Kent, Janus, and Derek kept their eyes fixated upon the water just ahead of them. Janus could see that Derek’s senses were on full alertness. His friend maintained a firm grip on the throttle, ready to cut the engine off at a moment’s notice. Derek honked the horn frequently, to warn any others that might be in the immediate vicinity. They elicited no manner of response in return, and the only sounds to reach Janus’ attentive ears were that of the boat itself.
The absence of any kind of response struck Janus as being very peculiar. He fully expected that their soundings would invoke at least a yell or call-out from a reveler or two, reacting to their horn signal from a party at one of the lake houses. Janus strained to hear even the slightest sound of music or talking, knowing that they were passing by houses on both sides of the narrow lake.
“Next problem,” Derek then brought up suddenly. “How are we going to know where exactly we are supposed to go? We might be able to see ahead of us, and avoid crashing into somebody, but we can’t make out any landmarks or houses. Unless, of course, you are really, really good at guessing, Kent.”
“Once we pass under the main bridge, we know that we are close. And by then, the fog will probably have thinned enough so that we can get a glimpse of the shoreline,” retorted Kent. “We just need to get in the vicinity. I need only a brief view of the dock areas, as I know most of the houses that are near to my dad’s. I will only need to identify one to tell us exactly where we are.”
“Well, then it won’t be very long,” Janus remarked with a little relief. He pointed off of the port side of the boat, “There’s the shoreline, right over there.”
“There we are. Easy enough,” replied Kent enthusiastically. “All we have to do is follow along that shore, and we’ll get there eventually. Take it in closer, as the water drops off deep right off the shore, all the way down the lake.”
Derek steered the boat over a little closer to the shoreline. Janus observed that the visibility had increased by another few feet, even as Derek accelerated the watercraft.
Kent’s face was filled with an expression of sheer relief. Yet as Janus looked at him, Kent’s mien suddenly changed to one of shock as Janus felt the boat lurch to an abrupt halt.
Janus, Kent, and Derek all fell forward with the sudden stop. Kent’s face was now a mask of confusion and fear.
“We are far enough off the shore. I know this lake well. It’s got good depth right off the shoreline. What’s this all about?” Kent said incredulously, anxiously looking over the side of the boat.
Janus joined him at his side.
Through the light from the front of the boat, he could see that they had effectively lodged the boat into an expanse of extremely shallow water.
For the next few moments, Derek tried to get the boat moving but it soon became very evident that it was fully immobilized in the muddy, shallow bottom.
“Great. That’s all I need,” Kent stammered.
Janus knew that Kent was thinking of his father, and how he would react to the news of having his boat run aground. Janus knew that any hopes that Kent still harbored of beers and rest had evaporated from his mind.
Kent looked towards the shore, several paces away. He announced with obvious unease, “Well, I’m going to find out where we are, at the least.”
“Hey, be careful,” Derek cautioned, stepping forward as Kent swung his legs over the side of the boat.
Kent’s feet splashed into the cold water of the lake, but his weight was held up. He sloshed forward, examining the bow of the boat before looking back towards the others, his face illumined by the glow of the boat’s headlights. “See, it’s solid, and shallow. We can find out where we are, and maybe work on pushing the boat back out in a minute.”
Kent stepped away then, trudging through the water as he made his way over to the shore. Striding up out of the water, he turned and gave the others a half-hearted smile that was accompanied by a thumbs-up gesture.
“It will just take a second, I’ll find out where we are at,” he called.
Turning his back to them, he walked up the shore and away from the water’s edge, his form soon swallowed by the mist.
Derek and Janus sat patiently in the boat, the ponderous silence continuing its hold around them. They could hear nothing from the direction that Kent had gone.
The minutes continued to increase, one streaming into another without sight or sound of anything else. Janus finally placed his hands on the side of the boat, looking towards the shore.
He glanced back at Derek. “How long should we give him?”
“A few more minutes,” Derek replied tersely, his features stoic and unreadable.
Janus knew that underneath it all, Derek was growing as concerned as he was. Kent had a jocular manner, but was not the reckless type of individual to indulge in trivial games during a situation such as this.
“Kent! Hey Kent!” Janus called out loudly, cupping his hands about his mouth. The shout broke through the still air with the equivalence of booming thunder.
There was no answer forthcoming.
“Kent! Hey! Where are you?” Derek yelled, even louder than Janus had.
The cumbersome silence around them remained, unrepentant and defiant.
Janus looked back towards Derek, his features grim. “I’m not liking this at all. Not one bit. I think I’d better go to the shoreline. What if he’s tripped on something and hit his head, or something like that?”
“We shouldn’t get completely split up,” Derek advised. “We can leave the boat here. I don’t think it is going anywhere for the moment.”
Grabbing the side of the boat, Derek pivoted on the spot that his hands clutched as he jumped nimbly over the side of the vessel.
“Here, wait a second, let me test something,” Derek said.
He brought his arm back over the side of the boat, just behind the wind-shield, braced himself, and tried to push it backward. After a moment, he changed his grip and tried the other direction.
Veins stood out on his forehead, and his muscles bulged with the considerable exertion. A muffled grunt escaped as he finally gave up the effort.
“Whatever we’ve managed to do, we’ve lodged it really good. I don’t know how we’ve managed to get it stuck this firmly, but it is, and there’s no sense disputing the reality of it. But as for our immediate worries, I don’t think it is going anywhere, anytime soon. There’s no current to speak of on this lake anyway,” Derek remarked between rapid breaths. “Like I said, if we go after Kent, then I think we should stick together.”
“Sounds like a solid plan to me,” Janus readily agreed, not feeling eager to wander off into the engulfing mists by himself.
Janus swung his left leg over the side of the boat, holding onto its edge as he swung his other leg up and over. His feet plopped down with a splash as he came to stand in the ankle-deep water.
Derek and Janus walked towards the shoreline, calling out for Kent as they distanced themselves from the boat. They stopped for several moments to listen for a response, but the eerie quiet persisted. Janus found himself growing extremely worried. Something was simply not right about any of it.
“This isn’t like Kent at all,” Derek said curtly, glancing back to where the boat was lodged. “But I tell you what, I’m not going to be very happy at all if Kent is messing with us.”
“That makes two of us, but I don’t think that he would joke about something like this,” Janus said. “He’s a joker, but he’s not a fool.”
“For his sake, I sure hope so,” Derek said, his snapping attitude revealing the great apprehension that was growing inside of him. He fixed his gaze forward. “Let’s go!”
Their socks and shoes were soaked, weighing their steps down as they emerged from the lake and continued up the shore. The grass-covered land quickly inclined at the edge of the denser fog.