Into The Darkness by Doug Kelly Page B

Once they were all full, Kevin sat them next to the picnic
table. The man was very pleased.
    Dylan
held out a paper plate on the palms of his hands. The man placed the cooked
fish on the plate and Dylan could feel the warmth of the fish through the thin
paper. After sprinkling a little salt on the fish, he devoured it, eating with
his fingers. He noticed that the others doing the same, and suspected that this
style of eating would be the new normal. After they consumed all the fish, Dylan
apologized again for not having a phone, then they pushed away from the
lakeshore. With a quick wave goodbye and shouting their thanks, the three men
continued their journey. Dylan felt sorry for the man at the little campground,
but he knew there was absolutely nothing he could do for him. He suspected
that, on their way home, they would meet many others who were stuck. He expected
other strangers, as time passed, to be increasingly desperate, and with that
comes danger.
    Dylan
assumed the lead in the flotilla again. He changed his position in the raft to
face the rear, and from this position, placed each paddle into an oarlock. The
oarlocks, acting as fulcrums, allowed Dylan to use the strength of his arms and
back to row more forcefully. He estimated that by turning paddles into oars,
his speed doubled on the water. He easily accelerated away from the other men,
then slowed down for them to catch up. When Kevin and then Richard got near
Dylan’s raft, he suggested that they also switch from paddling the rafts to
rowing them. At this faster pace, they could make it to the first dam before
sundown, then use the remaining light of day to find portage around the dam,
and still have time to find a place to camp for the night. In agreement with
the plan, they continued, but with Richard struggling to keep pace with the
other men.
    Dylan’s
enthusiastic rowing put him well ahead of the others and he was the first to
hear the muffled roar of water pouring over the dam. Looking in that direction,
he noticed another campground to the right of the dam. He removed the oars from
the oarlocks, and turning around, began to paddle. He moved slowly forward, but
angled his approach toward the side of the dam opposite the campground. Kevin
and Richard gradually caught up.
    Looking
toward the dam, Dylan said, “I think we should stay away from the campground.
Let’s set up our camp away from other people. To the left of the dam it looks
like there’s a gradual slope upwards. I’ll jump out and look for a good path
around and down the other side. Once we get around this dam, let’s stop at a
flat clearing and pull the rafts out. It would be a good time to split up some
of this food and get some sleep.”
    “Do
you care if I tag along?” asked Kevin.
    “Be
my guest,” Dylan said, then asked Richard, “Do you mind watching our rafts?”
    “No
problem, I need a smoke break.”
    “Not
in the raft,” Dylan said emphatically. “Keep your lit cigarettes away from the
rafts. I don’t want any accidents. These rafts are our ticket home.”
    At
a safe distance away from the dam, the men found a gradual slope from the
shoreline upwards. Dylan and Kevin jumped out of their rafts at this point and
placed them on either side of Richard’s. They tethered the rafts together to
keep them from floating away, and then stepped out of the water and up the
gentle slope. Dylan told Richard that they needed to find a clear path on this
side of the dam. Nodding, Richard took a long drag from his cigarette and waved
them away. To their good fortune, Kevin noticed a small road near the dam, and
therefore this route seemed like the logical choice.
    Dylan
and Kevin climbed upward to the small road. From here, they could look down and
see Richard in the center raft, and in the other direction, they could see that
the road went down to the bottom of the dam. There was a parking lot in the
distance and what looked like a small boat ramp. Kevin wanted to walk by the
stalled