Eight Months Ago...
The lens of the Channel 2 News camera bore into me and I suddenly forgot how to speak, my mind and heart racing as the newscaster, Becca Boyce, smiled encouragingly and tipped the puffy microphone in my direction.
"Umm, can you please repeat the question?" I asked, feeling absolutely foolish as heat slowly crept up into my cheeks. I brushed a stray hair away from my eyes and fidgeted. Why did the camera feel like it was looking into my soul?
God, this was a horrible idea, I thought to myself. My place was behind the camera...not in front of it. Capturing single moments in time, preserving that minuscule portion of life for generations...that was what I loved. But the thought of my own awkwardness preserved in the same fashion made me squirm. Hooray for social anxiety.
"Of course," The pretty reporter said gently, "We aren't live so we can try as many times as we need to. It'll probably help if you focus on me and pretend the camera isn't even there."
I nodded nervously and took a deep breath in an attempt to shake off the nerves but it did little to calm them. My armpits itched as I broke out in a nervous sweat and I tried to focus on her rather than the camera.
"We're here at the Panther Creek Camp Ground trail head, a popular stop for through hikers on the Washington section of the Pacific Crest Trail. I'm speaking with Amber, a local, avid hiker, photographer and solo car camper. Now, Amber, in light of the attacks and disappearances happening in national parks and forests all across the country, do you still plan on getting out into the wilderness this summer?"
Again, she tipped the microphone in my direction.
Again, my mind went blank. I'd heard the question, processed the question, but I just couldn't seem to form a response. As if on cue, a group of three 'through hikers' passed beside us cheering and hamming it up for the news camera. Their wild gestures and fist pumping cut the self-imposed tension building in my chest and I let out a breath I hadn't realized I had been holding to giggle at them with the reporter.
When the group was several paces away, I squared my shoulders and with a determined breath, I spoke, "Well, yeah, I suppose so. There haven't been any attacks reported here locally, and until then, I'm gonna keep playing in the forest. But I have started bringing extra things with me that I never used to."
"What kind of other things?" Becca asked.
"I have an extra can of bear spray and a PLB. Uh, that's a personal locator beacon." I was starting to relax a little bit. Talking about the outdoors and safety is the one thing I'm almost as passionate about as I am photography. I held the large can of bear spray and PLB up for her to see.
"That's a very interesting gadget. How does it work?" She asked.
I explained the particulars of my unit's operation and a few of its features. Words began to come easier and I smile back at the reporter. "If I'm late coming back from a trip, my family or friends can check my location and if I end up in a sticky situation, I can call emergency services and this will bring them to within twenty feet of my physical location if I'm lost or injured and can't make it out on my own."
"That is an impressive piece of technology and could very well save a life. Thank you for sharing that with us." The reporter said as she turned her attention back to the cameraman. "You see, its important to be prepared and aware of your surroundings at all times when out in the back country. Know your limits, stay on the trail and always let someone know where you're going and when you expect to return. This is Becca Boyce, back to you in the studio."
She smiled for a solid five seconds then lowered the mic. "How was that, Colin?" Her entire attitude shifting from that of being on stage, to chatting with a friend.
"We got it," The cameraman said flatly, nodding his head. "Let's get some B-roll and we should be good to go."
Becca turned back to me, "Would it be alright if we borrowed you for a bit longer? Maybe we could get a shot of you getting out of your car and walking down the trail? And how about a close-up of the bear spray and that beacon?"
"For sure." I nodded to them both.
All was done in a few short moments and Becca handed me her card. "There are several of us working on this story, as of now it’s set to be the headliner on the seven o'clock news. Keep your eyes peeled and feel free to email if you think of anything else we might be able to add."
"Sounds good! Thanks, Becca. It was great to meet you both." I said, shaking each of their hands in turn.
"Stay safe out there." She said and then they turned to go.
I hopped back into my old Jeep excited to tell my mom and brother that I was about to be on the news. "God, I hope I don't look like an idiot," I said to myself while absently running a hand over my face before I cranked the motor to life.
************
Back at home, hours later, my attention was violently pulled away from my photo editing by my mom's excited shriek, "It's on, it's on! Get in here!"
My younger brother and I sprinted down the stairs, through the hallway and into the living room, shoving each other and laughing the whole way.
"Turn it up," Joey said, his eyes twinkling with excitement. "I gotta see this."
Mom grabbed the remote and cranked the volume up as the intense news introduction played.
The nerves from earlier in the day came back as butterflies to dance in my stomach. "Here's to hoping I didn't make a complete fool of myself," I crossed my fingers and plopped down on our worn sofa.
Amid the flashy, digital bulletins and scrolling ticker, two efficiently somber newscasters gazed into the camera. "Thank you for joining us on this Saturday edition of the seven o'clock news, I'm Ben Holmes." Ben glances to his right at a striking woman with dark hair.
"And I'm Andrea Anderson." She states, "We begin, of course, with continuing coverage of the bizarre maulings and disappearances that have been happening in national parks and forests across the country."
The picture cuts to an idyllic scene at Yellowstone National Park. The lodge, roads and surrounding attractions shown are chocked full of visitors wandering the park while marveling at its rugged beauty.
The disembodied voice of Andrea Anderson floats from the television, mingling with the sounds of a busy national park during peak season. "Yellowstone, the world’s very first national park, has been a popular summer tourist destination since the spring of 1872. Since 2008, the park has welcomed over three million visitors each year. But this season, Yellowstone stands empty."
The lines were delivered with the perfect William Shatner pauses for dramatic effect. The cameras cut to a recent clip of the normally bustling park. It's a ghost town.
Ben picks up where Andrea left off. "For the first time since the devastating wildfires of 1988, the park has closed off all five of its entrances and is completely evacuating its guests."
"Wait, what?" I squeaked, quickly glancing back and forth between my mom and brother.
"Holy shit," Joey mumbled while mom waved a hand, shushing us both.
"Shut it, I can't hear what they're saying." Mom said loudly. The newscasters continued to speak while my mind reeled. What a nightmare this was turning into.
"Since March of this year, current estimates point to more than 200 people either found dead or missing in Yellowstone and Teton National Parks alone. And that number is growing every day." Ben finishes before the cameras cut to a short clip of the administrators of the two parks.
Standing behind a small podium bristling with microphones, a gentleman in a starched ranger uniform spoke slowly and carefully to the gathered press before him, "It was an easy decision to close the parks, but not one that we took lightly. These killings and disappearances are highly disturbing and very real. At this time, we don't know what has caused this tragedy, animals or humans, but this is a matter of public safety. We will be closing the parks indefinitely to allow for proper investigation of the scenes and surrounding areas, and we are urging citizens in the greater Jackson area to use extreme caution when out at night."
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
The cameras flash back to the reporters and Andrea speaks, "Disappearances and animal attacks are not uncommon in our country's national parks. In fact, people go missing in those remote areas every year. From Yosemite, to Olympic, Denali to the Great Smokey Mountains, every park has had a missing persons case, but until recently, the numbers reported were quite low. One website states that there were only 29 open cold cases for missing individuals at our national parks from 1958 to 2021. This year, nearly every national park has reported at least ten missing persons with more than a dozen mutilated and half eaten bodies found in these remote areas across the country."
Mom's hand drifts to her chest. "My God, this is getting out of hand." She breathed, her voice just above a whisper.
Interviews come and go as the news story rolls out increasingly staggering facts and numbers. A knot began to form in the pit of my stomach.
Maybe I was being reckless, solo hiking and camping in the national forest?
I turned my full attention back to the television when a woman's face graced the screen. She was a scientist, a volcanologist to be specific, and had rocketed into the limelight after going public with a controversial theory that the killings and disappearances were somehow connected to a record number of small earthquakes that shook the Yellowstone caldera area in early spring. Her colleagues dismissed her theory as "bonkers" stating that there was no actual evidence behind her theory, and it was only a gut feeling that she had. But I believed her.
"Ya know, a gut feeling should never be discounted." Mom said, poking her chin out while looking more than a little self-righteous. "Your head and your heart can pull you in every different direction, but your gut will never lead you astray." She crossed her arms over her chest and scowled at the television, no doubt wishing all those stuffy science men would just leave that woman alone. "Pseudo-science, my ass. I think she's right."
The story continued on while Mom, Joey and I talked over the reporters.
"My gut has never let me down, and the few times I didn't listen to a gut feeling, I instantly regretted it." I said. Like that time I almost ditched the Jeep trying to avoid hitting a deer after my gut told me I should take a different route home. I shivered visibly and Mom laid a hand on my shoulder.
"What about that time—" Joey started, but Mom cut him off with a happy little squeal.
"Look, look! There she is!" Mom sat forward and bounced in her seat on the edge of the couch.
"You look like a rabbit in the headlights, Sis." Joey snickered, playfully punching me in the shoulder.
"Shut it, dweeb." I glared at him then burst out laughing. I did look scared to death.
Becca Boyce's pretty face smiled out from the screen while I twitched and shifted nervously to one side of her. I groaned and buried my face in my hands with utter embarrassment. I could hear my own, slightly squeaky voice telling her and the entire metro area (if not the world) that I was still going to go play in the woods because no one had been killed or gone missing here.
"Oh, I'm an idiot." I moaned and flopped to my side on the couch, curling into the fetal position.
"You look so cute, sweetie," Mom said while playfully jostling my balled-up form. "Look."
I peered at the television from between my fingers just in time to see myself clip the can of bear spray and PLB onto my belt and start walking down the trail, my own disembodied voice talking about the locator device.
"Why didn't anyone ever tell me that I'm so freaking pigeon toed?" I groaned. I was never going to be able to take a single step again without picturing myself waddling down that trail.
Becca's voice over was sweet and cheery, "You see, it's important to be prepared and aware of your surroundings at all times when out in the back country. Know your limits, stay on the trail and always let someone know where you're going and when you expect to return. This is Becca Boyce, back to you in the studio."
The image on the screen flashed back to Andrea Anderson's pretty face, "It is always best to be prepared, right Ben?" She said with a slight smile.
"Exactly. My own mother always used to say, 'It's better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.'" Ben said, chuckling.
Mom sat up tall and wagged her finger at the screen, "Your mom's a wise woman, Ben. A wise woman."
"Definitely words to live by, especially during times like these." Andrea said solemnly.
The news casters continued to speak with other correspondents out in the field covering different areas of the country. Things sure did seem to be growing worse by the day. Several doomsday preppers graced the screen talking about food stores and water supplies, others were convinced that the deaths and disappearances were nothing more than a cover up; the Yellowstone super volcano was going to erupt.
I rolled my eyes at most of the interviews and then the image of a man with a truly crazed look in his eye filled the screen. He gazed straight into the camera lens, straight at us, completely unblinking.
"The people that get chewed up and taken to the hospital, they tell us that all those people died because of some novel bacteria. No modern medicine can stop it, right? But did you know that none of the family members were able to retrieve the bodies of their loved ones? Yeah, apparently every single body needed to be kept for study." The man snorted. "You know what that means? It means that those people never died. They had to have been taken to some top-secret facility for more study. I think they changed. It's the only logical answer."
"You've got to be kidding me." Mom groaned. “I can't believe they're letting this quack speak. He's going to start a panic."
"That's why I never watch the news, Mom. All they do is sensationalize everything just to get the people riled up. He's obviously nuts," I said. "Just look at him."
"Ugh, he's creepy." Joey said, "But did you see the video of the angel?"
"The what?" Mom and I said in unison, both whipping our attention from the television to Joey.
"Yeah, it's trending on Reddit. It's all over social media." He looked at the two of us, incredulous.
We both shrugged and motioned for him to continue. Mom muted the television while Joey pulled up a video. Mom and I had social media accounts but we never really used them. They were just a time suck and I enjoyed the outdoors too much to just sit and stare at my phone for hours on end.
"Here, look. It happened somewhere in South America." Joey turned his phone our way and looked smug.
A female form crashed through the glass doors of some sort of high security 'facility'. She was completely naked, cut, bruised and bloodied, but that wasn't what made my eyes practically pop out of my head. She had wings. Actual feathered wings. She pulled herself to her feet and started to run when shots rang out. She stumbled slightly before unfurling her iridescent, black wings, taking to the sky and disappearing out of the frame.
"What the Hell?" I glanced over at Mom who has a hand to her chest. "Play it again."
Joey laughs, "I knew you guys would freak out."
Mom hadn't even taken a breath. We watched the video again and I was left completely speechless. It looked so real but there's no way it could be. It has got to be fake, but try as I might, I can find no flaw in it. The entire video is stunningly, terrifyingly clear. I couldn't do anything except sit and shake my head.
"Oh, my God. She's pregnant!" Mom's sudden exclamation startled the life out of Joey and I, but when Joey played the video a third time, it was clear. The woman, or angel, was definitely pregnant. Very pregnant.
"Seriously, what is going on? Earthquakes, wars, gas shortages, supply train interruptions, storms, climate change, fires, people getting murdered in national parks and forests, and now a pregnant Angel? Shoot, maybe those doomsday preppers aren't so crazy after all?" I brought my fingertips to my forehead, "This can't be happening."
"You really need to do some research," Joey said through a crooked smile. "There really is some crazy stuff going on right now."
"Alright, you've convinced me. I'll crawl out from under my rock and get with the times." I said sarcastically to Joey and he beamed triumphantly.
"See ya in a few days. You're about to fall down a rabbit hole, Sis."
The news story must have ended because when Mom turned the volume on the TV back up, they were talking about the ten-day forecast.
"Well, I guess that's it, then." I said slapping my knees and pushing up off the couch. "My thirty seconds of fame has ended. Thank God."
"I'll send you the link to that post on Reddit. There's a huge group of people trying to figure out where the video came from. Lots of hackers. They'll figure it out." Joey said, rubbing his hands together.
"Well, I'm gonna go hide in my room and hope that nobody I know saw me on the news looking like an idiot." I laughed. "Do you need help with anything, Mom?"
She seemed lost in thought, staring at nothing in particular.
"Mom?" I said again, a little bit louder.
She shook her head and looked up at me. "Umm, no sweetie, I'm okay."
I nodded and started back up the stairs to my room.
"I'm proud of you, Amber. I know how much being on camera unnerves you and you did a great job. You should be proud of yourself." She said earnestly.
"Thanks, Ma." I sighed and tried to hide my smile. "Love you."
"Love you more."
I continued up the stairs to my room and sat down at my computer. I had been editing a portrait but just could not seem to get back into it. So I opened my web browser and started searching.
Is this the end of days? I typed into the search bar. Article upon article from bible thumping websites and blogs popped up. Not what I was looking for.
Real life angel in South America. That yielded some interesting articles. From what I could gather, the video in question had been taken from surveillance cameras by a hacker and released to the public and it was 100% authentic.
I kept searching and found a blog dedicated to all things Yellowstone Disappearances and was immediately sucked into a whirlwind of conspiracy theories.
"These people are as bad as the folks that think Elvis and JFK Junior are still alive." I mumbled to myself, clicking away from that website and searching for more information on disappearances farther away from Yellowstone and Grand Teton. I watched video after video on YouTube and before I knew it, it was after midnight. Yawning and rubbing my tired eyes, I stretched and changed into my pajamas.
For the next two months, almost every spare moment I had was spent researching the disappearances and then, as suddenly as they had begun, they stopped. Across the nation, there were more than 300 confirmed dead and close to fifteen hundred missing or otherwise unaccounted for. The Pacific Northwest, oddly enough, counted the fewest number of casualties.
The authorities stated that even though the bloodshed seemed to have stopped, there was no reason to lapse into complacency. They urged the public to stay vigilant and to always travel in groups of two or more. The buddy system from childhood making a comeback into our adult lives.
By Christmas, most folks had stopped talking about the killings altogether and chose to focus on some other weird, extraterrestrial happenings.
I welcomed the return of some normalcy back into our lives. Being that wound up about something so bizarre was absolutely exhausting.
Sometimes, during quiet moments, I wonder what would have happened if I would have kept listening to the news and all those emergency preparedness crazies? How different my life would have been? If I would have even had much of a life at all? There is no way to change the past though, and even knowing about all the crazy things going on in the world, I still took off alone that day.
That one decision completely altered my life.