Location: Europe, Bialowieza Forest
Who would have thought we would have ended up here? Bialowieza forest one of the world’s largest forests. The place is filled with lush green sceneries and harmonious noises from the local wild life. Everything almost seemed perfect, except for one little problem. ”Daniel, we’ve been walking for over 5 hours, admit it, we are COMPLETELY lost!”And there is our dilemma.
Well let me start with introductions. My name is Daniel, Navy veteran and explorer. I am quite a cook and very good with animals. When I was young I’ve been known as a traveler, and I have participated in many different activates including: wake boarding, skydiving, horse riding, paint balling, martial arts, etc. The one who yelled at me was Jordan. Also a navy veteran, he can be quite the jokester sometimes; however he could never stay still. He is always doing something. The last of our company is Tapheal, but he prefers to be called Taphy, for short. He can be quite passive and lazy at times, but if he sets his mind right he can do close to anything. He’s quite cheery and sarcastic, personality wise, but that’s why we love him. Jordan and Taphy are my best friends, and I will always count on them to have my back.
We are just three tourists who heard mysteries about what lay deep in the forest. Rumors have it that there is a mysterious power that prevents travelers from entering a certain part of the forest. A heavy fog falls upon the unwary. Then they end up twenty miles from their previous destination, with little to no memory on how they got there. I was able to convince my friends to go check it out. We gathered up our hiking gear, which consist of rope, tomahawks, a knife, energy bars, water jugs, instant coffee brew and food, metal cup, some matches, blankets, and flares. I and Jordan also brought our 9 mm pistols three magazines each just for our protection. Then, we set off to challenge this phenomenon. With what leads we were able to gather we began to tread the landscape.
Location: Within the outskirts of the forest, two miles from the nearest compound
One could truly get lost in amazement of the lush green environment. The trees span quite high and their leaves cover the land from the sunlight. The grass and moss covers almost all the land making green the prominent color. Even the fallen trees add to the uniqueness of the environment. I began to lose myself as I walked through the forests. ‘What secrets does it hold’ I thought to myself ‘what challenges will you bring’.
“Hey Daniel.” Taphy’s voice interrupted my train of thought.
I didn’t turn to face him but I answered. "What?”,
“If we do reach the place where the fog hits, how do we get around when we can’t see anything?” I didn’t ponder on the question much, because I already have a plan to counter that problem.
“Don’t worry Taphy I made sure to prepare for such a situation”, I said with most confidence,”If the fog really gets that thick, I brought enough rope to connect us so we won’t get separated. I also brought a GPS, a map, and compass for good measure.”
We traveled the forest for at least three hours in search for this phenomenon, but we had no luck in finding it. It’s about five in the afternoon and its going to get dark soon.
“Hey, not that I don’t like the views or anything, but I believe this mysteries a bust.” Jordan’s comment left me a bit disappointed.
'Could this mystery truly be a hoax to encourage tourists?' The more I thought about it, the more annoyed I got, thinking I wasted my time.
“Daniel, I think Jordan right, we should head back.”, said Taphy trying to sound sincere.
I turned to my friends already seeing the lack of confidence in their faces for our excursion. I paused a bit, before reasoning my way to convince my friends to keep at it for just a little longer. I wasn’t going to give up that easily.
“We still have time, if we can’t find anything within the hour we’ll head back.” Jordan and Taphy took a second to look at each other before nodding in agreement.
I’m sure they didn’t want to continue on, but they noticed that I wanted to give it one last shot, so they decided to endure.
“Thanks.” I said before I continued on our current path.
“Yeah, but when this is over you owe us a drink.” Jordan said demanding competence for his extra mile.
“(heh) Fine, drinks on me.”. I was glad they were willing to stay, but their assumptions still lingered in my mind. Yet something is telling me that there something out there, waiting for us.
Already, half an hour has passed, and there was still nothing. We stopped to rest our feet and eat to regain some energy. I knew we had miles before we hit the other side of the forest’s boarders, but, based on all the rumors and information I was able to gather, we should have encountered this fog by now. I was about to call it quits so we won’t waste anymore time. Then, all of a sudden, a heavy gust of wind began to blow in front of us carrying a light fog that began to consume our feet. I got off the rock I was leaning on to look at the direction the wind came from. In my surprise I see a small layer of fog begin to increase as it goes deeper in forest, consuming the roots of the trees. My spirit began to lift with anticipation, for we have possibly found our mark. I turned to my friends and they were already on their feet. Jordan looked surprised, thinking that the myth could actually be true. In the other hand, Taphy looked a bit nervous, probably because of the fact that he can’t see the ground that’s covered with fog. I began to set my plan in motion and grabbed my rope that I kept in my bag. I looked at my friends with a rope in my and a grin in my face, I spoke.
“Its show time.”