This is a true life story.
• Year: 1959
• Country: Soviet Union (now Russia)
• State/Region: Sverdlovsk Oblast
• Place: Dyatlov Pass, in the Ural Mountains
Enjoyyyy.
1st Person POV – Zinaida Kolmogorova
The cold bit into my skin harshly, it was as if the mountains themselves were angry at our presence.
I huddled deeper into my coat, seeing my breath forming clouds in the night air.
The fire was dying quickly, crackling faintly as the only sound in the Ural wilderness.
Igor sat nearby, and I could see in his face from the low glow of the flames.
He was jotting something down in his journal, furrowing his brows like he did whenever he was thinking.
He always looked so confident, even when the rest of us doubted our ability to finish this treacherous pass.
"Zina," he called.
"How are you holding up?"
I forced a smile. "I've been warmer, but I'll live."
He chuckled softly, but it didn't reach his eyes.
None of us had been warm since we started this journey.
The temperatures had dropped far below what we'd expected. Even Yuri, the joker of the group, had stopped making funny quotes and jokes of the situation we were in.
The wind howled loudly outside our tent, sounding like a sad wail, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.
I glanced at Ludmila, who was sitting with her knees pulled to her chest, staring blankly at the fire.
Her lips were blue, and the exhaustion from all we had been through were resting on her pretty face.
"This storm is getting worse," she murmured.
"Maybe we should turn back."
Igor shook his head. "We're close to our goal. Just one more day, and we'll reach the summit."
Yuri laughed bitterly from his corner. "Assuming the mountain doesn't swallow us whole before then."
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We tried to sleep, but the wind didn't let us.
It screamed against the tent, making the tent's fabric ripple like it would tear it off soon in seconds.
I lay at my corner still awake, there was no way I could sleep in this cold and my clothes felt chill against my skin.
That's when I heard it.
A low hum coming from afar.
At first, I thought it was just the wind playing tricks on me, but then it grew louder.
It was a strange sound and I had never heard anything like it.
I sat up. "Did anyone else hear that?"
Rustling from the other side of the tent, Igor's head popped up.
"What is it?"
"That noise," I whispered back.
"It's coming from outside."
We all listened but the hum was gone, all that was left silence.
Too much silence.
Even the wind was quiet, it seemed to have died down.
"We should check it out," said Rustem, grabbing a flashlight.
"No," Igor said rather quickly.
"We stay in the tent. Whatever it is, it's not our concern."
"But what if it's someone in trouble?" Rustem countered.
He was right though, I thought silently.
The sound was like a mechanical hum, surely only machines could make that noise.
And machines meant Humans.
Igor hesitated, then sighed.
"Fine. Just a quick look. Zina, stay here."
I watched as Rustem, Igor, and Yuri stepped outside with their flashlights into the dark night to search for the sound's source.
The rest of us huddled together, waiting, for them to come back.
I told myself that once they were back we'll all sleep against each other.
Privacy and courtesy would have to wait till we got back to the city, I didn't want to die of cold.
Minutes passed, then there was a scream.
I bolted upright, feeling my heart race.
It was Yuri.
"They're coming!" he yelled.
His voice was filled with terror, I had never heard him sound like that before.
Igor and Rustem burst back into the tent and immediately slammed the flap shut behind them.
Their faces were pale, and Igor's hands trembled as he struggled to zip the tent closed.
"What happened?" I asked.
"There's… something out there," Rustem stammered.
"Something?" Ludmila repeated, she was panicking already.
"It's not human," Igor said urgently.
"We need to leave. Now."
-----------
We grabbed whatever we could, shoving supplies into bags and throwing on our worn boots.
The cold was merciless as we stumbled out into the night.
I had thought inside the tent was cold but outside was FREEZING.
"Where are we going?" Yuri shouted over the wind.
"Away from here," Igor shouted back.
"Stick together!"
The hum sound returned, louder this time, and with a faint light glowing in the distance.
I lost two heartbeats when I caught a glimpse of something moving in the snow.
"They're following us!" Ludmila cried.
"Keep moving!" Igor ordered.
---
The figures---- whatever it was chasing us, drew closer.
They didn't walk— it they did, I should have heard their footsteps as they ran.
My lungs burned and cooled in a huge contrast as I pushed myself forward.
The snow was not helping in ang way, it was dragging at my feet like quicksand.
Rustem stumbled and fell, we heard his cry of pain.
I turned to help him, but Igor grabbed my arm.
"Leave him!"
"We can't!" I shouted, tears were streaming down my face and freezing before they managed to touch my cheeks.
Rustem screamed and groaned behind us as the figures reached him, doing something that hurt to him.
Then, silence.
We found shelter in a cluster of trees, with branches that had no leaves but at least the heavy trunk was shielding us from the worst of the wind.
My body felt numb, and I couldn't stop shaking.
Ludmila sobbed quietly, hitting the side of her head with her hands.
"They're gone," Yuri's voice was hollow.
"Rustem's gone."
Igor looked at me, with guilt on his face. "We couldn't save him."
"What were those things?" I asked.
Igor shook his head. "I don't know."
We knew we had to leave there but we didn't make it far.
The figures found us again, and the worst part was we couldn't see them.
One by one, they picked us off. Yuri was the next to be taken and Ludmila was the last.
I swear I saw a large arm carry her into the air.
I tried to save her but all I got in my hands was her tongue.
And blood.
I screamed.
--------
When the rescue team found me days later, I was the only one left.
They said I was delirious, babbling about figures and strange lights.
An official report was written and claimed that we'd died from hypothermia and injuries caused by an 'avalanche'.
But I know the truth.
We weren't alone on that mountain.
And whatever was out there… it's still waiting.
---
The Dyatlov Pass claimed nine lives that winter. To this day, no one knows what truly happened. But if you ever hear a hum in the wilderness, run. Don't look back.