Olum

''' In December of 1978, two American businessmen were taken captive by the Iranian government on the grounds of bribery. These men were employed by Ross Perot, president of Electronic Data Systems, who would later run for president. However, the American government gave him no help in freeing his employees. Instead, he personally recruited a group of his executives and sent them into Iran with a retired US army officer to aid them in freeing his captured employees. The attempt at jailbreak fails, and the group eventually tracks down the captives and escapes with them to Turkey. '''

At least, that was what the people believe, as that was the story told. This wasn't quite what happened. Ross Perot didn't send a group of executives to free his men, he sent a group of executives to hire my organization. At the time I worked for Saracen International, a private military corporation based in South Africa. Perot's executives paid a hefty sum of money for my group to enter Iran and retrieve his precious employees. 21 men were dispatched from South Africa to Tehran for this mission. Tehran was in the middle of widespread riots, due to the virgining Iranian Revolution. In short terms, shit was blowing up everywhere.

I was serving as a dispatcher and technician. A quick visit to the prison that they were reported to be at proved they were not there- it was in shambles. A little research confirmed that the Iranians had moved the prisoners into the mountains outside Tehran, and were likely to be executed later. News articles revealed the location of the mountain, and the cave network they would be inside. That night, All but 3 of the operatives in the area were sent to attack that mountain and retrieve the 2 Americans. The rest of the prisoners and guards were expendable.

The attack went to the letter, aside from the fact that there was no resistance. The caves were defended, but gunfire and screaming could be heard from the inside and it sounded like we may be too late. The road leading to the cave network was blocked by a security checkpoint, and our men quickly killed the worthless guards and proceeded on their way. But once they entered the caves, it was clear that this was not anything they'd encountered.

Brutalized corpses lined the walls of the cave. They had all died from a variety of injuries, and none by gunshot. Some heads had been split in half, their brain and blood leaking from their skill. Some had no head, and their torsos were covered in blood. Some had their leg broken backwards so that they kicked themselves in the stomach. One in particular seemed to have had his spine ripped from his body, and was slouching on the cave Discarded Ak-47s dotted the cave, but some gunfire continued deeper in. The paramilitary continued inside, and the corpses continued. A few men came running out to them, and they were shot down. The gunfire ceased as the men reached the epi chamber of the cave.

It appeared to be a home of some sort. It had a bed, crude appliances, and all sorts of other fixtures. Ornamental weapons hung on the walls and in the center of the chamber, stood a man, illuminated by gas lamps around the room, and the soldier's flashlights. He was no shorter than 6 feet, and impressive height for this area of the world. His back was to the entrance. His fingers were distorted into impossible figures, and the sight of them alone made the men cringe. But this man had more worries than his fingers- His arms were charred a red and black, and his spine was visible through his brown and black skin. I don't mean the outline, I mean the spine itself was sticking out from his back. It was a washed white.

The man screamed. This was an unforgetable, bone chilling scream that sounded like the scream of a young girl. One soldier pointed his rifle and fired at him, but the man whirled around and the bullet stopped in mid air, and fell to the ground. The front of the man was more terrifying than the back. His torso was covered in scars, but it seemed that he had branded a phrase or name into his chest, on the rib cage. It read, "Olum". The man had a face, but barely. His skin was dark brown, but parts of his head were missing flesh, revealing the moon white skull. But then, the men heard a voice inside their own minds. It spoke in a Turkish accent, and said "Run". Olum's mouth never moved. In fact, he had very little in the way of a mouth- no lips, justed flesh and rotted teeth. His eyes were a shining blue. No pupils, just blue. A schimitar then flew off it's mount and cut off one of the soldier's heads before sticking into the cave wall.

Some men opened fire, some ran out of the cave. Of the reported dozen that stood transfixed by Olum, 2 survived. His eyes seemed to grow in intensity, and the heads of two soldiers burst in a red mist of blood. More weapons came off the walls, scimitars and katanas and morning stars, and Olum created an array of weapons before him. The men were pierced by another voice within their minds. "You didn't listen". With that, the men sank to the floor, and screamed. They held their heads and wailed a final wail, as their heads burst and their lungs collapsed. Olum stopped their torment when two remained. They turned and ran from the caves.

As it turned out, Perot's men had escaped that prison. They were on the road down from the caves when the remaining soldiers found them. Within a week they were returned to America, and Perot's executives were "heroes". They even got a book and TV deal. The paramilitary, including myself, returned to South Africa. Most of us quit after what happened. I was outside the cave in a Jeep, and heard the events inside the cave on the 2 way radio and read the debriefings. I never went in further than the entrance, and I saw the bodies. The men that did see Olum, most went insane afterward, and had nightmares of his existence. I've since lost contact with them.

''' And what of his existence? Olum was most certainly a man at some point. It seemed that the prisoners disturbed his home, and he slaughtered them."Olum" means "Death" in Turkish. How did he become what he was? Was he always telepathic? And for other matters- Olum lived in the mountains in Southwest Asia. There are a lot of mountains in the region. With both terrorists and Western soldiers ascending these mountains to battle, what if they uncover more Olums? What if there is an entire army of them out there, dotted around the hills and peaks of the region? It's been 30 years since Olum was seen. What if he isn't in Tehran at all? What if he's moved on? Traditional garb for that area could easily cover his afflictions, with a robe and a scarf he'd be completely inconspicuous. Where could he be hiding now? '''