the great wall of fog
We began to gather our gear and pulled out our night equipment. It consisted of a flash light, a jacket with reflective coating, a watch that glows with a tracker, a couple of flares, and a hat with lights attached to it. I also grabbed the extra rope I’ve brought for this occasion. ‘Time to put this plan in motion.’ I turn to look at my friends to see if they finished putting their gear on. Jordan has already finished putting his gear on and along with his backpack, and Taphy as well finishing by putting the clips together from his pack.
“Hey Jordan, Taphy; come here!” I yelled waving the rope in my hand, “Give yourselves a little slack, and then wrap it around your waists. If this fog gets as bad as they say at least we won’t get separated.”
We gave ourselves at least a yards worth of room between ourselves and fastened the rope tightly. Then we headed towards the direction where the fog came from.
We carefully continued on the path, trying not to trip as the fog rises towards our knees. I may have almost tipped over four times, the third being close to falling. I can’t say the same for my friends.
“Crap.” I felt a quick tug on the rope after I herd Taphy screamed out from his misfortune.
“You ok.” Jordan asked while signaling me to come over and help with his hand.
“Yeah, my foot just got caught on a log.”, Taphy said rubbing his leg to relive the pain, “Daniel, this is getting ridiculous I can’t see where I’m stepping.”
I understand Taphy’s annoyance towards the situation, but I rolled my eyes at him.
“Taphy, we’ve been through a lot worse than this.” I said giving him the look telling him to suck it up, “Yes, our visibility is becoming more limited as we go on, but we already knew about this before we started this trip.”
“I know, it just makes me feel better complaining about It.”, Taphy said turning his head away from us.
Jordan and I laughed a bit towards Taphy’s predicament.
“Alright ladies, sleep times over; let’s get a move on.” Jordan said with a instructors tone.
Taphy got up from the ground and we continued on our way. It didn’t take long to break the silence though.
“So, where are we anyway?” I began to pull out my GPS so I could answer Taphy’s question.
“Well, that’s easy we are-“, I stopped answering when I looked at the GPS.
To my surprise, the GPS was experiencing static as the image is being distorted.
“Well.” Jordan asked also wnating to know our location.
“There is something wrong with the GPS.” I said shaking the device in my hand, “Maybe there is magnetic distortion in the area.”
“Check your compass.” I grabbed my compass from my left strap, and then I put the GPS in its place.
I opened the compass only to see the arrow spinning in circles like a slow propeller.
“Now that’s weird.” said Jordan looking at my compass.
“Hey guys I think you need to see this.” I looked in Taphys direction, only to see him looking behind a large bush.
Jordan and I walked towards Taphy to see what he’s looking at. Nothing was going to prepare us for what we were going to see. A wall that consist nothing but fog clouds as far as we could see.
“Wow.” I said as my eyes with amazement.
For some reason the fog wall is perfectly lined flat. None of the fog is spilling, but it is moving in its place like a cloud. I felt tempted to tamper with it, but yet I couldn’t bring myself to reach out.
“I have a bad feeling about this.” said Taphy with a concerned look on his face.
I’m sure he was thinking about how hard it was to see at first, but in this fog he probably can’t see what’s in front of him.
“Daniel, I don’t think I want to go in there.”
“I’m going to have to agree with Taphy on this one.” said Jordan giving a hint of concern.
I looked at both of my friends feeling a bit disappointed.
“What’s wrong with you guys, don’t bale on me now. Look how far we’ve gotten, and now, when we’ve reached the front door, you guys just want to give up.” Jordan and Taphy just looked at each other, but they still weren’t convinced. “Listen, a lot of people had tried to uncover this mystery and failed, now this is our chance; so come on we can do this. You guys with me.”
I didn’t mean to make things sound cliché, but, to hit the ball out of the park, I brought out my hand for a fist bump. My friends only looked at me for a few seconds before they finally submitted.
“(sigh) Never walk alone right.” said Jordan bringing out his fist.
“Let’s do this.” Taphy said doing the same.
After our fists collided, we marched through the wall of fog with our heads up and our spirits high. “One loyal friend is worth ten thousand relatives.” -Euripides
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bridge to nowhere
Our progress was greatly hindered by the low visibility. The fog was so thick my hands only look like shadows in the fog. My friends also look like shadows. I reached out making sure I don’t walk into anything, and I slowly stepped forward one foot at a time, to make sure I don’t trip on an obstacle or fall into a ditch. However, the lights within our hats easily bleed through the fog, showing the trees that were close to us. We were slow but we were still moving. We kept it up for at least twenty minutes until the wind hit us hard from the side. The wind cleared up the fog, only a little, but enough to let us see each other and the first obstacle in our path.
“Hold up guys.” I said holding my hand out behind me, trying to signal them to halt, “I think I see something up ahead.”
“What is it?” said Jordan leaning to the side trying to see what I’m looking at.
I took a few more steps forward, still being careful in where I place my feet, only to see two logs straight up from the ground. Each one had a two ropes tied on it, one top and the other bottom, leading deeper within the fog. The bottom rope seemed to tie a group of planks on it. I made sure I knew what I was looking at before I gave my answer.
“It’s a bridge.”
“A bridge… no one said anything about a bridge.” Taphy stated with a little concern.
“Which means we are making progress.” I said with delight.
As we walked up towards it, I noticed that the logs were covered in moose and algae, probably from old age.
“It doesn’t look very safe.” Jordan said putting his hand on the log testing how well anchored it was.
“I say we find another way around.” Taphy suggested hinting the fact that he doesn’t want to go through the bridge.
“No, we have no idea how far this cliff goes, and we don’t even know if there is another way across. Also, I was not given any information about a bridge, which means we got farther than anyone else had. I say we go forward.” I said with determination.
“I was afraid you’ll say that.”
As I stood in front of the bridge, I reached my right foot to test the plank. After I placed my weight on the first plank, I went to the second, then the third. Once I was confident that the planks were able to hold my weight, I turned to my friends to tell them the game plan.
“I think the planks are able to hold our weight individually. If we keep ourselves spaced out, the bridge will hold.” Jordan and Taphy nodded in conformations, but I could still see a little of concern in Taphy’s face.
We then began to walk across the bridge keeping our distance, as the rope allowed us, from each other. The bridge continued to creek as we took each step across. I can feel the tension in the atmosphere as we continued on.
“This is crazy!” I snickered at Taphy’s comment for our situation.
“I would say, ‘don’t look down’, but the fog keeps us from seeing how far this cliff goes.” I laughed after I said that.
I didn’t turn to look at Taphy’s reaction, but I’m sure he didn’t approve of it.
“Come on guys, let’s keep going. The faster we get through this bridge, the faster we reached to safe ground.” Jordan said.
We continued on for some time, yet we still couldn’t see the other side of the bridge. It felt like this bridge could go on forever. ‘At least the bridge is still holding’ (SNAP) ‘oh shit, that’s what I get for jinxing it.’ the ropes began to stretch as the snaps and creeks fill the air.
“Hold on to something!” I turned and yelled at them hopeful that they executed my command.
Then the ropes finally gave. I grabbed on to the rope of the bridge as hard as I could. As I felt the gravity taking its toll on my body, I could hear the screams of my friends, along with my own, as we fell with the bridge. I could feel that the bridge is about to make impact with the earth, and so I braced myself for the inevitable crash. (CRASH) the impact was fierce, but was not enough to knock me out of my holding position. I could say the same for my friends as well, because I don’t feel any extra weight on the rope that ties us together.
“You guys alright!” I said looking down trying to see the state of my friends.
I was glad to see that they both were holding onto the bridge.
“Just peachy!” I chuckled a bit at Jordan’s comment, which was trying to make the situation less dire then it was.
Then a heavy gush of wind began to blow against us. The wind was strong enough to push the bridge to the side and the fog out of the clearing, but luckily not strong enough to push us off. When the wind stopped, I looked up to see the other side of the bridge. Luckily, we weren’t that far from the other side.
“Alright guys… start climbing; I can see the other side!” I said adjusting myself for the climb up.
“Don’t have to tell me twice!” Jordan said wanting to get off the bridge as fast as possible.
The climb up wasn’t hard. We used the planks to pull ourselves up like a ladder. We kept a decent pace and we were only a couple of feet away from the top. ‘So far, so good’ (CRACK) ‘I really have to stop doing that.’ I heard one of the planks gave way below me, hearing a scream afterwards. As soon as I heard the screams, I felt a heavy tug on my waist, pulling me down with excessive force. I was able to hang on to the bridge, but I could feel the pain as my arms were being strained to its limits. Have you ever had your arms suddenly be pulled by over 400 lbs. of force, yeah not fun. It’s a good thing that the military training pays off, but I don’t know how long I or the plank can hold.
“G-grab on… to something!” I yelled feeling my arms losing their grip.
Within a few seconds, I could feel the weight lift off of me. My friends were able to re-latch themselves to the bridge. I regained my grip and tried to use my legs to push myself up to give my arms a rest. I took a big breath and ordered my friends to keep climbing. ‘Ok, I better hurry before any more surprises come around’ I thought making my way for the top. Before I realize it, I was at the top. ‘Thank god, land.’ I struggled a bit getting up, but I did it. I turned to help Jordan up. I winced a bit, pulling him up with my right hand. May arms were still sore from the ordeal. As we waited for Taphy to reach us, I could hear him cursing a bit, probably from his misfortune. As Jordan and I grabbed Taphy from each arm, we pulled him up and then the three of us lay on the ground to gather ourselves.
“That (huff) was to close.” Jordan said with his heavy breathing cutting in.
“Damn you, Daniel (huff)…” said Taphy not bothering to look at me keeping his face on the ground. “I told you (huff) it wasn’t safe, but does anyone (huff) listen to Taphy, NOPE!”
“I know, I know (huff)… but we made it, (huff) that’s what matters, right.” I looked around to notice that most of the fog had cleared up, making the ground visible once more.
The other side of the cliff is still dominated by the fog. ‘Maybe the maps work now.’ I reached into my pockets to grab my GPS and compass. To my surprise they were still in their unusable state.
“They still don’t work.” I stated.
“What, why? We're not in the fog anymore.” Jordan said looking at me confusingly.
“I don’t know, but we can’t go back now…” I said putting the devices away, “All we can do now is keep moving forward.”
Once we were able, we got off the ground; we removed the ropes from our waists, and then moved farther into the forest. ‘I think I may have bite off more than I could chew here.’ I thought feeling that the forest is leading us towards our next obstacle.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
beasts of the night
With the fog mostly gone our movement was restored. However, the forest was getting darker, making the lights in our hats very crucial to our visibility. In this situation, it would have been best to use our flashlights, but something was telling me to save the batteries for later.
“Daniel, we’ve been walking for over five hours, admit it, we are COMPLETELY lost” (déjà vu anyone.) Jordan said probably nervous of his surroundings.
The atmosphere felt empty, yet it feels like we are being watched. I could tell that my friends felt the same, seeing their lights move towards every snap of a twig and the rustle of bushes. My hand continues to twitch towards my pistol, which is holstered on my left leg, every time I hear the noises.
“You feel it to.” Jordan said with a quite tone but loud enough for me to hear.
He probably had seen my hand move toward the direction of my pistol.
“That we are being followed.” I said tuning my gaze to Jordan.
I could see Taphy looking around after he heard my response.
“Lets keep moving, but be watchful; we are not alone here.” I said trying to stay quite.
Jordan nodded in agreement, and then we continued on.
As time went on, I noticed a foal scent in the air. It smells of blood and decay, which only made my anxiety escalate. Then, all of a sudden, multiple bushes behind us began to sway and crack. Jordan and I already had our pistols out and Taphy retreated behind us. We held our positions, willing to face any manner of beasts that dare confront us. Then, the bushes stopped and the forest went quite. We stood there for a while. I gave a glance at Jordan and he did the same.
“What was that?” Taphy said breaking the silence.
“I don’t know, but I think it’s gone now.” I responded.
“Oh, well…” Taphy said turning as he spoke, “I don’t want to be around when it comes ba-“
Out of nowhere, a large creature pounced onto Taphy, sending him to the ground. It then leaped off in front of us and stood in an aggressive stance, snarling at us.
The creature looked like a large wolf, with intense black fur, large claws, and deadly sharp teeth. The one feature that frightened me the most was its unnatural red eyes that glowed in the dark. Jordan and I stood our ground pointing our weapons at it, trying not to not to show any fear. Taphy quickly stood back up and already pulled out his combat knife, which is his only weapon of defense. The wolf then leaped towards Taphy, trying to kill his prey. I then pulled my trigger finger (BANG), hitting my target in the air. Taphy then dodged the incoming obstacle, letting it hit the ground. Jordan then took the initiative to finish it off with two more rounds to its head. As soon as the fight was over, we began to hear multiple snarls, of the same intensity, in all directions. Then multiple red eyes began to shine through the bushes. We began to make a defensive circle as the wolves begin to surround us.
“This is bad.” Jordan said stating the obvious.
“What do we do?” Taphy asked giving the question to anyone who is willing to answer.
‘There is no way out, so we’ll just have to make one’ I thought before answering.
“Defend yourselves!” Once I said that, the wolves began to charge at us.
I was able to take down two, before one of them pounced on me at the side. It was able to knock my pistol out of my hand. With my right arm I was able to push the wolf away from biting my face off. With my left I quickly went for my knife. Once I had it, I went for its neck. When I felt its weight beginning to lift, I pulled out the knife and stabbed it repeatedly in the gut. I stopped when I finally got it off me, and then quickly searched for my pistol. After getting it, I gave a quick look around to see my friend’s status. Jordan was easily wiping out the wolves that attacked him, using his quick reflexes to dodge and shoot. Unfortunately, Taphy wasn’t doing so well. One of the wolves had him on the arm where he had his knife, keeping him from using it. He was trying to use his other hand to beat it off him, with no luck. I raised my pistol and shot three rounds at the beast that had my friend in its jaws. Once it dropped, I quickly ran towards him. I shot another two rounds at a wolf that tried to beat me to him, making it roll in the ground. I grabbed Taphy on his uninjured arm, helping him up while Jordan was covering us. I looked behind me to see a large opening in the forest.
“Come on! Lets go!” I yelled signaling Taphy and Jordan to follow me.
We began to run through the forest with the wolves’ right on our heels. Jordan and I keep making pop shots to keep the wolves from reaching us. While we were running, I was able to see a large spire peering above the trees in the distance. ‘An outpost!’ I thought.
“This way guys, up ahead!” I yelled, telling them our possibility of escape.
The closer we got to it, the more I was able to identify our possible sanctuary. It looked like a large building, a castle to be more exact. I didn’t question it at the time, because I knew it was our only chance to escape.
“Inside, get inside!” I yelled.
When we got to the entrance, we pushed one of the doors with all our might. Once we got inside we quickly began to push the door to close it. We were able to close the door right in the nick of time. We backed away pointing our pistols, when we heard the wolves scratching on the door. They did that for a few seconds and then the scratches begin to fade. The howling of the wolves was the last to go. I began to lower my pistol giving a sigh of relief.
“They can’t get in here…” I said putting my pistol away, “we’re safe here for now.”
I turned to see Taphy sitting down next to the wall, holding his injured arm. I quickly grabbed the first aid kit from my pack. When I got to him, I could see the full extent of the injury. I could see the bite marks where the teeth sank in. I sat next to him, and opened the kit to grab the alcohol.
“What the fu#@ were those things?” Taphy asked obviously still in shock.
“I don’t know…” I said grabbing the bottle alcohol, “They looked like wolves but something about them didn’t seem right.”
Taphy winced as the alcohol touched his wounds. Once I finished cleaning I told Jordan to finish up. He nodded and grabbed the bandages from the kit. I then proceeded to dig in my bag. I then pulled out a large black case from my backpack.
“What’s that?” Taphy asked as I laid the case on the ground.