I have had experiences before... But this series of events made me completely aware that what we see is not always all that is there.
During my first deployment in 2004. I was stationed at CAMP ANACONDA... Pretty much in the heart of Iraq. After my unit had settled in, we were given the unfortunate news that we would be relocated to norther Iraq to FOB (forward operating base) Endurance. This was terrible news considering we had gotten used to the swimming pool and cable television Anaconda had provided. Endurance was no more then a few tents and old airplane hangars. For those unfamiliar with the invasion of Iraq by the US military, we basically took over most of Iraq's military stations and used them ourselves. My unit was given 2 airplane hangars to house our 4 platoons. Outside of my platoons hangar there was an old concrete bunker. One way in, one way out... With my unit's generator sitting within 10 feet of the opening, which was a metal blast door.
Well, months into my deployment I became "friendly" with a female soldier from my Company's mechanic's platoon. We needed a private place to go as the relationship we shared was, although known about, was instructed by our superiors to be kept "out of sight... Out of mind."
Well we chose the bunker. As we first explored it, the hallway from the blast door slanted downwards for about 20 feet until it came into an open area about 10 feet by 10 feet. Total darkness as it was underground. We would take flashlights and our laptop computers each night down to the bunker and spend the night as I had fashioned a makeshift bed from my unit's supply of lumber. (We were an engineering unit.) What made the bunker appealing was the early warning system that came with it. Being the generator which supplied power to the hangar was right outside the blast door, if any curious officer decided to go looking for us in the bunker, when the blast door was opened the sound from the generator would instantly become almost deafening and we knew someone had opened it.
Enough background... Here is what stopped the bunker trips.
Well about the second night on, Sarah would wake me in the middle of the night telling me she was hearing something inside the bunker with us. At first I attributed the noise she was hearing to hedgehogs, as that part of Iraq is lousy with them. I shrugged it off until I heard the noise. There was no doubt... They were footsteps. The night before the last night we stayed down there I awoke to whispering coming from the corner, which was followed by footsteps that approached my side of the bed. I woke Sarah and reluctantly turned my flashlight on... Fearing what came next. But there was nothing. No body, no footprints, and worst of all, the the blast door was closed just like we left it.
The last night started with Sarah warning whatever was down there that we were not in the mood to be messed with and that we just needed are sleep. We both fell asleep as we reassured the other we were just hearing things. Again that night Sarah woke me and we sat there in total darkness listening to whispers coming from the corner... Two different voices. Followed by footsteps approaching our bed, and then our bed violently shook for just a couple seconds, and then a tremendous sound as if a metal plate had just been dropped next to the bed. In our panic it took me a good 45 seconds to locate the flashlight. But once on there again was nothing with us. No footprints, no evidence of what made the loud crashing sound. That was our last night in that bunker.
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