Lyrics
[INTRO — AM RADIO STATIC, CLICKS, LOW HUM] [MALE ANNOUNCER — DISTANT, MONOTONE, NARROW-BAND RADIO] Attention. This is an emergency advisory for the Mount Shasta and Shasta-Trinity National Forest regions. If you are currently in the woods with another person, listen carefully. Never turn your back on your companion. Not for a second. [STATIC BURST] We have received reports of people disappearing without warning. No screams. No footsteps. No struggle. One moment, a person is standing beside you. The next… Nothing. [PAUSE — THREE DRY CLICKS] [SECTION ONE — THE WARNING] Mount Shasta has a long history of strange sightings and unexplained stories. Deep forests. Volcanic caves. Miles of wilderness where a person can disappear without leaving an obvious trace. In May 2025, Lesner Noe Velasquez Cardenas disappeared after being dropped off near the Avalanche Gulch trailhead. His fate remains unknown. We mention his name because these are real people. Real families. Real unanswered questions. [STATIC] The following account is just an example of what has happened. Two friends were hiking beneath the trees. One stopped to tie his boot. The other turned away. When he looked back, his friend was gone. No footsteps. No broken branches. No sound at all. He searched until dark. Then he heard his friend calling from deeper in the woods. He almost answered. Then he remembered something. His friend had been standing behind him when he disappeared. [LONG SILENCE] The voice was coming from ahead. [SECTION TWO — FIELD ADVISORY] If you hear your companion calling from the trees, do not follow the voice. If you see someone standing between the trees, do not assume it is your companion. If someone approaches you and looks exactly like your friend… Ask them what you were talking about before you became separated. If they cannot answer, walk away. If they answer correctly… Walk away anyway. [STATIC SWELL, THEN ABRUPT CUT] We cannot confirm or deny the existence of any unusual phenomenon. We cannot explain the historical accounts of people disappearing from sight. We can only advise you to remain together, stay on established trails, and contact emergency services if someone goes missing. [PAUSE] And if you are already lost… Do not wander deeper into the forest looking for your friends. Stay where rescuers can find you. [SECTION THREE — THE CALLER] [VOICE CLOSER, SLIGHTLY DISTORTED] Three nights ago, this station received a call from a man who said his hiking partner had vanished. He was calm. He gave us his location. He said he had looked away for less than a second. Then he said he could see his friend standing among the trees. We asked why he had not approached him. [STATIC] He said his friend was smiling. He said he was waving. He said he could hear his friend breathing. [LONG PAUSE] Then the caller whispered: “Why is he standing over there… when I can hear him breathing behind me?” [TRANSMISSION DROPOUT — FIVE SECONDS] [FINAL ADVISORY] Attention, all persons in the Mount Shasta region. Keep your companions in sight. Do not follow unfamiliar voices. Do not answer calls from the trees. And if somebody tells you not to turn around… [VERY LONG PAUSE] Don’t. [STATIC] [WHISPER — ALMOST CLEAN, VERY CLOSE] You turned around. [CLICK] Where did your friend go? [HARD CUT TO SILENCE]