Okefenokee

Yancy pushed the canoe out a little way until the water level was half up his calf. “This water is eerie. I can’t see anything in it.” He climbed in. They tried paddling but were out of sync and the canoe was in a constant turn.

Bart, “I will paddle on the left and you on the right, OK?”

They tried again. They were going straight but not going very far. It was difficult. They couldn’t see well with the tall grass all around. Yancy tried to stand to see where they were but he lost his balance and the canoe rocked back and forth resonating and going further to each side until he went overboard. He fell into the dark mysterious warm water. He started panicking splashing around with his arms in the air. He let out a scream, “help!”

Bart sat looking at the spectacle realizing that none of them knew anything about swimming, not that it mattered in this instance. “Stand up you fool.”

Yancy stopped long enough to see he was in waist high water and stood up. Bart maneuvered the canoe along side him allowing him to climb back in. Yancy complained, “We need personal flotation devices to continue.”

Bart, “Let’s take it in,” they paddled back to dry land and pulled the canoe out. “What are you suggesting?”

Yancy, “We take the scooter and find vests so we can survive this.” They got on the scooter and slowly rolled up the dirt road. There were no homes until the pavement started. They met up with the others coming in on bikes and stopped.

Beach, “Problem?” He could see Yancy still dripping water from his swim.

Bart, “I guess this may sound like a fool question but do either of you know how to swim?”

Beach and Surfer girl looked at each other shaking their heads negatively. Beach, “Do you?”

“No. Imagine you two with your nicknames not being able to swim. We are going to try to find some flotation vests in case we tip one of the canoes.”

Surfer, “Good idea.”

Bart, “Go ahead and try out paddling the canoe until we return. It’s not as easy as I hoped.” He pulled away. “Look for a home with a boat.” Yancy had his eyes on alert, he did not want to go out again without protection.

Beach and Surfer pushed a canoe halfway into the water and she got in while he continued to move it away from the land. He climbed aboard and they tried paddling. It seemed to be working for them but they were not moving very fast at all. They took it out a ways and ran into the same problem. They could not see there way back.

Beach, “Let’s aim for that tree formation. Do you see it? The three tall trees with a space for another. I think that’s where we entered.”

By the time they made it back, the scooter was pulling up and Yancy had his arms full. “We found some in the house that we spent the night at,” he handed each a life vest laughing nervously.

Beach, “You are right. This is not easy. How do we expect to ever be successful?”

Bart always pressing ahead mentally, “That kind of talk shows weakness. Are we weaklings now?”

Surfer and Yancy would have been fine with canceling the project. But Beach did not like being labeled a weakling. “Let’s try again.” They put both canoes in the water and their courage grew with the life saver vests on.

Out in the water the canoes ran into the grass and they had trouble steering. At one point the two collided together with a shattering thump, eroding their confidence. Yancy was sweating profusely and tiring while Beach and Surfer were getting a little better. Bart wondered why he didn’t have more like himself in his company. It was approaching mid day when they pulled in for a rest.

They went in the RV and sat at the little table with Yancy grumbling about giving up. They all looked devastated by how badly the morning had gone. They did not eat regular meals and often went all day without eating so there were no complaints there.

Beach, “This is a tough challenge. We haven’t even left this little bay. We may have to travel for hours without a hint of direction.”

Surfer, “Why don’t we continue practicing this afternoon but wait until tomorrow before considering venturing out too much further?”

Yancy, “I agree,” raising his hand as if they were taking a vote.

Bart, “OK, we will practice today but we have plenty of time to go out further,” pushing their progress every chance he could.

The second practice went about the same as the first. They were doing OK near by the launch point but were easily confused with direction by the vast openness the further they went out. They ended the day staying in the RV which slept four like sardine packaging. They had cold tuna with no additional seasoning with out any complaints.

Bart stepped outside to the roar of crickets to think. Yancy said privately, “We are making a big mistake allowing him to goad us into this trip.”

Surfer remained still while Beach agreed saying, “We should just tell him we are not going. It’s not safe. We have to all agree though.”

Yancy, “When he comes back then.” The others nodded.

Bart returned making a big deal out of how they were going to conquer it tomorrow and paddle across the great wet field to the final destination. No one spoke up and all the outdoor activity sucked the energy out of them. They all went to sleep in unison.

At camp on the island Cyndi noticed Rob was getting better. The wound had grown a healthy looking scab and he told her he could walk now, it just hurt where the wound was. She was beginning to be relieved that he would survive and not be a cripple. The newer batch of antibiotics was worth the trek even with all the danger. Junior came back from an evening hike around the island and they retired into the no bug zone called a tent.

The sun rose but the forest canopy barely allowed a ray of light to strike the RV. It remained dark inside the vehicle. The birds were singing loudly nearby though and Surfer’s eyes opened. She stood feeling cramped by the tiny sleeping arrangement. She went to the door and opened it waking Bart who immediately jumped up as if being late for an important meeting. The two stepped down the steep stairs and stretched themselves. Bending over and touching the ground with their fingers.

Bart, “That’s better.” He felt nervous excitement at going out again in the canoes. They went to the canoes and he noticed the water level was lower then it was yesterday. “This is not a good sign. Look at it.”

Surfer not realizing what he was looking at, “what?”

“The water level dropped since yesterday. This is going to make our trip harder. We may get stuck out there.”

Surfer said, “Maybe we should call it off then and wait for a good rain. What is the hurry anyway? A delay would allow your foot to heal.”

Bart’s voice showed certain anger at what she was suggesting, “No, we have to go today. Now.” He stomped off in a huff back to the RV and to wake the other two.

She looked around thinking if we let him go with Yancy, we could take the scooter and go to the big city like Beach suggested. She started talking herself into this idea and then returned to reality when she couldn’t face telling Bart.