This happened when i was an instructor with SAF`s Officer Cadet School. We were in Pulau Tekong for a section patrol training fieldcamp.

The fieldcamp required the whole wing to be divided into two force (RED and BLUE). The cadets will all be in sections to carry out various patrol missions against the other force.

One particular night, i was with my BLUE section, who was assigned a fighting patrol mission along the northern axis of the island.

Everthing went well. We were like security guards stomping along the main track to keep clear of any RED force personnels…

When we were nearing the end of the safe zone, we contacted a RED force section and they ran away. Then we met one BLUE section doing recce mission. They were waiting for us to clear the enemies before emerging and linking up with us.

The instructor in charge, 2LT Eddie, appeared and told me worringly that he had lost a cadet. I immediatley asked him to stop his mission and go back to search for the lost personnel.

It is not a good experience to be lost alone in the deep jungle of Tekong in the middle of the night at 2am, you know.

I ordered my section to make a u-turn back on the track to search for the cadet, Kenny. Eddie continued to make contact with HQ to report the incident.

My section walked slowly but noisily, hoping to attract Kenny`s attention…

“KENNY!” “KENNY!”

We were calling out his name hoping that he might hear us and come out to link out… however, i did not have a good feeling about the whole thing…..

Soon we were reaching this security check-point where another section was standing guard. We made contact witht the section commander and found out that Kenny had actually made his own way back there alone for a whole five kilometers.

I immediately went to LTA Mike, who was the instructor in charge.

“Hey Sky, can you go check out Kenny? He seemed eerie and weird,” said Mike. He looked very worried”

“He came back alone?” I asked.

“yah, scared the hell outta me, man”

“Where`s he?”

Mike then led me to kenny.

Kenny was sitting down on a big rock. His face was showing anxiety in the shadow of the helmet which was on his head. He seemed to be very fearful and wary of his surrounding….

“Kenny!” I shouted straight in his face. He raised his head immediately and gripped on his M16 rifle more tightly, like he was ready to take on any challenger.

“Sirrrrr…” He began to realise that it was me. He relaxed.

“what happened? How did you get here? Why didnt you wait at your last report line for your section?”

“Sir, They brought me back here…..”

He pointed to my back. I turned and saw nothing there, just empty space……

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I ordered my section to take care of him while we made our way back to the base camp. At the base, he told me that when his section was contacted by the enemies fighting patrol, they all fled individually into the darkness of the vegetation.

He knocked into a thick branch and passed out.

When he regained conciousness, he saw two figures atring at him. Immediately his goose bumps started to stand, and he felt very cold.

The two figures were certaintly not from the present. They ordered him to put back his helmet and told him that it is unsolderly to leave his helmet on the ground.

He followed their orders as fear started to immense in his mind…

then they asked him where he is heading for but the poor cadet was lost and speechless…. They demanded for his map.

Then they started to head west and ordered him to follow them.

Soon they led him to the site where mike was and had been sitting at the spot where Kenny had pointed to me ever since Mike saw kenny….

Were my eyes playing tricks on me that night…. i did not see anyone sitting there at all!

They next evening…. Kenny was his section`s commander and he was required to do a security mission on that very site mike was.

And as expected…. Kenny was the only person who saw the two figures sitting down at the very same spot looking at him….

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Now… do you believe helpful souls exist in this cruel world…..