It was supposed to be a standard weekend getaway. Lukas and Jannik had spent hours hiking deep into one of the most undisturbed, densely wooded sectors of the countryside. By nightfall, they pitched their tents, built a small fire, and settled into the profound, heavy silence of the ancient forest. But at exactly 3:15 AM, the silence died.
Lukas woke up first, his heart hammering against his ribs. The ground beneath his sleeping pad wasn’t just cold—it was vibrating. A deep, industrial, metallic groan echoed out from the earth directly beneath them. It was a massive, subterranean sound that lasted for ten agonizing seconds, traveling up through the soil before fading back into the dark.
“Jannik, did you hear that?” Lukas whispered loudly into the pitch blackness of the tent. Exactly twenty minutes later, the earth shuddered again. The same guttural, metallic screech groaned through the dirt, accompanied by a faint, distant whistle that sounded like someone was roaming the woods near them at this hour.