It was around eight o'clock at night when Will and I set off into the stagnant, black waters of the bog. We had attached the flashlight to the bow of the canoe with a lashing, and it illuminated a good chunk of the landscape as we began rowing. I was sitting on the stern end of the craft, steering, while William sat on the bow end, leading the way through the darkening landscape. For a wetland, it was oddly silent as we moved deeper into the open, narrowing pond. The peeping frogs we had heard before now remained quiet, and the slight wind silently brushed over the sedges. The only audible sounds were our paddles breaching the surface of the water. An odd, uneasy feeling began to surge through my body, sending a shiver through my spine, but at the same time, I couldn't help but admire my eerie surroundings. William seemed unaffected, occasionally running his hand through the water.
Not much longer after we set off, we approached what at first appeared to be a wall of sedges. After getting closer with the flashlight, we soon realized that the pond separated into two, narrow paths, one to the left, and one to the right. "Which one do you want to take?" I asked Will.
"Are you sure we should go on?" he replied, having taken on a more cautious approach to our excursion. "I mean, it's getting pretty dark, and we left everything alone in the campsite. I want to make sure the bear bag hasn't been raided by anything."
I took note of William's concerns, but conflicting feelings in my mind began to surface once more. An unexplainable urge to keep going took hold, and I responded to my friend in a calm and collected fashion. "The campsite's fine, Will. I made sure the bear bag was hung the right way, and everything else is still locked in the car. And I just put new batteries in the flashlight, so there's no need to worry about anything."
He nodded considering what I had to say. "Alright, let's take the left," he responded after a bit of hesitation. His originally explorative nature seemed to be faltering somewhat, but not to the point where I was concerned. As he began to paddle again, I looked back in the direction we came. A dense fog was swallowing the landscape, obscuring my vision. I said nothing to my friend, even sensing myself smile at the mist, not understanding why.
We continued paddling into the left passage, bumping into the wall of sedges as we entered. Our canoe had difficulty navigating through the constant twists and turns, the starboard and port ends constantly bumping into the grass and mud. William would constantly stop paddling and look around, my silence unnerving him even more. I hadn't spoken ever since we stopped to decide which way to go. The fog was beginning to overtake us, and Will had taken notice.
"Eric," he said, turning around towards me, "Eric, we need to turn around, okay? I can't see anything, and it's going to be difficult getting back. Come on, let's go back. You take the bow end and I'll take the stern."
I looked at him silently, the urge to move on now flaring in my body. It was as if the surreal bog landscape was getting to my head, to a point where my actions were becoming uncontrollable. Frustration took hold of my mind. "Will, we're fine, alright?" I said, trying to keep my agitation to a minimum. "Let's just keep going, okay?"
An angered look took over his face. "Are you fucking kidding me right now?! Eric, we can't see five feet in front of us, and we've been moving through this goddamn channel for over forty minutes now! We're going back, now!"
I stared at him, a crooked smile forming over my face. He didn't understand. "We're fine, Will," I said, almost casually.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!" he yelled, the echo resounding over the bog. "You've haven't said a word for the entire time we've been out here! And why are you smiling?!" He looked somewhat concerned about me, but my concern for him had been decreasing as we progressed through the bog. My only goal now was to press deeper into the foggy wetland. "Eric, let's go back, okay? We need to get some rest for tomorrow."
