tree line and latched onto the side of our MRAP. The thing tore at one of the outer net armor panels, usually made to stop RPGs. It grabbed at the bars near the windows, tearing one off… I lowered my rifle as we locked eyes through the reinforced window.
The thing… the Strigoi looked at me, skin cracked as putrefied muscle fibers seemed to leak through dead flesh. It’s teeth were corroded and worn down to sharp fragments, alongside newly mutated fangs that messily protrude from the jaws. Even through the thick walls of the MRAP I could hear it’s roar, as it then tried to punch it’s way through… it cracked the outer coating of the vehicle… but it wasn’t getting anywhere near. My machine gunner, seated next to me, seemed to chuckle at the sight, quippily saying “Yeah… fuck you too”. It’s then our vehicle lurched upwards, as we began to climb the small incline of the bunker. I knew the layout, mapped it in our head, the main entrance was built into the rocky side of an old cliff meaning we could easily set up a defensive perimeter around it, a horseshoe. Krol’s vehicle was first, taking to the right as Echo-3’s MRAP followed. My vehicle, third, left the incline and took a left and… that’s where things got complicated.
We’re still trying to work out what happened but… from what Joakim says his drone captured. Right when the MRAP turned, several of the monsters quickly slammed into the side of the vehicle, as another more bulkier one, pushed at it’s undercarriage. The result.. Was the 40 ton armored vehicle tipped over. It wasn’t uncommon, hell in some cases a well placed IED, a good shot with a recoilless rifle, have been known to tip over Oshkoshs and Maxpros all the time. But this beast? Needless to say we barely had a second to comprehend it as it leaned to the left; “Grab on to something-” is all I had time to shout. A mess of gear and men spilled onto one side of the vehicle as it slammed into the old gravel and dirt.
Several of my assaulters, my grenadier planted right ontop of myself and the others as we came to a stop. Someone’s knee slammed directly into the side of my skull, causing me to dazily bob in and out of consciousness as my face was smushed against the glass of one of the windows.
Through my peltors, the other squads were erratic;
[“Echo-2’s vehicle is down!!”].
[“Echo-3 to Echo-2… Echo-3 to Echo-2…”].
Krol’s voice came through the comms;
[“Echo-Lead to Echo-2… Fuc-... Echo-1 secure Echo 2’s flank, Echo-3”].
[“Echo-3 to other units, they’re spilling through, I’ve got several enemy combatants converging on Echo-2’s vehicle”].
I pushed the legs of my grenadier off my head as I fought to my hands and knees, unfucking my nods as I looked around… “Fuck it… we’re going lights on, shield your eyes” I muttered as I reached for the overhead lights and flipped them on. The bright LEDs bathed the inside of the vehicle as we all gained our bearings, a mess of multicam, gear, and weapons as we quickly pushed each other off. My gunner caught as he fought to realign his promask, from what I gathered one of the assaulters had landed directly into his gun, pushing it directly into his jugular, as pulled back at the rubber and coughed, freeing up his esophagus. We didn’t have time to think however… the sound of bending metal caught our attention… as the back ramp door of the MRAP was ripped clean off. I could barely believe it but as the white light of the MRAP’s interior poured to the outside, a hulking mass leaned in, the dead flesh on it’s face nearly fallen off as the hideous Strigoi leaned inside.
Without hesitation I aimed took aim, yelling “Keep to the deck!!” to any of those inbetween myself and the invader as I opened fire. A burst of full auto fire tore through it’s collar and neck, my men quickly clung to either sides of the fallen MRAP as a few more fired out. As the thing backed up, a blast of .50 cal fire quickly tore it to shreds, along with several others as I realized they were fuckin swarming over the outside of our vehicle. Echo-3’s vehicle continued to carefully fire on the Strigoi on the outside, the sounds of .50 cal ricocheting off the outside of our armor was enough to make the pucker factor set in.
[“Echo-3 to Echo-2”].
[“This is Echo-2, we’re green on ammo, equipment, men”].
[“Roger, we’re shifting fire, exit the vehicle”].
“Hurry up let’s go!!” I barked to my men, leading the way as I staggered out. I turned on my peq, taking aim at silhouettes in the brush as I began to fire. The sounds of machine guns lighting up the brush, as a sea of growls, howls, and incomprehensible roars fired back at us was the ambient noise of the night. My men quickly exited, my gunner being the last as he and I pulled back to the rest of the defensive perimeter. I set in my men to take up the frontal security, as 3rd squad took the right flank, 1st squad to the left. Major Krol and the JTAC were bickering with each other; “How far out are the birds”. “They’re entering airspace now…” Joakim said, already scanning his smart book.
I asked “What’ve we got?”. He then flipped through… to the NATO combined arms segment, quippily saying; “Apaches…”. This caused me to pause as Echo-3 turned their head whilst directing their squad’s fire “The hell… where did we get apaches from?”. “The Americans… they volunteered” Krol said dismissively as he took aim at the darkness, firing off a controlled trio. “Volunteered? They’re aware of what’s going on?” I asked.
Krol seemed to stop, glancing back at me before returning his focus “There’s a lot more going on than you realize, Blachowicz… Prep the breach, you and 1st are going on”.
I quickly pulled my breacher off the line, securing some thermite as the reinforced bunker door wasn’t going to go as easily as a conventional door breach would. 1st Squad pulled back, stacking up and preparing themselves to be the first in. All the while… Joakim gave his firing solution; “Alpha Hotel Two Five Nine, This is Bravo-4…… Type 2….”.
I snapped to my right, watching as a Strigoi managed to dark across the clear gravel field, only to be cut down by my gunner, the peq’s laser marking the burst as it tore through the beasts’ hips, as it hit the ground and still continued to claw, another GROM operator took aim and fired into it’s skull. Joakim popped up to his feet…. “Marking laser, high power…”. He then pulled out a target marking laser… if you’ve watched night operations, you’ve probably seen them.
The green laser than as it says on the label, marks targets. The pattern of which can vary… if it’s a point target, it’ll usually lasso an area, or remain on target until the target is removed with extreme prejudice. If its close air support, then it’ll be a line of the general area… and Joakim damn near marked the entire perimeter around us. He quickly pocketed the tool, turning back to Krol; “Don’t go past 20 meters unless you want to be liquidated”.
With that… 2nd and 1st stacked up at the door as 3rd squad took up the perimeter security. As Major Krol went over to Echo-1… I saw them. A single blinking IR strobe from the beasts as they moved on the far off horizon, converging from several angles… and fired. The sound of the Apache’s main gun, the M230, truly sounds like the hammer of god… the 30mm cannon shot through the dark sky, lighting it up as we saw three incoming streams tear up the woods. Only then as the sound broke did we start to hear their rotors as they broke and began to circle, firing again… then… Joakim dipped his head and looked to Krol; [“Foxtrot Mike, hang onto your teeth…”]. One of the Apaches fired off a AGM-114… a Hellfire. I barely saw it out of the corner of my eye as the Apache from our right flank fired off at a target approximately 200 meters off. A fireball lit up the forest as the horrendous roar echoed throughout… then went silent.
Echo-3 scanned the horizon carefully;
[“Echo-3 to Echo-Lead, enemy contact is starting to die down”].
[“Maintain perimeter, Close Air is to maintain fire mission until we are boots up, Break…”].
[“Echo-Lead to Echo-1, condition white has been met. Proceeds”]. I saw Echo-1 and his men quickly stack up close to the wall and gesture to me; Breaching. I quickly pulled my stack back against the wall as his and mine breacher quickly hit their actuators. Now under normal circumstances, it doesn’t take much for thermite to melt the locks off of a metal surface, in fact it’s a more precise took as alternative means get real medieval like saws, pry bars… we weren’t in the mood for precision, we need to breach their little lair, and drag them out. The sound of several pounds of hellfire burning through the metal could be heard around the corner as a sea of white and red sparks flew out… after several seconds, two of our men tossed a fragmentation grenade and a nine-bang through the opening… a series of concussive blasts and a large explosion rang out.
Echo-1 and his men maneuvered. 1st Squad quickly converged as we followed them in.
Stepping through the black wall of smoke, the dark abyss of the interior was illuminated in a white light as entered barrels raised. Shots rang out as several of the beasts near the entrance were cut down, though not immediately, rounds disconnected the shoulder of one of them, leading to their arm hanging limply by a single tendon as they roared… another series of rounds putting them down. What greeted us was a messy concrete hell of rust and debris, fecal matter, trash, and all kinds of obstacles laid in our way, our boots sticking to the floor. I thank every god we had promasks that night. I called my shield bearer up, 2nd squad leapfrogging ahead to take the next corridor as 1st squad checked their weapons.
One of my men mule kicked the metal door ahead, twice, finally the latch gave away as we tossed in a grenade. A horrifying roar was cut off as an M67 shook the walls of the ancient soviet mausoleum, frag and spall kicked off the walls as I moved in right behind my shield man. The cramped russian design meant there was barely enough space for three people, and that’s three normal people, not in 50kgs of kit, moving slowly and maneuvering against creatures of the dark. Still… we moved forward, my shield bearer and I pushing the pace as two stacked of either squad formed on either wall.
As we passed doorways they flowed in… “Door Left!!”, “Door Right!!”. “Move!!”.
Two men entered each side, no gunshots, we moved up, a roar came.
“Door left!!-”. A series of gunshots came out as we continued to push forward.
“Two down!!”. “Confirm them” Krol commanded, as a series of gunshots run out in response. From one of the doorways, a Strigoi emerged… a female… clumps of hair had been ripped from her decaying skull, as her blooded eyes locked on myself and my shieldman. The skin on her hands had been tore down to the point where barely her bones and tendons remain… looking like huge talons as she roared and lunged at us. He fired off his pistol, though the rounds did little to stop her as she pushed against our stack.
“Fuck!!” he muttered, somehow her strength caused him to stagnate, holding up the advance… fuck that. I shoved the muzzle of my MK18 into her ribcage, flipping the weapon to auto as I fired of round after round. The 5.56 salvo disconnecting her spinal column, causing her to fall as I continued to fire, along with a man to our right and left as the stacks reformed as we pushed to the end of the hall. I fell back, dropping the magazine and loading a fresh one, like clockwork a GROM Operator from 1st squad took my place. Krol was beside me as we approached the end of the hall.
[“-Prep an entry”] I radioed to my breacher, a comrade handed him one of the charges from his back panel as he took to the door, quickly securing it. We all moved as far back as we could, look away, exhale. The blast knocked metal and wood in all directions, scrapping against our uniforms and kit as we made our way in and what laid before us was… it used to be the center atrium of one of these bunkers. Soviet’s loved their grandiose designs, the complex was supposed to be a circular room around a central planning table… instead. It had been turned into some sort of church. Runes and old eastern Romuva pagan symbols written in black ink and blood across the walls, old rotten filing cabinets, long receipt terminals. In the center… several of the Strigoi were kneeling before the table where someone had been tied down, flayed, and… shared amongst the group. They rose to their feet, we aimed our barrels…
The ladder amongst turned to us… his skin wasn’t cracked, or flayed, it was smooth… it still looked dead as the body on the table but it seemed more… accustomed to it. I don’t know… evolved? Under the surface however I could see it’s darkened veins pumping whatever cursed blood ran through them as it locked two blood red eyes onto each of us. It’s nose had long since been turn off, exposing boney nostrils to the open air as it seemed to smirk. All across it’s body were the same symbols on the walls, in every cell… markings of death, of rebirth, of assimilation… From behind this seemingly Alpha emerges another figure I had never seemed before… dressed in a white cloak with a deer head.
"So they've followed the trail... they're too late" the Deer headed individual spoke, definitely not from here, a dialect similar to an Americans but... aristocratic? Each word was drawn out, assurance as if they had everything mapped down to our actions. They didn’t sound like they were from Poland or the east.
“Doesn’t matter…” the Alpha growled… and then, it lunged at us. Quickly breaking from their ground it slammed into my shield man knocking both him and myself at the ground as it displayed an intense feat of strength. Around us I could see several of the Strigoi leap at our comrades… though to no fruitful endeavor as I could see one GROM operator cut two down, as another got into a hand to hand confrontation… my breacher, crafty as they were, reached back and slammed one of the prybars of his kit into the skull of the beast.
The Alpha however was not content as it threw away the 90lb shield, sending it flying across the room as it grabbed my comrade by the skull. I quickly kicked up at it, firing my MK18 into it’s body as the rounds pierced it’s gray and rune covered flesh. The thing simply seemed to chuckle… that was until Major Krol blasted away at the side of it’s head, the alpha turned… and it’s smirk turned to a scowl when face to face with the major. A knowing pause almost like they had done this dance before…
The creature lunged, locking up with Major Krol as it swung and slammed railing. Krol didn’t back down however as he pushed against the creature, hiptossing it to the ground even as it tore at his armor and gear. But the beast pulled, both of them rolled and the Major was on his back as the thing reached for his neck. I fought to a kneel, firing into the creature messily with my MK18, trying not to hit my commander… then…
Click. A sound sends a chill up the spine of every warfighter during a firefight.
My gun ran dry. I dropped the magazine, looking to load another, but the thing came up and with one of it’s claws, sliced deep into my cheek, through the pro mask. I could feel my own blood go flying through the air as I landed hard on my back plate, spitting out red iron as I quickly tried to adjust my mask. Through my fogged up, blood covered lense… I saw my shield man raise his pistol, firing into the skull of the thing staggering it with a roar. Krol came from behind, drawing his knife he sunk it deep into the neck of it…. I reached for my rifle, forcing a new magazine in and damn near punching the bold release. ““Sir, down!!” I shouted, Krol rolled away, back to his own rifle as I fired. So did my comrade as he continued to fire his pistol… so did the Major as he fired his rifle. All of us chewing through that apex predator of darkness, that beast… the leader that had been preying on our people for so long. Layer by layer, muscle group by bone… eventually… the alpha landed on whatever was left of his back.
The silence of the fight died down as all of us checked our surroundings, GROM Operators putting controlled pairs in the heads and nerve stems of any Strigoi laying around… I flicked my weapon onto safe, letting it hang as I pulled off my mask. I dared not touch the wound on my face… the pain nearly crippling me if it wasn’t sheer will pushing me through, and adrenaline doing all it could to subdue it. The sound of the apaches continuing to lay hate drew us from our moment of contemplation as the Major went back to work; [“Confiscate any info, burn the rest…”]. He turned back to me as I shoved my damaged M50 mask back into it’s bag, chuckling as he looked at the sight; “You need a medevac, Blachowicz?” he quipped.
I shook my head, barely able to speak as I muttered; “Negative sir…”. The two of us scanned the room as my shield bearer went to collect his defense implement turned 90lb projectile, we scanned the center of the room, checking and confirming bodies, until we got to the last one alive. His white gown was soaked in red crimson and black ooze, as his dear head was mangled from bullet fire and impact from falling on it. I swear… the way his blood poured out of it though made me wonder if it was a mask. I gave it no second thoughts as he looked to Krol; “You… you can’t stop this, they’ve already-”.
The Major was in no mood for communication as his rifle snapped up and fired off three rounds to the body, four the head. The violent yet quick salvo ending the cultists life, I looked down at it, then to him as he remarked; “Have your squad drag him out to the front, burn the rest”. I stood alongside him, looking down as the sight of it’s deer head was both captivating and horrifying… the curiosity in me wanting to look closer at it fighting the primal instinct I had to burn the thing to ash. “-Haven’t seen one of those before…” I muttered, thinking the Major had an answer.
He didn’t. Krol saying “Neither have I…” shortly before he walked away, was what truly shook my soul about that entire night. Victory stood firm in our hearts that night as we stood outside of the bunker. The night sky burning with fire and white phosphorus as we watched the ruin burn from the inside from the other side of the lot. In the distance, the Apaches continued to scan and circle the forests, no longer firing…. Which meant they had driven any or turned to glass any enemy combatants within a four miles, probably both, more than likely the latter. Echo-1 patted me on the shoulder as we stood there, soaking it all in, though Krol looked none to pleased. “In the time it took us to take this one down, they’ll be trying to set up three more cells… that being established…” he said, looking to either of us, then to Echo-3. “-Hell of a thing we did tonight, been waiting for this one for a decade, cleanly, maybe more… but no time to rest on our laurels… we’ll have another task for us as soon as we’re boots down back home” he said, to which his eyes followed mine, the body of whatever cultist that was zipped up in a black body bag beside the wheel of one of the MRAPs. The fire from the bunker casting an orange hue over it’s shiny jet black outside, something didn’t sit right with me… “That wasn’t a Strigoi…” I said to Krol.
“That’s very clear…” the Major said, shoving his mask under his arm and lighting a cigarette. “So… someone’s helping them?” I asked. The meer notion of it shook me to my core, sickened me. This parasite was already badly infecting Europa, Polska… if it was spread like this throughout the world. Krol settled my nerves: “We’ll be ready… It’s not just us anymore”. As he said that, I realized what he meant… my eyes looking to the Apaches as they started to form up, leaving the areas as their thunderous propellers melted into the night’s calm, unnerving ambience.
It’s been a couple of weeks since then, Echo Detachment has been busy. We’ve gained good ground against the enemy and honestly I think in a few years, we might see a much larger change. For now… we must keep going, that being said the Strigoi aren’t the only ones we’ve been combating. Recently we’ve made contact with of some sort of extermination coalition, they’ve known about the Strigoi, and others plaguing the world, the level of corruption and corrosion on society goes deep. Regardless a lot of the units we’ve been working with are apart of NATO, such as this “4th Special Forces Group” of the American Military. I don’t know where the road from here leads, but we’ve gotten momentum on our side, finally. Just remember… these things are out there, in every town, every city, every nation… preying and waiting for you to be alone, vulnerable, so they can take you and replace you.
Watch your back, and stay safe.
For now, Blachowicz signing out. Until next time

As I lead the group deeper into the forest, the air grows colder, and the canopy overhead thickens. I can feel the weight of the trees pressing down on us, making it harder to breathe and harder to think. It's a familiar sensation, one that I've grown accustomed to over the years. My name is Nancy, and I'm a bigfoot hunter. This isn't just a hobby for me; it's a calling. A need to prove what my grandfather told me as a child, that the creatures he called 'Sasquatch' were real.
Greg, my trusty cameraman, follows close behind, his camera steady in his hands. He's been with me since the beginning, documenting every footprint, every rustle in the leaves. He's as determined as I am to capture evidence of the elusive creature we're searching for, Bigfoot. Lacy and her dog, Scout, trail behind us, Scout’s ears perked up and their senses on high alert. Lacy may be new to the group, but she's a quick learner, and her connection with her dog makes her an asset to the team.
We've been hiking for hours now, and the sun is beginning to set, painting the treetops in shades of orange and pink. The air grows colder, and the sounds of the forest change, becoming more eerie and ominous. I can feel my heart racing in anticipation, but I force myself to stay calm to focus on the task at hand. We round a bend in the trail, and there, lying on the forest floor, is a large, strange footprint.
Greg lets out an excited whoop, and I know he's already getting his camera ready to capture the moment. Lacy and Scout move in for a closer inspection, their expressions a mix of awe and determination. This could be it, I think to myself. This could finally be the proof we need to show the world.
I kneel beside the footprint, running my fingers over the ridges and impressions in the mud. It's clearly not human; it's much larger, with an odd, asymmetrical shape to the toes. The prints look more animal-like than the traditional bigfoot print. I feel a surge of adrenaline coursing through my veins as I study it, trying to remember everything I've learned about these creatures over the years.
Greg crouches beside me, his camera clicking away as he captures every detail of the print. "This is incredible, Nancy," he whispers, his voice thick with excitement.
Lacy leans in, studying the footprint with a critical eye. "It doesn't look like your typical bigfoot," she says, nodding. "But we should take measurements and make a cast just to be sure. Scout, stay close to me." The dog obediently sits down at her feet, its tail wagging slightly.
Greg with a tape measure and a small kit for taking impressions in his hands asks,. "What do you want me to do, Nancy?", his voice full of excitement and anticipation.
I stand up, nodding to where the footprint leads deeper into the woods. "We will take an impression and then follow the tracks," I tell him. "But we need to be careful. Bigfoots are known to be protective of their young, and they can be unpredictable."
Greg's eyes widen, but he doesn't hesitate. He takes an impression and we begin to follow the tracks, Greg's camera at the ready. Lacy and Scout trail closely behind us, Lacy occasionally pausing to take notes or make sketches in her field journal. The further we go, the more distinct the tracks become, leading us deeper into the forest's heart.
The air grows colder, and the canopy above us thins, allowing dappled moonlight to filter through the trees. The underbrush is thick with ferns and moss-covered rocks, and the smell of earth and pine is overwhelming. I can feel my heart pounding in my chest, my senses on high alert. I don't know if it's the excitement of possibly being so close to the elusive creature or the fear that it might sense our presence and retreat.
Greg, always the level-headed one, glances at me over his shoulder. "You okay?" he asks, his voice low and concerned. I nod, trying to reassure him. "I'm fine," I say, forcing a smile. "I'm just taking it all in."
The tracks lead us down a small hill, the underbrush growing thicker around us. I can feel the anticipation building in my chest as we follow the prints deeper into the woods. Suddenly, Greg lets out a low whistle. "Look," he says, pointing to the ground.
Lacy and I hurry over to where he's standing, our eyes widening in amazement. The prints are more pronounced and are unlike anything we've seen before. They're definitely not human; they're much larger, with an odd, lupine quality to them. They're almost like wolf prints...but giant.
"It's not just a case of a large wolf," Lacy whispers, studying the prints with a critical eye. "These prints show distinct differences from known wolf species. The stride length, the placement of the toes...it doesn't add up."
Greg crouches down, running his fingers over the impression in the dirt. "And the size," he mutters. "Even allowing for an abnormal specimen, this thing would be massive."
"I don't know, Greg," Lacy says, hushed. "It could just be an enormous, unusual wolf."
Greg nods thoughtfully. "Let's take some notes and collect some more samples."
Lacy pulls out her trusty notebook and begins to jot down measurements while Greg retrieves his camera and tripod to take pictures of the prints. In the meantime, Scout and I carefully examine the surrounding area for any other signs of the creature. The forest is eerily silent, save for the occasional chirp of a bird or the rustle of leaves in the distance.
Greg finishes with the notes and joins us, eyeing the trees warily. "Do you think it's still nearby?" he whispers.
Lacy shrugs, her eyes darting around nervously. "Hard to say. The tracks are pretty fresh, but who knows how far it could've gone already."
Greg nods, seeming to weigh his words carefully. "We should set up some motion sensors, just to be on the safe side," he suggests. "That way, if it does come back, we might get some footage or at least know when to expect it."
Lacy agrees, and together, they set up the sensors, carefully placing them among the trees and bushes near the prints. I watch them work, feeling a mix of awe and fear.
Scout seems to sense my unease and nuzzles his cold nose against my hand. I scratch behind his ear, trying to reassure him as much as myself. "You're doing great, boy." I whisper.
Greg glances at us, a small smile playing at the corners of his mouth. "Thanks, Scout. You're a real lifesaver." He turns back to Lacy, who is adjusting the final sensor. "Alright, I think that's everything set up. Now we just have to wait and see what shows up on those cameras."
"Agreed," Lacy says, nodding. "In the meantime, we should probably start collecting more samples of the prints. That way, if we get any footage, we'll better understand what we're dealing with."
"Good idea," Greg says, his gaze still fixed on the trees. "Why don't you keep a lookout while I keep an eye on the sensors from the brush over here so I don't startle it. I can call you on the radio if anything happens. Nancy, do you want to stay with Scout to take samples before it returns?"
I nod and pull out a pair of latex gloves from my backpack. "Okay, Scout. Let's get to work." The hound follows me to the first set of prints, his tail wagging gently despite the tension in the air. I kneel down and carefully gather a small handful of dirt, making sure to avoid disturbing the impressions. Then, drop it in a sealed bag.
"All set?" I ask, standing back up.
"Yeah, Just about," Lacy replies, her voice tense. She adjusts the radio on her hip, ensuring it's set to the correct channel. "We'll be ready to go as soon as you are."
Scout and I continued collecting samples of the prints, our movements carefully orchestrated to avoid further disturbing the surrounding area. The big hound sniffs at the air, his ears perked forward in concentration. He pauses suddenly, freezing in place.
"What is it, boy?" I whisper, looking around nervously.
Scout whines softly, his gaze fixed on a spot behind a nearby tree. I carefully inch my way over to him, my heart racing. As I get closer, I see the tension in his body, the hackles raised along his spine. Whatever it is, it's close.
"Scout, stay back," I whisper, reaching out to keep him close. "Let's not get too close, okay?" The dog looks up at me with worried eyes but doesn't move. I can feel the animal's instincts taking over, the need to protect and defend.
Together, we creep closer to the tree, moving slowly and silently. As we round the trunk, I see what has Scout so spooked: a pair of glowing, yellow eyes peering back at us from the darkness beyond. My heart pounds in my chest, but I force myself to remain calm.
"Lacy," I whisper, "we've got something here. Something is watching us. Can you see it?"
There's a pause before she answers, her voice shaky. "I see it. Just stay where you are and don't do anything."
The eyes blink once, twice, and then disappear behind the tree. Whatever it is, it's moving stealthily through the underbrush, using the trees for cover. I can't help but wonder if it's just a wild animal or something more sinister.
Scout's ears perk up, and he lets out a soft growl. I place a hand on his back, reassuring him. "It's okay, boy. We're safe here. Just stay close." The dog whines softly but doesn't pull away from my touch.
As we wait for the unseen figure to reveal itself again, the air is thick with tension, and my heart is racing. I can't help but wonder what sort of animal could be so confident in its stealth that it feels comfortable taunting us like this.
Scout, on the other hand, seems to have regained his composure. He stands beside me, head held high, ears perked forward. His gaze darts back and forth through the trees as if searching for any sign of movement.
"Lacy, do you have any idea what that could have been?" I ask; my heart is still racing.
"I'm not sure, Nancy," Lacy responds, her voice shaky. "But we should keep our guard up. Maybe it's just a wild animal, but it's better to be safe than sorry."
Scout's ears perk up at her words, and he turns slightly toward her. I can tell he's trying to reassure us both with his presence. His pads move silently through the leaves, carefully and deliberately.
As we continue to wait, the tension in the air seems to thicken. The only sound is the rustle of leaves and the distant hoot of an owl. I try not to let my nerves get the better of me, but it's hard not to feel a sense of dread creeping up my spine.
Scout, sensing my unease, nudges his head against my hand. It's a comforting gesture, and I can't help but smile down at him. "It's okay, boy," I whisper. "We'll be okay."
The air around us seems to grow heavier, and I find myself holding my breath. I'm suddenly reminded of stories my grandfather used to tell me about the creatures that lurked in the woods and how they could be both beautiful and deadly. A rustle breaks out from the trees as if on cue, startling me. Scout tenses, ready to spring into action.
But it's just a doe, her spotted coat blending seamlessly into the forest. She regards us with large, innocent eyes before bounding away. I exhale shakily, feeling a wave of relief wash over me. Perhaps whatever we saw before was just a trick of the light or an animal playing a game with us.
Suddenly, my radio cracked as I heard Greg's voice, "You guys okay? I just caught something on the sensor."
"Yeah, we're fine. I'd feel better if we were all together, though." I say, trying to convince Greg to rejoin us.
"You got it. Our GPS says you guys aren't far, but I'll see you in a second." He replies, giving me a sense of relief.
“What do you mean? We haven’t moved from the area.” I say puzzled
Scout's ears perk up, and he lets out a soft whine. "It's okay, boy," I reassured him. "It's just a doe." The big hound seems unconvinced, his gaze fixed on the retreating figures direction. "Come on," I say, walking slowly through the trees.
Scout is alert, his head swiveling from side to side as he sniffs at the ground. He seems to be picking up on something, but I can't quite put my finger on it.
"You okay, boy?" I ask him softly, reaching out to pet his neck. He responds with a contented whine, but his eyes remain fixed on the trees.
Scout seems to sense my unease, and he turns his head to look at me. His eyes are filled with concern as if he knows that I’m worried. "It's okay, boy," I whisper, trying to reassure myself as much as him. "We'll figure this out together."
Almost on cue, Greg emerges from the brush, "Hey, I couldn't see anything on the sensors. Whatever it is, is fast as hell." My relief went back to fear as he said this.
Scout whines softly, his ears flat against his head. The hair along his spine stands on end. It's as if he senses something that we can't quite put our fingers on. "You okay, boy?" I whisper, petting his neck. He lets out a soft huff but doesn't seem to feel any better.
Greg glances around nervously, his eyes darting from the trees to his watch. "We should head back," he suggests. "We can come back tomorrow with more help."
"Okay, which direction?" I ask, hoping he has the answer that I don't.
He stares at me for a long time in disbelief before saying, "What do you mean? You're the navigator Nancy, we are relying on you!" His voice is angry, but he is holding it back.
"Use the GPS!" I say, frustrated at myself but taking it out on Greg.
Greg looks confused and upset at my tone, "The GPS only works from radio to radio! You said you've been here before and knew it like the back of your hand."
Flustered, I responded, "I do! Well, I know the South side of the hiking range, but my dad always told me the North side was basically the same, so I-"
Greg, disappointed, cuts me off, "Okay, let's calm down. Arguing isn't going to help us. Does anyone have service?"
We look down at our phones, disappointed that none of us have service. The silence is deafening. I feel a weight in my stomach as the realization hits me that we're really lost. Sensing our unease, Scout whines softly and nudges my hand with his cold nose.
Greg shakes his head, trying to clear it. "We need to figure out where we are and get back to the truck." No one says anything. The forest around us seemed to close in, pressing against our skin like a heavy blanket before we started on our way, following Greg.
"Hey, do you see that?" Greg asks, pointing to a particularly gruesome sight.
A dead deer hangs from a low-hanging branch, its flesh flayed from its bones. The ground beneath it is stained red, and there are more skinned animals scattered about the forest floor. The hair on the back of my neck stands on end as I take in the grisly scene.
I point my flashlight to investigate and discover that the trees are filled with carcasses of all types. They are all hanging by a rope, tangled all together. In some spots, I can't even make out body parts, only an amalgamation of meat. The stench is overpowering, making me gag and retch.
"What do you think this is?" I choke out, unable to look away from the gruesome sight.
Greg's face pales as he responds, "I don't know, but it's not good." His voice is shaking, and his eyes are filled with fear.
I swallow hard, feeling the weight of dread settling in my stomach. "We need to get out of here," I say, trying to sound stronger than I feel.
Greg nods in agreement, but there's no conviction in his eyes. "How, though?" he asks, his voice cracking. "The trail is gone, and we don't know where we are. We could be miles from the truck. Do you think Scout's nose could get us back?"
"I mean, we can try, but he's never really trailed anything before," Lacy responds.
At that moment, Scout's ears perk up, and he stands frozen, staring into the dark trees, and starts growling.
"What is it, boy?" Lacy asks, reaching out to pet him. Her hand stops short as she notices the tension in his body. "Scout, what's wrong?"
As we all stood frozen, waiting for a reveal, I could hear large footsteps trampling the brush in the direction Scout was facing. Everyone else must hear it, too, because they all react.
The footsteps get closer and closer until finally, a massive figure emerges from the shadows, quickly yanking Scout into the darkness as the dog whines, and then silence.
I could only see it for a second as it pulled Scout in. It's not a bear or any animal I’ve ever seen before. The creature stands on two legs, towering over them at nearly ten feet tall. Its fur is a deep, bloody black, and its muscles ripple beneath its skin. Its dog-like snout is filled with razor-sharp teeth, and its claws are the size of machetes.
Lacy is screaming for her dog, her voice piercing the night. Greg and I try to hold her back, but she's too strong. She breaks free from our grasp and runs towards the creature, her long hair flowing behind her.
I watch in horror as she reaches out to the creature, pleading for Scout. The beast turns its head slowly, revealing its blood-streaked muzzle and glowing yellow eyes. It snarls at her, baring its teeth, and she freezes in fear.
Greg takes a step forward as a stick cracks under his footstep; the beast, Scout's limp body in his hands, snaps his head toward Greg and darts toward him. Greg tries to jump out of the way, but it's too fast as Greg's screams are heard fading into the forest.
Nancy turns to Lacy, her face white as a ghost.
She says, her voice shaking. "We need to find the truck."
"We can't outrun it," I say, trying to keep my composure. "We need to find a way to hide. Maybe we can find a cave or something."
Lacy looks at me with wide, terrified eyes. "Or...or we could climb a tree," she stammers.
"Yeah," I say, nodding. "It's our best shot. We need to find one that's tall enough to get out of its reach but close enough to see if anyone comes along."
Lacy and I begin searching for a tree, but every time we spot one that looks promising, we hear the beast growling nearby. We're both terrified, and it feels like the creature is everywhere.
Finally, we find a tree with branches to reach but high enough off the ground to be out of the beast's reach. We climb as quickly as we can, the bark scratching our hands as we grip it tightly.
I look down and see the creature dragging Greg's limp body towards us. Its yellow eyes meet mine, and it snarls, showing rows of jagged teeth. I want to scream, but I can't find my voice. Lacy buries her face in her hands, sobbing uncontrollably.
We stay there for hours as the creature paces the tree we are in, still dragging Greg's body behind him. Every once in a while, the beast lets out this roar that's a mix of a Lion's roar and a man screaming. It always makes me jump, and I almost fell out of the tree a few times from fright.
Lacy hasn't stopped crying since she saw Greg's body. I'm sure she's thinking of Scout, too, that poor dog. I couldn't stop thinking about Greg, his body now missing most of the lower half from the hours of dragging. It's hard to breathe, to focus on anything. The forest has grown quiet again, apart from the creature's steps and roars, as if the world has stopped turning, waiting for the beast to finish its work.
My legs are shaking, my heart racing. I don't know how much longer I can stay up here. The branch I'm sitting on is starting to bend under my weight, and I'm unsure if it'll hold me much longer. I close my eyes, trying to calm down, but all I can see is Greg's lifeless body and the creature that killed him.
Suddenly, I heard a crack and looked down to see if it was the branch I was sitting on, but before I could look up, Lacy had fallen from the tree and caught herself a few feet down on another branch. The creature looks up but keeps pacing, now keeping a close eye on Lacy as she dangles. I reach down with my hand, but can't reach her.
I heard another crack and knew it was my branch this time, bracing for the fall. I hit Lacy on the way down which brought us all the way to the ground.
As I open my eyes, I feel the pain in my back and legs. Rolling over, I see Lacy lying on her back, not saying a word as she looks shocked at her legs. When I panned my vision down to her legs, I could see that both of them were shattered, bending eight different ways in positions they shouldn't be able to bend.
"Lacy, oh my god." That’s the only thing I can bring myself to say.
Slowly, Lacy turns her head toward me, and as soon as we make eye contact, she bursts into tears, making noises I've never heard before. I couldn't imagine the pain she was in.
I look around, remembering the original danger they were hiding from, but the creature is out of sight now, Greg's mutilated body lying in its place.
"Lacy, we have to get you up and keep moving; the creature could be anywhere!" I say, panicking.
Lacy sobs harder as she clenches her jaw in pain.
Behind Lacy, I hear the giant's footsteps. I look up and see glowing eyes staring at me, showing its razor-sharp teeth. Lacy pauses her cries out of fear of what's behind her.
I can't do anything but stare at the creature as it slowly moves toward us.
"Nancy, ahh, you have to get me out of here!" Lacy cries, but I can't stop staring at the creature. "Nancy, fucking do something!"
My self-preservation kicks in without thinking as I stand up slowly and take a few steps back. Lacy looks at me with betrayal as she cries harder, "You fucking bitch. Get me the fuck out of the-" She is cut off as the creature grabs her head with its machete-like fingers and, in an instant, crushes her head like a water balloon. It kept eye contact as it lunged toward me, slicing a gash into my forearm. It took a step backward as I accepted my fate that this thing was going to kill me, but it didn't. It was like it was warning me: 'Leave or die".
Not knowing what to do, I take a few more slow steps back as the creature picks up Lacy's limp body and slowly walks back into the forest's dark shadows.
Suddenly, the once-quiet forest came back to life. The birds chirping, the wind blowing through the tree leaves and underbrush. This kicks me into action as I sprint in any direction away from there. As I move quickly through the forest, the trees around me blur. I couldn't have been running for long when I reached a trail. There was no way we were this close.
I can see the sun rising above the mountains in front of me. We'd been here all night playing cat and mouse with the creature. I continued down the trail, hoping I would find someone soon as I felt my mouth's lack of moisture and my stomach growling.
I don't remember how long I walked, but by the time a forest ranger found me, the sun was up, and it was a hot day. The walk is just a blank frame in my memory. The next thing I knew, the ranger brought me to his station to tend to my wounds and call for help. He stitched my forearm that the creature had sliced, saying it was a nasty gash and I'd need to go to the hospital.
When he finally asked me what had happened, I explained, and his face dropped the more I told him. He stared at me after I was done explaining as if he wanted to say something but was weighing his options.
Finally, he says, "What you saw out there doesn't exist, you hear me? You must've," He pauses, coming up with a solution, "You must've been seeing things." He sounds like he doesn't want to say this, like he wants to believe me, but he is not allowed to.
"I've been hiking for over ten years; I know the difference between a big animal and a creature that-" I say before being cut off.
"You didn't see anything. Understand? When my superiors arrive, you'll tell them that you got separated from your friends and fell out of a tree. That's how you got your injury. You got it?" He says seriously. His face looks like he is sympathetic but is trying to save me from something. Something worse than the creature.
I nod in approval. "Good. We will send a team to look for your friends even though-" He stops himself and does not elaborate.
Throughout the rest of the day, I answered questions, met with a doctor, and was admitted to the hospital. I did what that ranger told me; I told the authorities that I was hiking with friends when I got separated. I climbed a tree to try and get a better vantage point, but I fell, slicing my arm on a branch on the way down.
I remember the doctor saying, "That must've been the sharpest-edged branch in the world." With an aura of nonbelief as he gives me a side-eye. Thankfully, he didn't push it any further and allowed me to keep my fake story.
The people who took me from the ranger were very matter-of-fact, not seeming to believe my story.
The next day I spent time in an interrogation room. Again, they did not believe my separation story and pressured me to tell the truth. A few times, I was ready to just tell them about the creature and how it picked us off one by one, but something about the way that forest ranger said not to tell the truth kept me from doing it. He seemed so sympathetic and almost guilty.
When I stuck to my story for over three hours of interrogation, they let me go. Walking into the sunlight outside of the police station, I squinted my eyes. I didn't know what to do, how to get home, or how to even feel. My emotions were numbed for a few weeks before I started having nightmares about the creature and about Greg, Lacy, and Scout. I could hear their screams and begs for mercy. Most of all, I kept replaying that moment, knowing I wouldn't be able to help Lacy.
Her screams and insults echoed in my head non-stop. Her legs jagged like antlers, bleeding and cracking bones as she tried to move.
I've been in therapy for a few months now, and I've finally felt comfortable enough with my therapist to open up and tell her what really happened. I told her some parts but couldn't go into too much detail in that one-hour appointment. She suggested I take the time between appointments to write in detail what I remembered. I debated posting here, too, but after recounting everything again, I feel people need to hear it.
I haven't been hiking, camping, or even gone to a park. My life will never be the same. I can't even go back home. My parents don't want to see me because they think I'm crazy after trying to tell them what really happened. The two people I thought would always have my back turned theirs on me.
I just want this all to end and get my old life back. I miss my friends. I miss the passion I had for the mystical creatures that live in the forest. I don't think I ever fully believed in Bigfoot or any of that; I just believed in the idea of it. I liked the fantasy of it, the mystery, the intrigue. For them to be real takes all of that away and replaces it with terror.
Please, don't make the same mistakes we did. Make sure you fully know your surroundings and make no assumptions about what really lives in the darkness of the forest.

I recently moved to a place with a large (1+ acre) front lawn. I placed a bird feeder about 3ish metres from the windows, and also see birds further down the lawn (every bird has its preferred resource). We also have deer visiting.
My photography skills are limited to my iPhone 14pro which has always been more than enough. However, I cant get a decent shot of either the birds nor the deer. My partner bought me Nikon PROSTAFF 7S 8x42 binoculars; which are okay for the deer but still leaving the bird watching experience very frustrating. We're in a cool area that get a lot of migratory sightings and I cant get a close up look of some really cool birds that land on my lawn.I recently bought a Canon EOS r50 with a 75-300mm lens, and expected a lot more but feeling disapointed. I'm sure part of it is my lack of experience with a professional camera, but the zoom still isn't great and I cant get a clear shot at full zoom. I know a tripod would help but also a bit surprised at how difficult it would be to get a clear shot without a tripod, if I were to take it on a hike for example. I can't afford a 600mm lens. Should I return the camera and wait until I CAN afford 600mm?
I'm not necessarily looking for professional quality photos.. I just really want to see the details of the creatures in my environment. Would I be better off getting better binoculars? a telescope? I like the idea of capturing an image, but it's primarily for my own viewing. My hands have always been somewhat shaky (I could never be a surgeon lol).
I remember reading about a type of zoom camera that would be a decent alternative to a professional one, that would be a lot simpler to use but I struggle to understand what kind of zoom amounts to what, if that makes sense. Thought I'd ask the experts if anyone has an idea of what might be the best option to get a better look at the birds.
Thank you!

I recently moved to a place with a large (1+ acre) front lawn. I placed a bird feeder about 3ish metres from the windows, and also see birds further down the lawn (every bird has its preferred resource). We also have deer visiting. My photography skills are limited to my iPhone 14pro which has always been more than enough. However, I cant get a decent shot of either the birds nor the deer. My partner bought me Nikon PROSTAFF 7S 8x42 binoculars; which are okay for the deer but still leaving the bird watching experience very frustrating. We're in a cool area that get a lot of migratory sightings and I cant get a close up look of some really cool birds that land on my lawn. I recently bought a Canon EOS r50 with a 75-300mm lens, and expected a lot more but feeling disapointed. I'm sure part of it is my lack of experience with a professional camera, but the zoom still isn't great and I cant get a clear shot at full zoom. I know a tripod would help but also a bit surprised at how difficult it would be to get a clear shot without a tripod, if I were to take it on a hike for example. I can't afford a 600mm lens. Should I return the camera and wait until I CAN afford 600mm?
I'm not necessarily looking for professional quality photos.. I just really want to see the details of the creatures in my environment. Would I be better off getting better binoculars? a telescope? I like the idea of capturing an image, but it's primarily for my own viewing. My hands have always been somewhat shaky (I could never be a surgeon lol).
I remember reading about a type of zoom camera that would be a decent alternative to a professional one, that would be a lot simpler to use but I struggle to understand what kind of zoom amounts to what, if that makes sense. Thought I'd ask the experts if anyone has an idea of what might be the best option to get a better look at the birds.
Thank you!

Hi all, first time posting in this sub but found some of the advice really helpful planning for our trip, so thought I'd post our trip report.
A bit about us: Two late 20's Brits, husband and wife team. Mixed levels of fitness - we lift weights in the gym 5 days a week, and my wife additionally plays rugby with training/games 2-3 times a week (I coach). We both work 9-5 deskjobs. Interests include food, videogames, anime and history.
The trip: 10th April: Flew business class with JAL from LHR to HND. Flying business class was a bucket list thing for us, and we'd saved up a lot of money during Covid even with a marriage and a house move. Overall it was a great experience, but I'm a light sleeper and couldn't sleep a wink on the plane. Watched season 1 of SpyxFamily which became the anime of the trip, as we'd watch Seasons 2 and 3 before getting to bed most nights.
11th April: Landed at 7:40am at HND and set up our Ubigi eSims. My advice would be to set it up before you fly, as connecting to the Wifi at HND was a bit troublesome. On the whole, though, Ubigi was great - decent connection throughout and only lost connection in some tunnels, or in a couple of spots in Akihabara.
Got Suica cards at Terminal 3 and dropped luggage off at our hotel (Hotel Gracery Shinjuku). Was cool being in the Godzilla hotel on the Godzilla floor - room was pretty big and you get some good views from the 30th floor. Loved the iconography on the walls of various kaiju's in the Godzilla franchise (King Ghidorah, Rodan etc.), the iconography on the lift doors, and there's a panorama in the hotel lobby, too.
Went for a walk around Shinjuku and Shinjuku Gyoen garden whilst we waited to check in and were lucky enough to see the various cherry/plum (I think?) blossoms in the park. We had planned the trip knowing we were missing the blossom season, so to see some in full bloom was great. We'd grabbed some onigiri from a 7-11 and had a picnic on a bench under the trees. Grabbed Shinkansen tickets for a couple of days time in the Green Car from Shinjuku station, which was hassle-free. Checked into hotel, then went to find some food. Booked online at Teppanyaki Hama which was literally down the street, and what an experience that was. Only 12 seats in total at the restaurant, and we were treated to the chef cooking right in front of us a variety of 9 courses from roe, to oyster, lobster, snail and the best grilled veg I've had. Cost about £216 from memory, but it set the tone of the trip really well.
12th April: woke up early and got to Meiji Jingu for about 7am. We enjoyed how quiet it was, with only a handful of tourists at this time. We then went to a Family Mart and came back to Meiji Jingu (with the intention to eat breakfast in the park) at 8:30am, but all the tourists had arrived by then and we could see no food/drink signs so we moved on to Yoyogi Park which was also lovely.
Next we did Harajuku and I visited the Asics store there. Was disappointed at how touristy the area seemed even at 10/11am. At this time, it started to rain and, with not much appealing to us, we moved on to Shibuya. Did Shibuya scramble a few times for the fun of it, then grabbed lunch at Ichiran. Decent ramen, better than the chain ramen we get in the UK (I'm looking at you, Wagamama's) but not the best of the trip. Explored Shibuya and saw the Pokemon Centre there with Mewtwo, and then the One Piece and Jump stores too. We went to Sushiro for dinner. Ate about 15 plates between us for roughly £26 with drinks. First ever conveyor belt sushi experience and had to wait about 30 mins for a seat. Was pretty cool. Rounded off the day wandering Golden Gai and Kabukicho near the hotel.
13th April: had planned to explore Nakano Broadway and Ikebukuro this day but...
I was ill all day and after being up and down during the night, spent all day in bed. My wife was fine, so I either overate, felt jetlagged, stressed from overplanning, ate something my wife didn't (likely sea urchin at Sushiro), or a bit of everything. My wife went to Gotokuji temple in the afternoon and explored some of the neighbourhoods to find an Airbnb which a Youtuber she follows, owns. My illness put me off of seafood for most of the trip, which is unfortunate as I love seafood, but the smell of it just put me off on this trip.
14th April: took the 6:33am Shinkansen to Kyoto. This was awesome, and watching the Japanese countryside go by with the mountains in the background was something I'll never forget - it's so much more picturesque than from UK trains. We were lucky to see Mt. Fuji from the train as well, as we knew she was usually shy, but that morning she looked majestic.
Popped by the hotel so they knew we were in the neighbourhood (Yoin Hotel Kyoto Gion). Hotel was a bit disappointing. Largest hotel room of the trip (save for the ryokan) but it was only 4/5 storeys high so had a lot of noise from the road below from loud tourists at 1am.
We explored Gion district. Visited Chion-in which was brilliant, saw different delegations of monks and even a bit of their ceremonies when we were there. Also did Yasaka Shrine, Yasaka Pagoda, and Kiyomizu-dera (too crowded by the time we did it), and grabbed some lunch at Smile Burger. Smile burger was great, a small burger joint which did simple burgers that tasted good for a great price. We then took a break at Ryozen Kannon temple. Ate dinner in our room with some of the ekiben boxes I didn't eat for brekfast as I still felt iffy.
15th April: originally planned to do Fushimi Inari this day but instead took a trip to Nara as I wasn't feeling a 5am wakeup after being unwell. Nara was lovely, but again loads of tourists by 8am. Fed the deer, and loved how the vendors all charged the same and how part of the money goes towards conservation. We went to Kofuku-ji and then grabbed breakfast at a conbini next to the famous TikTok mocchi making place, then sat at Sarusawa-ike watching the Terrapins to eat. It was so peaceful here, away from the hustle and bustle of the tourist parts. Then visited Todaiji Temple and explored Nara park. Then, we hopped on a train to visit the old Imperial Palace of Nara with the intention of seeing all Imperial Palaces in the cities on our trip. Admittedly not much at the site but it was cool seeing the old buildings and some of the conservation work being done. Then, on a whim, we went to Uji at 3:30pm and again, it was away from the hustle and bustle of tourists. I dislike green tea and matcha, but my wife likes it so thought it'd be good to try. We found a cafe overlooking the river and got there at last orders. Admittedly, I didn't like anything on the menu but that's just my taste and dislike of matcha. We left Uji and found a Wagyu steak yakiniku place in Kyoto called Douraku Kyotorokkakudoriten. Had a whole board of Wagyu fillet, tongue, cheek, rib etc. for about £89 and we got to cook it ourselves. This was a treat, and I've never tasted beef so good - it literally melted in our mouths. We left very satisfied after getting a side order of rice and bimbap, too.
16th April: Tackled Fushimi Inari this day as I was getting my groove back. Got to the foot of Fushimi Inari at 7:30am and it was already packed with wannabe influencers - I could tell this was going to be fun...my wife and I like hillwalking and occasionally walk Bennau Brycheniog or the Lake District, so we can hike at a good pace. We passed many people getting irate over the number of people getting in their shots (what did you expect?) and even one woman walking in a dress and stilettos with her partner carrying a tripod!! Madness. The crowds did thin considerably once we hit the part where the path splits in two, and we got all the way to the top in 55 mins. We bought a tori gate from one of the stalls neat the top after waiting around for 25 mins for it to open, and we had our names and date painted on it in kanji. Certainly take some time to see the various shrines in the small paths off the main track, as they're so picturesque and peaceful. Shoutout to Pocari Sweat, which kept me fuelled this entire time whilst recovering from the lurgies.
We walked down the mountain pass at the back, past a small bamboo grove, and here I jumped with glee as I heard a school bell go which had exactly the same tone and tune as the one from the 'Izekai Quartet' anime. From here, we did Tofuku-ji as it was on the way back into town along the path. What was really nice was seeing the backstreets of Japanese society, so tranquil and well-kept (like it was straight out of an anime). We then grabbed some lunch at a Korean hotpot place in Kyoto station, and did Kyoto tower on a whim. I suffer from vertigo and 'call of the void' (where I want to jump off of high places just to know what the sensation is like) and they were pretty bad at the top of Kyoto Tower as I felt like the tower was shaking in the wind. Still, the views were great and I'm glad I did it. They had a stand/vending machines of 'Sound Euphonium!' merch, which is an anime I love as a former brass band player, so got some photos next to Kumiko and Reina. We then went on an hours detour just so my wife could find another Pokelid and ended up in a park watching the Shinkansen go by. We grabbed dinner in an udon place called Udon Shiogama round the corner from the hotel which did curry udon. My goodness it tasted so good! The rich, spicy sauce went so well with the juicy udon I can still taste it. It's about on par with a Jalfrezi or a hot tikka spicewise, so if you can't do spice it may not be for you, but my wife had tempura udon ramen which she said was also as excellent.
17th April: trip to Osaka. I originally wanted to go to Himeji castle given the advice on this sub, but my wife didn't want to go too far astray so instead we went to Osaka castle at 9am. It was nice to see the museum inside of it and was very informative. From there, we went to Dotonbori and tried the best Takoyaki from a place right outside Osaka-Namba station with a massive crab on top. Also tried melonpan with vanilla ice cream inside it (a game changer) and Okonomiyaki at Mizuno Okonomiyaki which was brilliant. Went for the seafood option (risky given recent events) but it was so tasteful. Top tip would be to get here early at 5pm to avoid much of a queue, as only a limited number of seats and they cook it up in front of you. Then went to find the Osaka Pokemon Centre as my wife wanted to see that. Eventually headed back to Kyoto at about 9pm.
18th-19th April: Kinosaki Onsen
We wanted to do a ryokan/onsen experience as part of the trip but I wanted to get away from the crowds, so avoided Hakone. A friend had gone to Kinosaki so I decided to as well. Took us 3 hours to get there from Kyoto so set off at about 9am and the scenery out the window as the local trains go through the mountains was beautiful. Got to Kinosakionsen at midday and grabbed lunch at Kinosaki Burger by the station. Best burger of the holiday, hands down. Japan does simple burgers, but it does them well. It doesn't overcomplicate them by adding in more ingredients/foods, they're just a solid good burger. This is no different, but their chips were the best chips I've tasted. Cooked to order, cripsy on the outside, fluffy on the inside and seasoned generously with salt. At 2pm we checked into the ryokan (Nishimuraya Honkan Ryokan) and got changed into our Yukatas and getas. We had the suite room so we had the highest room in the ryokan. Went to Kouno-ko onsen to try it out and didn't get weirded out by the amount of people there and being completely naked around them. Top tip - if you wear glasses, take them off as it can help with an 'if I can't see them, they can't see me' mentality. Had fun walking in getas - how anime characters run, fight and kick in those things will remain a wonder to me (looking at you, Elfman from Fairy Tail).
Had kaiseki dinner in the ryokan which was so good! Fresh crab, cold sakura noodles, sashimi, grilled salmon...divine. Went for a late walk in the town as it was lit by lanterns and it was so picturesque. I estimate maybe 50 tourists in total within the town on this Thursday evening? It was great. Went for a dip in the onsen within the Ryokan - it has two onsens, one male and one female, which alternate each morning. Both onsens are done in different styles, too, one Japanese and one Greco-Roman. Learning the history of Kinosakionsen was also cool, with healing storks and praying monks with a history spanning over 1400 years.
The next morning we ate breakfast in our room and after another dip in the ryokan onsen, again on a whim, did the Kinosaki ropeway. You could see the Sea of Japan at the top along with shrines to crabs and other Buddhist deities. We stopped halfway down to see the Onsen temple which I believe had nightingale flooring. The monk there was brilliant with even very broken English, gave us a leaflet with info on it, and let us roam. We missed the 12:10pm gondola down so were stranded midway until 12:50pm, but it was nice to take the time to smell the flowers as we heard more Isekai Quarter schoolbells ring, trains zip along the valley below us, birds singing their song as the gentle breeze tickled us. I'll never forget that moment.
Upon getting down from the ropeway, we stopped off at Kinosaki Burger again before getting the train to Kyoto. We went to Pontocho alley for some grub and along a backstreet, stumbled upon Restaurant Muni which is a French/Japanese place. Looks to be a father and son operation and we were the first ones there ar 6pm. They recommend 2-3 plates per person for 2 people. I started with the Japanese beef curry which was just right, and the wife had omurice. I then had grilled duck which was cooked to perfection, before I ended with omurice whilst my wife had a pork cutlet sandwich. All meals were divine and tasted good, think the bill was near enough £100 but in our minds, it was worth it. Reminded me of Yokihira Soma's restaurant in 'Shokugeki no Soma' (Food Wars) a bit with the dynamic of the chefs and the menu, but it gets 5 stars from me. From there, we sauntered along the river and took in the atmosphere, seeing the buildings all lit up.
20th April: Decided to skip Arashiyama bamboo forest as I was tired of tourists by this point (yes, I realise the irony that I am myself a tourist) so instead we hopped on a bus and headed straight to Kinkaku-ji. Even at 9:05am there's so many tourists and we were herded through narrow paths. Was nice for a quick photo op but it suffered from overtourism. We then went to Heian shrine on a whim which was so quiet! I loved the red wood and the green roofs of the buildings. We also did the gardens which were my favourite gardens of the trip. We fed the koi carp (and a turtle) for 200 yen and even saw a Japanese wedding on the bridge - the groom was a handsome young man in his attire and the bride looked beautiful in hers. We did some shopping before getting dinner at CoCo curry. I was hungry, so went for extra pork cutlet, extra mushrooms, and spice level 5 and I struggled with the spice. It was one of the hottest dishes I've tasted, so if I were to go again I'd pick a milder level.
21st April: Took the bus to Nijo Castle and walked around the grounds. The grounds were lovely and the castle was cool too. Then hit up Kyoto Imperial Palace. Went to the Kyoto Pokemon Centre and then hit up Gyoza Dokoro Sukemasa. Got their Gyoza Set B menu which was 6 gyozas, miso soup, rice, string beans and chicken mayo salad for...880 yen. Bargain! The gyoza had hints of ginger in them which made them bright and freshing. So good! We then walked through Gion at night and took pictures of Nannenzaka, Sinnenzaka, and Yasaka Pagoda in darkness when illuminated by lights. Beautiful.
22nd April: Bullet train to Tokyo where we hit up Nakano Broadway and Ikebukuro. We were disappointed by both - Nakano Broadway just felt like multiple Mandarake stores, and Ikebukuro didn't have much aside from Sunshine City. We then hit up Akihabara in the afternoon and loved it. We went for dinner at Kanda Matsuya which was a lovely pre-war building serving ramen. Loads of locals in here and the place was bustling which was great to see. Some great food too, at decent prices. Afterwards I stopped by the local MacDonalds to try their double Big Mac burger (4 burgers in a Big Mac bun) as it's such a novelty. Checked into our hotel (The Gate Hotel Kaminarimon) in Asakusa. Hotel was great, some lovely views on the 10th floor and a 2 min walk from Sennsoji Temple and Akihabara station. Our room was huge. Would recommend.
23rd April: did Sennsoji-Temple as it was right across the street from our hotel. It was pretty cool to see in the morning at 8am with barely any tourists around, though did get busy at 9am. Wandered the old streets of Akihabara and reflected at the shrines/memorials around Sennsoji. Had Tokyo Tower booked in the afternoon and almost died at being 350m up due to the vertigo, but managed to get my shit together for a photo on the green screen floor at 450m high (though did politely ask my wife to hurry up as I could sense the tower wobbling and I was freaking out). Grabbed curry udon by Skytree which was underwhelming compared to the one I had in Gion, then got some fresh Taiyaki in Asakusa and then some cute mango sorbet ice cream with eyes and biscuits by Canelé Créme Glacée. They donate 3 yen to a good cause for each ice cream bought, which was nice, especially as you get to choose which of the charities to donate it to.
24th April: Was going to do the Tokyo Imperial Palace but couldn't be bothered with the hassle of getting tickets. Did Ueno Park and the National History Museum instead and enjoyed a morning there, before hitting up Akihabara in the afternoon/evening. Did some crane games and played a Kantai Collection arcade game which was cool. Then played the Taiko(?) drumming game with the SpyxFamily and other anime tunes blaring out - awesome!
25th April - Akihabara. Enough said.
26th April - Had a reservation at a michelin star restaurant (another bucket list item for us) in Ginza so headed into Ginza for the morning. It was an interesting insight as to the other half of society lives, as we'd never been into any of the shops that surrounded the station. The michelin star experience at Ginza Toyoda was exceptional. Several courses at 30,250 yen each and had crab mince with ginger jelly served on a crab shell, tiger prawns, sashimi, sea urchin and abalone...sublime! We spoke a bit of Japanese with the chef, who said we spoke good Japanese for first-timers (albeit this was said over trusty ol' Google Translate). Just made the experience so much better! Spent the evening in Akihabara and had Pork tonkatsu ramen in Yaro Ramen Akihabara. We then had a frozen strawberry crepe out of the nearby vending machine for the fun of it.
27th April: flew from HND business class with JAL.
Things to note:

• a bit of Japanese goes a long way. Simple phrases like 'hai', 'iie', 'sumimasen', 'gomenasai' and 'daijoubou' go a long way. Locals love it when you try to speak the language, and most of the time what they infer can be interpreted through their hand movements.
  
• carry around a plastic bag for your rubbish, as has been said plenty of times on the forum.
  
• the weather for the first week was about 20-26ºC, which did not help my wife or I whp had packed jeans, sweaters and down jackets. A trip to Uniqlo later had us buying shorts and Activism tshirts which were a godsend on the trip.
  
• Japanese public transport is second to none. It's clean, efficient, and usually on-time. Even the buses were well-labelled (we took the number 12 bus from Gion-in to Kinkaku-ji and Nijo Castle in Kyoto).
  
• be mindful of the Japanese culture, don't be loud, don't be a dick, always be humble and apologise if you think you're in the wrong. We did apologise plenty of times on the trip.
  
• Japanese schoolkids are adorable. They're young but behave so well, and take themselves to/from school alone. They navigate busy train stations solo, and do schoolwork on the train. They wear hats, and the lads wear shorts with high socks. Made my wife (a former teaching assistant) so happy seeing well-behaved kids. We saw some schoolkids on a trip at Osaka Castle and they were well behaved, lined up in single file, talking quietly and not getting in the way of tourists.
  
• We asked the hotels to forward our luggage between Tokyo-Kyoto and Kyoto-Tokyo. Cost us about £35 each time for 3 suitcases, with one of those days being on a Sunday. Arrived next day. We had Apple AirTags in each suitcase so we knew where they were.
  
• Google Maps on Android worked better than Maps on iOS, often with better signal and pathfinding.
  
• food was as expensive or inexpensive as we wanted it to be. Sure, we splashed out on several meals, but we tried to balance them with cheaper meals. I got addicted to Melonpan for breakfast when I was ill, and would double that up with pizza and fami-chicki for breakfast. Drinks-wise, Minute Maid was basically melted orange Calippo, Pocari Sweat was a mild lucozade original, and Calpis soda a muted lemonade. All were my top 3 drinks from vending machines/combinis. My wife loved the oolong green tea.
  
• the last few days in Tokyo we did have stuff planned, but we decided to focus on Akihabara to buy merch. Arguably taking these days at a slower pace was much nicer and enjoyable to what we had done in Kyoto.
  
• we averaged about 24,000 steps per day, with the highest being roughly 29,500 steps and the lowest about 12,000 steps. I wore New Balance 880 v12's and my feet were still sore after each day!
  
• Pokemon Centres personally became a bore after the second one as they sell the same merch more or less, with a few exclusives in certain stores. If you're a Pokénerd like my wife, you'll love it, but if you have no interest like me then you won't. We spent about 4 hours total in Pokemon stores across Japan, and a further couple of hours looking for Pokelids. All stores were out of stock of my favourite Pokemon (Alakazam - because he has spoons and is Gen 1).
  
• we only booked Tokyo Skytree and Ginza Toyoda before we flew. We booked a couple of restaurants the day of, after quickly browsing Google Maps or TripAdvisor.
  

Helpful Youtubers who provided insightful videos for the trip include AbroadinJapan, Cakes With Faces, CDawgVA, Tokyo Lens, Sharmelion to name but a few.
We're now looking to do another trip to Japan, maybe doing the Northern prefectures of Tohoku and Aomori, and Hokkaido. We'd love to go back to Kinosaki Onsen again, and spend more time in Tokyo. We're going to double-down on the Japanese language learning, too, as we can barely read Hiragana and Katakana to a worse extent.
Thanks for reading, I hope other first-timers found this insightful and I'm happy to answer any questions.

 Incredibly fun to stalk Cape buffalo in the reeds along the river, very smooth hunting (except the damn elephant grass, which lags the ever loving fuck out of my game) 

perfect step by step herd management guide.
first set time to drink zone, get atv and find all drink zones or at least 90% but it’s hard to tell but go around every water source(you can still find drink zones up to 3 hours after specified period) but start with 16 zones as species have a lot more depending on the map it varies and tents are limited. I will use lvl 1-9 in these steps. Take photos of solo zones if you want to do the second part.
[lvl 1-3]
[[lvl 1-5]]
1) choose 8 fav ones as main zones. Ideally with big bucks.
2) choose any 8 other zones as ext zones.
start at 1 point of the map and work your way down as you have to remember which ones you already have done to shoot down.
DONT shoot any solos yet.
Remember to place tent at least 250m away and tripod about 180m away. (Buy same variant to stack them and make the set up easier)
rotate all your zones of them at the same time,
3)shoot down ext zones and stack diamonds and big bucks in main zones
(ext zones-shoot 2 biggest bucks in every heard until only lvl 5 / [big lvl 2-small 3]/ [[big lvl 3-small lvl 4]] or below (eventually you’ll just shoot 1 until exteriors are shot down]shoot diamonds on exterior)
(main zones-stack diamonds and trolls then leave them until all exterior shot down) (only shoot small deer on main if there is nothing big)
4)if an ext zone have only lvl 5/ [small lvl 2]/ [[small lvl 3]] or below pick up tent and move to next zone.
at this point you can start the grind, but the next part makes the grind much more efficient but it’s a drag and not a must do if solos is not lvl 8/ [lvl 3]/ [[lvl 4]] or above.
5)if all the zones are shot down now start with solos.
at this point main zones should have a lot of big bucks stacked. (for solos only shoot 6 or higher, or even only lvl 7s and up, it’s up to you)
7) on fresh start (you left the map and just entered the reserve.
shoot the big solo and 1 small buck on the main zone (50/50 chance they will swap zones)
leave the map and re-enter and move to next solo.
8) repeat until no big solos are left.
9) find all the solos again and repeat 7).
10) use extra tents as pick up tents and you’ll be raking in the diamonds and great ones.
Have fun.

I love 6mm and I'm wrapping up a 243ai bolt build now. I want to move into a 6arc gas gun for long range fun and predatodeer hunting. The gun will be suppressed 100% of the time with my DD wolfhunter. I plan to shoot 108 Bergers for large game and TBD on a predator load.
I've found a few Seekins DMRs available around $1700 which is exactly what I want minus the 1:8" twist barrel which has me very concerned. Plenty of people say it works fine with heavy bullets but there are some that claim issues over 100gr projectile. I found some APF 18" 6arcs for $1400 with a stainless proof which is the barrel I want to use. However, I know nothing else about the gun/brand and there is limited info out there about what parts are used. From my research, the reciver is made in house and it seems like decent quality parts are used in the few videos I've seen. Does anyone have any experience with APF built rifles?
Second choice would be to buy a seekins nx15 lower, imrt3 upper, with a matching 15" handgaurd and a 18" proof barrel. Essentially the same as the APF but with the seekins reciver set and other small parts I want. I have an extra Larue mbt2s and a few other parts laying around to help absorb some cost. Not sure if the custom route is worth spending up to 750 more?
I have a Nightforce NX8 2.5x20 laying around that will go on it and plan to buy a thermal rig to run for predator hunting. I'd love to stay around 7lbs. I plan to let my son hunt deer with it this fall as well, he'll be 7 and shooting off a tripod.
All other factors are equal. I'll reload for it and try to come up with a load that doesn't gas the shooter out but prints well on paper. Really just seeing what sort of experience the sub has with this. Thanks guys!

Happy Fri-Yay Snarkers, hopefully this is a double header when it comes to the McBeardsleys. Of course, this is dependent on OfNostrils keeping to her Friday schedule. She has been erratic lately. But since last week’s recap got delayed due to reality biting, I hope to get this one done for the morning and then Episode 28 will be this evening. The title hides nothing, and informs us A.G. goes to the optometrist. Let’s jump in! *Note* I will be working on it tomorrow.
The Gropening lives on, unfortunately, but we quickly arrive at the kitchen nook table. The sunlight pours in the kitchen nook window as Giddy-Up and Austina eat apples for breakfast. Austina stretches and looks at her bowl. OfNostrils tells her she can have green apples after eating her oatmeal. Austina grunts a sigh and picks up a miniscule amount of oatmeal on her spoon. Giddy-Up struggles valiantly against the sunlight directly in his face. As he munches and crunches an apple wedge as OfNostrils asks him how many apple slices he has. He reaches out and counts to four. He goes back to squinting into the morning sunlight. Giddy-Up finally can’t take the sunlight anymore and gets up, telling his mother he’s not done eating as he gets up and spins away from the table. OfNostrils says he’s spilling the juice as he heads to the fridge. Austina looks confusedly at her mother before the view catches up with Giddy-Up putting his plate away. OfNostrils tells him to just put it on the counter. She continues to repeat herself before turning the camera to A.G. who is getting fed pumpkin. After watching him take another bite, we get to see a weird acrostic with the entire family’s names present on a chalkboard opposite the Deer God. Is this his list of people he needs to protect? OfNostrils chuckles at Giddy-Up making a loud noise that sounds like he fell. With a cheery “what did you do that for?” as she spins the camera to show A.G. turned around fully in his high chair to see what’s going on with his brother. From somewhere unseen, Giddy-Up says “I don’t know” as OfNostrils takes back control of the camera’s focus. She explains to us as Giddy-Up tries to yell a question to his mother, that A.G. has his first eye appointment today since Arkansan babies get their first visit free if they are under a year old. She is “so excited” and she doesn’t have any concerns. Apparently, OfNostrils was unaware of this as she only discovered it at Austina’s appointment. Since she hasn’t appeared in a pair of pink sparkly specs, I’m guessing she got Nostrils’ eagle-eye Nasa Grandpa sight genes. The scene shifts to a happy A.G. who smiles hugely, happy grunts and shows his almost half a dozen teeth.
Next, A.G. sits in the bathroom sink as Austina stands up next to him with a lipstick fully extended. OfNostrils says nope and uses her free hand to grab it from her daughter. She shows the whole scene, with Giddy-Up sitting with his feet in the second sink by the door. A.G. snags his mother’s Benefit CC Cream out of the make-up bag as she explains she has them all in here trying to get ready. Based on Giddy-Up’s bored face and the fact that Austina wasn’t trying to apply the lipstick to herself, my guess is that OfNostrils positioned them all and then started filming. “This is my reality” she sings as the older kids silently unpause to robotically pull things out of the makeup bag or, if you’re Giddy-Up you pull on the cord that has Austina’s Extensive Hairbow Collections. She says she had to bring them in here because they were playing in the toilet. I…well, I have questions. Giddy-Up, at 6 and Austina at 3.5 should be more than aware that playing in the toilet is gross and A.G. can’t walk yet. Giddy-Up does look a little like his fun was ruined and maybe it was Potions in the Potty time but no one else seems that upset. Austina looked like she was waiting for her cue, and TBH, I changed my mind, Giddy-Up looks more irritated at the fact that this is a forced filming scenario. Austina hands out an orange tube, A.G. gets a gold mascara and Giddy-Up begins to study the hairbow collection and chooses a grey velvet bow to hand across the shot to Austina. OfNostrils asks Austina where the lipstick lid is and finds it under the clear lid of the makeup bag. Austina asks politely for makeup, OfNostrils says “not this, this is lipstick”. She completely ignores A.G., who is about to bite into that CC cream and set his mother back $50. OfNostrils goes on to try and frame herself in God-honoring chaos as A.G. has decided anything he can reach can go into his mouth. This includes the uncapped CC cream, a closed mascara and a bottle of hand soap, sitting right next to his improvised Bumbo seat of a sink. He makes direct eye contact with himself in the mirror as he samples the taste of the mascara lid. Giddy-Up pulls his face in different directions as Austina asks for makeup.
The next scene shows OfNostrils with a stationary camera in the Suburban as none of the kids are visible. She takes her clip out of her hair and sets it to the side. Austina asks where her bracelet is and her mother informs her she left it at the house, in her favorite rock dish. Austina stutters through the sentence that she didn’t see it, and OfNostrils says “well, I did” and appears to realize none of the props are visible. The camera takes up residence on her shoulder and Jesus, she’s going to kill someone in her little mini-semi truck she’s rolling along filming in. Giddy-Up haltingly asks if they can listen to something OfNostrils clarifies is “the brain song”. He is denied the chance because OfNostrils says they are almost there. In reality, if she’s filming with her phone, she can’t play music at the same time. Giddy-Up decides to punish his mother and alerts Austina to be ready to catch a bag of candy. Austina puts her arms up in goal post formation as Giddy-Up slings a lime green bag of Skittles at his sister. It flies over her head and it serves OfNostrils right if it busted open and got Skittle dust everywhere. Stop filming your kids while you’re driving. Put on the goddamn brain song and drive safely. Austina gets the zoom -in treatment as she freestyles Jingle Bells. Giddy-Up does a spooky laugh, and suddenly it’s Halloween. Austina continues her song as cars pass them by.
Fundie Matilda skips along next to A.G’s trusty Doona. Giddy-Up power-walks on the other side as OfNostrils makes sure to include her iced coffee as she herds her family into the optometrist’s office. The scene cuts and changes to Austina kneeling while she colors, as A.G. practices his pointillism with a crayon he repeatedly stabs the paper with. Austina is controlling her frustration as her baby brother unleashes his inner Georges Seurat. OfNostrils swings the camera around to where Giddy-Up watches a high mounted TV with a children’s show. Austina redirects her brother away from her artwork by pausing to get a new crayon selection. During this delay, A.G. realizes there is a toy he can go play with instead. We are back with the eye doctor and she holds up a rectangular tool with a bunch of pairs of holes. She examines A.G. as OfNostrils assures him, eye-checks the camera and dodges Giddy-Up trying to be in on this eye exam. The doctor says something to her and the scene cuts to outside. OfNostrils holds A.G. on her hip as she spins him around to get into his car seat. I feel sorry for whoever parks next to her. God forbid you just want to get in your car after having your eyes dilated and here’s some broad with a white blond Rolly Polly Olly blocking your path with her door open filming her weekly nothing burger. Anyways, she says he has no signs of a lazy eye, and then she apologizes and sets him into his car-seat while filming it. She may not believe in it but at this rate she might just evolve and develop a third arm to hold the camera. She sets him in his base and leans up to do something, but she stops when she sees Austina. OfNostrils counts as high as she can, gives up at 5 because her mother couldn’t be bothered to secure a proper education and says “we don’t put stickers on the window, do we?”. Oh. Is she disciplining her child properly? Will she make her recite how sins killed Jesus? The camera flips to show A.G. and Austina. She perches on the side of her seat and absent mindedly plays with a piece of paper on the headrest in front of her, staring through it as her mother tells her that Austina is going to be the one who has to ask Nostrils to take the sticker off the window. Austina is then instructed to scoot back and as she does, she apologizes to Nostrils. In all fairness, I wonder how much have they gassed her up about this being “her very own window”? And in all honesty, Baby Swiss and I had the same discussion about the stickers the grocery store cashiers gave her every week. We compromised with them being on her carseat, not the car. OfNostrils zooms in on big stickers that feature Paw Patrol and Star Wars, then turns the camera to herself. “I haven’t even had the car a week!” At least its stickers and not puke, count your blessings. She takes A.G. back out, turns on her saccharine Perm-y voice as if to say “oh, the blessings are being wild again”. She then decides to stop filming and load the kids up.
Back at the cabin, Austina zooms toward the hall as Giddy-Up launches himself to the couch. A.G. has pulled himself up and is standing at the coffee table. Austina disappears down the hall with a rug, Giddy-Up is now perched on the edge of the couch and his legs block in A.G. as he stands. OfNostrils sings to her youngest, begging him to give her non-tent and say “good morning”. The scene cuts to Giddy-Up positively hauling ass down the hallway to slam the door to Planet G-Force’s door in Austina’s face as she runs after him with the rug over her. A.G. becomes the focus as he cruises his way around the table, doing the baby physics to determine how to move and not fall. He twists his feet and looks like he’s a fellow member of the tandem gait as he turns a corner and cross-steps his own foot. A karate yell from Giddy-Up as he chases Austina back into the living room at a loud enough decibel to draw his mother’s attention. She turns and catches the tail end of Giddy-Up’s chase as Austina stays one step ahead of her brother, waving the rug like it’s a butterfly’s wings. They run back towards the hallway as A.G. remembers he can crawl quicker than he can walk at the moment and he takes off in hot pursuit of his siblings. OfNostrils says he “wants to lay on it”, it being a yoga mat that I’ve been calling a rug. Austina lays on it as her older brother yanks her off screen like they are running the Iditarod. The scene changes to a perplexed A.G. who seems to realize that Lightning Crawl isn’t fast enough to join in his sibling’s games but doesn’t seem to know how to fix it. He holds his toe, grunts happily and flops over to crawl to his mother. She picks him up and tells us it’s a little hectic. The big TV perches precariously on the edge of the kitchen island, Planet G-Force must not be the TV room anymore. I wonder if it’s movie day at SOTBEOTKI. A.G. blandly observes his mother’s command to Giddy-Up that they weren’t watching anything right now. She blames the frenetic activity on the fact that they can’t run outside due to rainy weather. Paging Captain J’Obvious. She has all the Monday things to do on a Monday, because it’s a Monday. Giddy-Up is up to mischief as she tells him “No, sir”, stands up and sets her youngest down. In another “vlogs or it didn’t happen” moment, she tells them how long until snacktime. Giddy-Up and Austina giddily giggle as OfNostrils hits all the switches and turns lights on then off, then tries another switch. Finally getting her lighting right on this rainy day, she walks off to the hallway listing her chores. There is a reset, there’s dishes, there’s the kids’ rooms, there’s her room, there’s the bathroom, there's all the rooms. It’s a regular old Dr. Seuss up in here this week. OfNostrils blames her being behind on chores on a long weekend, as if it matters. She’s filming herself listing it instead of doing it.
OfNostrils stands behind Giddy-Up who sprays 409 on the kitchen table and wipes it down. He tells OfNostrils he wants to do the whole table and she tells him he can. Austina wipes the stools under the kitchen island and presents them with a flourish as she tells her mother what she has been doing. OfNostrils asks Giddy-Up what he’s doing, if he’s doing his chores. He is. A bowl of oatmeal sits unfinished on the table. OfNostrils goes to ask her third child what he is doing. A.G. is trying to get into the dishwasher and happily making baby sounds as he does. He stands up and OfNostrils tells us he stands up. And then I tell you he stands up. That’s enough meta for today. The older children walk back down the hallway reporting that they cleaned both the bathrooms. OfNostrils sets up the tripod to film them making their beds after thanking them. Giddy-Up’s bed is more neat while Austina’s is more abstract with part of one of her blankets spills over onto Giddy-Up’s. Couple q’s…What happened to Giddy-Up and A.G. sharing a room? Where is the bunk bed? If it was me, I would have just moved the bunks from the Guest/TV/A.G.’s Planet G-Force into the original kids’ bedroom. TBH, I would have put Austina in her own room as a baby 3 years ago and not had a TV room, but that’s just me. Austina stands atop her bed and then they bring their mother in and tell her to open her eyes. She films her reaction to their beds being made, which is to hug them and say “I love it”. Austina goes to straighten hers out as Giddy-Up gets another hug. The tripod films OfNostrils doing the dishes as A.G. sits in his high chair. Austina wanders from behind the TV and into the hallway. Giddy Up holds the tripod and his fingers enter the shot as he follows OfNostrils into the bedroom where she starts to put away laundry. When his mother says she will do it, he takes the camera in hand (literally) and reclines on his bed watching his mother do chores. He shows the ceiling, then Austina’s bed right next to his. She climbs on her bed, says hi and Giddy-Up rolls out of the bed he is “showing” everyone. They include all of his Nostrils aunts, is this what they tell them? We are showing your aunts? Giddy-Up joins Austina at a dirty mirror to show the phone for a split second. Giddy-Up cam takes us to an extreme zoom in on the door handle and wood grain. More of Giddy-Up’s hand and we end up in a black out in to a dresser as he sets it down.
OfNostrils appears at her front door, explaining Nostrils reminded her of the appointment for key fobs they need to their NeW SuBuRbAn. She realizes it’s raining as she walks out from under the porch. They are in a hurry because even though Nostrils helped dress the children (thankfully off screen this time), they are running late and he had to go to work. It’s a rainy, nasty day she says as she puts either her purse or youngest child in the car. I can’t tell because the next scene is the service guy programming the new fob. Giddy-Up perches on the front console and that makes me think there are even odds that a wild Jed! has appeared. OfNostrils hands one to her eldest, with a shirt on inside out and asks him to work the fob. She then films herself getting into the car as her youngest cries. An attempt at narrating how quick her errand was, she leaves the door open and complains that it’s getting soaked. In a case of “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em”, Austina begins to cry also. OfNostrils asks why everyone is crying and after getting an inaudible answer she says “oh, well we are going home”. She pulls over to show Austina the key fobs and asks A.G. what is wrong. OfNostrils, now that everyone who can be settled down is settled down, must navigate the parking lot and attempt to leave.
Back at the Cabin again (feel free to sing that to the tune of Back in the Saddle Again, I did), OfNostrils tells us that their neighbors’ chicken is literally right outside their living room window. I thought it had gotten in her vehicle again. She says “oh my goodness, that thing’s obnoxious”. Well so are all the J’Locusts cranking out nontent for the socials and YouTube so what are we gonna do here, Joy? We find out Carlin has custody of their shared braincell as OfNostrils says “what do you call it when it uh cockadoodles, I don’t know”. Firstly, crowing is the term she is looking for. Secondly, we know you don’t know. SOTDRT and all that. She brushes off her ignorance of farm animals corresponding sounds and says she is going to get back to cleaning. Instead the scene cuts to Giddy-Up and Austina sitting on the couch. OfNostrils walks over with coats, sits on the couch and tells her children she is going to let them go play in the big puddle outside. Neither child wants to, despite OfNostrils explaining that they can have their jackets on to stay warm. Giddy-Up blocks the camera and says “no thank you” before he is beckoned back over to the couch. As OfNostrils makes another pitch for her non-tent after launching it from behind a nostalgia filter. “When I was a kid and it would rain I LIKED it!” never got anyone anywhere. Everyone knows what you think is fun, your kids will be like “ah, yes, the ancient relics and texts, BORING” . Once OfNostrils makes it clear that there is no mud, Giddy-Up is swayed. Austina is still against it and for the poor kid’s sake I wish she could just stay in the house and not be filmed regardless of if she is convinced to take part or not. Austina gives one more attempt to protest and say she doesn’t want to go, only to be met with OfNostrils “but Giddy-Up wants to”. With that settled, Austina decides she wants to wear a certain coat, OfNostrils says she has to get it herself. If I was Austina, I’d take all damn day about it. OfNostrils gets Giddy-Up’s overwear on in front of the camera. He takes off to find his sister as OfNostrils calls her children crazy because they didn’t want to go out in a cold, grey rain. A nice summer rain when it’s hot out is another story, but this ain’t it. If you need a winter coat, playing in the rain isn’t a fun option. She goes on to repeat everything like she didn’t just show the footage. She goes on to reminisce about how her Griftma Mary let her and her siblings play in a spring storm. It’s such a good memory she thinks that today was the perfect day to recreate it for her kids. She thinks this will get them to take a nap after a warm bath. I think this will just give them wet clothes. Either way, Giddy-Up goes toward the puddle and big rain falls. Austina has matched her pants to her coat and is actually the first in as Giddy-Up has stopped to roll up his pant legs. OfNostrils was setting this up “who will be first to go in?” like she didn’t have to practically bribe them to go outside in the first place. The children are asked if the ankle deep water was cold. Austina tells her mother it was deep. OfNostrils sends the children running through the cold puddle. They both run in opposite directions as Giddy-Up runs up to the camera excited, saying they can play. Austina walks up and says it’s cold and pulls her wet pant leg. Doesn’t matter though, Giddy-Up is cooperating with filming. He and Austina pass each other again, until she waits on the far side of the puddle and Giddy-Up slides to his knees in the middle of the puddle. OfNostrils asks Giddy-Up how it felt but he doesn’t answer because Austina is going to demonstrate how to swim. She gets a running start and hops in gently, with little splash. OfNostrils tells her child “whoa!” Austina repeats her jump and Giddy-Up does his version of the long jump into the puddle. She says they’re having so much fun as they walk back and forth in the puddle. Nostils appears in the cabin, pulling out an earpod and holding A.G. who has latched on visually to something on the counter. As he intently stares, his mother gives the keys to him as he breaks into a smile. His other hand joins in grabbing hold of the key fob and into his mouth it goes. Nostrils begins to bounce the resident rolly polly and say things like “oh you wanna eat them?” A.G. for his part isn’t actually eating the keys anymore, he is eating his own wrist. Nostrils spins to reveal this plot twist as A.G. has been tickled to the point of turning away from the camera. He gets told to stop it by his father and has a hearty laugh at the suggestion. OfNostrils has now followed Giddy-Up into the bathroom as he strips off his wet outer clothes. She comments that his hair is not wet as he focuses on taking off his boots and thankfully leaves him to undress in peace and privacy for a change. She says they are down for naps after a hot bath and they played outside for half an hour. A.G. smiles because he didn’t have to go outside, get a bath or take a nap. Giddy-Up flings himself down the hallway on his birthday skates as OfNostrils tells us how good he has gotten at skating with them. Nostrils pushes Giddy-Up up and down the hall a couple times until he is pushed towards the end of the hall where OfNostrils waits for him to skate down and smack the camera to end the vlog.
Welp, there it is folks, the week late but still not that stale Nostrils McBeardsley Power Hour. A.G. seems to join Nostrils and Austina in the Eagle Eye NASA Grandpa gene grouping and he also seems to be getting more mobile as we get closer to his first birthday and the countdown to the announcement of the 4th McBeardlsey child. Have a great day and a better tomorrow everyone!

Hello,
I am going to be starting a red deer great one grind on Te Aworoa very soon but I would like some guidance to set me on my way. I’ve already purchased 16 tents and 16 tripods of the same colors. I am playing on PS5.
I’ve watched a few good YouTube videos on how to go about it but one thing none of the videos that I’ve seen have gone into detail about is how to organize Information.
The videos all begin by instructing me to go and find all of my zones before I begin shooting. They say to keep track of all of your best zones (the ones with the most deer per zone as well as the ones with the biggest and best deer). The part I get confused about is how do I keep track of all of my zones?
When they say “zone”, are there multiple herds that drink per zone? Am I gonna be hunting multiple herd per zone? The map on the game only tells me where the zones are, it does not delve into the size of the herd nor does it tell me what the trophy rating of the deer in these herds are.
Do any of you veteran players have any tips for me in terms of what to carry, what perks/skills are necessary and what perks/skills are convenient? How do you veterans set up your grinds? What guns do you recommend I bring and what attachments?
What else can you guys recommend or suggest to help make this as easy as possible?

Hello,
I am going to be starting a red deer great one grind on Te Aworoa very soon but I would like some guidance to set me on my way. I’ve already purchased 16 tents and 16 tripods of the same colors. I am playing on PS5.
I’ve watched a few good YouTube videos on how to go about it but one thing none of the videos that I’ve seen have gone into detail about is how to organize Information.
The videos all begin by instructing me to go and find all of my zones before I begin shooting. They say to keep track of all of your best zones (the ones with the most deer per zone as well as the ones with the biggest and best deer). The part I get confused about is how do I keep track of all of my zones?
When they say “zone”, are there multiple herds that drink per zone? Am I gonna be hunting multiple herd per zone? The map on the game only tells me where the zones are, it does not delve into the size of the herd nor does it tell me what the trophy rating of the deer in these herds are.
Do any of you veteran players have any tips for me in terms of what to carry, what perks/skills are necessary and what perks/skills are convenient? How do you veterans set up your grinds? What guns do you recommend I bring and what attachments?
What else can you guys recommend or suggest to help make this as easy as possible?

I - II - III - IV - V
Thank god I didn’t break any bones.
The shrubby softness of the ravine’s slopes had cushioned enough of my fall. I leaned onto one of the slopes and let the earthy coolness soothe my sore back. Although there would be tenderness on my tailbone and left leg, everything still felt intact.
Olek had radioed in that he’d found me. I’d given him my headphones and Zoom recorder, which he was now using to review the quality of the last takes.
“Clean sound,” he nodded with a calm seriousness.
Was it clean though?
I could faintly hear the squealing whines through the cups of my headphones, but Olek gave no reaction as he pressed the cushions closer to his ears.
I wondered if he was intentionally trying to come off as unphased. Was he actually trying to be encouraging of my work? Did the pig squealing actually not bother him?
His entire demeanor felt alien. At times he would meet my eyes, trying to maybe show a glimmer of gratitude, or perhaps sympathy, but it's like he couldn’t get his face to activate the right muscles.
“I’m glad it’s clean.” I croaked out. Or that at least you think so.
After a few minutes of listening, Olek took off the headphones, and offered a massive palm for me to grab. I really didn’t want to leave with him, but I didn’t know what else to do.
I wouldn’t know where to go on my own without getting further lost in the woods. And the last thing I wanted was to get stuck in a worse ravine, dying of thirst, awaiting bears and cougars to eat me. So I grabbed his arm.
“Your work is strong,” he said. Then he handed back my gear.
“Uh … thank you.”
The ease with which Olek knew how to operate my equipment was a little astonishing. I figured he was probably used to playing multiple roles on set (the curse of many indie films), but after he hooked my boom into my mixer without a moment’s hesitation, another thought crossed my mind. Maybe he had been expecting me to use the handheld recorder.
Maybe he had been expecting me to climb up alone in that tree this whole time. Did he somehow know I would be menaced by this ghostly pig?
I stared at his swirling trench coat as he led the way to an exiting slope. Was something supposed to happen to me in that tree?
He briefly turned around and said, “Don't forget to back up the data on that card. We can't lose it.”
Then I realized I was dealing with a guy who only cared about his film. That’s why he sent me up that oak. That’s why he didn’t care about my bruises. He truly only cared about his audio. His video. Just a regular self-absorbed dude.
Stupid as it sounds—that felt relieving. I didn’t want to focus on paranormal, conspiratorial thinking. I just wanted to get out of here.
—
With no real option, I followed Olek, limping slightly, just two steps behind. It felt very weird to come back like an obedient sheep, like a patient returned to her psych ward, but what was I supposed to do? Keep shambling through the woods? Pray that I somehow stumbled back to my car?
Within minutes we were back at the meadow, showing just how little I had actually run.
As soon as we broke through the forest, Konrad sprinted over, clasping both his palms on my shoulders. "Oh my god Anna! What happened?"
I appreciated that he had run up. The rest of the crew were still across the meadow, observing distantly, fiddling with tripods and bounce boards.
I cleared my throat and rubbed my aching left knee. “I fell into a ditch Kon. Olek got me out.”
Perhaps sensing I needed time alone with the only proper English speaker—Olek dismissed Konrad and continued to the others.
Konrad said something in Polish, but then immediately turned to me. “Are you injured? Are you like… okay?”
My limbs were sore but that wasn’t the main problem. “I’m okay, but … no, not really, I'm not okay. I don't feel comfortable right now about any of this.” I gestured at the crew, the woods, the gray clouds and turned to whispering. “I can’t be here. Something fucked is going on.”
“What do you mean?”
I didn’t really know where to start. I sort of tossed my arms, grasping for the easiest explanation, and so I pointed to the tree. “I heard some demonic sounds in my headphones when I was up there.”
Konrad glanced back at the oak in the meadow's center.
“And then when I looked down, Polina was gone. Only her shredded clothes were left.”
Konrad took a pause. "Well … that’s because Polina's wrapped. We finished her scene, so she left."
“Yes but … ” I emphasized the strangeness. “She left so abruptly, I didn’t even see her leave.”
“Well … you were up in the tree Anna, I don’t think you would be able to see her leave.”
I definitely thought I would have, but I let it go. “Well the demonic thing I heard, it sounded like an animal. It attacked Polina.”
“Attacked her?”
“Attacked, and then, well … it ate her.”
“Ate her?”
I held on to the sides of my head. My mixer was still dangling from my neck on a lanyard. “Yes, ate her! There was a slurping and crunching of some fucking animal that I recorded on my mixer. It sounded like Polina was being mauled.”
I placed my headphones on Konrad’s head and played the last sound file I recorded.
With the volume turned high, I could make out the shrieks quite vividly.
Kon seemed put off but kept listening to it. “What? You recorded this? Is the file corrupted or—?”
“—No. Even the director signed off on this! He listened and gave approval!” As I said the words, I realized how fucked that was. Olek had literally listened to this file in the ravine and said: ‘clean sound.’
Konrad looked skeptical. “Are you sure you didn't misunderstand him? I know Olek's English—”
“No! I understood him perfectly fine. That's the recording he wanted. It was some kind of boar, and it was attacking Polina.”
Kon held onto the headphones intently and nodded. “Are you sure it's not just some weird artifacting? Is the SD card malfunctioning or—”
“—The SD card is totally unused.”
“Right.” He handed the headphones back. “I mean, that doesn’t mean it can’t glitch.”
I crossed my arms. I’ve never heard of a new card glitching.
“Also, I was with the crew,” Kon pointed over his shoulder. “We were watching Polina and the tree the whole time. I didn’t see any animal, boar, or anything.”
I pointed at the pile of rags still resting by the tree "then what about all the blood on her clothes? How did they get shredded?”
"Well, I mean we're shooting a horror, Anna. That was all makeup and—."
"—I didn't see any makeup team come over!"
"That's cause you were up in the—”
“—DON’T SAY I WAS UP IN THE TREE!”
I yelled and could feel myself lose a bit of control. Olek and some of the crew glanced back from across the field. I ignored them.
“Kon, listen. Something rammed that tree and knocked me down. That’s what made me run.”
He looked at me but said nothing.
“There was this terrible pig shrieking in my headphones the whole time, and I swear I saw a big black boar run toward me for a second. That’s why I ran.”
Hands raised, Kon made eye contact with me and nodded with as much politeness as I had ever seen him muster. “Listen Anna, I’m not discounting whatever it is that you saw. Or heard. I totally respect that. Clearly something scared you. I feel you.”
“No. Kon you’re not listening to me. Something fucked is going on. I don’t know what it is, but I want nothing to do with it.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean I'm not working on this set any more. There’s something wrong. I’m going home."
I started marching forward, but Konrad moved in front of me. "Woah woah, Anna, hold up. I get it. I would feel the same way. But come on, you can't go home. We still have a couple more shots to get.”
I handed him the microphone. "Then you can record the rest yourself. Go ahead, you mix and boom.”
“If you leave, how am I supposed to get home? They don't have room in their car."
"Then ride across their laps."
"Anna please." Konrad’s voice got quiet. "I don't want to be embarrassed in front of these guys. They make amazing horror movies, like Polish A24 level shit. My previous boom op fell through. I just need you to at least stick it through the rest of the day."
I glanced over at the mobilizing crew; they had packed everything back into carrying cases. They almost looked like a normal film team, like any typical heads of department I’d seen on set of District PD or Untold Stories of the ER, but they were wearing so much black, so much leather and had so many piercings. Their entire vibe felt off.
"I agree that there is a … creepiness,” Konrad lowered his voice further. “Olek is able to cultivate an amazing atmosphere, and I think it's why his films are always so strong. He brings a realness. A sort of raw element that’s hard to explain. And obviously that can result in some eerie coincidences on set, for sure. But remember: it is just a movie. This is just a regular forest ... we’re just here to do a job.”
It feels like something is legit haunted, I wanted to say, but I held my tongue.
"Just stay a few more hours. You can stick by me for the rest of the shoot. If something requires weird booming, I’ll do it. If there's another tree situation, I'll volunteer. Whatever it takes to make you comfortable. Please. For me.”
The emotion was genuine, and despite the urgency in his voice, Konrad had let go of my arm, to show that he wasn’t trying to impede me or something. But I was still annoyed. Furious in fact, that he had tricked me into working on this janky set with a flippant director.
I considered just leaving, just trying to head back towards the parking lot. But the thing was, I didn’t know how to navigate back. I actually needed Konrad to help return to the car.
I sighed, groaned, and rubbed my left knee. “Goddamnit Kon. Why’d you mix me up in this? I told you I only work big shows now.”
“I know, but …” He put his hands in his pockets, looked at the ground. “This could become a big deal for me. I told Olek I would get a sound assistant. I didn't think this would be such an ordeal. Please … ”
The rest of the crew had now gathered all their stuff and were walking along the perimeter of the meadow, probably moving to the next location. There was the faint outline of the sun behind the overcast sky. It had risen ever so slightly, brightening the world just a little bit.
"Oh my god. Fuck. Fine. Fuck you.” I pointed directly at Kon’s skittish face. “But you listen to me: If anything else weird happens, and I mean anything off in the slightest, promise that you won't question me, and that you'll take me straight back to the car. I don’t want any second-guessing or hesitation, okay?"
"Yes. Of course.” Konrad held out his arm. “I swear on my mother’s grave.”
I stared at his pupils. He looked earnest, and eager to maintain eye contact. Then I looked at his open palm. The fingers were slowly stretching towards me, seeking confirmation.
I handed him the boom pole. “The next shot is yours. I’m not booming.”
“Sure. That’s no problem.”
“And I want to know exactly how many shots are left.”
“We can ask the AD.”
“And I want you to admit right now: that this is weird. That it's not cool you’ve roped me into this. And that you’re a fucking idiot.”
“Yes. Yes, you’re right. I’m wrong. I’m a fucking idiot.”
I hated this. I did not feel comfortable. But I needed a guide out. I needed Kon to be agreeable. Like with so many other annoying things about the film industry (the hours, the nepotism, the sexism, to name a few), there comes a time when you just have to grin and bear it. Pretend it doesn’t bother you and get through it.
I rubbed my knee one last time, and then ignored the soreness as I continued to walk. Pretending is what I do best.
—
We set up for lunch by some logs near the meadow’s edge, using gear cases as tables. Konrad had advocated that we could use a reset (which I appreciated), and thankfully no one was opposed to an early snack. Most of the crew members had skipped their breakfast.
Over sandwiches, I focused on relaxing. I wanted this to be just a normal set. I didn’t want to be in panic mode the whole time.
So, I bit the bullet and apologized to the crew. I didn’t want them judging me for the rest of the day. I stood up in the middle of their eating circle and said I was sorry. In response, The AD came and patted my back, telling me not to worry, and that apologies were unnecessary.
Everyone came to understand that I had had a panic attack, but now I was okay. They were respecting that. Everyone acknowledged that the woods were dark, and it is of course very easy to see things that aren’t there. It is reasonable to get afraid.
“In the forest,” the makeup artist said, “it is natural to be scared.”
“Yes, it is very natural,” I said. Then I sat back into my own corner.
My sandwich was packed with lentils just like Konrad had said. In fact, they had made two huge sandwiches just for me, which I was grateful for because my body was craving energy.
Even though I wanted to inhale the food, I paced myself. I ate as normally as I would on any other occasion, because the more I acted like everything was fine, the more mentally everything felt fine.
I made small talk.
I stretched my legs.
I asked Kon what this movie was even about.
“Oh, it's a Polish folklore film.” He spoke in-between bites. "It's about scary things in the forest."
“Like scary things … attacking Polina?”
“Sort of. Polina plays Północnica. ‘Lady Midnight’”
“Lady Midnight?”
“Yes. She is a ghost in Polish folklore. A wraith who will try and possess your body.”
I chewed and wondered how Polina’s cowering and wailing was supposed to make her a possessive wraith. “She seems more like a victim to me.”
“That’s because she is.” Kon wiped his mouth. “This film is her origin story. Before she became Północnica, she was just a regular woman. A regular villager who made a bad deal with the devil, who then cursed her to wander the earth as a wraith.”
I nodded as if this was common knowledge. “You’ve read the script?”
“No. I know it from childhood. My mom used to warn me not to wander into the backcountry by myself, or else I risk meeting Lady Midnight. Who would then kidnap me, usurp my body, etcetera etcetera.”
“Right.” I grabbed another napkin and looked at the rest of the crew. They were all eating two huge sandwiches, if not more. I could smell the tangy waft of horseradish, mustard, and spicy sausage. Olek looked like he was annoyed that we were on break.
“And so … why did this crew fly all the way here?” I whispered. “Why shoot some Polish folk tale—in Vancouver?”
"Oh, I think the producer is half-Canadian. And he was able to secure some funding here. Something like that."
What funding? I wanted to say. I've seen high school films with higher budgets. But I chewed my lentils and stayed quiet.
We tossed all our crumpled wax paper and empty water bottles into a portable trash. At least they got that much right.
After enjoying a fruit bar as a dessert, I could actually feel myself winding down. My heart was no longer beating in my throat, the butterflies in my stomach were gone.
Relishing the feeling, I unwrapped a stick of gum—and then came the rustling.
Everyone paused and looked towards a set of bushes.
It was hard to articulate why, but even through the leaves, I could tell it was something walking on hooves. There was something padded about the movement. And maybe it was just me, but I could swear I heard a soft, ineffable oinking in the distance.
The crew sprang into action, locking the camera to its tripod within seconds. Konrad jumped up and grabbed my boom with a look that said: I’ll take this one.
Everyone aimed in the direction of the foliage, trying to capture whatever lurked. Olek glued himself to the viewfinder, zooming and adjusting the camera all himself. Konrad fully extended the boom and swung it around, trying to capture the sounds of whatever approached.
At the base of the bushes, I could see Polina’s gray rags lying splayed on the ground—was that intentional? Were the rags supposed to lure something?
For a moment, everyone went still. It felt like the entire wilderness had gone silent. A quiet wind lightly teased some branches. Olek turned both of his palms upward, as if he was holding something, or receiving something. Summoning something?
There came a growl, and everyone lowered their heads, looking for the source. Konrad got a little too animated and swung his boom pole right at Olek's temple.
Olek lashed out with one of his massive arms, which clipped the camera beside him, sending it straight to the ground. The bushes shuffled one more time, and then the pig, (or moose, or whatever it was) could be heard trailing away, breaking into a trot.
Olek brought the camera right up to his face, and aggressively clicked around the viewfinder’s touch screen. “Nie! Nie!” He slapped the device, as if he could rewind it to the moment before the opportunity was lost.
He waved his arms, trying to attract whatever energy had just dissipated, then stepped past the camera to face the bushes. “No kurwa mać!”
Like an angry child, Olek poked his head into the leaves and began batting at them, “Konrad ty pierdol! Ale to spieprzyłeś!”
Konrad’s eyes turned wide and quivering, he tried to withdraw into some reality where the take had not been ruined. Olek approached him with a slung back hand, ready to release some retributive slap. But after a tense moment, the only release was a torrent of spit on Kon’s face as Olek yelled and yelled and yelled.
Still sitting, I inched away on the log, afraid of what the director might do next. Even the rest of the crew took a few steps back.
As quickly as the tantrum started, Olek exhaled and dismissed Konrad, clearly unable to bear another glance.
Konrad snuck away, pretending to fiddle with the knobs on his mixer. Everyone looked at each other, but mostly at the ground. Some ravens cawed in the distance.
I was very glad it wasn't me who messed up.
—
With the afternoon came a powerful silence. You could hear squirrels scampering up trees, and woodpeckers drilling somewhere far, far away. The previously conversational crew, who would swap comments and observations for lively stretches of time, were now replaced by a band of servants who quickly nodded at whatever the director said.
I asked Konrad what exactly Olek had been trying to shoot earlier, and “how did everyone know to record the bushes?” Kon sighed and said that they were just looking for wilderness B roll. Olek had been trying to capture a deer on camera all week.
Without wasting time, the AD filled the silence. Our next shots were a series of POVs meant to simulate Polina running through the woods. The director would be handling the camera.
Trying to compensate for his screw up, Kon made sure we were ready first. We fastened a set of wireless mics directly to the camera, which was then mounted inside a rig that resembled a detached steering wheel. A makeshift Steadicam.
Rolling back the sleeves of his trench coat, Olek lifted the steering wheel and strode through the woods by himself, recording a shaky blur of trees, branches, and gloom. The rest of us huddled behind a monitor, watching the resulting footage, whispering only when necessary.
The cautious silence was definitely a change in tone, but it didn’t bother me. Previously I had felt like the odd one out. The Canadian fish that had slipped into some foreign Euro-Slavic pond. But now it felt like we were all in this together, we were all waiting for this manic director to blow off steam by galloping through the trees.
The footage didn’t look great (in my opinion). It was a glorified go-pro shot with a bad frame rate. The sound wasn’t much better. Kon and I both exchanged wide eyes listening to Olek’s grunts and groans as he trampled over the forest floor.
“Polish A24 huh?” I whispered in between takes.
“Maybe not this part,” Konrad shrugged, trying to play it off ... “we’ll fix it in post.”
It took about an hour of Olek trying to get some fern branches to ‘brush the lens in just the right way’ but eventually the plants seemed to oblige. He returned triumphant, lifting the camera above his head (as if it weighed nothing). Then he cleared the blonde strands clinging to the sweaty sides of his face, revealing a wicked smile.
“Okej. Running shot done. Now our final location.”
Olek gave the AD a high five and the spirits of the crew lifted slightly. Even I was starting to feel a sliver of cheer. Final location? Already? Does that mean we’re almost done?
“No more mistakes,” Olek pointed at Konrad, handing the camera away to some crew.
Kon said nothing.
—
Of course, getting to our final spot wasn’t so easy. The last shot required us to march much deeper into the forest, which reignited all the paranoia I was trying to rid myself of.
The pine trees grew taller and darker. The bird calls became deeper and raspier.
To ease my mind, I sidled right next to the AD at the front, to watch how he was navigating our misfit convoy. He smiled and showed me a pocket-sized GPS. It had a bright screen depicting a flag icon which we were nearing labelled ‘wieża.’
I asked him what it meant, and he just pointed ahead and said: ”Very soon.”
Despite the manifold branches and shadowy canopy, I could see a thin strip of metal gleam in the trees. In a few minutes we were approaching some long-abandoned radio tower that sat deep in the wilderness. This was the wieża.
Why was it built so far from civilization? As we climbed up the bramble-filled incline, I could make out a dwelling at its base and realized this must have been some outpost. A weather monitoring station?
The trees opened up and I could see we were in the midst of a relic. A two floored cabin that had faced the ravages of time and lost.
On its left side, the walls were built into the legs of the iron tower, which were now completely covered in vines and guarding a nest of abandoned firewood. The rest of the cabin was log-built, which gave it a pioneer feel, except the whole thing was caked in a bed of moss. Like it had sprouted out of the ground. I tried to look in, but the windows were completely boarded up (and also covered in more moss).
It had to be the most overgrown thing I’d ever seen.
“We think it used to be some kind of forest ranger outpost,” Konrad said. “But it has long been abandoned. Pretty sweet location huh?”
When we reached its vicinity, I pressed a finger into the cabin's exterior and felt the moss travel past my knuckles. It was remarkable that something so sturdy was abandoned like this. I would guess up to four people could have stayed here, living off camp supplies. How long was it used for?
“We must get coverage.” Olek announced, gesturing vaguely at the scenery. “Camera and sound. I want to capture it all.”
The crew got to work, opening all the carrying cases. I whispered to Kon. “So are we like shooting a scene or … ?”
“No. Not really,” Konrad turned on his mixer, and started playing with the levels. “Environmental shots, we’re just recording the feel of this place.”
Recording the feel? It sounded a bit vague, but I shrugged. I wasn’t about to question the experimental process of our genius director.
—
Unlike the running POVs which were shot rather quickly, Olek allowed ample time for the cabin’s cinematography. The DP alternated lenses and tripod heights until he found the perfect frames that evoked the ominous allure of this place.
It felt more like we were making art.
Konrad and I circumnavigated the house, calling for silence when we needed it. Our mics picked up the buzzing of local bugs, the faint squeaking of chipmunks and even a couple of owls which must’ve prematurely woken up.
I didn’t know if I wanted to admit it, but it was actually kind of fun.
On ninety nine percent of sets you record the same dialogue for hours. You’re competing with plane sounds and traffic sirens. You’ve got bitchy actors, entitled crew, indecisive directors, and rushed schedules that sap all the magic out of filmmaking. But here, in the middle of the woods, Me and Konrad just spent five minutes recording the rich, textural creak of an ancient cabin door. Olek was giving Kon the dead eye, but our recordings were still fully approved.
After an hour of capturing the surroundings, the AD called for a break.
The team turned to discussing how to shoot the interior, which was a technical conversation (all in Polish), so I focused on readying our gear.
As far as I knew, no one had brought any mobile lighting kits, so I wasn’t sure how they actually planned to shoot inside. We would have to spend an hour scouring mulch off glass for any natural light. And I wasn’t signing up for that job.
As if reading my mind, the AD approached me with an encouraging smile. He was clearly going to ask me to do something stupid. I took my time opening the package of fresh batteries, lined up the negative and positive charges in my mic, twice to be sure.
“Hello Anna, thank you so much for coming out today.”
“No problem. Give me a second.”
I did the same thing with my other microphone, double checking everything. If he was going to waste my time, I would waste his.
“How would you like to be in this film?”
I paused. “Be in this film? What do you mean?”
“Do you want to be actress?”
Without even intending to, my jaw dropped a little. I was not expecting this.
“No. Sorry. I don’t want to be an actress.”
The AD didn’t push it any further. He went back to the circle of crew and spoke with Olek. The director said some things, pulled Konrad aside, and then Konrad walked over to me.
Before he could open his mouth, I raised my hand. “Um, I’m not acting in this movie.”
“Who said anything about acting?” Konrad smiled, laughed a small laugh. “No no, nobody wants you to act. There’s just one particular shot they want to get. You see, technically speaking, this cabin is meant to be the birthplace of Północnica.”
“Pół—You mean Polina’s character?”
“Yeah. We’re getting shots of her home here as a flashback element. But Olek thinks it would be good to also get the back of the character’s head and profile, as she looks through her old house.”
Is that what we’ve been shooting? Some experimental flashback? “So, why was Polina wrapped earlier then?”
“It was an oversight. Now Olek thinks adding a Polina stand-in would be clutch.”
“Well, I’m sorry. I don’t want to be a stand in.” I looked at the mossy cabin, at the gaping black hole of the half open door. “Can’t Olek like … shoot Polina on a green screen?”
“No, no, come on, Anna, Olek doesn’t do that. He’s all practical. You have the same length of black hair. You’re about the same height. It’s just for one shot.”
“No Kon. I don’t want to do it.”
“You can think of it as an apology for getting you wrapped up in this. Olek will give you a day rate for acting.”
“What?”
“And I’ll give you half my day’s wage on top of that. Compensation for leaving you in that tree.”
“What the hell. Why?”
Konrad lowered his voice and brought his hands into a small prayer. “Please. I want this film to be a success. I want to be hired by these guys again. I’ve kept my word haven’t I?”
“What word?”
“That I’d act as a shield. Prevent you from doing anything uncomfortable.”
“Kon. This is making me feel uncomfortable.”
“But it’s the last thing! After this we’re done! We’ll go straight back to the car.”
I looked over the rest of the crew. The DP was waving his arms, explaining something to Olek who was nodding with minimal effort. Then Olek turned and looked directly at me. His gray eyes shimmered with focus that prevented mine from leaving. A hawk spying a mouse.
I did a full one eighty and faced the cabin. Konrad came over, hands still pleading, voice still a whisper. “I’ll even pay for your gas! For here and back—”
“—Listen Kon. Whatever pickup shot this is. It's the last thing I’m doing. Then we’re leaving.”
“So … is that a yes?”
“Get the AD to announce I am leaving right after this. You’re taking me straight back to my car.”
“Sure. Yeah I can do that.”
“And tell Olek I’m only doing one take.”
Konrad scratched the back of his neck; he looked over at the director. “Only one? But what if we need—”
“—I’m only doing one. That’s it. One and I’m out. If we need another that's your problem, you deal with Olek.”
“Okay. Okay, sure that’s fine. I’ll figure it out. Thank you Anna. Thank you so much.”
He gave me a hug. I stayed facing the cabin.
—
The makeup artist combed and sprayed my hair to match the wavy raggedness of Polina’s. She wasn’t very talkative but did mention I had pretty hair—naturally silky, and that it was easy to manipulate. Very easy to manipulate.
The AD had announced that this was going to be my last shot, just as Kon promised, and that I would be escorted as soon as we were done. It also meant my makeup artist had to triple check her work with a dozen brushes and wedges.
According to her, I looked “fabularna” (which must’ve meant “fable-like”). I responded with probably the meekest smile in my life.
Although shredded at the skirt, the upper half of Polina’s dress was still fully intact, and so I was allowed to change into it behind the cabin. No one came to supervise.
As I left, I could hear the echoes of the crew arguing. Olek was criticizing Konrad again over something. I ignored it.
For the first time since picking up Kon this morning, I was completely by myself. I took a moment to assess the whole situation.
This was it. Just me, by myself. In the middle of the woods with a bunch of strangers and a single friend from film school who gaffed my fourth year short. He was an alright gaffer, I guess.
Like honestly, I trust Konrad and think he’s a decent guy. He helped me land some of my first gigs out of film school. But those gigs were always weird.
He’d always be doing sound on music videos between half a dozen heavy metal bands I’d never heard of. All of them paid in cash. There was always a DP who would smoke weed in-between takes, or band members who always arrived late. I’ll never forget the day we wasted a whole afternoon on an insert of live snake as it slithered across sound speakers, our film gear, and then all the way into a kitchen cupboard. It was not a planned shot.
But despite the bullshit, I always did get paid. At a crucial point in my life too. I always felt like I owed Kon for that. It was a legitimate steppingstone for me.
Breathe. You’ve got this.
I stripped down to basically my underwear—relinquishing the cover and warmth of my trusty jeans, and oversized hoodie.
Christ it is cold. This dress is damp as hell.
I put my jeans back on. They’re only shooting from the waist up anyway. Considering the sudden windchill, it was something like two degrees outside.
Just five minutes of standing in the cold. You’ve had worse. Pretend you’re fine.
Pretending is what I’m good at.
I walked back over, holding a bundle of my previous clothes. The camera was set up, pointing into the open maw of the cabin.
The AD stood by the door, acting as a proxy for where I would be standing. “You’re still wearing your pants,” he said.
“Is that a problem?” I pointed to my waist and raised my finger until it reached my disinterested face. “I thought this was a medium.”
There was some muttering behind the camera. Olek seemed upset, but Konrad’s voice won out. “That’s fine, we can make that work right? It’s only one shot.”
Olek stepped out from behind the crew, looking unimpressed with the world at large. He waved his hand dismissively at the AD. He clearly didn’t care about my pants. Good.
“Alright, so you want me to open this door and stare into the cabin, right?” I stood in front of the cabin and gripped the handle. The handle was slimy with moss, and very cold from the sudden windiness around us. The hinges on the door itself were remarkably intact, so despite some creaky resistance, I managed to push it shut without much hassle. Then, flexing my arm a little, I pulled and opened the door again, pretending to look inside and recognize my beloved old home.
My beloved—completely pitch black—old home.
“Like this? Does that work?” I will give them this one take, and I will do it well—so everything is firmly over and done with.
The wind was causing my hair to whip back and forth, I calmly adjusted it back in place. “Any changes or can we just slate this already?”
The camera raised slightly, and Konrad found a new spot for his boom over my head.
“Another rehearsal,” Olek said. “Go again.”
I carefully returned the door to its closed position, and then went back to my starting mark on the ground. I should have told Konrad: max two rehearsals. For all I knew, Olek was going to get me to rehearse this over and over, and secretly record a dozen takes. It was the oldest trick in the book.
Whatever, give him the rehearsals.
Again, I flexed my right arm, lifted the handle, and pulled with that slight trepidation I’ve seen all actors do as they enter any place of plot significance.
Oooh what could be inside? Oh my gosh, it looks like the actor is realizing something! I stiffened my shoulder and then craned my neck inside.
And then I did in fact realize something. Why is the wind so strong?
It felt like a geyser of air was slowly blowing harder and harder.
I turned around to adjust, to brace myself against the door, when suddenly a blast of air thrust me forward.
My hands barely broke my fall.
Before I could make a sound—before I could even look up—SLAM!
The door had sealed me inside.
All light had vanished.
I quickly got up, ignoring the pain in my arms and yelled toward the door. “Hey! Hello! HELLO!”
The wind howled against the cabin.
I moved forward and found the door by the handle. I tried to push, but it felt like there was a wall on the other side. I couldn’t even budge it a little.
“Hello! Can you open up? Hello?!”
I pushed with my arm, my foot, and my back. Then I banged my fists right above the handle.
Goddamnit. Can they not hear me? Why is the door jammed?
I took deep breaths, my paranoia spilled out. Butterflies tickled my stomach and flew into my head. My heart bounced between my lungs. I pivoted on the ancient wooden floor, feeling dirt twist beneath my sneakers.
Don’t panic. There’s just a gale outside. They must all be disoriented. Although it had no bars, my phone still made a decent flashlight.
I lit up a floor covered with twigs and dirt. There was a cot on the far side, next to some broken shelves and a cluttered table. A couple plastic coolers lay all over the floor.
I looked around for another door on the opposite side of the cabin. Please tell me I overlooked one. There’s gotta be one there!
Of course there was none.
Then I discovered a ladder which led up to the tiny attic floor. If I was really desperate, I could maybe break through one of the upper windows, and cry for help or something.
But before I could plan my route, the door swung open again. It clipped my already sore leg.
Down on the floor, I reached out to the sudden blast of outdoor light. A large shape was tossed onto me, pinning me to the ground. Judging by the smell of the deodorant: it was Kon.
“Hey! Hold the door!” I shouted.
But the sliver of light vanished faster than I could get up.
“What the hell!” I tossed Konrad off of me, confused and angry at what was going on. I grabbed my phone light off the floor. “Kon, is that you!?”
It was, but he didn’t look to be moving. He was still wearing his large Sennheiser headphones, and he was awkwardly cradling a boom between his arms. I rolled him over onto his back, and that’s when I saw it.
A tear at his throat. A large bloody rip of missing flesh. It was soaked in red.
Fuck. What the fuck. What in god's name is happening.

I - II - III - IV - V
Thank god I didn’t break any bones.
The shrubby softness of the ravine’s slopes had cushioned enough of my fall. I leaned onto one of the slopes and let the earthy coolness soothe my sore back. Although there would be tenderness on my tailbone and left leg, everything still felt intact.
Olek had radioed in that he’d found me. I’d given him my headphones and Zoom recorder, which he was now using to review the quality of the last takes.
“Clean sound,” he nodded with a calm seriousness.
Was it clean though?
I could faintly hear the squealing whines through the cups of my headphones, but Olek gave no reaction as he pressed the cushions closer to his ears.
I wondered if he was intentionally trying to come off as unphased. Was he actually trying to be encouraging of my work? Did the pig squealing actually not bother him?
His entire demeanor felt alien. At times he would meet my eyes, trying to maybe show a glimmer of gratitude, or perhaps sympathy, but it's like he couldn’t get his face to activate the right muscles.
“I’m glad it’s clean.” I croaked out. Or that at least you think so.
After a few minutes of listening, Olek took off the headphones, and offered a massive palm for me to grab. I really didn’t want to leave with him, but I didn’t know what else to do.
I wouldn’t know where to go on my own without getting further lost in the woods. And the last thing I wanted was to get stuck in a worse ravine, dying of thirst, awaiting bears and cougars to eat me. So I grabbed his arm.
“Your work is strong,” he said. Then he handed back my gear.
“Uh … thank you.”
The ease with which Olek knew how to operate my equipment was a little astonishing. I figured he was probably used to playing multiple roles on set (the curse of many indie films), but after he hooked my boom into my mixer without a moment’s hesitation, another thought crossed my mind. Maybe he had been expecting me to use the handheld recorder.
Maybe he had been expecting me to climb up alone in that tree this whole time. Did he somehow know I would be menaced by this ghostly pig?
I stared at his swirling trench coat as he led the way to an exiting slope. Was something supposed to happen to me in that tree?
He briefly turned around and said, “Don't forget to back up the data on that card. We can't lose it.”
Then I realized I was dealing with a guy who only cared about his film. That’s why he sent me up that oak. That’s why he didn’t care about my bruises. He truly only cared about his audio. His video. Just a regular self-absorbed dude.
Stupid as it sounds—that felt relieving. I didn’t want to focus on paranormal, conspiratorial thinking. I just wanted to get out of here.
—
With no real option, I followed Olek, limping slightly, just two steps behind. It felt very weird to come back like an obedient sheep, like a patient returned to her psych ward, but what was I supposed to do? Keep shambling through the woods? Pray that I somehow stumbled back to my car?
Within minutes we were back at the meadow, showing just how little I had actually run.
As soon as we broke through the forest, Konrad sprinted over, clasping both his palms on my shoulders. "Oh my god Anna! What happened?"
I appreciated that he had run up. The rest of the crew were still across the meadow, observing distantly, fiddling with tripods and bounce boards.
I cleared my throat and rubbed my aching left knee. “I fell into a ditch Kon. Olek got me out.”
Perhaps sensing I needed time alone with the only proper English speaker—Olek dismissed Konrad and continued to the others.
Konrad said something in Polish, but then immediately turned to me. “Are you injured? Are you like… okay?”
My limbs were sore but that wasn’t the main problem. “I’m okay, but … no, not really, I'm not okay. I don't feel comfortable right now about any of this.” I gestured at the crew, the woods, the gray clouds and turned to whispering. “I can’t be here. Something fucked is going on.”
“What do you mean?”
I didn’t really know where to start. I sort of tossed my arms, grasping for the easiest explanation, and so I pointed to the tree. “I heard some demonic sounds in my headphones when I was up there.”
Konrad glanced back at the oak in the meadow's center.
“And then when I looked down, Polina was gone. Only her shredded clothes were left.”
Konrad took a pause. "Well … that’s because Polina's wrapped. We finished her scene, so she left."
“Yes but … ” I emphasized the strangeness. “She left so abruptly, I didn’t even see her leave.”
“Well … you were up in the tree Anna, I don’t think you would be able to see her leave.”
I definitely thought I would have, but I let it go. “Well the demonic thing I heard, it sounded like an animal. It attacked Polina.”
“Attacked her?”
“Attacked, and then, well … it ate her.”
“Ate her?”
I held on to the sides of my head. My mixer was still dangling from my neck on a lanyard. “Yes, ate her! There was a slurping and crunching of some fucking animal that I recorded on my mixer. It sounded like Polina was being mauled.”
I placed my headphones on Konrad’s head and played the last sound file I recorded.
With the volume turned high, I could make out the shrieks quite vividly.
Kon seemed put off but kept listening to it. “What? You recorded this? Is the file corrupted or—?”
“—No. Even the director signed off on this! He listened and gave approval!” As I said the words, I realized how fucked that was. Olek had literally listened to this file in the ravine and said: ‘clean sound.’
Konrad looked skeptical. “Are you sure you didn't misunderstand him? I know Olek's English—”
“No! I understood him perfectly fine. That's the recording he wanted. It was some kind of boar, and it was attacking Polina.”
Kon held onto the headphones intently and nodded. “Are you sure it's not just some weird artifacting? Is the SD card malfunctioning or—”
“—The SD card is totally unused.”
“Right.” He handed the headphones back. “I mean, that doesn’t mean it can’t glitch.”
I crossed my arms. I’ve never heard of a new card glitching.
“Also, I was with the crew,” Kon pointed over his shoulder. “We were watching Polina and the tree the whole time. I didn’t see any animal, boar, or anything.”
I pointed at the pile of rags still resting by the tree "then what about all the blood on her clothes? How did they get shredded?”
"Well, I mean we're shooting a horror, Anna. That was all makeup and—."
"—I didn't see any makeup team come over!"
"That's cause you were up in the—”
“—DON’T SAY I WAS UP IN THE TREE!”
I yelled and could feel myself lose a bit of control. Olek and some of the crew glanced back from across the field. I ignored them.
“Kon, listen. Something rammed that tree and knocked me down. That’s what made me run.”
He looked at me but said nothing.
“There was this terrible pig shrieking in my headphones the whole time, and I swear I saw a big black boar run toward me for a second. That’s why I ran.”
Hands raised, Kon made eye contact with me and nodded with as much politeness as I had ever seen him muster. “Listen Anna, I’m not discounting whatever it is that you saw. Or heard. I totally respect that. Clearly something scared you. I feel you.”
“No. Kon you’re not listening to me. Something fucked is going on. I don’t know what it is, but I want nothing to do with it.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean I'm not working on this set any more. There’s something wrong. I’m going home."
I started marching forward, but Konrad moved in front of me. "Woah woah, Anna, hold up. I get it. I would feel the same way. But come on, you can't go home. We still have a couple more shots to get.”
I handed him the microphone. "Then you can record the rest yourself. Go ahead, you mix and boom.”
“If you leave, how am I supposed to get home? They don't have room in their car."
"Then ride across their laps."
"Anna please." Konrad’s voice got quiet. "I don't want to be embarrassed in front of these guys. They make amazing horror movies, like Polish A24 level shit. My previous boom op fell through. I just need you to at least stick it through the rest of the day."
I glanced over at the mobilizing crew; they had packed everything back into carrying cases. They almost looked like a normal film team, like any typical heads of department I’d seen on set of District PD or Untold Stories of the ER, but they were wearing so much black, so much leather and had so many piercings. Their entire vibe felt off.
"I agree that there is a … creepiness,” Konrad lowered his voice further. “Olek is able to cultivate an amazing atmosphere, and I think it's why his films are always so strong. He brings a realness. A sort of raw element that’s hard to explain. And obviously that can result in some eerie coincidences on set, for sure. But remember: it is just a movie. This is just a regular forest ... we’re just here to do a job.”
It feels like something is legit haunted, I wanted to say, but I held my tongue.
"Just stay a few more hours. You can stick by me for the rest of the shoot. If something requires weird booming, I’ll do it. If there's another tree situation, I'll volunteer. Whatever it takes to make you comfortable. Please. For me.”
The emotion was genuine, and despite the urgency in his voice, Konrad had let go of my arm, to show that he wasn’t trying to impede me or something. But I was still annoyed. Furious in fact, that he had tricked me into working on this janky set with a flippant director.
I considered just leaving, just trying to head back towards the parking lot. But the thing was, I didn’t know how to navigate back. I actually needed Konrad to help return to the car.
I sighed, groaned, and rubbed my left knee. “Goddamnit Kon. Why’d you mix me up in this? I told you I only work big shows now.”
“I know, but …” He put his hands in his pockets, looked at the ground. “This could become a big deal for me. I told Olek I would get a sound assistant. I didn't think this would be such an ordeal. Please … ”
The rest of the crew had now gathered all their stuff and were walking along the perimeter of the meadow, probably moving to the next location. There was the faint outline of the sun behind the overcast sky. It had risen ever so slightly, brightening the world just a little bit.
"Oh my god. Fuck. Fine. Fuck you.” I pointed directly at Kon’s skittish face. “But you listen to me: If anything else weird happens, and I mean anything off in the slightest, promise that you won't question me, and that you'll take me straight back to the car. I don’t want any second-guessing or hesitation, okay?"
"Yes. Of course.” Konrad held out his arm. “I swear on my mother’s grave.”
I stared at his pupils. He looked earnest, and eager to maintain eye contact. Then I looked at his open palm. The fingers were slowly stretching towards me, seeking confirmation.
I handed him the boom pole. “The next shot is yours. I’m not booming.”
“Sure. That’s no problem.”
“And I want to know exactly how many shots are left.”
“We can ask the AD.”
“And I want you to admit right now: that this is weird. That it's not cool you’ve roped me into this. And that you’re a fucking idiot.”
“Yes. Yes, you’re right. I’m wrong. I’m a fucking idiot.”
I hated this. I did not feel comfortable. But I needed a guide out. I needed Kon to be agreeable. Like with so many other annoying things about the film industry (the hours, the nepotism, the sexism, to name a few), there comes a time when you just have to grin and bear it. Pretend it doesn’t bother you and get through it.
I rubbed my knee one last time, and then ignored the soreness as I continued to walk. Pretending is what I do best.
—
We set up for lunch by some logs near the meadow’s edge, using gear cases as tables. Konrad had advocated that we could use a reset (which I appreciated), and thankfully no one was opposed to an early snack. Most of the crew members had skipped their breakfast.
Over sandwiches, I focused on relaxing. I wanted this to be just a normal set. I didn’t want to be in panic mode the whole time.
So, I bit the bullet and apologized to the crew. I didn’t want them judging me for the rest of the day. I stood up in the middle of their eating circle and said I was sorry. In response, The AD came and patted my back, telling me not to worry, and that apologies were unnecessary.
Everyone came to understand that I had had a panic attack, but now I was okay. They were respecting that. Everyone acknowledged that the woods were dark, and it is of course very easy to see things that aren’t there. It is reasonable to get afraid.
“In the forest,” the makeup artist said, “it is natural to be scared.”
“Yes, it is very natural,” I said. Then I sat back into my own corner.
My sandwich was packed with lentils just like Konrad had said. In fact, they had made two huge sandwiches just for me, which I was grateful for because my body was craving energy.
Even though I wanted to inhale the food, I paced myself. I ate as normally as I would on any other occasion, because the more I acted like everything was fine, the more mentally everything felt fine.
I made small talk.
I stretched my legs.
I asked Kon what this movie was even about.
“Oh, it's a Polish folklore film.” He spoke in-between bites. "It's about scary things in the forest."
“Like scary things … attacking Polina?”
“Sort of. Polina plays Północnica. ‘Lady Midnight’”
“Lady Midnight?”
“Yes. She is a ghost in Polish folklore. A wraith who will try and possess your body.”
I chewed and wondered how Polina’s cowering and wailing was supposed to make her a possessive wraith. “She seems more like a victim to me.”
“That’s because she is.” Kon wiped his mouth. “This film is her origin story. Before she became Północnica, she was just a regular woman. A regular villager who made a bad deal with the devil, who then cursed her to wander the earth as a wraith.”
I nodded as if this was common knowledge. “You’ve read the script?”
“No. I know it from childhood. My mom used to warn me not to wander into the backcountry by myself, or else I risk meeting Lady Midnight. Who would then kidnap me, usurp my body, etcetera etcetera.”
“Right.” I grabbed another napkin and looked at the rest of the crew. They were all eating two huge sandwiches, if not more. I could smell the tangy waft of horseradish, mustard, and spicy sausage. Olek looked like he was annoyed that we were on break.
“And so … why did this crew fly all the way here?” I whispered. “Why shoot some Polish folk tale—in Vancouver?”
"Oh, I think the producer is half-Canadian. And he was able to secure some funding here. Something like that."
What funding? I wanted to say. I've seen high school films with higher budgets. But I chewed my lentils and stayed quiet.
We tossed all our crumpled wax paper and empty water bottles into a portable trash. At least they got that much right.
After enjoying a fruit bar as a dessert, I could actually feel myself winding down. My heart was no longer beating in my throat, the butterflies in my stomach were gone.
Relishing the feeling, I unwrapped a stick of gum—and then came the rustling.
Everyone paused and looked towards a set of bushes.
It was hard to articulate why, but even through the leaves, I could tell it was something walking on hooves. There was something padded about the movement. And maybe it was just me, but I could swear I heard a soft, ineffable oinking in the distance.
The crew sprang into action, locking the camera to its tripod within seconds. Konrad jumped up and grabbed my boom with a look that said: I’ll take this one.
Everyone aimed in the direction of the foliage, trying to capture whatever lurked. Olek glued himself to the viewfinder, zooming and adjusting the camera all himself. Konrad fully extended the boom and swung it around, trying to capture the sounds of whatever approached.
At the base of the bushes, I could see Polina’s gray rags lying splayed on the ground—was that intentional? Were the rags supposed to lure something?
For a moment, everyone went still. It felt like the entire wilderness had gone silent. A quiet wind lightly teased some branches. Olek turned both of his palms upward, as if he was holding something, or receiving something. Summoning something?
There came a growl, and everyone lowered their heads, looking for the source. Konrad got a little too animated and swung his boom pole right at Olek's temple.
Olek lashed out with one of his massive arms, which clipped the camera beside him, sending it straight to the ground. The bushes shuffled one more time, and then the pig, (or moose, or whatever it was) could be heard trailing away, breaking into a trot.
Olek brought the camera right up to his face, and aggressively clicked around the viewfinder’s touch screen. “Nie! Nie!” He slapped the device, as if he could rewind it to the moment before the opportunity was lost.
He waved his arms, trying to attract whatever energy had just dissipated, then stepped past the camera to face the bushes. “No kurwa mać!”
Like an angry child, Olek poked his head into the leaves and began batting at them, “Konrad ty pierdol! Ale to spieprzyłeś!”
Konrad’s eyes turned wide and quivering, he tried to withdraw into some reality where the take had not been ruined. Olek approached him with a slung back hand, ready to release some retributive slap. But after a tense moment, the only release was a torrent of spit on Kon’s face as Olek yelled and yelled and yelled.
Still sitting, I inched away on the log, afraid of what the director might do next. Even the rest of the crew took a few steps back.
As quickly as the tantrum started, Olek exhaled and dismissed Konrad, clearly unable to bear another glance.
Konrad snuck away, pretending to fiddle with the knobs on his mixer. Everyone looked at each other, but mostly at the ground. Some ravens cawed in the distance.
I was very glad it wasn't me who messed up.
—
With the afternoon came a powerful silence. You could hear squirrels scampering up trees, and woodpeckers drilling somewhere far, far away. The previously conversational crew, who would swap comments and observations for lively stretches of time, were now replaced by a band of servants who quickly nodded at whatever the director said.
I asked Konrad what exactly Olek had been trying to shoot earlier, and “how did everyone know to record the bushes?” Kon sighed and said that they were just looking for wilderness B roll. Olek had been trying to capture a deer on camera all week.
Without wasting time, the AD filled the silence. Our next shots were a series of POVs meant to simulate Polina running through the woods. The director would be handling the camera.
Trying to compensate for his screw up, Kon made sure we were ready first. We fastened a set of wireless mics directly to the camera, which was then mounted inside a rig that resembled a detached steering wheel. A makeshift Steadicam.
Rolling back the sleeves of his trench coat, Olek lifted the steering wheel and strode through the woods by himself, recording a shaky blur of trees, branches, and gloom. The rest of us huddled behind a monitor, watching the resulting footage, whispering only when necessary.
The cautious silence was definitely a change in tone, but it didn’t bother me. Previously I had felt like the odd one out. The Canadian fish that had slipped into some foreign Euro-Slavic pond. But now it felt like we were all in this together, we were all waiting for this manic director to blow off steam by galloping through the trees.
The footage didn’t look great (in my opinion). It was a glorified go-pro shot with a bad frame rate. The sound wasn’t much better. Kon and I both exchanged wide eyes listening to Olek’s grunts and groans as he trampled over the forest floor.
“Polish A24 huh?” I whispered in between takes.
“Maybe not this part,” Konrad shrugged, trying to play it off ... “we’ll fix it in post.”
It took about an hour of Olek trying to get some fern branches to ‘brush the lens in just the right way’ but eventually the plants seemed to oblige. He returned triumphant, lifting the camera above his head (as if it weighed nothing). Then he cleared the blonde strands clinging to the sweaty sides of his face, revealing a wicked smile.
“Okej. Running shot done. Now our final location.”
Olek gave the AD a high five and the spirits of the crew lifted slightly. Even I was starting to feel a sliver of cheer. Final location? Already? Does that mean we’re almost done?
“No more mistakes,” Olek pointed at Konrad, handing the camera away to some crew.
Kon said nothing.
—
Of course, getting to our final spot wasn’t so easy. The last shot required us to march much deeper into the forest, which reignited all the paranoia I was trying to rid myself of.
The pine trees grew taller and darker. The bird calls became deeper and raspier.
To ease my mind, I sidled right next to the AD at the front, to watch how he was navigating our misfit convoy. He smiled and showed me a pocket-sized GPS. It had a bright screen depicting a flag icon which we were nearing labelled ‘wieża.’
I asked him what it meant, and he just pointed ahead and said: ”Very soon.”
Despite the manifold branches and shadowy canopy, I could see a thin strip of metal gleam in the trees. In a few minutes we were approaching some long-abandoned radio tower that sat deep in the wilderness. This was the wieża.
Why was it built so far from civilization? As we climbed up the bramble-filled incline, I could make out a dwelling at its base and realized this must have been some outpost. A weather monitoring station?
The trees opened up and I could see we were in the midst of a relic. A two floored cabin that had faced the ravages of time and lost.
On its left side, the walls were built into the legs of the iron tower, which were now completely covered in vines and guarding a nest of abandoned firewood. The rest of the cabin was log-built, which gave it a pioneer feel, except the whole thing was caked in a bed of moss. Like it had sprouted out of the ground. I tried to look in, but the windows were completely boarded up (and also covered in more moss).
It had to be the most overgrown thing I’d ever seen.
“We think it used to be some kind of forest ranger outpost,” Konrad said. “But it has long been abandoned. Pretty sweet location huh?”
When we reached its vicinity, I pressed a finger into the cabin's exterior and felt the moss travel past my knuckles. It was remarkable that something so sturdy was abandoned like this. I would guess up to four people could have stayed here, living off camp supplies. How long was it used for?
“We must get coverage.” Olek announced, gesturing vaguely at the scenery. “Camera and sound. I want to capture it all.”
The crew got to work, opening all the carrying cases. I whispered to Kon. “So are we like shooting a scene or … ?”
“No. Not really,” Konrad turned on his mixer, and started playing with the levels. “Environmental shots, we’re just recording the feel of this place.”
Recording the feel? It sounded a bit vague, but I shrugged. I wasn’t about to question the experimental process of our genius director.
—
Unlike the running POVs which were shot rather quickly, Olek allowed ample time for the cabin’s cinematography. The DP alternated lenses and tripod heights until he found the perfect frames that evoked the ominous allure of this place.
It felt more like we were making art.
Konrad and I circumnavigated the house, calling for silence when we needed it. Our mics picked up the buzzing of local bugs, the faint squeaking of chipmunks and even a couple of owls which must’ve prematurely woken up.
I didn’t know if I wanted to admit it, but it was actually kind of fun.
On ninety nine percent of sets you record the same dialogue for hours. You’re competing with plane sounds and traffic sirens. You’ve got bitchy actors, entitled crew, indecisive directors, and rushed schedules that sap all the magic out of filmmaking. But here, in the middle of the woods, Me and Konrad just spent five minutes recording the rich, textural creak of an ancient cabin door. Olek was giving Kon the dead eye, but our recordings were still fully approved.
After an hour of capturing the surroundings, the AD called for a break.
The team turned to discussing how to shoot the interior, which was a technical conversation (all in Polish), so I focused on readying our gear.
As far as I knew, no one had brought any mobile lighting kits, so I wasn’t sure how they actually planned to shoot inside. We would have to spend an hour scouring mulch off glass for any natural light. And I wasn’t signing up for that job.
As if reading my mind, the AD approached me with an encouraging smile. He was clearly going to ask me to do something stupid. I took my time opening the package of fresh batteries, lined up the negative and positive charges in my mic, twice to be sure.
“Hello Anna, thank you so much for coming out today.”
“No problem. Give me a second.”
I did the same thing with my other microphone, double checking everything. If he was going to waste my time, I would waste his.
“How would you like to be in this film?”
I paused. “Be in this film? What do you mean?”
“Do you want to be actress?”
Without even intending to, my jaw dropped a little. I was not expecting this.
“No. Sorry. I don’t want to be an actress.”
The AD didn’t push it any further. He went back to the circle of crew and spoke with Olek. The director said some things, pulled Konrad aside, and then Konrad walked over to me.
Before he could open his mouth, I raised my hand. “Um, I’m not acting in this movie.”
“Who said anything about acting?” Konrad smiled, laughed a small laugh. “No no, nobody wants you to act. There’s just one particular shot they want to get. You see, technically speaking, this cabin is meant to be the birthplace of Północnica.”
“Pół—You mean Polina’s character?”
“Yeah. We’re getting shots of her home here as a flashback element. But Olek thinks it would be good to also get the back of the character’s head and profile, as she looks through her old house.”
Is that what we’ve been shooting? Some experimental flashback? “So, why was Polina wrapped earlier then?”
“It was an oversight. Now Olek thinks adding a Polina stand-in would be clutch.”
“Well, I’m sorry. I don’t want to be a stand in.” I looked at the mossy cabin, at the gaping black hole of the half open door. “Can’t Olek like … shoot Polina on a green screen?”
“No, no, come on, Anna, Olek doesn’t do that. He’s all practical. You have the same length of black hair. You’re about the same height. It’s just for one shot.”
“No Kon. I don’t want to do it.”
“You can think of it as an apology for getting you wrapped up in this. Olek will give you a day rate for acting.”
“What?”
“And I’ll give you half my day’s wage on top of that. Compensation for leaving you in that tree.”
“What the hell. Why?”
Konrad lowered his voice and brought his hands into a small prayer. “Please. I want this film to be a success. I want to be hired by these guys again. I’ve kept my word haven’t I?”
“What word?”
“That I’d act as a shield. Prevent you from doing anything uncomfortable.”
“Kon. This is making me feel uncomfortable.”
“But it’s the last thing! After this we’re done! We’ll go straight back to the car.”
I looked over the rest of the crew. The DP was waving his arms, explaining something to Olek who was nodding with minimal effort. Then Olek turned and looked directly at me. His gray eyes shimmered with focus that prevented mine from leaving. A hawk spying a mouse.
I did a full one eighty and faced the cabin. Konrad came over, hands still pleading, voice still a whisper. “I’ll even pay for your gas! For here and back—”
“—Listen Kon. Whatever pickup shot this is. It's the last thing I’m doing. Then we’re leaving.”
“So … is that a yes?”
“Get the AD to announce I am leaving right after this. You’re taking me straight back to my car.”
“Sure. Yeah I can do that.”
“And tell Olek I’m only doing one take.”
Konrad scratched the back of his neck; he looked over at the director. “Only one? But what if we need—”
“—I’m only doing one. That’s it. One and I’m out. If we need another that's your problem, you deal with Olek.”
“Okay. Okay, sure that’s fine. I’ll figure it out. Thank you Anna. Thank you so much.”
He gave me a hug. I stayed facing the cabin.
—
The makeup artist combed and sprayed my hair to match the wavy raggedness of Polina’s. She wasn’t very talkative but did mention I had pretty hair—naturally silky, and that it was easy to manipulate. Very easy to manipulate.
The AD had announced that this was going to be my last shot, just as Kon promised, and that I would be escorted as soon as we were done. It also meant my makeup artist had to triple check her work with a dozen brushes and wedges.
According to her, I looked “fabularna” (which must’ve meant “fable-like”). I responded with probably the meekest smile in my life.
Although shredded at the skirt, the upper half of Polina’s dress was still fully intact, and so I was allowed to change into it behind the cabin. No one came to supervise.
As I left, I could hear the echoes of the crew arguing. Olek was criticizing Konrad again over something. I ignored it.
For the first time since picking up Kon this morning, I was completely by myself. I took a moment to assess the whole situation.
This was it. Just me, by myself. In the middle of the woods with a bunch of strangers and a single friend from film school who gaffed my fourth year short. He was an alright gaffer, I guess.
Like honestly, I trust Konrad and think he’s a decent guy. He helped me land some of my first gigs out of film school. But those gigs were always weird.
He’d always be doing sound on music videos between half a dozen heavy metal bands I’d never heard of. All of them paid in cash. There was always a DP who would smoke weed in-between takes, or band members who always arrived late. I’ll never forget the day we wasted a whole afternoon on an insert of live snake as it slithered across sound speakers, our film gear, and then all the way into a kitchen cupboard. It was not a planned shot.
But despite the bullshit, I always did get paid. At a crucial point in my life too. I always felt like I owed Kon for that. It was a legitimate steppingstone for me.
Breathe. You’ve got this.
I stripped down to basically my underwear—relinquishing the cover and warmth of my trusty jeans, and oversized hoodie.
Christ it is cold. This dress is damp as hell.
I put my jeans back on. They’re only shooting from the waist up anyway. Considering the sudden windchill, it was something like two degrees outside.
Just five minutes of standing in the cold. You’ve had worse. Pretend you’re fine.
Pretending is what I’m good at.
I walked back over, holding a bundle of my previous clothes. The camera was set up, pointing into the open maw of the cabin.
The AD stood by the door, acting as a proxy for where I would be standing. “You’re still wearing your pants,” he said.
“Is that a problem?” I pointed to my waist and raised my finger until it reached my disinterested face. “I thought this was a medium.”
There was some muttering behind the camera. Olek seemed upset, but Konrad’s voice won out. “That’s fine, we can make that work right? It’s only one shot.”
Olek stepped out from behind the crew, looking unimpressed with the world at large. He waved his hand dismissively at the AD. He clearly didn’t care about my pants. Good.
“Alright, so you want me to open this door and stare into the cabin, right?” I stood in front of the cabin and gripped the handle. The handle was slimy with moss, and very cold from the sudden windiness around us. The hinges on the door itself were remarkably intact, so despite some creaky resistance, I managed to push it shut without much hassle. Then, flexing my arm a little, I pulled and opened the door again, pretending to look inside and recognize my beloved old home.
My beloved—completely pitch black—old home.
“Like this? Does that work?” I will give them this one take, and I will do it well—so everything is firmly over and done with.
The wind was causing my hair to whip back and forth, I calmly adjusted it back in place. “Any changes or can we just slate this already?”
The camera raised slightly, and Konrad found a new spot for his boom over my head.
“Another rehearsal,” Olek said. “Go again.”
I carefully returned the door to its closed position, and then went back to my starting mark on the ground. I should have told Konrad: max two rehearsals. For all I knew, Olek was going to get me to rehearse this over and over, and secretly record a dozen takes. It was the oldest trick in the book.
Whatever, give him the rehearsals.
Again, I flexed my right arm, lifted the handle, and pulled with that slight trepidation I’ve seen all actors do as they enter any place of plot significance.
Oooh what could be inside? Oh my gosh, it looks like the actor is realizing something! I stiffened my shoulder and then craned my neck inside.
And then I did in fact realize something. Why is the wind so strong?
It felt like a geyser of air was slowly blowing harder and harder.
I turned around to adjust, to brace myself against the door, when suddenly a blast of air thrust me forward.
My hands barely broke my fall.
Before I could make a sound—before I could even look up—SLAM!
The door had sealed me inside.
All light had vanished.
I quickly got up, ignoring the pain in my arms and yelled toward the door. “Hey! Hello! HELLO!”
The wind howled against the cabin.
I moved forward and found the door by the handle. I tried to push, but it felt like there was a wall on the other side. I couldn’t even budge it a little.
“Hello! Can you open up? Hello?!”
I pushed with my arm, my foot, and my back. Then I banged my fists right above the handle.
Goddamnit. Can they not hear me? Why is the door jammed?
I took deep breaths, my paranoia spilled out. Butterflies tickled my stomach and flew into my head. My heart bounced between my lungs. I pivoted on the ancient wooden floor, feeling dirt twist beneath my sneakers.
Don’t panic. There’s just a gale outside. They must all be disoriented. Although it had no bars, my phone still made a decent flashlight.
I lit up a floor covered with twigs and dirt. There was a cot on the far side, next to some broken shelves and a cluttered table. A couple plastic coolers lay all over the floor.
I looked around for another door on the opposite side of the cabin. Please tell me I overlooked one. There’s gotta be one there!
Of course there was none.
Then I discovered a ladder which led up to the tiny attic floor. If I was really desperate, I could maybe break through one of the upper windows, and cry for help or something.
But before I could plan my route, the door swung open again. It clipped my already sore leg.
Down on the floor, I reached out to the sudden blast of outdoor light. A large shape was tossed onto me, pinning me to the ground. Judging by the smell of the deodorant: it was Kon.
“Hey! Hold the door!” I shouted.
But the sliver of light vanished faster than I could get up.
“What the hell!” I tossed Konrad off of me, confused and angry at what was going on. I grabbed my phone light off the floor. “Kon, is that you!?”
It was, but he didn’t look to be moving. He was still wearing his large Sennheiser headphones, and he was awkwardly cradling a boom between his arms. I rolled him over onto his back, and that’s when I saw it.
A tear at his throat. A large bloody rip of missing flesh. It was soaked in red.
Fuck. What the fuck. What in god's name is happening.

I - II - III - IV - V
Thank god I didn’t break any bones.
The shrubby softness of the ravine’s slopes had cushioned enough of my fall. I leaned onto one of the slopes and let the earthy coolness soothe my sore back. Although there would be tenderness on my tailbone and left leg, everything still felt intact.
Olek had radioed in that he’d found me. I’d given him my headphones and Zoom recorder, which he was now using to review the quality of the last takes.
“Clean sound,” he nodded with a calm seriousness.
Was it clean though?
I could faintly hear the squealing whines through the cups of my headphones, but Olek gave no reaction as he pressed the cushions closer to his ears.
I wondered if he was intentionally trying to come off as unphased. Was he actually trying to be encouraging of my work? Did the pig squealing actually not bother him?
His entire demeanor felt alien. At times he would meet my eyes, trying to maybe show a glimmer of gratitude, or perhaps sympathy, but it's like he couldn’t get his face to activate the right muscles.
“I’m glad it’s clean.” I croaked out. Or that at least you think so.
After a few minutes of listening, Olek took off the headphones, and offered a massive palm for me to grab. I really didn’t want to leave with him, but I didn’t know what else to do.
I wouldn’t know where to go on my own without getting further lost in the woods. And the last thing I wanted was to get stuck in a worse ravine, dying of thirst, awaiting bears and cougars to eat me. So I grabbed his arm.
“Your work is strong,” he said. Then he handed back my gear.
“Uh … thank you.”
The ease with which Olek knew how to operate my equipment was a little astonishing. I figured he was probably used to playing multiple roles on set (the curse of many indie films), but after he hooked my boom into my mixer without a moment’s hesitation, another thought crossed my mind. Maybe he had been expecting me to use the handheld recorder.
Maybe he had been expecting me to climb up alone in that tree this whole time. Did he somehow know I would be menaced by this ghostly pig?
I stared at his swirling trench coat as he led the way to an exiting slope. Was something supposed to happen to me in that tree?
He briefly turned around and said, “Don't forget to back up the data on that card. We can't lose it.”
Then I realized I was dealing with a guy who only cared about his film. That’s why he sent me up that oak. That’s why he didn’t care about my bruises. He truly only cared about his audio. His video. Just a regular self-absorbed dude.
Stupid as it sounds—that felt relieving. I didn’t want to focus on paranormal, conspiratorial thinking. I just wanted to get out of here.
—
With no real option, I followed Olek, limping slightly, just two steps behind. It felt very weird to come back like an obedient sheep, like a patient returned to her psych ward, but what was I supposed to do? Keep shambling through the woods? Pray that I somehow stumbled back to my car?
Within minutes we were back at the meadow, showing just how little I had actually run.
As soon as we broke through the forest, Konrad sprinted over, clasping both his palms on my shoulders. "Oh my god Anna! What happened?"
I appreciated that he had run up. The rest of the crew were still across the meadow, observing distantly, fiddling with tripods and bounce boards.
I cleared my throat and rubbed my aching left knee. “I fell into a ditch Kon. Olek got me out.”
Perhaps sensing I needed time alone with the only proper English speaker—Olek dismissed Konrad and continued to the others.
Konrad said something in Polish, but then immediately turned to me. “Are you injured? Are you like… okay?”
My limbs were sore but that wasn’t the main problem. “I’m okay, but … no, not really, I'm not okay. I don't feel comfortable right now about any of this.” I gestured at the crew, the woods, the gray clouds and turned to whispering. “I can’t be here. Something fucked is going on.”
“What do you mean?”
I didn’t really know where to start. I sort of tossed my arms, grasping for the easiest explanation, and so I pointed to the tree. “I heard some demonic sounds in my headphones when I was up there.”
Konrad glanced back at the oak in the meadow's center.
“And then when I looked down, Polina was gone. Only her shredded clothes were left.”
Konrad took a pause. "Well … that’s because Polina's wrapped. We finished her scene, so she left."
“Yes but … ” I emphasized the strangeness. “She left so abruptly, I didn’t even see her leave.”
“Well … you were up in the tree Anna, I don’t think you would be able to see her leave.”
I definitely thought I would have, but I let it go. “Well the demonic thing I heard, it sounded like an animal. It attacked Polina.”
“Attacked her?”
“Attacked, and then, well … it ate her.”
“Ate her?”
I held on to the sides of my head. My mixer was still dangling from my neck on a lanyard. “Yes, ate her! There was a slurping and crunching of some fucking animal that I recorded on my mixer. It sounded like Polina was being mauled.”
I placed my headphones on Konrad’s head and played the last sound file I recorded.
With the volume turned high, I could make out the shrieks quite vividly.
Kon seemed put off but kept listening to it. “What? You recorded this? Is the file corrupted or—?”
“—No. Even the director signed off on this! He listened and gave approval!” As I said the words, I realized how fucked that was. Olek had literally listened to this file in the ravine and said: ‘clean sound.’
Konrad looked skeptical. “Are you sure you didn't misunderstand him? I know Olek's English—”
“No! I understood him perfectly fine. That's the recording he wanted. It was some kind of boar, and it was attacking Polina.”
Kon held onto the headphones intently and nodded. “Are you sure it's not just some weird artifacting? Is the SD card malfunctioning or—”
“—The SD card is totally unused.”
“Right.” He handed the headphones back. “I mean, that doesn’t mean it can’t glitch.”
I crossed my arms. I’ve never heard of a new card glitching.
“Also, I was with the crew,” Kon pointed over his shoulder. “We were watching Polina and the tree the whole time. I didn’t see any animal, boar, or anything.”
I pointed at the pile of rags still resting by the tree "then what about all the blood on her clothes? How did they get shredded?”
"Well, I mean we're shooting a horror, Anna. That was all makeup and—."
"—I didn't see any makeup team come over!"
"That's cause you were up in the—”
“—DON’T SAY I WAS UP IN THE TREE!”
I yelled and could feel myself lose a bit of control. Olek and some of the crew glanced back from across the field. I ignored them.
“Kon, listen. Something rammed that tree and knocked me down. That’s what made me run.”
He looked at me but said nothing.
“There was this terrible pig shrieking in my headphones the whole time, and I swear I saw a big black boar run toward me for a second. That’s why I ran.”
Hands raised, Kon made eye contact with me and nodded with as much politeness as I had ever seen him muster. “Listen Anna, I’m not discounting whatever it is that you saw. Or heard. I totally respect that. Clearly something scared you. I feel you.”
“No. Kon you’re not listening to me. Something fucked is going on. I don’t know what it is, but I want nothing to do with it.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean I'm not working on this set any more. There’s something wrong. I’m going home."
I started marching forward, but Konrad moved in front of me. "Woah woah, Anna, hold up. I get it. I would feel the same way. But come on, you can't go home. We still have a couple more shots to get.”
I handed him the microphone. "Then you can record the rest yourself. Go ahead, you mix and boom.”
“If you leave, how am I supposed to get home? They don't have room in their car."
"Then ride across their laps."
"Anna please." Konrad’s voice got quiet. "I don't want to be embarrassed in front of these guys. They make amazing horror movies, like Polish A24 level shit. My previous boom op fell through. I just need you to at least stick it through the rest of the day."
I glanced over at the mobilizing crew; they had packed everything back into carrying cases. They almost looked like a normal film team, like any typical heads of department I’d seen on set of District PD or Untold Stories of the ER, but they were wearing so much black, so much leather and had so many piercings. Their entire vibe felt off.
"I agree that there is a … creepiness,” Konrad lowered his voice further. “Olek is able to cultivate an amazing atmosphere, and I think it's why his films are always so strong. He brings a realness. A sort of raw element that’s hard to explain. And obviously that can result in some eerie coincidences on set, for sure. But remember: it is just a movie. This is just a regular forest ... we’re just here to do a job.”
It feels like something is legit haunted, I wanted to say, but I held my tongue.
"Just stay a few more hours. You can stick by me for the rest of the shoot. If something requires weird booming, I’ll do it. If there's another tree situation, I'll volunteer. Whatever it takes to make you comfortable. Please. For me.”
The emotion was genuine, and despite the urgency in his voice, Konrad had let go of my arm, to show that he wasn’t trying to impede me or something. But I was still annoyed. Furious in fact, that he had tricked me into working on this janky set with a flippant director.
I considered just leaving, just trying to head back towards the parking lot. But the thing was, I didn’t know how to navigate back. I actually needed Konrad to help return to the car.
I sighed, groaned, and rubbed my left knee. “Goddamnit Kon. Why’d you mix me up in this? I told you I only work big shows now.”
“I know, but …” He put his hands in his pockets, looked at the ground. “This could become a big deal for me. I told Olek I would get a sound assistant. I didn't think this would be such an ordeal. Please … ”
The rest of the crew had now gathered all their stuff and were walking along the perimeter of the meadow, probably moving to the next location. There was the faint outline of the sun behind the overcast sky. It had risen ever so slightly, brightening the world just a little bit.
"Oh my god. Fuck. Fine. Fuck you.” I pointed directly at Kon’s skittish face. “But you listen to me: If anything else weird happens, and I mean anything off in the slightest, promise that you won't question me, and that you'll take me straight back to the car. I don’t want any second-guessing or hesitation, okay?"
"Yes. Of course.” Konrad held out his arm. “I swear on my mother’s grave.”
I stared at his pupils. He looked earnest, and eager to maintain eye contact. Then I looked at his open palm. The fingers were slowly stretching towards me, seeking confirmation.
I handed him the boom pole. “The next shot is yours. I’m not booming.”
“Sure. That’s no problem.”
“And I want to know exactly how many shots are left.”
“We can ask the AD.”
“And I want you to admit right now: that this is weird. That it's not cool you’ve roped me into this. And that you’re a fucking idiot.”
“Yes. Yes, you’re right. I’m wrong. I’m a fucking idiot.”
I hated this. I did not feel comfortable. But I needed a guide out. I needed Kon to be agreeable. Like with so many other annoying things about the film industry (the hours, the nepotism, the sexism, to name a few), there comes a time when you just have to grin and bear it. Pretend it doesn’t bother you and get through it.
I rubbed my knee one last time, and then ignored the soreness as I continued to walk. Pretending is what I do best.
—
We set up for lunch by some logs near the meadow’s edge, using gear cases as tables. Konrad had advocated that we could use a reset (which I appreciated), and thankfully no one was opposed to an early snack. Most of the crew members had skipped their breakfast.
Over sandwiches, I focused on relaxing. I wanted this to be just a normal set. I didn’t want to be in panic mode the whole time.
So, I bit the bullet and apologized to the crew. I didn’t want them judging me for the rest of the day. I stood up in the middle of their eating circle and said I was sorry. In response, The AD came and patted my back, telling me not to worry, and that apologies were unnecessary.
Everyone came to understand that I had had a panic attack, but now I was okay. They were respecting that. Everyone acknowledged that the woods were dark, and it is of course very easy to see things that aren’t there. It is reasonable to get afraid.
“In the forest,” the makeup artist said, “it is natural to be scared.”
“Yes, it is very natural,” I said. Then I sat back into my own corner.
My sandwich was packed with lentils just like Konrad had said. In fact, they had made two huge sandwiches just for me, which I was grateful for because my body was craving energy.
Even though I wanted to inhale the food, I paced myself. I ate as normally as I would on any other occasion, because the more I acted like everything was fine, the more mentally everything felt fine.
I made small talk.
I stretched my legs.
I asked Kon what this movie was even about.
“Oh, it's a Polish folklore film.” He spoke in-between bites. "It's about scary things in the forest."
“Like scary things … attacking Polina?”
“Sort of. Polina plays Północnica. ‘Lady Midnight’”
“Lady Midnight?”
“Yes. She is a ghost in Polish folklore. A wraith who will try and possess your body.”
I chewed and wondered how Polina’s cowering and wailing was supposed to make her a possessive wraith. “She seems more like a victim to me.”
“That’s because she is.” Kon wiped his mouth. “This film is her origin story. Before she became Północnica, she was just a regular woman. A regular villager who made a bad deal with the devil, who then cursed her to wander the earth as a wraith.”
I nodded as if this was common knowledge. “You’ve read the script?”
“No. I know it from childhood. My mom used to warn me not to wander into the backcountry by myself, or else I risk meeting Lady Midnight. Who would then kidnap me, usurp my body, etcetera etcetera.”
“Right.” I grabbed another napkin and looked at the rest of the crew. They were all eating two huge sandwiches, if not more. I could smell the tangy waft of horseradish, mustard, and spicy sausage. Olek looked like he was annoyed that we were on break.
“And so … why did this crew fly all the way here?” I whispered. “Why shoot some Polish folk tale—in Vancouver?”
"Oh, I think the producer is half-Canadian. And he was able to secure some funding here. Something like that."
What funding? I wanted to say. I've seen high school films with higher budgets. But I chewed my lentils and stayed quiet.
We tossed all our crumpled wax paper and empty water bottles into a portable trash. At least they got that much right.
After enjoying a fruit bar as a dessert, I could actually feel myself winding down. My heart was no longer beating in my throat, the butterflies in my stomach were gone.
Relishing the feeling, I unwrapped a stick of gum—and then came the rustling.
Everyone paused and looked towards a set of bushes.
It was hard to articulate why, but even through the leaves, I could tell it was something walking on hooves. There was something padded about the movement. And maybe it was just me, but I could swear I heard a soft, ineffable oinking in the distance.
The crew sprang into action, locking the camera to its tripod within seconds. Konrad jumped up and grabbed my boom with a look that said: I’ll take this one.
Everyone aimed in the direction of the foliage, trying to capture whatever lurked. Olek glued himself to the viewfinder, zooming and adjusting the camera all himself. Konrad fully extended the boom and swung it around, trying to capture the sounds of whatever approached.
At the base of the bushes, I could see Polina’s gray rags lying splayed on the ground—was that intentional? Were the rags supposed to lure something?
For a moment, everyone went still. It felt like the entire wilderness had gone silent. A quiet wind lightly teased some branches. Olek turned both of his palms upward, as if he was holding something, or receiving something. Summoning something?
There came a growl, and everyone lowered their heads, looking for the source. Konrad got a little too animated and swung his boom pole right at Olek's temple.
Olek lashed out with one of his massive arms, which clipped the camera beside him, sending it straight to the ground. The bushes shuffled one more time, and then the pig, (or moose, or whatever it was) could be heard trailing away, breaking into a trot.
Olek brought the camera right up to his face, and aggressively clicked around the viewfinder’s touch screen. “Nie! Nie!” He slapped the device, as if he could rewind it to the moment before the opportunity was lost.
He waved his arms, trying to attract whatever energy had just dissipated, then stepped past the camera to face the bushes. “No kurwa mać!”
Like an angry child, Olek poked his head into the leaves and began batting at them, “Konrad ty pierdol! Ale to spieprzyłeś!”
Konrad’s eyes turned wide and quivering, he tried to withdraw into some reality where the take had not been ruined. Olek approached him with a slung back hand, ready to release some retributive slap. But after a tense moment, the only release was a torrent of spit on Kon’s face as Olek yelled and yelled and yelled.
Still sitting, I inched away on the log, afraid of what the director might do next. Even the rest of the crew took a few steps back.
As quickly as the tantrum started, Olek exhaled and dismissed Konrad, clearly unable to bear another glance.
Konrad snuck away, pretending to fiddle with the knobs on his mixer. Everyone looked at each other, but mostly at the ground. Some ravens cawed in the distance.
I was very glad it wasn't me who messed up.
—
With the afternoon came a powerful silence. You could hear squirrels scampering up trees, and woodpeckers drilling somewhere far, far away. The previously conversational crew, who would swap comments and observations for lively stretches of time, were now replaced by a band of servants who quickly nodded at whatever the director said.
I asked Konrad what exactly Olek had been trying to shoot earlier, and “how did everyone know to record the bushes?” Kon sighed and said that they were just looking for wilderness B roll. Olek had been trying to capture a deer on camera all week.
Without wasting time, the AD filled the silence. Our next shots were a series of POVs meant to simulate Polina running through the woods. The director would be handling the camera.
Trying to compensate for his screw up, Kon made sure we were ready first. We fastened a set of wireless mics directly to the camera, which was then mounted inside a rig that resembled a detached steering wheel. A makeshift Steadicam.
Rolling back the sleeves of his trench coat, Olek lifted the steering wheel and strode through the woods by himself, recording a shaky blur of trees, branches, and gloom. The rest of us huddled behind a monitor, watching the resulting footage, whispering only when necessary.
The cautious silence was definitely a change in tone, but it didn’t bother me. Previously I had felt like the odd one out. The Canadian fish that had slipped into some foreign Euro-Slavic pond. But now it felt like we were all in this together, we were all waiting for this manic director to blow off steam by galloping through the trees.
The footage didn’t look great (in my opinion). It was a glorified go-pro shot with a bad frame rate. The sound wasn’t much better. Kon and I both exchanged wide eyes listening to Olek’s grunts and groans as he trampled over the forest floor.
“Polish A24 huh?” I whispered in between takes.
“Maybe not this part,” Konrad shrugged, trying to play it off ... “we’ll fix it in post.”
It took about an hour of Olek trying to get some fern branches to ‘brush the lens in just the right way’ but eventually the plants seemed to oblige. He returned triumphant, lifting the camera above his head (as if it weighed nothing). Then he cleared the blonde strands clinging to the sweaty sides of his face, revealing a wicked smile.
“Okej. Running shot done. Now our final location.”
Olek gave the AD a high five and the spirits of the crew lifted slightly. Even I was starting to feel a sliver of cheer. Final location? Already? Does that mean we’re almost done?
“No more mistakes,” Olek pointed at Konrad, handing the camera away to some crew.
Kon said nothing.
—
Of course, getting to our final spot wasn’t so easy. The last shot required us to march much deeper into the forest, which reignited all the paranoia I was trying to rid myself of.
The pine trees grew taller and darker. The bird calls became deeper and raspier.
To ease my mind, I sidled right next to the AD at the front, to watch how he was navigating our misfit convoy. He smiled and showed me a pocket-sized GPS. It had a bright screen depicting a flag icon which we were nearing labelled ‘wieża.’
I asked him what it meant, and he just pointed ahead and said: ”Very soon.”
Despite the manifold branches and shadowy canopy, I could see a thin strip of metal gleam in the trees. In a few minutes we were approaching some long-abandoned radio tower that sat deep in the wilderness. This was the wieża.
Why was it built so far from civilization? As we climbed up the bramble-filled incline, I could make out a dwelling at its base and realized this must have been some outpost. A weather monitoring station?
The trees opened up and I could see we were in the midst of a relic. A two floored cabin that had faced the ravages of time and lost.
On its left side, the walls were built into the legs of the iron tower, which were now completely covered in vines and guarding a nest of abandoned firewood. The rest of the cabin was log-built, which gave it a pioneer feel, except the whole thing was caked in a bed of moss. Like it had sprouted out of the ground. I tried to look in, but the windows were completely boarded up (and also covered in more moss).
It had to be the most overgrown thing I’d ever seen.
“We think it used to be some kind of forest ranger outpost,” Konrad said. “But it has long been abandoned. Pretty sweet location huh?”
When we reached its vicinity, I pressed a finger into the cabin's exterior and felt the moss travel past my knuckles. It was remarkable that something so sturdy was abandoned like this. I would guess up to four people could have stayed here, living off camp supplies. How long was it used for?
“We must get coverage.” Olek announced, gesturing vaguely at the scenery. “Camera and sound. I want to capture it all.”
The crew got to work, opening all the carrying cases. I whispered to Kon. “So are we like shooting a scene or … ?”
“No. Not really,” Konrad turned on his mixer, and started playing with the levels. “Environmental shots, we’re just recording the feel of this place.”
Recording the feel? It sounded a bit vague, but I shrugged. I wasn’t about to question the experimental process of our genius director.
—
Unlike the running POVs which were shot rather quickly, Olek allowed ample time for the cabin’s cinematography. The DP alternated lenses and tripod heights until he found the perfect frames that evoked the ominous allure of this place.
It felt more like we were making art.
Konrad and I circumnavigated the house, calling for silence when we needed it. Our mics picked up the buzzing of local bugs, the faint squeaking of chipmunks and even a couple of owls which must’ve prematurely woken up.
I didn’t know if I wanted to admit it, but it was actually kind of fun.
On ninety nine percent of sets you record the same dialogue for hours. You’re competing with plane sounds and traffic sirens. You’ve got bitchy actors, entitled crew, indecisive directors, and rushed schedules that sap all the magic out of filmmaking. But here, in the middle of the woods, Me and Konrad just spent five minutes recording the rich, textural creak of an ancient cabin door. Olek was giving Kon the dead eye, but our recordings were still fully approved.
After an hour of capturing the surroundings, the AD called for a break.
The team turned to discussing how to shoot the interior, which was a technical conversation (all in Polish), so I focused on readying our gear.
As far as I knew, no one had brought any mobile lighting kits, so I wasn’t sure how they actually planned to shoot inside. We would have to spend an hour scouring mulch off glass for any natural light. And I wasn’t signing up for that job.
As if reading my mind, the AD approached me with an encouraging smile. He was clearly going to ask me to do something stupid. I took my time opening the package of fresh batteries, lined up the negative and positive charges in my mic, twice to be sure.
“Hello Anna, thank you so much for coming out today.”
“No problem. Give me a second.”
I did the same thing with my other microphone, double checking everything. If he was going to waste my time, I would waste his.
“How would you like to be in this film?”
I paused. “Be in this film? What do you mean?”
“Do you want to be actress?”
Without even intending to, my jaw dropped a little. I was not expecting this.
“No. Sorry. I don’t want to be an actress.”
The AD didn’t push it any further. He went back to the circle of crew and spoke with Olek. The director said some things, pulled Konrad aside, and then Konrad walked over to me.
Before he could open his mouth, I raised my hand. “Um, I’m not acting in this movie.”
“Who said anything about acting?” Konrad smiled, laughed a small laugh. “No no, nobody wants you to act. There’s just one particular shot they want to get. You see, technically speaking, this cabin is meant to be the birthplace of Północnica.”
“Pół—You mean Polina’s character?”
“Yeah. We’re getting shots of her home here as a flashback element. But Olek thinks it would be good to also get the back of the character’s head and profile, as she looks through her old house.”
Is that what we’ve been shooting? Some experimental flashback? “So, why was Polina wrapped earlier then?”
“It was an oversight. Now Olek thinks adding a Polina stand-in would be clutch.”
“Well, I’m sorry. I don’t want to be a stand in.” I looked at the mossy cabin, at the gaping black hole of the half open door. “Can’t Olek like … shoot Polina on a green screen?”
“No, no, come on, Anna, Olek doesn’t do that. He’s all practical. You have the same length of black hair. You’re about the same height. It’s just for one shot.”
“No Kon. I don’t want to do it.”
“You can think of it as an apology for getting you wrapped up in this. Olek will give you a day rate for acting.”
“What?”
“And I’ll give you half my day’s wage on top of that. Compensation for leaving you in that tree.”
“What the hell. Why?”
Konrad lowered his voice and brought his hands into a small prayer. “Please. I want this film to be a success. I want to be hired by these guys again. I’ve kept my word haven’t I?”
“What word?”
“That I’d act as a shield. Prevent you from doing anything uncomfortable.”
“Kon. This is making me feel uncomfortable.”
“But it’s the last thing! After this we’re done! We’ll go straight back to the car.”
I looked over the rest of the crew. The DP was waving his arms, explaining something to Olek who was nodding with minimal effort. Then Olek turned and looked directly at me. His gray eyes shimmered with focus that prevented mine from leaving. A hawk spying a mouse.
I did a full one eighty and faced the cabin. Konrad came over, hands still pleading, voice still a whisper. “I’ll even pay for your gas! For here and back—”
“—Listen Kon. Whatever pickup shot this is. It's the last thing I’m doing. Then we’re leaving.”
“So … is that a yes?”
“Get the AD to announce I am leaving right after this. You’re taking me straight back to my car.”
“Sure. Yeah I can do that.”
“And tell Olek I’m only doing one take.”
Konrad scratched the back of his neck; he looked over at the director. “Only one? But what if we need—”
“—I’m only doing one. That’s it. One and I’m out. If we need another that's your problem, you deal with Olek.”
“Okay. Okay, sure that’s fine. I’ll figure it out. Thank you Anna. Thank you so much.”
He gave me a hug. I stayed facing the cabin.
—
The makeup artist combed and sprayed my hair to match the wavy raggedness of Polina’s. She wasn’t very talkative but did mention I had pretty hair—naturally silky, and that it was easy to manipulate. Very easy to manipulate.
The AD had announced that this was going to be my last shot, just as Kon promised, and that I would be escorted as soon as we were done. It also meant my makeup artist had to triple check her work with a dozen brushes and wedges.
According to her, I looked “fabularna” (which must’ve meant “fable-like”). I responded with probably the meekest smile in my life.
Although shredded at the skirt, the upper half of Polina’s dress was still fully intact, and so I was allowed to change into it behind the cabin. No one came to supervise.
As I left, I could hear the echoes of the crew arguing. Olek was criticizing Konrad again over something. I ignored it.
For the first time since picking up Kon this morning, I was completely by myself. I took a moment to assess the whole situation.
This was it. Just me, by myself. In the middle of the woods with a bunch of strangers and a single friend from film school who gaffed my fourth year short. He was an alright gaffer, I guess.
Like honestly, I trust Konrad and think he’s a decent guy. He helped me land some of my first gigs out of film school. But those gigs were always weird.
He’d always be doing sound on music videos between half a dozen heavy metal bands I’d never heard of. All of them paid in cash. There was always a DP who would smoke weed in-between takes, or band members who always arrived late. I’ll never forget the day we wasted a whole afternoon on an insert of live snake as it slithered across sound speakers, our film gear, and then all the way into a kitchen cupboard. It was not a planned shot.
But despite the bullshit, I always did get paid. At a crucial point in my life too. I always felt like I owed Kon for that. It was a legitimate steppingstone for me.
Breathe. You’ve got this.
I stripped down to basically my underwear—relinquishing the cover and warmth of my trusty jeans, and oversized hoodie.
Christ it is cold. This dress is damp as hell.
I put my jeans back on. They’re only shooting from the waist up anyway. Considering the sudden windchill, it was something like two degrees outside.
Just five minutes of standing in the cold. You’ve had worse. Pretend you’re fine.
Pretending is what I’m good at.
I walked back over, holding a bundle of my previous clothes. The camera was set up, pointing into the open maw of the cabin.
The AD stood by the door, acting as a proxy for where I would be standing. “You’re still wearing your pants,” he said.
“Is that a problem?” I pointed to my waist and raised my finger until it reached my disinterested face. “I thought this was a medium.”
There was some muttering behind the camera. Olek seemed upset, but Konrad’s voice won out. “That’s fine, we can make that work right? It’s only one shot.”
Olek stepped out from behind the crew, looking unimpressed with the world at large. He waved his hand dismissively at the AD. He clearly didn’t care about my pants. Good.
“Alright, so you want me to open this door and stare into the cabin, right?” I stood in front of the cabin and gripped the handle. The handle was slimy with moss, and very cold from the sudden windiness around us. The hinges on the door itself were remarkably intact, so despite some creaky resistance, I managed to push it shut without much hassle. Then, flexing my arm a little, I pulled and opened the door again, pretending to look inside and recognize my beloved old home.
My beloved—completely pitch black—old home.
“Like this? Does that work?” I will give them this one take, and I will do it well—so everything is firmly over and done with.
The wind was causing my hair to whip back and forth, I calmly adjusted it back in place. “Any changes or can we just slate this already?”
The camera raised slightly, and Konrad found a new spot for his boom over my head.
“Another rehearsal,” Olek said. “Go again.”
I carefully returned the door to its closed position, and then went back to my starting mark on the ground. I should have told Konrad: max two rehearsals. For all I knew, Olek was going to get me to rehearse this over and over, and secretly record a dozen takes. It was the oldest trick in the book.
Whatever, give him the rehearsals.
Again, I flexed my right arm, lifted the handle, and pulled with that slight trepidation I’ve seen all actors do as they enter any place of plot significance.
Oooh what could be inside? Oh my gosh, it looks like the actor is realizing something! I stiffened my shoulder and then craned my neck inside.
And then I did in fact realize something. Why is the wind so strong?
It felt like a geyser of air was slowly blowing harder and harder.
I turned around to adjust, to brace myself against the door, when suddenly a blast of air thrust me forward.
My hands barely broke my fall.
Before I could make a sound—before I could even look up—SLAM!
The door had sealed me inside.
All light had vanished.
I quickly got up, ignoring the pain in my arms and yelled toward the door. “Hey! Hello! HELLO!”
The wind howled against the cabin.
I moved forward and found the door by the handle. I tried to push, but it felt like there was a wall on the other side. I couldn’t even budge it a little.
“Hello! Can you open up? Hello?!”
I pushed with my arm, my foot, and my back. Then I banged my fists right above the handle.
Goddamnit. Can they not hear me? Why is the door jammed?
I took deep breaths, my paranoia spilled out. Butterflies tickled my stomach and flew into my head. My heart bounced between my lungs. I pivoted on the ancient wooden floor, feeling dirt twist beneath my sneakers.
Don’t panic. There’s just a gale outside. They must all be disoriented. Although it had no bars, my phone still made a decent flashlight.
I lit up a floor covered with twigs and dirt. There was a cot on the far side, next to some broken shelves and a cluttered table. A couple plastic coolers lay all over the floor.
I looked around for another door on the opposite side of the cabin. Please tell me I overlooked one. There’s gotta be one there!
Of course there was none.
Then I discovered a ladder which led up to the tiny attic floor. If I was really desperate, I could maybe break through one of the upper windows, and cry for help or something.
But before I could plan my route, the door swung open again. It clipped my already sore leg.
Down on the floor, I reached out to the sudden blast of outdoor light. A large shape was tossed onto me, pinning me to the ground. Judging by the smell of the deodorant: it was Kon.
“Hey! Hold the door!” I shouted.
But the sliver of light vanished faster than I could get up.
“What the hell!” I tossed Konrad off of me, confused and angry at what was going on. I grabbed my phone light off the floor. “Kon, is that you!?”
It was, but he didn’t look to be moving. He was still wearing his large Sennheiser headphones, and he was awkwardly cradling a boom between his arms. I rolled him over onto his back, and that’s when I saw it.
A tear at his throat. A large bloody rip of missing flesh. It was soaked in red.
Fuck. What the fuck. What in god's name is happening.

I - II - III - IV - V
Thank god I didn’t break any bones.
The shrubby softness of the ravine’s slopes had cushioned enough of my fall. I leaned onto one of the slopes and let the earthy coolness soothe my sore back. Although there would be tenderness on my tailbone and left leg, everything still felt intact.
Olek had radioed in that he’d found me. I’d given him my headphones and Zoom recorder, which he was now using to review the quality of the last takes.
“Clean sound,” he nodded with a calm seriousness.
Was it clean though?
I could faintly hear the squealing whines through the cups of my headphones, but Olek gave no reaction as he pressed the cushions closer to his ears.
I wondered if he was intentionally trying to come off as unphased. Was he actually trying to be encouraging of my work? Did the pig squealing actually not bother him?
His entire demeanor felt alien. At times he would meet my eyes, trying to maybe show a glimmer of gratitude, or perhaps sympathy, but it's like he couldn’t get his face to activate the right muscles.
“I’m glad it’s clean.” I croaked out. Or that at least you think so.
After a few minutes of listening, Olek took off the headphones, and offered a massive palm for me to grab. I really didn’t want to leave with him, but I didn’t know what else to do.
I wouldn’t know where to go on my own without getting further lost in the woods. And the last thing I wanted was to get stuck in a worse ravine, dying of thirst, awaiting bears and cougars to eat me. So I grabbed his arm.
“Your work is strong,” he said. Then he handed back my gear.
“Uh … thank you.”
The ease with which Olek knew how to operate my equipment was a little astonishing. I figured he was probably used to playing multiple roles on set (the curse of many indie films), but after he hooked my boom into my mixer without a moment’s hesitation, another thought crossed my mind. Maybe he had been expecting me to use the handheld recorder.
Maybe he had been expecting me to climb up alone in that tree this whole time. Did he somehow know I would be menaced by this ghostly pig?
I stared at his swirling trench coat as he led the way to an exiting slope. Was something supposed to happen to me in that tree?
He briefly turned around and said, “Don't forget to back up the data on that card. We can't lose it.”
Then I realized I was dealing with a guy who only cared about his film. That’s why he sent me up that oak. That’s why he didn’t care about my bruises. He truly only cared about his audio. His video. Just a regular self-absorbed dude.
Stupid as it sounds—that felt relieving. I didn’t want to focus on paranormal, conspiratorial thinking. I just wanted to get out of here.
—
With no real option, I followed Olek, limping slightly, just two steps behind. It felt very weird to come back like an obedient sheep, like a patient returned to her psych ward, but what was I supposed to do? Keep shambling through the woods? Pray that I somehow stumbled back to my car?
Within minutes we were back at the meadow, showing just how little I had actually run.
As soon as we broke through the forest, Konrad sprinted over, clasping both his palms on my shoulders. "Oh my god Anna! What happened?"
I appreciated that he had run up. The rest of the crew were still across the meadow, observing distantly, fiddling with tripods and bounce boards.
I cleared my throat and rubbed my aching left knee. “I fell into a ditch Kon. Olek got me out.”
Perhaps sensing I needed time alone with the only proper English speaker—Olek dismissed Konrad and continued to the others.
Konrad said something in Polish, but then immediately turned to me. “Are you injured? Are you like… okay?”
My limbs were sore but that wasn’t the main problem. “I’m okay, but … no, not really, I'm not okay. I don't feel comfortable right now about any of this.” I gestured at the crew, the woods, the gray clouds and turned to whispering. “I can’t be here. Something fucked is going on.”
“What do you mean?”
I didn’t really know where to start. I sort of tossed my arms, grasping for the easiest explanation, and so I pointed to the tree. “I heard some demonic sounds in my headphones when I was up there.”
Konrad glanced back at the oak in the meadow's center.
“And then when I looked down, Polina was gone. Only her shredded clothes were left.”
Konrad took a pause. "Well … that’s because Polina's wrapped. We finished her scene, so she left."
“Yes but … ” I emphasized the strangeness. “She left so abruptly, I didn’t even see her leave.”
“Well … you were up in the tree Anna, I don’t think you would be able to see her leave.”
I definitely thought I would have, but I let it go. “Well the demonic thing I heard, it sounded like an animal. It attacked Polina.”
“Attacked her?”
“Attacked, and then, well … it ate her.”
“Ate her?”
I held on to the sides of my head. My mixer was still dangling from my neck on a lanyard. “Yes, ate her! There was a slurping and crunching of some fucking animal that I recorded on my mixer. It sounded like Polina was being mauled.”
I placed my headphones on Konrad’s head and played the last sound file I recorded.
With the volume turned high, I could make out the shrieks quite vividly.
Kon seemed put off but kept listening to it. “What? You recorded this? Is the file corrupted or—?”
“—No. Even the director signed off on this! He listened and gave approval!” As I said the words, I realized how fucked that was. Olek had literally listened to this file in the ravine and said: ‘clean sound.’
Konrad looked skeptical. “Are you sure you didn't misunderstand him? I know Olek's English—”
“No! I understood him perfectly fine. That's the recording he wanted. It was some kind of boar, and it was attacking Polina.”
Kon held onto the headphones intently and nodded. “Are you sure it's not just some weird artifacting? Is the SD card malfunctioning or—”
“—The SD card is totally unused.”
“Right.” He handed the headphones back. “I mean, that doesn’t mean it can’t glitch.”
I crossed my arms. I’ve never heard of a new card glitching.
“Also, I was with the crew,” Kon pointed over his shoulder. “We were watching Polina and the tree the whole time. I didn’t see any animal, boar, or anything.”
I pointed at the pile of rags still resting by the tree "then what about all the blood on her clothes? How did they get shredded?”
"Well, I mean we're shooting a horror, Anna. That was all makeup and—."
"—I didn't see any makeup team come over!"
"That's cause you were up in the—”
“—DON’T SAY I WAS UP IN THE TREE!”
I yelled and could feel myself lose a bit of control. Olek and some of the crew glanced back from across the field. I ignored them.
“Kon, listen. Something rammed that tree and knocked me down. That’s what made me run.”
He looked at me but said nothing.
“There was this terrible pig shrieking in my headphones the whole time, and I swear I saw a big black boar run toward me for a second. That’s why I ran.”
Hands raised, Kon made eye contact with me and nodded with as much politeness as I had ever seen him muster. “Listen Anna, I’m not discounting whatever it is that you saw. Or heard. I totally respect that. Clearly something scared you. I feel you.”
“No. Kon you’re not listening to me. Something fucked is going on. I don’t know what it is, but I want nothing to do with it.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean I'm not working on this set any more. There’s something wrong. I’m going home."
I started marching forward, but Konrad moved in front of me. "Woah woah, Anna, hold up. I get it. I would feel the same way. But come on, you can't go home. We still have a couple more shots to get.”
I handed him the microphone. "Then you can record the rest yourself. Go ahead, you mix and boom.”
“If you leave, how am I supposed to get home? They don't have room in their car."
"Then ride across their laps."
"Anna please." Konrad’s voice got quiet. "I don't want to be embarrassed in front of these guys. They make amazing horror movies, like Polish A24 level shit. My previous boom op fell through. I just need you to at least stick it through the rest of the day."
I glanced over at the mobilizing crew; they had packed everything back into carrying cases. They almost looked like a normal film team, like any typical heads of department I’d seen on set of District PD or Untold Stories of the ER, but they were wearing so much black, so much leather and had so many piercings. Their entire vibe felt off.
"I agree that there is a … creepiness,” Konrad lowered his voice further. “Olek is able to cultivate an amazing atmosphere, and I think it's why his films are always so strong. He brings a realness. A sort of raw element that’s hard to explain. And obviously that can result in some eerie coincidences on set, for sure. But remember: it is just a movie. This is just a regular forest ... we’re just here to do a job.”
It feels like something is legit haunted, I wanted to say, but I held my tongue.
"Just stay a few more hours. You can stick by me for the rest of the shoot. If something requires weird booming, I’ll do it. If there's another tree situation, I'll volunteer. Whatever it takes to make you comfortable. Please. For me.”
The emotion was genuine, and despite the urgency in his voice, Konrad had let go of my arm, to show that he wasn’t trying to impede me or something. But I was still annoyed. Furious in fact, that he had tricked me into working on this janky set with a flippant director.
I considered just leaving, just trying to head back towards the parking lot. But the thing was, I didn’t know how to navigate back. I actually needed Konrad to help return to the car.
I sighed, groaned, and rubbed my left knee. “Goddamnit Kon. Why’d you mix me up in this? I told you I only work big shows now.”
“I know, but …” He put his hands in his pockets, looked at the ground. “This could become a big deal for me. I told Olek I would get a sound assistant. I didn't think this would be such an ordeal. Please … ”
The rest of the crew had now gathered all their stuff and were walking along the perimeter of the meadow, probably moving to the next location. There was the faint outline of the sun behind the overcast sky. It had risen ever so slightly, brightening the world just a little bit.
"Oh my god. Fuck. Fine. Fuck you.” I pointed directly at Kon’s skittish face. “But you listen to me: If anything else weird happens, and I mean anything off in the slightest, promise that you won't question me, and that you'll take me straight back to the car. I don’t want any second-guessing or hesitation, okay?"
"Yes. Of course.” Konrad held out his arm. “I swear on my mother’s grave.”
I stared at his pupils. He looked earnest, and eager to maintain eye contact. Then I looked at his open palm. The fingers were slowly stretching towards me, seeking confirmation.
I handed him the boom pole. “The next shot is yours. I’m not booming.”
“Sure. That’s no problem.”
“And I want to know exactly how many shots are left.”
“We can ask the AD.”
“And I want you to admit right now: that this is weird. That it's not cool you’ve roped me into this. And that you’re a fucking idiot.”
“Yes. Yes, you’re right. I’m wrong. I’m a fucking idiot.”
I hated this. I did not feel comfortable. But I needed a guide out. I needed Kon to be agreeable. Like with so many other annoying things about the film industry (the hours, the nepotism, the sexism, to name a few), there comes a time when you just have to grin and bear it. Pretend it doesn’t bother you and get through it.
I rubbed my knee one last time, and then ignored the soreness as I continued to walk. Pretending is what I do best.
—
We set up for lunch by some logs near the meadow’s edge, using gear cases as tables. Konrad had advocated that we could use a reset (which I appreciated), and thankfully no one was opposed to an early snack. Most of the crew members had skipped their breakfast.
Over sandwiches, I focused on relaxing. I wanted this to be just a normal set. I didn’t want to be in panic mode the whole time.
So, I bit the bullet and apologized to the crew. I didn’t want them judging me for the rest of the day. I stood up in the middle of their eating circle and said I was sorry. In response, The AD came and patted my back, telling me not to worry, and that apologies were unnecessary.
Everyone came to understand that I had had a panic attack, but now I was okay. They were respecting that. Everyone acknowledged that the woods were dark, and it is of course very easy to see things that aren’t there. It is reasonable to get afraid.
“In the forest,” the makeup artist said, “it is natural to be scared.”
“Yes, it is very natural,” I said. Then I sat back into my own corner.
My sandwich was packed with lentils just like Konrad had said. In fact, they had made two huge sandwiches just for me, which I was grateful for because my body was craving energy.
Even though I wanted to inhale the food, I paced myself. I ate as normally as I would on any other occasion, because the more I acted like everything was fine, the more mentally everything felt fine.
I made small talk.
I stretched my legs.
I asked Kon what this movie was even about.
“Oh, it's a Polish folklore film.” He spoke in-between bites. "It's about scary things in the forest."
“Like scary things … attacking Polina?”
“Sort of. Polina plays Północnica. ‘Lady Midnight’”
“Lady Midnight?”
“Yes. She is a ghost in Polish folklore. A wraith who will try and possess your body.”
I chewed and wondered how Polina’s cowering and wailing was supposed to make her a possessive wraith. “She seems more like a victim to me.”
“That’s because she is.” Kon wiped his mouth. “This film is her origin story. Before she became Północnica, she was just a regular woman. A regular villager who made a bad deal with the devil, who then cursed her to wander the earth as a wraith.”
I nodded as if this was common knowledge. “You’ve read the script?”
“No. I know it from childhood. My mom used to warn me not to wander into the backcountry by myself, or else I risk meeting Lady Midnight. Who would then kidnap me, usurp my body, etcetera etcetera.”
“Right.” I grabbed another napkin and looked at the rest of the crew. They were all eating two huge sandwiches, if not more. I could smell the tangy waft of horseradish, mustard, and spicy sausage. Olek looked like he was annoyed that we were on break.
“And so … why did this crew fly all the way here?” I whispered. “Why shoot some Polish folk tale—in Vancouver?”
"Oh, I think the producer is half-Canadian. And he was able to secure some funding here. Something like that."
What funding? I wanted to say. I've seen high school films with higher budgets. But I chewed my lentils and stayed quiet.
We tossed all our crumpled wax paper and empty water bottles into a portable trash. At least they got that much right.
After enjoying a fruit bar as a dessert, I could actually feel myself winding down. My heart was no longer beating in my throat, the butterflies in my stomach were gone.
Relishing the feeling, I unwrapped a stick of gum—and then came the rustling.
Everyone paused and looked towards a set of bushes.
It was hard to articulate why, but even through the leaves, I could tell it was something walking on hooves. There was something padded about the movement. And maybe it was just me, but I could swear I heard a soft, ineffable oinking in the distance.
The crew sprang into action, locking the camera to its tripod within seconds. Konrad jumped up and grabbed my boom with a look that said: I’ll take this one.
Everyone aimed in the direction of the foliage, trying to capture whatever lurked. Olek glued himself to the viewfinder, zooming and adjusting the camera all himself. Konrad fully extended the boom and swung it around, trying to capture the sounds of whatever approached.
At the base of the bushes, I could see Polina’s gray rags lying splayed on the ground—was that intentional? Were the rags supposed to lure something?
For a moment, everyone went still. It felt like the entire wilderness had gone silent. A quiet wind lightly teased some branches. Olek turned both of his palms upward, as if he was holding something, or receiving something. Summoning something?
There came a growl, and everyone lowered their heads, looking for the source. Konrad got a little too animated and swung his boom pole right at Olek's temple.
Olek lashed out with one of his massive arms, which clipped the camera beside him, sending it straight to the ground. The bushes shuffled one more time, and then the pig, (or moose, or whatever it was) could be heard trailing away, breaking into a trot.
Olek brought the camera right up to his face, and aggressively clicked around the viewfinder’s touch screen. “Nie! Nie!” He slapped the device, as if he could rewind it to the moment before the opportunity was lost.
He waved his arms, trying to attract whatever energy had just dissipated, then stepped past the camera to face the bushes. “No kurwa mać!”
Like an angry child, Olek poked his head into the leaves and began batting at them, “Konrad ty pierdol! Ale to spieprzyłeś!”
Konrad’s eyes turned wide and quivering, he tried to withdraw into some reality where the take had not been ruined. Olek approached him with a slung back hand, ready to release some retributive slap. But after a tense moment, the only release was a torrent of spit on Kon’s face as Olek yelled and yelled and yelled.
Still sitting, I inched away on the log, afraid of what the director might do next. Even the rest of the crew took a few steps back.
As quickly as the tantrum started, Olek exhaled and dismissed Konrad, clearly unable to bear another glance.
Konrad snuck away, pretending to fiddle with the knobs on his mixer. Everyone looked at each other, but mostly at the ground. Some ravens cawed in the distance.
I was very glad it wasn't me who messed up.
—
With the afternoon came a powerful silence. You could hear squirrels scampering up trees, and woodpeckers drilling somewhere far, far away. The previously conversational crew, who would swap comments and observations for lively stretches of time, were now replaced by a band of servants who quickly nodded at whatever the director said.
I asked Konrad what exactly Olek had been trying to shoot earlier, and “how did everyone know to record the bushes?” Kon sighed and said that they were just looking for wilderness B roll. Olek had been trying to capture a deer on camera all week.
Without wasting time, the AD filled the silence. Our next shots were a series of POVs meant to simulate Polina running through the woods. The director would be handling the camera.
Trying to compensate for his screw up, Kon made sure we were ready first. We fastened a set of wireless mics directly to the camera, which was then mounted inside a rig that resembled a detached steering wheel. A makeshift Steadicam.
Rolling back the sleeves of his trench coat, Olek lifted the steering wheel and strode through the woods by himself, recording a shaky blur of trees, branches, and gloom. The rest of us huddled behind a monitor, watching the resulting footage, whispering only when necessary.
The cautious silence was definitely a change in tone, but it didn’t bother me. Previously I had felt like the odd one out. The Canadian fish that had slipped into some foreign Euro-Slavic pond. But now it felt like we were all in this together, we were all waiting for this manic director to blow off steam by galloping through the trees.
The footage didn’t look great (in my opinion). It was a glorified go-pro shot with a bad frame rate. The sound wasn’t much better. Kon and I both exchanged wide eyes listening to Olek’s grunts and groans as he trampled over the forest floor.
“Polish A24 huh?” I whispered in between takes.
“Maybe not this part,” Konrad shrugged, trying to play it off ... “we’ll fix it in post.”
It took about an hour of Olek trying to get some fern branches to ‘brush the lens in just the right way’ but eventually the plants seemed to oblige. He returned triumphant, lifting the camera above his head (as if it weighed nothing). Then he cleared the blonde strands clinging to the sweaty sides of his face, revealing a wicked smile.
“Okej. Running shot done. Now our final location.”
Olek gave the AD a high five and the spirits of the crew lifted slightly. Even I was starting to feel a sliver of cheer. Final location? Already? Does that mean we’re almost done?
“No more mistakes,” Olek pointed at Konrad, handing the camera away to some crew.
Kon said nothing.
—
Of course, getting to our final spot wasn’t so easy. The last shot required us to march much deeper into the forest, which reignited all the paranoia I was trying to rid myself of.
The pine trees grew taller and darker. The bird calls became deeper and raspier.
To ease my mind, I sidled right next to the AD at the front, to watch how he was navigating our misfit convoy. He smiled and showed me a pocket-sized GPS. It had a bright screen depicting a flag icon which we were nearing labelled ‘wieża.’
I asked him what it meant, and he just pointed ahead and said: ”Very soon.”
Despite the manifold branches and shadowy canopy, I could see a thin strip of metal gleam in the trees. In a few minutes we were approaching some long-abandoned radio tower that sat deep in the wilderness. This was the wieża.
Why was it built so far from civilization? As we climbed up the bramble-filled incline, I could make out a dwelling at its base and realized this must have been some outpost. A weather monitoring station?
The trees opened up and I could see we were in the midst of a relic. A two floored cabin that had faced the ravages of time and lost.
On its left side, the walls were built into the legs of the iron tower, which were now completely covered in vines and guarding a nest of abandoned firewood. The rest of the cabin was log-built, which gave it a pioneer feel, except the whole thing was caked in a bed of moss. Like it had sprouted out of the ground. I tried to look in, but the windows were completely boarded up (and also covered in more moss).
It had to be the most overgrown thing I’d ever seen.
“We think it used to be some kind of forest ranger outpost,” Konrad said. “But it has long been abandoned. Pretty sweet location huh?”
When we reached its vicinity, I pressed a finger into the cabin's exterior and felt the moss travel past my knuckles. It was remarkable that something so sturdy was abandoned like this. I would guess up to four people could have stayed here, living off camp supplies. How long was it used for?
“We must get coverage.” Olek announced, gesturing vaguely at the scenery. “Camera and sound. I want to capture it all.”
The crew got to work, opening all the carrying cases. I whispered to Kon. “So are we like shooting a scene or … ?”
“No. Not really,” Konrad turned on his mixer, and started playing with the levels. “Environmental shots, we’re just recording the feel of this place.”
Recording the feel? It sounded a bit vague, but I shrugged. I wasn’t about to question the experimental process of our genius director.
—
Unlike the running POVs which were shot rather quickly, Olek allowed ample time for the cabin’s cinematography. The DP alternated lenses and tripod heights until he found the perfect frames that evoked the ominous allure of this place.
It felt more like we were making art.
Konrad and I circumnavigated the house, calling for silence when we needed it. Our mics picked up the buzzing of local bugs, the faint squeaking of chipmunks and even a couple of owls which must’ve prematurely woken up.
I didn’t know if I wanted to admit it, but it was actually kind of fun.
On ninety nine percent of sets you record the same dialogue for hours. You’re competing with plane sounds and traffic sirens. You’ve got bitchy actors, entitled crew, indecisive directors, and rushed schedules that sap all the magic out of filmmaking. But here, in the middle of the woods, Me and Konrad just spent five minutes recording the rich, textural creak of an ancient cabin door. Olek was giving Kon the dead eye, but our recordings were still fully approved.
After an hour of capturing the surroundings, the AD called for a break.
The team turned to discussing how to shoot the interior, which was a technical conversation (all in Polish), so I focused on readying our gear.
As far as I knew, no one had brought any mobile lighting kits, so I wasn’t sure how they actually planned to shoot inside. We would have to spend an hour scouring mulch off glass for any natural light. And I wasn’t signing up for that job.
As if reading my mind, the AD approached me with an encouraging smile. He was clearly going to ask me to do something stupid. I took my time opening the package of fresh batteries, lined up the negative and positive charges in my mic, twice to be sure.
“Hello Anna, thank you so much for coming out today.”
“No problem. Give me a second.”
I did the same thing with my other microphone, double checking everything. If he was going to waste my time, I would waste his.
“How would you like to be in this film?”
I paused. “Be in this film? What do you mean?”
“Do you want to be actress?”
Without even intending to, my jaw dropped a little. I was not expecting this.
“No. Sorry. I don’t want to be an actress.”
The AD didn’t push it any further. He went back to the circle of crew and spoke with Olek. The director said some things, pulled Konrad aside, and then Konrad walked over to me.
Before he could open his mouth, I raised my hand. “Um, I’m not acting in this movie.”
“Who said anything about acting?” Konrad smiled, laughed a small laugh. “No no, nobody wants you to act. There’s just one particular shot they want to get. You see, technically speaking, this cabin is meant to be the birthplace of Północnica.”
“Pół—You mean Polina’s character?”
“Yeah. We’re getting shots of her home here as a flashback element. But Olek thinks it would be good to also get the back of the character’s head and profile, as she looks through her old house.”
Is that what we’ve been shooting? Some experimental flashback? “So, why was Polina wrapped earlier then?”
“It was an oversight. Now Olek thinks adding a Polina stand-in would be clutch.”
“Well, I’m sorry. I don’t want to be a stand in.” I looked at the mossy cabin, at the gaping black hole of the half open door. “Can’t Olek like … shoot Polina on a green screen?”
“No, no, come on, Anna, Olek doesn’t do that. He’s all practical. You have the same length of black hair. You’re about the same height. It’s just for one shot.”
“No Kon. I don’t want to do it.”
“You can think of it as an apology for getting you wrapped up in this. Olek will give you a day rate for acting.”
“What?”
“And I’ll give you half my day’s wage on top of that. Compensation for leaving you in that tree.”
“What the hell. Why?”
Konrad lowered his voice and brought his hands into a small prayer. “Please. I want this film to be a success. I want to be hired by these guys again. I’ve kept my word haven’t I?”
“What word?”
“That I’d act as a shield. Prevent you from doing anything uncomfortable.”
“Kon. This is making me feel uncomfortable.”
“But it’s the last thing! After this we’re done! We’ll go straight back to the car.”
I looked over the rest of the crew. The DP was waving his arms, explaining something to Olek who was nodding with minimal effort. Then Olek turned and looked directly at me. His gray eyes shimmered with focus that prevented mine from leaving. A hawk spying a mouse.
I did a full one eighty and faced the cabin. Konrad came over, hands still pleading, voice still a whisper. “I’ll even pay for your gas! For here and back—”
“—Listen Kon. Whatever pickup shot this is. It's the last thing I’m doing. Then we’re leaving.”
“So … is that a yes?”
“Get the AD to announce I am leaving right after this. You’re taking me straight back to my car.”
“Sure. Yeah I can do that.”
“And tell Olek I’m only doing one take.”
Konrad scratched the back of his neck; he looked over at the director. “Only one? But what if we need—”
“—I’m only doing one. That’s it. One and I’m out. If we need another that's your problem, you deal with Olek.”
“Okay. Okay, sure that’s fine. I’ll figure it out. Thank you Anna. Thank you so much.”
He gave me a hug. I stayed facing the cabin.
—
The makeup artist combed and sprayed my hair to match the wavy raggedness of Polina’s. She wasn’t very talkative but did mention I had pretty hair—naturally silky, and that it was easy to manipulate. Very easy to manipulate.
The AD had announced that this was going to be my last shot, just as Kon promised, and that I would be escorted as soon as we were done. It also meant my makeup artist had to triple check her work with a dozen brushes and wedges.
According to her, I looked “fabularna” (which must’ve meant “fable-like”). I responded with probably the meekest smile in my life.
Although shredded at the skirt, the upper half of Polina’s dress was still fully intact, and so I was allowed to change into it behind the cabin. No one came to supervise.
As I left, I could hear the echoes of the crew arguing. Olek was criticizing Konrad again over something. I ignored it.
For the first time since picking up Kon this morning, I was completely by myself. I took a moment to assess the whole situation.
This was it. Just me, by myself. In the middle of the woods with a bunch of strangers and a single friend from film school who gaffed my fourth year short. He was an alright gaffer, I guess.
Like honestly, I trust Konrad and think he’s a decent guy. He helped me land some of my first gigs out of film school. But those gigs were always weird.
He’d always be doing sound on music videos between half a dozen heavy metal bands I’d never heard of. All of them paid in cash. There was always a DP who would smoke weed in-between takes, or band members who always arrived late. I’ll never forget the day we wasted a whole afternoon on an insert of live snake as it slithered across sound speakers, our film gear, and then all the way into a kitchen cupboard. It was not a planned shot.
But despite the bullshit, I always did get paid. At a crucial point in my life too. I always felt like I owed Kon for that. It was a legitimate steppingstone for me.
Breathe. You’ve got this.
I stripped down to basically my underwear—relinquishing the cover and warmth of my trusty jeans, and oversized hoodie.
Christ it is cold. This dress is damp as hell.
I put my jeans back on. They’re only shooting from the waist up anyway. Considering the sudden windchill, it was something like two degrees outside.
Just five minutes of standing in the cold. You’ve had worse. Pretend you’re fine.
Pretending is what I’m good at.
I walked back over, holding a bundle of my previous clothes. The camera was set up, pointing into the open maw of the cabin.
The AD stood by the door, acting as a proxy for where I would be standing. “You’re still wearing your pants,” he said.
“Is that a problem?” I pointed to my waist and raised my finger until it reached my disinterested face. “I thought this was a medium.”
There was some muttering behind the camera. Olek seemed upset, but Konrad’s voice won out. “That’s fine, we can make that work right? It’s only one shot.”
Olek stepped out from behind the crew, looking unimpressed with the world at large. He waved his hand dismissively at the AD. He clearly didn’t care about my pants. Good.
“Alright, so you want me to open this door and stare into the cabin, right?” I stood in front of the cabin and gripped the handle. The handle was slimy with moss, and very cold from the sudden windiness around us. The hinges on the door itself were remarkably intact, so despite some creaky resistance, I managed to push it shut without much hassle. Then, flexing my arm a little, I pulled and opened the door again, pretending to look inside and recognize my beloved old home.
My beloved—completely pitch black—old home.
“Like this? Does that work?” I will give them this one take, and I will do it well—so everything is firmly over and done with.
The wind was causing my hair to whip back and forth, I calmly adjusted it back in place. “Any changes or can we just slate this already?”
The camera raised slightly, and Konrad found a new spot for his boom over my head.
“Another rehearsal,” Olek said. “Go again.”
I carefully returned the door to its closed position, and then went back to my starting mark on the ground. I should have told Konrad: max two rehearsals. For all I knew, Olek was going to get me to rehearse this over and over, and secretly record a dozen takes. It was the oldest trick in the book.
Whatever, give him the rehearsals.
Again, I flexed my right arm, lifted the handle, and pulled with that slight trepidation I’ve seen all actors do as they enter any place of plot significance.
Oooh what could be inside? Oh my gosh, it looks like the actor is realizing something! I stiffened my shoulder and then craned my neck inside.
And then I did in fact realize something. Why is the wind so strong?
It felt like a geyser of air was slowly blowing harder and harder.
I turned around to adjust, to brace myself against the door, when suddenly a blast of air thrust me forward.
My hands barely broke my fall.
Before I could make a sound—before I could even look up—SLAM!
The door had sealed me inside.
All light had vanished.
I quickly got up, ignoring the pain in my arms and yelled toward the door. “Hey! Hello! HELLO!”
The wind howled against the cabin.
I moved forward and found the door by the handle. I tried to push, but it felt like there was a wall on the other side. I couldn’t even budge it a little.
“Hello! Can you open up? Hello?!”
I pushed with my arm, my foot, and my back. Then I banged my fists right above the handle.
Goddamnit. Can they not hear me? Why is the door jammed?
I took deep breaths, my paranoia spilled out. Butterflies tickled my stomach and flew into my head. My heart bounced between my lungs. I pivoted on the ancient wooden floor, feeling dirt twist beneath my sneakers.
Don’t panic. There’s just a gale outside. They must all be disoriented. Although it had no bars, my phone still made a decent flashlight.
I lit up a floor covered with twigs and dirt. There was a cot on the far side, next to some broken shelves and a cluttered table. A couple plastic coolers lay all over the floor.
I looked around for another door on the opposite side of the cabin. Please tell me I overlooked one. There’s gotta be one there!
Of course there was none.
Then I discovered a ladder which led up to the tiny attic floor. If I was really desperate, I could maybe break through one of the upper windows, and cry for help or something.
But before I could plan my route, the door swung open again. It clipped my already sore leg.
Down on the floor, I reached out to the sudden blast of outdoor light. A large shape was tossed onto me, pinning me to the ground. Judging by the smell of the deodorant: it was Kon.
“Hey! Hold the door!” I shouted.
But the sliver of light vanished faster than I could get up.
“What the hell!” I tossed Konrad off of me, confused and angry at what was going on. I grabbed my phone light off the floor. “Kon, is that you!?”
It was, but he didn’t look to be moving. He was still wearing his large Sennheiser headphones, and he was awkwardly cradling a boom between his arms. I rolled him over onto his back, and that’s when I saw it.
A tear at his throat. A large bloody rip of missing flesh. It was soaked in red.
Fuck. What the fuck. What in god's name is happening.