Green Temple

(Images all drawn from either Pixabay.com or Public domain.  Special thanks to Steve and Denise Deaton, and Colin Blaisdell for their time and suggestions.)  All words copyright me, all images public domain.

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August 22, 2018, 23:04 hours

USMC Commanding Officer, Unit 3 of the Emergency Response Team is ordered to French Guiana, where an airliner has crashed, and there are no local options. The satellite images show a small clearing near the crash, and an ancient stone building, perhaps a Mayan or Incan temple.  Additionally, the President of France has authorized French Foreign Legionnaires to also be used, as the French Guiana still is part of France as an overseas department, as well as being used for jungle survival training with the Legion.  

The Early Hours

I am a member of the US Special forces, serving in the role of long range recon and rescue.  I have served for two decades, have fought in every conflict, as far back as the supposedly peace keeping work in Mogadishu to the present war against ISIS.  I am writing this journal to keep an accurate account of the mission, circa late August 2018, and to account for all that happened, that is unexplained.  Perhaps someone in the future will be able to decipher all that has been discovered, recovered, and perhaps saved from being lost.

Preparations

Our units were airlifted to the edge of the jungle

No deeper probes could manage to land

The jungle was so dense

We were swimming in the green

Branches reached for us, the tall grass cut us

We were bleeding simply by moving forward

The vegetation and dead vegetation

Made it difficult to move

Before we entered the jungle 

We met our partners

The French Legionnaires arrived on time

And their presence was impressive

More than what I expected

While I’d heard about them

I’d only known them by reputation 

I can say now, since the event

They were easily elite

No one I’ve worked with before 

Was anything nearly so 

We separated into three units

One with Legionnaires

Two units of USMC with 20 men each

An English speaking Legionnaire 

Was assigned to be a liaison officer 

So we could coordinate our actions

Unit one was USMC 

Mappers, Communications, Recon

Unit two, the Legionnaires

Trained in tracking as well as superb soldiers

Unit three was also USMC, my unit 

We were lethal, but not stealthy like the others

We had to remain connected

Cut a path through the tall grass

Small trees, fallen logs

And try to leave only a trail

That we could see

"Get to the site quickly and address the situation"

Crash survivors might not survive not for long without aid

We had little to no information about the crash site

No one seems to have discovered it prior

Asked another question in my mind

What if the crash survivors and thereafter responding units
Encountered rebels or drug cartel members 

We all were aware of our tasks,

Our task might not be impossible

Still, the questions were considerable

Who had built the temple/ruins

Why did the aircraft land there 

Instead of going just 20 more miles to a clearing

We assumed that in the absence of info

Something dangerous was present

Or at least, there was a deficit in information 

But were ready to go

We did learn about those in the aircraft

The passengers were not civilians

Though we were not told more

So this added a new layer of complications

Since we had no idea what they were doing

Or what purpose they were serving

If a mission was jeopardized by the accident

That might also add complexity to the mission

How many were alive

How many were able bodied 

And the important question

Were there enemy actors nearby

In retrospect we should have known

We just were blinded by the possibility

It felt like we were the chosen

Forced to respond, forced to learn the truth

And with memory being so vague

Even regarding our most vivid experiences

Well who can remember anything with clarity?

Catastrophe makes all thought unclear

And penetrated by emotion

Our unit was composed of specialists

Each performed their task with excellence

Without arrogance

We knew that our mission was perilous

The foliage was heavy, a green maze 

Without a path in or out to follow

Trackers were useless

The jungle thick with danger

Nearly every beast venomous 

Every plant hazardous to touch

And absolutely to taste

No one wanted the mission

But it had to be done

By mapping the villages effected

We were able to find a center point

From where the horror must have begun

The weather was bad, pounding rain

Wind and steaming humidity

It was so hard to breathe

It took days from the drop off points

For our forces to gather

Choppers could only take us in so far

They dropped their loads

And turned to leave 

There was a distinct feeling 

We were alone, and on our own

The trek into the target location took three days

It was there in the green hell 

That we discovered there upon the floor of the jungle

And hanging from trees

Bodies, in various stages of decay

Not one recognizable after some form of trauma

It reminded me of Billie Holiday’s song Strange Fruit

But this wasn’t about lynching

It was about humans being hunted

Human beings of every race, orientation or gender

No one in either of the two forces had ever met

But we soon would share a fate as one

One thing it was not

A safe place, or easy journey

The USMC choppers arrived at the drop zone

Nearly simultaneously as those of the Legion

The morning was already hot

The mist rose from the jungle floor

And our uniforms were wet

As the dew and sweat intermingled

Members of both forces met, and prepared

We compared maps, made strategic plans

We addressed anomalous readings

From the central point of reference

We were willing to suspend any disbelief

But there was only so much information

Most of the info was suspect

So we had to ask

Were we about enter an enemy’s lair

Was this temple one devoted to good

Or was it a temple of damnation

Our future task

Beyond survival, beyond finding answers

To retrieve living survivors of a crash

To bring said survivors out of the site

I could only hope

In the absence of knowing

But hope in a vacuum does nothing

It can cause dangerous of settings

To be more dangerous than 

Than it would otherwise become

But once we left the start point

Our journey to hell had begun

Our light equipment soaked
But so light and made of such material

As to not be any heavier a burden

Black hard plastics and gunmetal glistening

We were about to enter a place perhaps unseen for millennia

The ghosts in the jungle were listening for our approach

However silent or hidden we could be

It remains odd

The feelings of the scene

Jungles absolutely dark

No sign of humanity

Some of the force spoke to each other

Soon enough, though

The setting caused silence

I remember the horrible screams

I remember the smell of death

But, while we saw this

Heard this

It could not be experienced 

Without a sense of unreal

I believed in God before this 

But now I believe in Hell

The deeper we went

The more difficult the terrain

Soon enough, we looked like the jungle

Colored by the mud

Stung and bitten by insects

Bleeding from the bites

Slashed by tall sharp grass

In a world pristine

And by that I mean

Almost completely 

Untouched by human hands

Together on foot

We learned each other’s name

We were a team with goals

Because we were professionals

Nothing anyone could do 

As an individual

Would be able to change

This world untouched by men

Despite knowing the blight

When greedy people cut down

Burn, destroy in the name of money

A jungle such as this

There will be wrath

Unleashed

Trust me

In a world so dark with life

We had no choice but to go 

Forward into the darkness 

We had no way of seeing

Only compass and tracker beeps

Could lead us to the plane

Before anyone asks, or suggests

The two units acted as one

No notion of national pride could be seen

The reason for it was simple

This dark place on earth might seem serene

But it was not a dream

A nightmare

Waking, and perceiving

Collecting information

We had to understand what lay before us

In this dank dark forest

Fears deepen

And the isolation leads to seeing

Demons, illusion and dread

Not a Garden of Eden

Rather, a lost paradise

Gone native

Let alone irrational thought

Although the jungle was loud

Scary and alive with sound

We allowed no idle chatter

This place teamed with living things

But this was a hidden irony

The wealth of life diverse

Hid a world where difference

Had often led to slaughter

The silence and isolation

Allowed for disaster

And catastrophe

In the lost in time darkness

The jungle so vital and pregnant

The darkness birthing the exotic

No one could enter this lost place

And expect to survive

Without training or excessive luck

The existence of the temple

Previously unknown

Would almost certainly have become a beacon 

Calling to the scavengers and souvenir hunters

The jungle was alive

That is completely accurate

But the darkness found

The shadows cast

Created a murk

The floor and the canopy

Despite being home

To untold life forms

Was also covered in death 

Bodies and flesh scattered

Covering the ground

Vile smells and ichors abound

We could not see more than 10 feet

In any direction, even up to the canopy

While the evidence of horror existed

The vision of hell was ubiquitous

The trail of death was before us

It was so much nuance

And nothing at all direct

Bodies and parts strewn about

So much so that we could not discern

The correct path or trail

We had a secret weapon

Among our number was a tracker

Of enormous renown and fame

He had a certain swagger

Through the root covered, 

Tangled living path

He took the point

His skills were sublime

Few could challenge if in contest

The world we were in

Constantly reached for us

Scratching, holding, biting

Our last radio transmission 

Came from the central command

Letting us know that another unit

Was being brought to the zone

A unit with rescue training

And medical specialists

No one at this point assumed anything

And the jungle’s reach

The sound of nothing

Being screamed loudly

We were fighting the thought 

Let alone the actual thing

A darkness that hunted us

Without hope for justice

The bodies in the trees kept us aware

That the sounds were intended

To drive us mad

If the crash site held survivors

They’d need immediate retrieval

Not just for the physical injuries

But the mental damage

That this isolation

And fear could cause

My aide began, at this point
Telling me about his assumption
That we were being led into an ambush
One that would used to spark a war
Since I didn't know any countries
Involved in French Guiana
As friends or foes other than France
I can remember being skeptical
But I can also remember and confess
There was an absolutely psychotic pall
Covering every member
Every step further I know it felt
Like all of us were entering a world
Different in every way
That we would likely not return
And the results of the mission are known
That feeling was not wrong
Whoever and however it happened
Our progress felt and I know
And acknowledge
Feelings are not fact
But Damocles's sword was hanging
Over all of our heads
Fear of the unknown is common
Fear of the unknown is emphasized
By the vision of dead bodies in trees
Screams of the muffled dying
We were in a world
So unlike our own
Soon the thoughts and fears swirled

At this point it was as if

Into a whirlpool of fear we were tossed

We couldn’t react to the screams

We were surrounded

By something we could not see

Instead it was something that could be felt

We couldn’t make out the voices 

Or the screaming from the distance

A green luminescence could be seen

Perhaps better said, perceived

Each unit of the three, 

Kept contact with the others

It was important in such darkness

And we could not afford to become lost

But at this time our first losses did happen

Two members of the unit of French Legionnaires

Had fallen into the swamp on either side of the path

And both were sucked beneath

Nearly instantly

And someone shouted freeze

Nobody then moved

For minutes it seemed

We perceived more danger

From above us

In the trees

Then came the end for many

When an electric pulse that exploded

Leaving only dead in the wake

One unit was completely wiped out

Their flesh was burned

Foul smoke rose from their corpses

In the swamps were the remnants

In the trees pieces of flesh

Notices would have to go out

Night was falling 

No time left 

To bury the dead

When the bodies decayed

They’d lay on the floor of the jungle

Or float to the surface of the swamp

Unrecognizably bloated

We survived by chance

But due to that

We became the chosen

To carry on

Moving forward

Through the undergrowth

Watching our step

Uncertain what caused the blast

And again we heard those screams 

When we tried we could hear clearly

This time

Don’t go any further

Or the rest of you

Will be sacrificed

To the gods 

We are those who serve

You are intruders here

Death awaits you

From the tree tops

To the jungle floor

You will be scattered

As food for the inhabitants

And your souls

Will be removed

Your corpses nude

Vacant eyes will cry

And then, we heard women screaming

Please let me die

No more torture

No more

We assumed the voices were piped in

How could we have thought anything else

We gathered our wounded, set the dead aside

Began moving further in, quickly

Avoiding any clear obstructions

Trying to keep each other in view

In the darkness 

In the living glowing green

A great smell rose up from the jungle floor

A dead body had to be the reason

The particular body causing the stink could not be found for ID

As most members of our party had not been in war

They’d not know the smell of death’s excretions

And however well trained, no one could foresee

Finding dead men hanging from branches

And their viscera fallen in piles of gore

Stepping to miss the remains was impossible

The darkness obscured vision

The massive exposed roots were an obstacle

Yet we moved with precision

And the decision was made

To find shelter, and take a rest 

We fashioned a tent complex

Men tended to wounds

Some slept

We typed our mission codes 

Sending back messages to HQ’s

Whether on ship or via satellite 

Our initial reports were depressing

But we weren’t expecting rescue

Some men were going nuts from bites

The bugs got straight through the meshing

We told the soldier’s truth

Making sure the information was right

We were anxious despite still resting

Who knew the toll could be so bad?

Above us was thunder

Not rain but choppers

We could hear Blackhawks flying overhead

They sent word that they were bringing help

But we had to wonder

What was so important, were we all cannon fodder?

Already had some dead

We weren't some raw cadets

We were vets

We paid our dues

In any event, the choppers couldn’t disgorge cargo

The canopy was too thick

And human packages were too precious to lose

We were worn already

Not quite exhausted but

We had to take a break

Under our tents we could rest

But we knew our task was urgent

So we had some caffeine, had some grub

And broke camp after a couple hours

Ready to face the quest

We knew something terrible waited us

At the crash site there were probably casualties

And almost certainly some deceased 

None among us wanted to turn back

And we recognized something of note

The further we went the darker the forest

But the green glow from the plants increased

We were wary but ready

And there is something in a military person
That the path ahead is welcome

And retreat or defeat dishonorable

So the team spirit still seemed high

But our walk towards doom

Seemed to have begun

Again we could hear ghastly voices

But we could not locate their source

We were going to go further

Our duty left us no choice

But the stench of death was heavy

And we could simply feel the dread

Not one of us was refusing to move

We had no desire to fall back

Something compelled us

Not that we know what

To keep moving forward

It was not a hard pace ahead

We were not relentless
Yet, were kept moving

Soon we began seeing ghostly visions

In the shadows of the jungle
We saw figures running 

Or just standing 

And when we made for their position

Or raised a weapon

They bled back into the darkness

Becoming one with the black

And glowing green

We had no way knowing what they were

But we wanted to kill them

For whatever reasons

It felt like they were mocking us

From the distance

And then we saw the plane through the jungle

It had burned some, and the top had been ripped off

As if it had been a tin can

And the force landing had used a can opener

The closer we approached it was clear

No one could have survived that crash

So, what was sending out radio distress calls

Were we sent for one reason, but told another

Why were we there?

And yes, for those who might wonder

We all cared

Seeing the bodies in contorted pose

We recognized their suffering

And we then, getting face to face with the dead

We saw the temple

It was a massive pyramid, but

Without sculptures or drawings to decorate it

And it seemed covered in green moss

That glowed, like the stuff we’d seen before

None of us “wanted to die”

But we knew something happened

And we wanted to know what

So, we approached

And prepared for our descent

Into the heart of the temple

Arriving there we knew 

This was nothing commonplace

Nor ordinary

And as if by command, as we left the cover 

Of the jungle

The rain became heavy 

Falling like soft acorns

In giant blobs

We sorted our gear at the temple entrance

But with the rain we entered the opening

Standing inside just far enough 

So that we weren’t soaked even more

No one was dry

But the pounding rain

Could soak through multiple layers

When our attention returned to our mission

Instead of rain, nature, and exhaustion

Something definitely announced itself

There was a smell 

Rising from the depth of the stairs 

And going down we knew what it was

It was the stench of death

Arrival

We wondered if we were entering a trap

But before we could move on

Members from each squad began screaming

Holding their hands over their ears

Making sounds like dogs being beaten

Dreadful noises

Symphonies of hell or oblivion

Tears poured down their faces

And in a couple cases, the member collapsed

In the moment we did not know

Whether they were dead or unconscious

Those who did not collapse did stop screaming

The most intense pain seemed to be felt by those

Who had blood coming out of their ears

Others began speaking in excited voices

How they had seen images

From the depths of the temple

It was a tomb, with dark green luminescent moss

And rising to meet them

Were Jaguars

Were cat pelt wearing warriors

Were skeletons

All approaching 

To kill them

One however said

He saw one of the Legionnaires 

8 feet tall, armed and firing his weapon

Another said all he saw

Was a skeleton reaching for a key

To open the prison cell with a mist rising

And the stench of death lingering in the nostrils

And a taste of bitter metal in the mouth

We immediately realized that 

Something bigger than us

Bigger than our ability to kill

Was waiting for our approach 

After the entrance

We went outside to try to call for assistance

But our radio units did not work

The rain began to fall much harder

The bodies of the members fallen

Were in fact dead

Those who received visions and screamed

Were unable to proceed

Our numbers were low

We’d not come close to making a descent

I sent a satellite request with our laptop

And it might have worked

I didn’t get a response but

It also didn’t have the dead air 

That happened with the attempted radio contact

The wounded with bleeding ears 

Began to fall unconscious

Then, a new sound occurred 

It sounded like death

Grinding metal, explosions

And a scent permeated the air

Like a swamp, dead meat, and sulfur

We began to understand
Nothing was as it seemed
It was only getting worse

We couldn't believe our eyes
Or our minds
And the event was ongoing
In the words of my tech sgt

Our ass was grass, and now

We were about to be mowed

And the teeth of the beast

Now showed

Bursting from the temple entrance

With sound, fire, and danger

An 8 foot tall or larger 

Half man

Half beast

With two jagged daggers screamed

Bow before me mortals

Your death will bring me pleasure

And condemn you 

To eternal torment

My only response was to begin to pray

I didn’t believe in anything
But I thought at this point

If I ever had a moment of clarity

Before I was to die

And needed a friend

On the other side

It was at this moment

Just like with the radio call
No answer

I leveled my weapon

Aimed and emptied a clip

Began to reload

Fired until it stopped

I ran out of ammo
And hope

The recording device and personal notebook of _____ _______, censored for security reasons, was discovered at the crash site along with the bodies and the equipment of the 3 units.