WEBVTT - Season 06 Episode 1: Lying in Wait 0:00:10.240 --> 0:00:14.000 Daud watched nervously as the choppers descended from out of 0:00:14.080 --> 0:00:18.680 the dawn sky, their giant blades thrumming ominously as they 0:00:18.720 --> 0:00:22.320 dropped closer to the ground, kicking up dust and beating 0:00:22.360 --> 0:00:27.440 back the green shoots of wheat now oscillating wildly before him. 0:00:27.440 --> 0:00:30.720 He turned sharply and made a quick retreat back into 0:00:30.840 --> 0:00:35.280 his house, bolting the door behind him. Then, peering out 0:00:35.360 --> 0:00:38.400 from the corner of a window, he watched as the 0:00:38.440 --> 0:00:42.240 first pair of camel colored combat boots hit the floor, 0:00:42.800 --> 0:00:47.120 soon followed by numerous others, and prayed to Allah that 0:00:47.240 --> 0:00:52.360 he would be left alone. Moments later, there came a loud, 0:00:52.600 --> 0:00:57.640 insistent knock at the door. The men, he assumed were 0:00:57.680 --> 0:01:02.200 Americans strangers, the people he'd been warned not to co 0:01:02.280 --> 0:01:05.520 operate with. They were joined at the door by a 0:01:05.560 --> 0:01:10.000 more familiar face, who put the stranger's short, insistent words 0:01:10.080 --> 0:01:14.440 into Pashtu so that he could understand their demands. But 0:01:14.560 --> 0:01:18.480 Daoud was finding it hard to concentrate, too distracted by 0:01:18.520 --> 0:01:22.759 the service rifles in their hands. Just a few weeks ago, 0:01:23.400 --> 0:01:26.840 men not unlike these killed a ten year old boy 0:01:27.040 --> 0:01:30.800 in Daoud's village. Just another of the tens of thousands 0:01:30.800 --> 0:01:34.039 of Afghan civilians that would fall victim to a war 0:01:34.520 --> 0:01:37.840 of which they had no control. Caught in the cross 0:01:37.880 --> 0:01:43.039 fire between Taliban insurgents and the invading US and British forces, 0:01:44.480 --> 0:01:48.200 while Daoud in his own home did his best not 0:01:48.320 --> 0:01:52.120 to seem guilty of anything. The interpreter explained that the 0:01:52.200 --> 0:01:55.760 soldiers wanted to use his home for the next few weeks, 0:01:55.800 --> 0:01:58.920 adding that they would pay good money for it, but 0:01:59.000 --> 0:02:02.720 Daoud couldn't possibly agree. If word got out to the 0:02:02.760 --> 0:02:07.160 Taliban that he'd taken money from Americans, the consequences would 0:02:07.160 --> 0:02:12.600 not be worth thinking about. Captain john Way's son sighed 0:02:12.639 --> 0:02:16.359 and looked about at his men, who were growing evermore skittish, 0:02:16.400 --> 0:02:20.079 stood out in the open, each passing second bringing them 0:02:20.120 --> 0:02:24.679 closer to the possibility of death. He and his men 0:02:24.760 --> 0:02:29.320 were Marines, members of the second Battalion, eighth Regiment, newly 0:02:29.400 --> 0:02:33.120 arrived in the region after spending two months acclimatizing at 0:02:33.200 --> 0:02:37.160 Camp leather Neck, the Marines primary base in Helmand Province 0:02:37.520 --> 0:02:41.920 in South Afghanistan. The unit formed a handful of the 0:02:42.000 --> 0:02:45.520 four thousand new troops sent into Helmand as part of 0:02:45.600 --> 0:02:49.040 Operation Kanjar. The latest roll of the Dice in the 0:02:49.160 --> 0:02:53.080 US government's efforts to neutralize the Taliban's grip on the region. 0:02:54.200 --> 0:02:57.880 It was July twenty oh nine, and with all things 0:02:57.919 --> 0:03:01.560 going to plan, the war would be all but over soon. 0:03:09.080 --> 0:03:13.600 Daoud's village, Shades, was one of many similar sized rural 0:03:13.600 --> 0:03:17.680 communities clustered around the Helmand River in the Gamsa district 0:03:17.680 --> 0:03:22.160 of Helmand. Although surrounded on all sides by endless miles 0:03:22.200 --> 0:03:26.480 of desert, here the land was rich and green, quite 0:03:26.520 --> 0:03:30.040 different to how many of the Marines had imagined Afghanistan 0:03:30.120 --> 0:03:33.960 to look. To some, it reminded them of the verdant 0:03:34.040 --> 0:03:38.480 countryside that surrounded their training base in North Carolina, though 0:03:38.480 --> 0:03:41.240 they were under no illusions of just how far from 0:03:41.240 --> 0:03:46.000 home they really were. Out of the twenty most dangerous 0:03:46.040 --> 0:03:50.680 districts of Afghanistan, according to the US military, nine were 0:03:50.760 --> 0:03:54.560 located in Helmand Province, being as it was a vital 0:03:54.600 --> 0:03:58.240 asset for the Taliban on account of the vast, sprawling 0:03:58.320 --> 0:04:01.680 poppy fields that also mind the banks of the Helmond River. 0:04:03.320 --> 0:04:07.080 The fields, which they cultivated for opium to help fund 0:04:07.120 --> 0:04:11.000 their operations, had flourished thanks to an extensive canal and 0:04:11.120 --> 0:04:14.560 irrigation system that had been constructed back in the nineteen 0:04:14.600 --> 0:04:18.840 fifties and sixties, largely with the help of significant US 0:04:18.960 --> 0:04:23.640 government investment. The system had even been partially designed by 0:04:23.640 --> 0:04:27.839 the company Morrison Knudson, perhaps better known for building the 0:04:27.880 --> 0:04:32.520 Hoover Dam and the San Francisco Bay Bridge, just one 0:04:32.560 --> 0:04:36.680 of the many ironies that characterized this most messy of wars. 0:04:38.200 --> 0:04:41.359 The attempt to commandeer Daoud's home was part of a 0:04:41.400 --> 0:04:44.760 new tactic to go from village to village, setting up 0:04:44.760 --> 0:04:48.440 out posts and establishing a visible presence throughout the region 0:04:49.080 --> 0:04:53.080 to try and root out any Taliban strongholds while simultaneously 0:04:53.320 --> 0:04:56.720 engaging with the local population in the hope of winning 0:04:56.760 --> 0:05:01.800 their support. For those like Daou, it is a fraught existence, 0:05:02.200 --> 0:05:05.520 struck between the harsh authority of the Taliban and the 0:05:05.600 --> 0:05:10.839 ambiguous motives of the invading forces. For those like Captain's 0:05:10.839 --> 0:05:13.960 Son and his men, it is just the beginning of 0:05:14.000 --> 0:05:17.839 what must seem an impossible task, the first of many 0:05:18.000 --> 0:05:20.919 they will face together in the next seven months of 0:05:20.960 --> 0:05:26.720 their deployment. On this occasion, it ends with Daoud being 0:05:26.760 --> 0:05:29.080 forced to give up his home for at least the 0:05:29.080 --> 0:05:32.839 next two weeks. After local elders convince him to hand 0:05:32.880 --> 0:05:38.080 over his property. Daoud has barely finished loading the last 0:05:38.120 --> 0:05:41.560 of his possessions onto a cart when the Marines move in. 0:05:43.080 --> 0:05:46.920 He doesn't take the money, telling them instead to make 0:05:46.920 --> 0:05:49.080 it known that he had no choice in the matter, 0:05:49.960 --> 0:06:00.880 and in many ways he didn't. Not far from Shades, 0:06:01.320 --> 0:06:04.600 another unit from the second and eighth are undertaking their 0:06:04.640 --> 0:06:09.440 first patrol outside the wire. Among them is twenty year 0:06:09.440 --> 0:06:14.559 old Lance Corporal Charles Seth Sharp, Hailing from the town 0:06:14.600 --> 0:06:18.919 of Adairsville in northwestern Georgia, Sharp had been motivated to 0:06:19.000 --> 0:06:22.000 join the Marines, partly in an effort to bring structure 0:06:22.040 --> 0:06:25.120 and focus to his life and to make his family proud, 0:06:25.720 --> 0:06:28.880 but mostly by a desire to fight for those who 0:06:28.960 --> 0:06:33.599 couldn't fight for themselves. While stationed in a rack the 0:06:33.720 --> 0:06:37.280 year before, Sharp made a strange request to his family, 0:06:37.800 --> 0:06:41.279 asking them to send him coloring books and crayons for Christmas. 0:06:42.240 --> 0:06:45.479 As he explained to his bemused parents, he wanted to 0:06:45.480 --> 0:06:47.919 give them to all the kids he'd met throughout his 0:06:48.000 --> 0:06:52.760 time there. Only a few days before heading out on patrol, 0:06:53.520 --> 0:06:56.760 Sharp had written a letter to his grandmother telling her 0:06:56.839 --> 0:06:58.919 that he was about to take part in a mission 0:06:59.240 --> 0:07:02.040 that his grand children would learn about in history class, 0:07:03.160 --> 0:07:07.520 but Sharp would never live to have grandchildren. That morning, 0:07:07.560 --> 0:07:11.080 on his first patrol, his unit came under attack, and 0:07:11.200 --> 0:07:13.560 he was shot in the neck by an unseen shooter 0:07:14.040 --> 0:07:18.280 and died soon after, becoming the first US casualty of 0:07:18.360 --> 0:07:24.320 Operation Khanjar. For many in the second Battalion and eighth Regiment, 0:07:24.960 --> 0:07:27.400 the time spent in Camp leather Neck had been a 0:07:27.440 --> 0:07:32.200 frustrating one. All cooped up together under one giant tent 0:07:32.800 --> 0:07:38.120 nicknamed the Circus Tent. Having trained for months building themselves 0:07:38.200 --> 0:07:41.280 up for action, the last thing they wanted was to 0:07:41.320 --> 0:07:45.960 be sitting around kicking their heels in the desert. Sharp's 0:07:46.000 --> 0:07:48.880 death was a harsh wake up call to the reality 0:07:48.920 --> 0:07:52.480 of combat and a brutal reminder of the true nature 0:07:52.720 --> 0:07:56.880 of the battle they were engaged in. The Taliban were 0:07:56.920 --> 0:08:00.240 not a simple enemy to be routed and crushed through 0:08:00.280 --> 0:08:03.960 sheer might and will. There were no military compounds to 0:08:04.040 --> 0:08:09.560 storm or governments to overthrow. Theirs was a much longer game, 0:08:10.160 --> 0:08:15.120 characterized by stealth than surprise. Their presence felt not by 0:08:15.160 --> 0:08:19.000 what you did see, but what you didn't. A movement 0:08:19.080 --> 0:08:22.560 in the tree line up ahead, or the improvised explosive 0:08:22.600 --> 0:08:26.920 device buried six inches under the ground and primed to kill, 0:08:28.120 --> 0:08:31.040 And even when they did finally make their presence known, 0:08:31.600 --> 0:08:36.160 they could just as quickly disappear, like phantoms, back into 0:08:36.200 --> 0:08:41.360 the landscape, each member often indistinguishable to the Marines from 0:08:41.360 --> 0:08:45.880 the many other people whose land they now stalked. As 0:08:45.960 --> 0:08:50.240 one Taliban commander was often fond of saying, the Americans 0:08:50.320 --> 0:08:56.280 might have the watches, but they had the time. Of 0:08:56.360 --> 0:08:59.679 all the conflicts in recent years, it is little wonder 0:08:59.760 --> 0:09:04.120 that from out of this one tales of ghosts would emerge. 0:09:05.200 --> 0:09:14.760 You're listening to Unexplained and I'm Richard McClean smith. 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The 0:10:35.480 --> 0:10:38.680 small group of marines stamped their feet to keep warm 0:10:39.120 --> 0:10:42.520 as a hazy, pale sun crept up over the makeshift 0:10:42.559 --> 0:10:47.080 walls of Patrol Base Hassanabad, a rudimentary settlement on the 0:10:47.120 --> 0:10:51.200 outskirts of Hassanabad Village that was comprised of little more 0:10:51.440 --> 0:10:55.680 than giant reinforced sacks of gravel and a few canvas tents. 0:10:57.120 --> 0:11:00.559 On the orders of their sergeant, the eight men, comprising 0:11:00.559 --> 0:11:05.160 a unit from Golf Company, second Battalion, eighth regiment jumped 0:11:05.160 --> 0:11:08.960 into the waiting armored trucks and sat anxiously as the 0:11:09.040 --> 0:11:14.080 gate was opened. Moments later, they were out beyond the 0:11:14.120 --> 0:11:18.080 perimeter wall, huddled together with the nervous energy of the 0:11:18.160 --> 0:11:22.480 recently deployed, the prospect of hitting an ied and ever 0:11:22.600 --> 0:11:27.360 constant in their minds. For some, this was little more 0:11:27.400 --> 0:11:31.600 than routine. For others, like twenty two year old Lance 0:11:31.679 --> 0:11:36.000 Corporal Adam Wilson, this was their first assignment beyond the wire. 0:11:37.559 --> 0:11:41.080 Wilson looked out through the truck's dusty window at the 0:11:41.120 --> 0:11:45.520 alien landscape beyond, a mix of scrub and wheat fields, 0:11:46.080 --> 0:11:49.240 a far cry from his home city of Xenia, Ohio, 0:11:50.600 --> 0:11:54.760 while up above, a compatriot tended the truck's single machine gun, 0:11:55.200 --> 0:12:00.280 surveying the horizon for any signs of a threat. Thank fleet, 0:12:00.360 --> 0:12:03.240 with only a few hundred meters to travel, it wasn't 0:12:03.240 --> 0:12:06.880 long before they arrived at their destination, the trucks skidding 0:12:06.880 --> 0:12:09.960 to a stop beside what looked like little more than 0:12:10.000 --> 0:12:14.400 a huge pile of mud. After quickly vacating the vehicle, 0:12:14.760 --> 0:12:17.360 the men took a moment to survey the place they 0:12:17.360 --> 0:12:20.680 would be calling home for the next sixty days, a 0:12:20.800 --> 0:12:24.520 small outpost set up about twenty meters high on the 0:12:24.559 --> 0:12:29.840 top of a strange dirt hill designated Observation Point Rock, 0:12:30.760 --> 0:12:40.840 or simply the Rock. Being the highest point for some 0:12:40.920 --> 0:12:44.719 considerable distance, the rock was an obvious place to put 0:12:44.760 --> 0:12:48.720 an observation post from which any incoming enemies could be 0:12:48.760 --> 0:12:52.120 spotted long before they had time to reach the patrol base. 0:12:53.440 --> 0:12:57.079 Despite its relative closeness to the base, the facilities were 0:12:57.080 --> 0:13:01.400 basic at best, with no electricity, running water, or even 0:13:01.480 --> 0:13:05.160 beds to sleep in. As such, it was necessary to 0:13:05.200 --> 0:13:09.040 maintain a steady rotation of personnel to occupy the post. 0:13:10.480 --> 0:13:14.400 Feeling thoroughly exposed and with the heat already beginning to rise, 0:13:14.920 --> 0:13:17.880 the Marines quickly made their way to the shelter of 0:13:17.920 --> 0:13:22.440 the compound above, where they were greeted by its outgoing occupiers, 0:13:23.000 --> 0:13:27.439 a group of Welsh guards from the British Army. Lance 0:13:27.520 --> 0:13:31.240 Corporal Wilson couldn't help contrasting the fresh faces of his 0:13:31.280 --> 0:13:36.040 fellow Marines with this tired, despondent group of men hastily 0:13:36.080 --> 0:13:41.920 packing their bags, evidently in a hurry to vacate the place. Meanwhile, 0:13:42.200 --> 0:13:46.200 Corporal Jacob Lna, the units second in command, made his 0:13:46.280 --> 0:13:49.400 way along one of the few shallow trenches that had 0:13:49.440 --> 0:13:52.400 been carved out of the mound and surveyed the scene. 0:13:53.600 --> 0:13:56.520 The post was centered around a single machine gun that 0:13:56.640 --> 0:13:58.880 poked out of a small hutch on the west side 0:13:58.880 --> 0:14:02.800 of the hill. Some old magazines were littered about the place, 0:14:03.360 --> 0:14:06.320 while the remnants of a small homemade jim could just 0:14:06.480 --> 0:14:12.240 be glimpsed from underneath some camouflage netting. Just then, Lina 0:14:12.320 --> 0:14:15.240 was startled by the bark of a dog, which revealed 0:14:15.240 --> 0:14:20.480 itself moments later, eager to meet the new arrivals. As 0:14:20.520 --> 0:14:23.560 one of the British soldiers explained, it was a local 0:14:23.640 --> 0:14:29.000 stray that adopted. Calling it ugly Betty, Lina promised to 0:14:29.000 --> 0:14:33.400 look after it for them. Ordinarily, this would be the 0:14:33.480 --> 0:14:36.280 point at which the previous group took a moment to 0:14:36.320 --> 0:14:40.440 go over a few details about the local landscape, sniper 0:14:40.520 --> 0:14:43.560 spots to look out for, or any individuals they might 0:14:43.640 --> 0:14:47.000 want to be suspicious of, but the Welsh guards offered 0:14:47.040 --> 0:14:51.400 no such courtesy, preferring simply to clear out as quickly 0:14:51.440 --> 0:14:55.920 as possible. There was one piece of advice, however, that 0:14:56.040 --> 0:14:59.880 they were willing to impart should the men dig any 0:15:01.320 --> 0:15:03.920 it might be best to put it back where they 0:15:04.000 --> 0:15:14.400 found it. The Marines soon made themselves busy settling into 0:15:14.440 --> 0:15:17.000 their new home as they quickly got down to the 0:15:17.040 --> 0:15:20.640 business of determining sentry shifts and figuring out the most 0:15:20.720 --> 0:15:26.160 comfortable places to get some sleep. With temperatures routinely hitting 0:15:26.160 --> 0:15:29.720 close to forty degrees celsius, finding ways to stay in 0:15:29.720 --> 0:15:34.040 the shade would also be vital. As the last of 0:15:34.080 --> 0:15:37.840 that first day's light ebbed away and the hazy, pink 0:15:37.960 --> 0:15:41.240 and bluish hues of dusk descend it, the men could 0:15:41.240 --> 0:15:44.560 be thankful to have made it through the day without incident. 0:15:46.080 --> 0:15:50.040 That evening, Corporal Lena took first watch at the machine gun, 0:15:50.600 --> 0:15:54.160 gazing out at the complicated mix of homes, fields and 0:15:54.280 --> 0:15:58.200 fir trees dotted before him, the shadows growing longer and 0:15:58.320 --> 0:16:03.520 longer before dissolving momentarily, only to later re emerge under 0:16:03.520 --> 0:16:07.800 the gentle light of the moon. Not far to the south, 0:16:08.400 --> 0:16:11.440 Lina could just make out the old, rusted shells of 0:16:11.560 --> 0:16:16.000 two Soviet era tanks half buried in the earth, remnants 0:16:16.040 --> 0:16:20.440 of a past both distant yet inextricably linked to Lena's 0:16:20.480 --> 0:16:24.520 own presence. Thirty years later and only a few hundred 0:16:24.520 --> 0:16:29.360 meters away. The tanks were as alien to this landscape 0:16:29.400 --> 0:16:32.320 as Lina was, each of them brought here by the 0:16:32.440 --> 0:16:36.680 same winds that had left so many unwitting people sprawling 0:16:36.680 --> 0:16:41.840 in its wake. Lina scanned back across the fields, almost 0:16:41.880 --> 0:16:45.000 willing for something to happen, doing his best to stop 0:16:45.040 --> 0:16:49.040 his mind from wandering. It was always difficult being on 0:16:49.160 --> 0:16:52.640 watch in such places of isolation, trying to tow the 0:16:52.720 --> 0:16:57.440 line between staying alert to any possible threat while simultaneously 0:16:57.800 --> 0:17:00.960 trying your hardest not to allow the ability of such 0:17:01.000 --> 0:17:05.960 a threat to overwhelm you. Lena was just eyeing the 0:17:06.000 --> 0:17:09.160 lip of a nearby ditch when a burst of static 0:17:09.440 --> 0:17:12.879 blared out of the outpost's radio, causing him to jump, 0:17:14.240 --> 0:17:18.520 catching himself. Lena turned to face it, anticipating an imminent 0:17:18.640 --> 0:17:23.160 communication from the patrol base. Then the radio crackled again, 0:17:24.280 --> 0:17:28.280 a muffled voice just about audible swimming around in the 0:17:28.320 --> 0:17:32.240 thick of it. Lena grabbed the device and fiddled with 0:17:32.280 --> 0:17:36.560 the controls, switching it back to the required frequency. He 0:17:36.680 --> 0:17:39.360 called up the bass and asked them to repeat the message, 0:17:40.040 --> 0:17:43.240 but the voice at the other end was confused. They 0:17:43.280 --> 0:17:48.280 hadn't sent a message. Lena looked again at the radio, 0:17:48.840 --> 0:17:52.840 then apologized for wasting the bass operator's time and turned 0:17:52.880 --> 0:17:58.920 back to the gun. Moments later, the radio crackled into 0:17:58.960 --> 0:18:05.200 life again, and once again Lena heard that strange muffled voice. 0:18:07.000 --> 0:18:10.800 Listening closer, he soon realized it wasn't speaking in English, 0:18:11.560 --> 0:18:16.199 it was speaking Russian. Perhaps the radio was picking up 0:18:16.240 --> 0:18:20.040 someone else's transmissions, he thought, giving the radio a thump. 0:18:21.119 --> 0:18:31.040 Or perhaps he was simply imagining things. It took me 0:18:31.080 --> 0:18:33.280 a long time to realize that it isn't the bed 0:18:33.520 --> 0:18:36.400 or even the mattress necessarily that makes for the perfect 0:18:36.440 --> 0:18:40.160 sleeping experience. It's the sheets. I might not be sure 0:18:40.200 --> 0:18:43.440 of much in life, but this I can guarantee you 0:18:44.119 --> 0:18:46.280 that feeling when you get home from a stay at 0:18:46.280 --> 0:18:49.160 your parent's house or a night at a fancy hotel. 0:18:49.280 --> 0:18:52.240 If you're so lucky and your bed just doesn't feel 0:18:52.280 --> 0:18:56.160 the same, I'm telling you now, it's the sheets. Recently, 0:18:56.200 --> 0:18:58.320 I was lucky enough to get a set of sheets 0:18:58.320 --> 0:19:00.520 from Ball and Branch, and if it wasn't for the 0:19:00.520 --> 0:19:02.840 fact that I have to wash them from time to time, 0:19:03.160 --> 0:19:06.640 I'd never take them off. But as it happens incredibly, 0:19:06.960 --> 0:19:10.480 they get even softer with every wash, buttery soft and 0:19:10.600 --> 0:19:14.600 lightweight in a hundred percent organic cotton satine weave. Boll 0:19:14.640 --> 0:19:17.880 and Branch sheets are also made with toxin free processes 0:19:18.040 --> 0:19:21.840 and fair trade certification to ensure workers are paid fair 0:19:22.040 --> 0:19:25.280 living wages. To experience the best sheets you've ever felt, 0:19:25.600 --> 0:19:28.320 choose Ball and Branch. You can try them worry free 0:19:28.359 --> 0:19:31.240 for thirty nights with free shipping and returns, and my 0:19:31.320 --> 0:19:34.320 listeners can get an exclusive fifteen percent off your first 0:19:34.320 --> 0:19:37.639 set of sheets with promo code unexplained that Ball and 0:19:37.680 --> 0:19:42.040 Branch dot com. That's Ball and Branch bo ll and 0:19:42.200 --> 0:19:52.080 Branch dot com. Promo code unexplained. Over the next few days, 0:19:52.440 --> 0:19:55.320 with little else to do with their time, the marines 0:19:55.359 --> 0:20:00.040 attention soon turned to fortifying their position. Most pressing of 0:20:00.080 --> 0:20:02.600 all was the fact that, with the exception of a 0:20:02.640 --> 0:20:07.639 few well placed sandbags, nowhere offered significant safety from most 0:20:07.760 --> 0:20:11.959 potential lines of enemy fire. Though some trenches had been 0:20:12.040 --> 0:20:15.360 dug in and around to compound, none were deep enough 0:20:15.600 --> 0:20:19.560 to bring you lower than the parapet without crouching, And 0:20:19.640 --> 0:20:23.080 so it was one morning that Corporal Lena and Lance 0:20:23.160 --> 0:20:27.560 Corporal Wilson along with one other compatriot, began the arduous 0:20:27.560 --> 0:20:33.480 task of rectifying the situation. The clatter of shovels scraping 0:20:33.520 --> 0:20:36.840 dirt rang out through the camp as the men battled 0:20:36.880 --> 0:20:40.600 against the rock hard ground and the ever rising temperatures. 0:20:41.560 --> 0:20:45.119 As Wilson paused for some water, Lena dug his shovel 0:20:45.160 --> 0:20:48.280 in once more, only for it to clang against something 0:20:48.560 --> 0:20:52.560 buried a few inches under the surface. Lena threw down 0:20:52.600 --> 0:20:55.919 his shovel and pulled a thin, tangled strip of metal 0:20:56.200 --> 0:20:59.240 from the ground. Then he blew off the dirt and 0:20:59.359 --> 0:21:02.960 held it up to the light. It was hard to 0:21:03.000 --> 0:21:06.320 tell what it was exactly, an old piece of shrapnel, 0:21:06.359 --> 0:21:11.280 most likely, suggested Wilson. Lena nodded in agreement as he 0:21:11.320 --> 0:21:14.240 tried to read some strange markings that had been etched 0:21:14.280 --> 0:21:19.080 onto the side of it. It looked like syrillic. He 0:21:19.200 --> 0:21:22.879 thought back to that strange radio transmission from the night before, 0:21:23.560 --> 0:21:26.520 but thought better of telling Wilson about it lest he 0:21:26.600 --> 0:21:31.159 sound like he was going crazy. Half an hour later, 0:21:31.200 --> 0:21:33.919 with the men having hardly made a dent in the trench, 0:21:34.440 --> 0:21:38.200 Wilson slammed his shovel into the ground, unearthing a small 0:21:38.280 --> 0:21:43.439 sunken space about two feet wide beyond it. Spotting something 0:21:43.480 --> 0:21:47.480 within it, Wilson reached inside and pulled it out, then 0:21:47.560 --> 0:21:51.960 recoiled in horror. It was unmistakably the leg bone of 0:21:52.000 --> 0:21:56.480 a human. Wilson's colleague grabbed it from him and goofed 0:21:56.480 --> 0:21:59.600 around with it, but neither Wilson or Lena saw the 0:21:59.600 --> 0:22:03.840 funny side. Remembering suddenly those final words the British had 0:22:03.880 --> 0:22:07.320 said to them, if you dig anything up, you should 0:22:07.359 --> 0:22:12.000 probably make sure to bury it, Lena grabbed the bone 0:22:12.359 --> 0:22:16.520 and put it back where Wilson had found it, having 0:22:16.560 --> 0:22:20.639 got back to the task at hand. Moments later, Wilson 0:22:21.000 --> 0:22:26.399 found another fragment of bone. Then Lena did too. In fact, 0:22:26.520 --> 0:22:31.159 the more they digged, the more bones they uncovered. It 0:22:31.280 --> 0:22:34.879 soon became clear why the previous occupants had preferred not 0:22:34.920 --> 0:22:39.360 to dig any deeper. They were camped on a graveyard. 0:22:46.359 --> 0:22:49.360 As news of the gruesome discovery made its way through 0:22:49.400 --> 0:22:51.640 the group, it was hard not to be a little 0:22:51.720 --> 0:22:55.760 unsettled by it. Even in the height of war, such 0:22:55.800 --> 0:23:00.600 things rarely fail to make the skin crawl. Perhaps it 0:23:00.720 --> 0:23:03.320 was all the talk of the bones, or perhaps it 0:23:03.440 --> 0:23:06.840 was the strange remoteness of the location and the unending 0:23:06.880 --> 0:23:10.320 cycle of boredom that comes with occupying such a post. 0:23:11.040 --> 0:23:14.560 Either way, something of the place was beginning to seep 0:23:14.640 --> 0:23:20.760 into the men. Two weeks later, Corporal Austin Hoyte celebrated 0:23:20.760 --> 0:23:25.159 his twentieth birthday. That night, it was his turn to 0:23:25.200 --> 0:23:29.960 take machine gun duty. Growing up on a farm back 0:23:29.960 --> 0:23:32.720 in the States, he was used to the quiet and 0:23:32.840 --> 0:23:35.359 had thought nothing of being stationed out at the rock 0:23:35.560 --> 0:23:40.000 for sixty days. But back home the quiet was something 0:23:40.080 --> 0:23:44.480 to be cherished and revered. Here it was only ever 0:23:44.560 --> 0:23:48.639 a vacuum for the worst thoughts to infiltrate. It was 0:23:48.680 --> 0:23:52.240 a quiet that spoke not of wistful hopes and dreams, 0:23:52.880 --> 0:23:57.280 but only of things lying in wait. When suddenly the 0:23:57.359 --> 0:24:03.399 quiet was broken by horrifics, Hoyt scrambled for his night 0:24:03.520 --> 0:24:09.000 vision binoculars and scoured the perimeter fencing below, assuming someone 0:24:09.080 --> 0:24:12.560 had been caught in the razor wire, But the fencing 0:24:12.640 --> 0:24:17.680 was completely empty and untouched. Luring the binoculars to the ground, 0:24:18.160 --> 0:24:21.560 Hoyt gasped at the sight of a large humanoid shadow 0:24:22.040 --> 0:24:27.200 darting out across a nearby field. Moments later, it was gone. 0:24:29.160 --> 0:24:32.879 Just then, Wilson and Lena burst into the machine gun post, 0:24:33.200 --> 0:24:36.960 clutching their M four rifles. They'd heard the scream two. 0:24:38.280 --> 0:24:41.159 With no choice but to head out and investigate, the 0:24:41.280 --> 0:24:44.000 three of them cautiously made their way to the perimeter 0:24:44.119 --> 0:24:48.480 fencing and stepped out beyond the wire. But after a 0:24:48.520 --> 0:24:53.080 thorough scout of the surrounding area, the men found nothing. 0:25:00.680 --> 0:25:04.920 After only four weeks. Lance Corporal Zolnick can't quite put 0:25:04.920 --> 0:25:07.879 his finger on it, but it's clear that something in 0:25:07.920 --> 0:25:12.200 the mood of the men has shifted. Taking machine gun 0:25:12.200 --> 0:25:15.200 watch that night, as all the stars of the desert 0:25:15.440 --> 0:25:18.560 emerged one by one from out of the sky, he 0:25:18.680 --> 0:25:21.879 soon finds his mind wandering to thoughts of family and 0:25:22.040 --> 0:25:26.040 loved ones back home. Phoning home is a rare event 0:25:26.080 --> 0:25:29.600 at the best of times for military personnel, but being 0:25:29.640 --> 0:25:32.440 stationed out here, it will be months before he is 0:25:32.480 --> 0:25:36.000 able to speak to any of them again. For many 0:25:36.119 --> 0:25:39.840 service personnel posted all over the world far from home, 0:25:40.480 --> 0:25:43.520 especially with so many being barely out of their teens 0:25:43.680 --> 0:25:47.000 and in young relationships and marriages, it can be all 0:25:47.040 --> 0:25:50.800 too easy to let the separation eat you up, and 0:25:50.960 --> 0:25:54.399 equally so for those left back at home, whether in 0:25:54.480 --> 0:25:58.760 loving relationships or deteriorating ones. Not knowing if they might 0:25:58.840 --> 0:26:03.640 ever speak to their parts or relatives again, many preferred 0:26:03.680 --> 0:26:06.520 not to call home at all to avoid the pain 0:26:06.600 --> 0:26:10.320 of hearing their loved one's voices. Others are reluctant to 0:26:10.359 --> 0:26:13.840 make any promises of future calls, just in case they 0:26:13.840 --> 0:26:18.439 are unable to fulfill it. Zolnick took a swig of 0:26:18.480 --> 0:26:21.719 water to perk himself up, and slapped away at another 0:26:21.800 --> 0:26:25.560 giant moth that was buzzing about his head, when suddenly 0:26:26.119 --> 0:26:30.160 he felt the unmistakable sensation of a cold breeze across 0:26:30.160 --> 0:26:34.639 his face, followed by what sounded like a voice whispering 0:26:34.680 --> 0:26:38.960 to him from out of the darkness. Zolnick spun round, 0:26:39.240 --> 0:26:44.399 looking about. Who's there, he said, but there was no reply. 0:26:45.640 --> 0:26:48.520 It was only then that he noticed just how cold 0:26:48.560 --> 0:26:52.760 the air had suddenly become, and then the whispering voice 0:26:53.200 --> 0:26:57.879 came again. Zolnick jumped, God, damn it, that isn't funny, 0:26:58.080 --> 0:27:03.480 he said, still looking about. Then the sound of footsteps approached, 0:27:03.920 --> 0:27:08.000 crunching in the dirt outside. Zolnick froze at the sound 0:27:08.000 --> 0:27:10.879 of them as they drew near, then moved up to 0:27:10.960 --> 0:27:13.960 the top of the mound above the machine gun post. 0:27:15.040 --> 0:27:18.240 Assuming with relief that one of his colleagues had finally 0:27:18.280 --> 0:27:21.639 come to join him, Zolnick grabbed his m fore and 0:27:21.800 --> 0:27:26.080 ran out of the hutch. Hoyt, is that you, he said, 0:27:26.280 --> 0:27:28.439 as he looked up to the top of the mound, 0:27:29.760 --> 0:27:34.040 but no one was there. Doing his best to suppress 0:27:34.119 --> 0:27:38.280 the rising fear, Zolnik ran back inside and pointed his 0:27:38.359 --> 0:27:40.679 gun toward the stretch of land at the base of 0:27:40.720 --> 0:27:43.840 the mound and hurriedly scanned it back and forth through 0:27:43.920 --> 0:27:48.600 his thermal scope, when suddenly he spotted the white thermal 0:27:48.640 --> 0:27:52.160 outline of a figure standing about a hundred yards from 0:27:52.160 --> 0:27:57.800 the outpost. Moments later, Lance Corporal Hoyt arrived to relieve 0:27:57.880 --> 0:28:01.480 Zolnik of his duty, finding him clearly rattled by something. 0:28:02.480 --> 0:28:06.280 That someone there, insisted Zolnick, but when he looked again, 0:28:07.000 --> 0:28:10.560 the figure was gone. Hoyt took a look through his 0:28:10.600 --> 0:28:14.240 own scope and then through the night vision binoculars, but 0:28:14.400 --> 0:28:19.679 saw nothing. I guess they're gone now, said Hoyt, before 0:28:19.720 --> 0:28:22.880 patting Zolnick on the shoulder and telling him to get 0:28:22.960 --> 0:28:30.800 some sleep. Is there something interfering with your happiness or 0:28:30.800 --> 0:28:34.240