Unforgettable

Throughout our lifetimes we will accrue an immeasurable amount of memories. Some of them may be pleasant and treasured forever: the birth of a child, a first kiss, or even a familiar smell that takes us back to our childhood. Some, however, are not so pleasant. I have plenty of great memories; unfortunately, I also have one that will haunt me for the rest of my life.

I lived in a rural town just outside of Ft. Bragg, North Carolina when I woke suddenly one morning--as if from a bad dream. As I cleared the sleep from my eyes, the dreams I had slowly danced into my mind and then quickly faded away as they often did. I spent several minutes reminiscing about the dreams I had that morning. Then, the “buzz” of my alarm clock snapped me back to reality as it screamed at me to get ready for another early morning commute to work. I clambered out of bed--still groggy from sleep--and stumbled into the bathroom. I went through my short morning routine which only consisted of a shower and a shave. As I stepped out of the bathroom, still wrapped in a towel and slightly wet, I noticed colorful flashes of light coming from just above the trees outside of my bedroom window. I quickly got dressed and rushed into the backyard to get a better look.

My feet were immediately saturated as I stepped out onto the cold, dew covered lawn. I stared in astonishment at the metallic, lemon shaped object hovering silently above the trees. I had never seen anything like it. Its immense size filled the sky like a large plane coming in for a landing. It had red pulsing lights on top and a solid, blue band of lights along the bottom. Its luminous glow began to light up the entire yard as it began to jerk aimlessly around in the sky. It was at this moment I realized I should not be outside. I started to run back to the safety of my home but the unusual craft persuaded me with a high pitched wailing sound. My eyes once again focused on the monstrous craft. I froze in fear as the front of the ship opened up like the shutter lens on a camera. It then blasted me with a brilliant white light. It felt like being hit by a linebacker as it knocked me to the ground. Next, another beam of light enveloped me and felt as if it were tearing me into pieces. I screamed out in agony as everything around me faded into darkness.

I slowly began to regain consciousness and found it difficult to move my head. A resounding low pitched hum filled my ears. Bright hanging lights swung around above me like a child’s mobile. The nauseating aroma of rotten eggs churned my stomach as it filled my lungs. I could taste the vomit that I struggled to keep down as I breathed it in. Fear began to creep in again as my eyes darted around to find that four strange beings surrounded me. They had large bulb shaped heads and their skin was a pale gray like the moon. They stood about 5 feet tall with slender bodies, long arms and only 4 fingers. Two of them were at my feet and appeared to be observing the other two which were standing next to me--one on each side. The painful bite of cold steel against my back helped me realize that I am lying on a table of some kind. My attention was directed towards my torso where I felt an excruciating burning sensation. The creatures were operating on me with strange tools that had a paltry blue glow. Their soulless black eyes seemed to ignore me as I squirmed in pain like a worm on a hook. I vociferated in horror and managed to grab one of them only to lose consciousness once again. When I woke up I found myself in my own bed and very confused. The memory only lasted a minute—like that of a dream. I would say the whole thing is just a nightmare if not for the two small burn scars near my chest.

I have since moved away from North Carolina and avoid living in rural areas. Every time I look into the night sky I think about that terrifying experience. To this day I have no idea what they did to me, what they wanted, or even what they were. All I know is that whatever happened to me that morning is etched into my mind forever.