I've been a Search and Rescue volunteer for 8 years. Three days ago I found something terrifying.

I've been an SAR volunteer for eight years now. I've seen my fair share of recoveries, and I've found more missing people than I can count. Most the time they're dead of exposure or dehydration. Occasionally it's an animal attack. I've found people torn apart by cougars, bears, and even wolves. Those are the ones that stick with you. The ones that you can't get out of your head, no matter *how hard you try.* Three days ago, I found a little girl missing in the woods. She was the daughter of a man who'd asked his friend to come fish up in the mountains. He and his daughter were supposed to meet him up here, but they never showed up. The friend waited for a day before calling the authorities. They found the father and daughter's car upside down in a creek, about a mile from where the friend was staying. But they couldn't find any sign of the father or daughter. That's where I came in. Along with a few other volunteers and some professionals, I was sent out to search the woods. We looked for *hours*, and eventually, someone found a piece of fabric caught in a bush. Ducting behind it, we found a piece of a pink sweater. It was the little girl. She was the daughter that had been missing. And she was alive. Or so we thought. When we found her, she was just sitting there, her back against a tree. She looked over at us, and she didn't move. "Hello," I said, crouching down. "Are you ok?" She stared at me with this strange, blank expression. It was almost like she was dead. "Sweetie," I said. "Where's your father?" She didn't respond. I looked back at the others. "Can somebody call this in and get some help up here?" One of them nodded and walked off. "I'm going to ask you again," I said. "Sweetie, where's your father?" She looked at me with that same blank expression, but this time, she responded. "I've gone home," she said. "Excuse me?" I said. "I've gone home." I frowned. "Well, can you tell me who *you* are?" "I am Daria." I frowned. This wasn't the name the police said. It was something more typical. Madison or McDaniels or something like that. I couldn't remember. "Listen," I said. "How old are you?" "I am four years old." "Well, Daria," I said. "How did you end up here?" "I came looking for someone," she said. "Who were you looking for," I said. "I was looking formatthias." I frowned. "Matthias?" "He's my brother." "Well, Daria," I said. "Why were you looking for Matthias?" "I was looking formatthias becausenow I am all alone." I frowned. "Where's your father?" "I've gone home," she said. "I thought you said *you* were Daria." "I am Daria." "Then who's 'I'?" And then she said something that chilled me to my bone. "I am the one who lives in the tree." "What do you mean," I said. "I am the one who lives in the tree," she said. "I am the one who lives in the tree." "I-" "Don't listen to her," someone said. I looked up to see one of the professionals walking towards me. "Don't listen to her," he said. "She's taken some kind of hit. We need to get her out of here and to a hospital." "But-" He gestured to the others. "Get her out of here." Two of the volunteers moved forwards and picked her up. I watched them go before turning to the professional. "What was that all about?" I said. He read my expression. "You've seen some weird shit in this job, right?" "Of course," I said. "But this was on another level." "Then you know that, as an SAR operative, you can't listen to everything people say. A lot of people, especially children, will say strange shit when they're suffering from bad exposure or dehydration." I nodded. "But this was different," I said. He nodded. "I know." "Are you gonna tell me what was going on?" "No," he said. "I'm going to go help some people get a little girl to a hospital." I scowled at him. He walked off without looking back. I thought about that little girl all the way home. She was the last thing on my mind before I went to bed that night. And she was the first thing on my mind when I woke up the next morning. Something about her bothered me. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but something she said had struck a chord in me. I replayed our conversation over and over in my head, trying to figure out what was bothering me so much. It wasn't until I was washing dishes from last night's dinner that I figured it out. *It was the way she was talking.* It had been so... awkward. She'd kept breaking her sentences in half and stopping at random points. It had been *so strange.* But now that I thought about it, it wasn't strange at all. Because she hadn't been the one talking. That's what had been bothering me. That's what had been crawling around in the back of my head this whole time. She'd been translating. Or at least, I thought so. So that night, I decided to look into it. I sat in my computer room for hours, searching for key phrases. *Matthias.* *Daria.* *SAR rescues.* Finally, when I'd given up, I saw something that made my blood run cold. It was a story from a local news outlet. It wasn't from a big city; it was from some small-ass town I'd never heard of. But it hadn't been the location that had gotten my attention. It was the title. It was the exact same thing Daria had said to me. "I am the one who lives in the tree." I shivered and read the article. It was from forty years ago, and described the disappearance of two children. Daria and Matthias. Matthias had been nine. Daria had been four. That was the same age that the two missing people were. The same age the girl I'd found had said she was. What the hell was going on? I shivered and read on. Their father had taken them into the mountains to go camping. He hadn't come back for two days, and when he did, his daughter was with him. Matthias was missing. When they'd asked Daria where Matthias was, she said he was in the tree. "I am the one who lives in the tree," she kept saying. "I am the one who lives in the tree." "I am the one who lives in the tree." They searched the forest but couldn't find Matthias. They never found him, and eventually, they gave up. Daria grew up. She got married. She had kids, and eventually grandkids. But she never forgot about Matthias. When she was old, she went back to the forest. She went back to the tree. "No one believes me," she said. "But I know what happened to him." "I know what happened to my brother." "I know where he's gone." "I know who took him." "I am the one who lives in the tree." "I am the one who lives in the tree." "I am the one who lives in the tree." She died there, in the forest. She died under the tree where her brother had been taken. She died screaming. I staring at my computer for a long time after that. Eventually, I shut it off and went to bed. I slept like a baby that night. And the next. And the night after that. And the next time I logged on, I'd forgotten all about Daria and the missing boy named Matthais. But I still can't stop thinking about what she said. "I am the one who lives in the tree." "I am the one who lives in the tree." "I am the one who lives in the tree." I don't know why it stuck with me so much. I don't know why it's still in my head. All I know is that it's there. It's there, and I can't get it out. "I am the one who lives in the tree." "I am the one who lives in the tree." "I am the one who lives in the tree." "I am the one who lives in the tree." "I am the one who lives in the tree." "I am the one who lives in the tree." "I am the one who lives in the tree." "I am the one who lives in the tree." "I am the one who lives in the tree." "I am the one who lives in the tree." "I am the one who lives in the tree." "I am the one who lives in the tree." "I am the one who lives in the tree." "I am the one who lives in the tree." "I am the one who lives in the tree." "I am the one who lives in the tree." "I am the one who lives in the tree." "I am the one who lives in the tree." "I am the one who lives in the tree." "I am the one who lives in the tree." "I am the one who lives in the tree." "I am the one who lives in the tree." "I am the one who lives in the tree." "I am the one who lives in the tree." "I am the one who lives in the tree." "I am the one who lives

I've been a Search and Rescue volunteer for 8 years. Three days ago I found something terrifying.

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