The Library

Tenth Story

The authorities of Yavapai County had been looking into by a series of disappearances, going all the way back to 1965, when the leader of an archaeological team, Jack Mattingly, vanished without a trace from the excavation site.

His disappearance was followed by several others, seven people in total, all males in their fifties, sharing an academic background.

The police investigation into the missing persons cases has been frustrated by a series of natural phenomena, possibly related to an anomaly in the local magnetic field which rendered electronic equipment and even old-fashioned compasses useless.

The investigating team ventured as far as they felt it was safe into the undeveloped terrain, but had to turn back eventually when they couldn't get a clear satellite view of the area due to unusual atmospheric activity.

The spot had since become a local attraction, feeding the curiosity of thrill seekers and spawning its own host of colorful legends, which run the gamut between a UFO landing site and a terrestrial version of Bermuda's triangle, and all of which have yet to be corroborated by evidence, but whose collective pull contributed significantly to the growth of local tourism.

For those who might be disappointed by not being allowed to venture into the unknown (the authorities have cordoned off the area to restrict access, out of concern for tourist safety), the beautiful Arizona scenery and its spectacular sunsets are consolation enough, especially considering an unexpected bonus: the weekly lenticular cloud formations, which geologists suspect are caused by the magnetic anomaly, and which can be safely enjoyed from anywhere around the closed site.

The strange phenomenon bewilders the scientists who have studied it extensively over the last fifty years. Alas, based only on old data, because nobody was able to gather new information about the site since, not by land nor from the air.

The last detailed map of the area, photographs and geological samples date back to 1964, at which time the mystery spot was just another piece of desert wilderness.

We reached out to the local authorities, but they were unable to provide us with any answers regarding what had happened to the area.

Speculations about the existence of a secret government facility, which would explain the jamming of electronic equipment, were consistently dismissed as ridiculous, but that did not dissuade an enthusiastic group of conspiracy theorists from creating their own club, aptly named "Defenders of Humanity".

Half real life superheroes, half alien abductees, the members of the club claim to have been taken to the area, schooled in its mysteries and allowed to return, having been sworn to secrecy, for the good of humankind, but they are happy to share what they can with those with a thirst for knowledge during the weekly retreats they hold in a secluded clearing close to the picturesque Sycamore Falls.

All seven missing men were last seen near the Village of Oak Creek and weren't believed to have attempted to fake their disappearance.

Their belongings, abandoned at the hotel, suggest they were planning to stay for at least several days and there are no phone records or bank activity reported since they were last seen.

The most recent missing person, a mountain climber well known for his solitary adventures, vanished in 2017, during a month long white water rafting trip in Slide Rock State Park.

Authorities never stopped searching for the missing men, but as of now, their fate remains a mystery.

In a related incident, Gwen Whitman, a young UC Davis graduate with a degree in English Literature, was found wandering alone along the freeway between Sedona and the Village of Oak Creek, in the very area where the aforementioned disappearances have been reported.

The young woman looked confused and refused to cooperate with the state rangers when they offered assistance; she ran out into the desert instead, in a distressed state.

The rangers, Jen Keller and Ted Kominsky, two veterans of the office, held in high regard by the community, managed to apprehend her and convinced her to return to Sedona before she escaped again, while the three where working on setting up camp for the night.

Gwen Whitman is considered a potential eighth missing person, even though she does not fit the profile and has not been gone long enough to justify an investigation.

The rangers suggested the use of psychotropic drugs, rather than foul play, might have been responsible for the disappearance in her case, but they continued to scan the area, hoping to find her.

The rangers reported the young woman's account, however incoherent, hinted to the fact she was not alone in the desert, but part of a group, with which they assume she got reunited.

In an even more bizarre turn of events, attempts to contact Gwen's family turned out nothing.

Authorities believe she was living under an assumed name for reasons which at this time remain unclear, but this suggests there may be more to the story than the case of a misguided young woman suffering from addiction.

However, this complicates practical attempts to notify her next of kin, and therefore her family might not even be aware she's missing.

Since there didn't seem to be any pictures of her, an artist's sketch, drawn according to Jen and Ted's description, was distributed to the police stations in the area, in case she turns up.

Her college roommates at UC Davis remembered her as a nice, but quiet person, who kept mostly to herself and focused on her studies, but couldn't think of any personal idiosyncrasies that might help with tracking her whereabouts.

The students seemed hesitant when shown the artist's sketch, which appears to be less than accurate.

The artist offered to sit down with them and correct the flaws, but the group's disagreements regarding Gwen's likeness only served to further confuse the issue.

If it were not for the detailed accounts of Ted and Jen, whose trustworthiness is beyond reproach, one could suspect the whole incident was set up as a prank intended to capitalize on popularity of the mystery spot.