A lone ship wandered through a foggy stretch of water, a dimly glowing lantern at its bow.

Shadowy clouds that had already spent the majority of their moisture still hung above the boat, threatening to drench the sailors with more freezing rain.

"Roth, our bearings!"

A grizzled middle-aged man stepped down from the bow of the boat, the old fishing steamer’s wooden deck creaking under his leather boots.

His coat's appearance matched his boots, but was also adorned with a captain's badge. It was a symmetric red star with a raised, white C in the center. The small piece of metal looked just as old as his coat, its corners long since dulled by wear.

"We should be about 30 kilometers northwest of Whitefish Point right now…"

A young man held up a yellow sheepskin map, his emerald eyes squinting as he drew his finger over it. After brushing over a sharp spike of land and passing over a few depth-labeled shallows, his index finger drifted to an area marked as 100+ meters deep.

"This fog is too thick for me to see the sky anymore, but I checked just before we got news of the ship going missing…"

Roth glanced over to the small wooden room sticking out in the center of the boat, his brow furrowing as he listened to the distant chatter coming from a radio inside of it.

"Captain, should we really be out here? This is just an old fishing boat, if a massive freighter like the Big Fitz can just go missing like that…"

The young man's words trailed off as the grizzled older man stomped toward him.

"And what, run back to shore? Leave all of those men out here to drown?"

The captain's hand raised up to his chest, lightly touching the badge pinned to his old jacket. Another small murmur escaped from his mouth, but it was drowned out by a shout from the front of the boat.

"I see something!"

Both Roth and the captain rushed to the front of their small boat, joining two other men who were already there.

"Look, Captain Holl. I see someone moving around over there."

The speaker reached out his arm, pointing at a thick wall of fog. He wore a thick fur jacket with a blue military-style patch stitched on the front. It was old and faded, but the name "F. Cundy" could still be made out, embroidered on the patch of cloth.

Roth hurriedly rolled up his sheepskin map as he joined the other three at the front of the boat, trying to keep the artifact of a map safe from the moisture. After binding it with a leather cord, the young man was about to tuck it inside his jacket when a hand suddenly swiped the scroll from his hands.

Roth looked up in shock, only to see Captain Holl staring down at the map.

"Brat… you sure you’re reading this correctly? The shore line’s right in front of us!"

"Wha- what? But we've been heading away from the bay this entire time…"

Roth's voice trailed off as Holl pointed toward the wall of fog in front of their ship.

"Then what is that?"

Roth lifted his head to look towards where the captain was pointing, and a slight wind seemed to sweep over the boat, pushing the thick layer of fog away and clearing his vision.

Now, a few dozen meters in front of the boat, Roth could see an island.

Gloomy, water-laden trees hung over the banks of the island, their lichen-covered branches nearly brushing against the water's surface. The water beneath them sat perfectly still, as did the surface all around the boat.

It was as smooth as a mirror, yet there were no stars reflected in the depths.

Just as Roth was about to look away from the island, his eyes caught sight of a figure moving between the branches. His hand instinctively reached down to his belt, lifting a cold metal spyglass to magnify his vision. Even with a small dent in the green tube obscuring part of his vision, Roth could still see the island much better than before.

That… that's a person!

The shadowy figure paused as it reached a small opening in the hanging trees, then looked up toward the dim lantern hanging on the small fishing boat.

"Captain, I think I see something."

The figure on shore waved its hand as if beckoning Roth to follow it, then stepped back from the shore's edge and faded back into the shadowy island.

"What do you see, kid? The lost crew… or something else?”

Holl was about to open his mouth again, but his words caught in his throat, and he reached down to grab a pair of rubber-coated binoculars from his own waist.

"Is that… there really is someone there!"

The Captain's voice rose as he leaned over the ship's bow, craning over the freezing water below.

"It might be the crew, we need to go check it out."

Roth also lifted his spyglass up again, the old map clutched in his other hand. In his vision, the shore was magnified again. The same weeping trees hung over the water, their branches swaying in unison to an invisible breeze.

The water's surface remained undisturbed, reflecting nothing but the dull gray fog hanging overhead.

There were no humans around the shore, even as Roth scanned over the whole island.

To this side, Cundy shot a severe look toward Holl, then let out a sigh.

“I see the crew, let’s go save them.”

Another cloud of fog swept past, driven by the invisible wind.

"Where? I don't see anyone now…"

The other crewmate pointed toward the shore.

"Look, just right of the center. There's a whole group of them standing just off shore."

A shiver ran down Roth's spine as he looked at the specified spot.

There was nothing.

Just calm, dark glassy liquid.

Right at the water's edge, the waterlogged trees hung over the surface.

Directly beneath them, the surface reflected the foggy gray sky.

"Cundy, Bindon, grab the oars! We're saving the lost crew."

Roth's heart started to pound as the two crewmen ran to the sides of the deck and started pulling their boat toward the shore.

"Wait, I think something's wrong!"

Roth ran over to where Holl was stepping inside the small cabin on the ship's deck.

"Captain, please wait! We don't know what this island is!"

Holl scoffed as he bent down over a small table.

"The lost crew is right there. Surely you wouldn't leave them all to freeze to death here, right?"

Holl pulled a small red notebook from a drawer under the table and placed it next to the radio, then flipped it open to the newest page.

"Go out to the deck and watch the shore. Help the other two make sure that the landing goes well."

Holl pushed Roth out of the cabin, then scrawled a few notes on the page.

Their current position as speculated by Roth, the estimated time, and the current weather conditions. He flipped over to the previous page, his eyes narrowed as he read over handwriting neater than his own.

All of the previously marked notes lined up with what he'd seen, and what Roth had been telling him. There was a rough sketch of a map at the bottom of the page, similar yet less detailed than the one Roth was carrying around.

Holl tapped his finger on it, his lips starting to curve upward as he pondered on their current location.

"Storms and fog can throw anyone off their course…"

Aside from the faint noise caused by Holl closing the notebook, the cabin was dead silent.

"Hah. There was never an island here before. Finally…"

He glanced at the silent radio and let out a dry chuckle, then wiped the small grin off his face as he stood up to head back onto the deck.

-

The boat continuously drifted closer to the island, and Roth no longer needed his spyglass to clearly make out the shore. The unnaturally calm water warped as the boat approached the island, but the waves refused to break.

The eerie feeling in Roth's heart only grew as their boat drifted closer to the shore.

"Cundy, shouldn't we stop offshore? If there are rocks or sunken trees, we could damage the ship."

Even if his crewmates couldn't see the irregularity of the island, Roth hoped that they would at least listen to basic seafaring caution.

"Our boat is small enough, and we have sails. Even if the prop gets damaged, we'll still be able to sail back to the mainland."

Cundy moved the oar steadily, not slowing down even as he saw the fear clearly painted on Roth's face.

"Kid, I know you don't have much experience out on the Great Lakes yet, and you've probably heard plenty of stories about the dangers here. Stories of ghosts. Unnatural spikes randomly stabbing up from the lakebed to spear boats."

Cundy's rough voice paused for a moment before he continued.

"The lake that never gives up her dead. Just cold even to keep any lost bodies from ever decaying, but not freezing them outright. Eternally laying at the bottom of the lake bed. It's not a good fate."

Cundy shrugged as he continued rowing the boat closer to shore.

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"It's probably all legends and stories. The lake is dangerous, but an experienced captain like Holl will have no trouble here."

The fellow sailor's words didn't do anything to comfort Roth.

"Wasn't the Fitz's captain experienced, too?"

Cundy didn't answer, instead looking up at the shore. Their boat was now only a few meters away and still drifting forward.

"The crew must've gone further inland while they waited for us."

Holl's voice echoed from behind Roth, making the young man jump. The captain's hand was up by his chest, continuously fiddling with the metal badge fixed there.

"We don't know exactly where we are, it's better to be cautious. It'll do us no favors if we get stuck here, too."

Holl looked between Cundy and Bindon, then nodded.

"Tie up the ship, let's find the crew quickly. Keep an eye out for anything strange."

Roth immediately opened his mouth, but Holl brushed off the young man's concerns.

"Yep, that's why I'm saying to keep an eye out. We're not familiar with this place, so it's better to be cautious."

There was clearly something wrong with the island.

Roth couldn't quite place his finger on it, but there was a strong feeling in his gut.

This place was dangerous.

"Captain, can I stay back-"

"Kid, you're going to need to grow up eventually. You can't live afraid of everything."

The bow of their boat bumped into the shore, and Holl started pulling the young man toward a small gap in the waterlogged trees.

A thick coat of moss draped over every branch, small droplets of water sliding silently down the plants until they fell back into the lake.

Holl leaped down from the boat, his old leather boots sinking a few centimeters into the wet ground. Steeling his heart, Roth followed the captain down from the safety of the boat. His own boots- similarly made of leather, but with rubber soles and nylon laces- also sank into the muddy bank, quickly becoming coated with a dark brown goo. A few droplets of freezing water splashed up as Cundy and Bindon jumped onto the beach behind him.

Roth shivered as the freezing November water trickled down the hem of his trousers, finding its way to his skin.

Captain Holl glanced back and nodded to Binden, then motioned for them to climb off the beach.

"Cundy, you take the lead. Kid, you and Bindon watch the back for anything."

Roth kept one of his hands at his waist as he waded through the thick muddy ground, following the other three men off of the beach.

The young man's eyes flitted around his surroundings as he slowly followed behind Holl. The captain also had his left hand at his own waist, his fingers also on the hilt of a dagger. Cundy was the only one who didn't seem so on edge and even hummed quietly as he pushed past the low-hanging tree branches.

The ground finally firmed up as they traveled inland, though Roth felt like the floor of wet, rotting leaves wouldn't provide very much grip either.

"I don't see any footsteps… Cundy, we hit shore pretty close to where you saw the crew as well, right?"

"Yep, I think we did a pretty good job of landing 'er right where they were standing."

Roth glanced back at the still water behind them.

Right where they were standing…

Roth could feel shivers just as cold as the freezing November water running down his spine.

"T-this island can't be too large, right?"

Bindon's long dark hair swayed as he rapidly turned his head, trying to watch every angle at the same time. The terrified expression on his face was a poor match for his crackerjack uniform, which he continued wearing even after having left the Navy for almost a decade.

Despite only being in his late thirties, Bindon looked a good ten years older and normally acted the part.

Now, though, his hands were trembling more than Roth had ever seen, even compared to the coldest mornings.

"Bindon, what's the matter?"

Holl and Cundy halted their advances, and the captain glanced up at the low-hanging, lichen-covered branches.

"They're just a bunch of trees. Stop shaking and move, the night is coming."

"Yes, captain."

The middle-aged man's hands stopped shaking as he bowed his head, refusing to look back up at the darkening forest. Bindon's long dark hair draped over his cheeks, blocking Roth's vision of the sailor's face.

Roth's mind only fell further into turmoil as the group continued moving further onto the island. They checked the ground every few meters, but none of them managed to uncover any signs of the lost crew.

Why did I agree to this?! I already thought Holl was a bit nuts when he insisted on going out during a storm, but this is even crazier!

The difference in light between the sky and the forest around them was immense, and every time Roth glanced up at the heavens, the rest of the world looked black and white for a minute afterward. Every time he looked up, there was still the last residual light from the sun, but the stars and moon were completely absent from the sky.

Just as the group reached a small clearing, Holl held up his hand for the team to halt.

"I'm not seeing anything, and it's going to be night soon… this island seems to be a lot bigger than I thought it would be. Even if it means leaving the crew out in the cold for another night, we need to make sure we are alive to rescue them. Let's head back to the ship for the night."

After glancing around the empty clearing lined by the weeping trees one more time, Holl circled around until he was in the front of the group once more. Now Cundy was in the back, sandwiching Bindon and Roth between him and Holl.

"At least we can still see our own footprints."

The thick mud under their feet still pulled at their boots with every step, leaving behind deep impressions in the muck.

Just as the group started moving back toward the ship, all of the remaining light in the sky seemed to seep away in seconds, blanketing them in a thick shroud of darkness. Somewhere in the distance, Roth heard a noise similar to the cracking of ice.

Even without Holl's instruction, everyone stopped in their tracks.

After a few seconds of utter darkness, the light slowly began returning to the sky once more, though it was still less than before.

"There must be clouds moving overhead. Let's hurry back before we get rained on."

Holl reached into his pockets, sliding his hands into a pair of deer leather gloves before pulling them back out again. Both Cundy and Bindon were already wearing gloves of their own, and everyone was equipped with heavy leather jackets.

Even Bindon, who habitually wore his old Navy uniform, still had enough layers on to withstand the freezing northern November.

The temperatures would regularly dip into the negatives, and anyone caught outside during the night would face certain death from the cold.

Even with all of the clothing they were stacked with, the crew would still be doomed if they got drenched in freezing rain.

Roth's pace was faster as the group headed back to the ship, and even then. He could barely keep up with the rapid pace Holl maintained.

The young man kept his eyes fixed on the ground, doing his best to avoid the soupiest areas of the muddy ground.

"Uhff?"

He suddenly ran into something in front of him, and he looked up to see Holl stopped in his tracks.

Shouldn't we be pretty close to the boat? Why is he stopping?

Roth took a step to the side, and the other two sailors also walked up next to him, staring out at the water.

It was just as calm as before, and the drooping trees still swayed over the water's surface.

The boat…

Whatever part of Roth's body that was in charge of fear malfunctioned as he looked at the spot where they had moored their boat just a few minutes before.

The previously old yet workable fishing vessel was nearly unrecognizable. A thick pelt of lichen-covered what little of it was left above the water, enshrouding the small lantern post that once stood on the bow.

Broken and fractured chunks of wood jutted from the smooth, dark water, every centimeter of the above-surface area covered in moss.

Through the dark, clear water, Roth could make out the clean wood just beneath the surface, preserved by the freezing water cold enough to silence anything hoping to bring decay.

"W- what the hell…"

Cundy's words trailed off as he lay his eyes on the destroyed vessel. It looked like it'd been sitting there for centuries, abandoned.

"We were only on the island for a few minutes… right?"

"Yeah. It looks like we're going to be here for a while."

Roth couldn't see Holl's face as the captain spoke, but his voice sounded a bit off. Even the eternally brave Cundy's tone was shaky, and Bindon was trembling once more.

Holl's sounded no different from when they first hopped onto the island.

"Captain… what do we do now?"

Holl continued staring out at the destroyed ship for a few moments before he finally responded.

"Try to find somewhere dry, then sleep. We don't have a radio or any flares, but it's still possible for there to be other sailors from the Fitz on the island."

"Captain."

Roth lifted his arm to point at the age-wrecked ship.

"That is not normal. I told you before that I couldn't see anyone on the island."

The young man's tone quivered a bit as he continued.

"What if… if those were ghosts, luring us onto the island to die. I've heard how many ships go missing every year, and they never actually get found-"

"Kid."

Holl silenced the young man with just a single word and a powerful glare.

"If you don't want to freeze to death, the only thing you can do is find somewhere dry for the night. This wet mud will be the end of us tonight if we can't find somewhere to rest."

Rest? For what?! Our ship has aged centuries in a few minutes, and we're stuck on an island with ghosts on it! We're all going to die, what's the point of finding somewhere to sleep?!

"Let's head back to that clearing we were at before, the ground at least seemed a bit more firm there. We can shelter under the trees around the open area."

"... Yes, captain."

Cundy started leading the group back the way they'd just returned from once again, his pace just as quick as when they still thought they had a safe boat to return to. The sailor rolled his shoulders as he walked, causing his leather jacket to brush against the stocking cap that covered his ears.

"The boat. Do any of you guys know what happened to it?"

Cundy shrugged as he heard Roth's question.

"I've heard a lot of stories about this lake, and before today, I thought all of them were false. I guess I might've been wrong."

Roth thought he could hear Holl muttering something under his breath as Cundy spoke, but the captain was too quiet for Roth to make out his words.

Cundy rubbed the top of his stocking cap as he weaved between the low-hanging branches of the surrounding trees, following the track of footprints in the mud.

"I don't think I've ever heard of a boat decaying in a matter of minutes, though."

"Our discussion can wait until it's light again tomorrow. It shouldn't be impossible for us to survive for a few days as long as we keep warm, and there are plenty of ships searching the area right now."

Holl glanced back at the sea behind them.

"With the Fitz missing, there's a fair chance that another boat runs into this island soon, too. We can figure out what's going on here on the island, then catch a ride with the next folks who come here."

-

When the team reached the clearing again, and Holl led them over to a big knot of roots beneath a particularly large weeping tree.

Even when he was standing right beneath it, Roth still couldn't identify what species the plant was. The thick lichen coating every inch of it prevented him from seeing what it really was, but in their current situation, the mossy growths on everything weren't a total negative.

"Everyone stay close together, don't wander off in the night. We need to stay warm."

Darkness started to close onto the clearing once more as the group of four settled down beneath the trees, and soon Roth couldn't see more than a few meters.

Darkness wasn't going to be enough to put the young man to sleep, though. Trapped on an unknown, probably haunted island, there was nothing that could make him close his eyes.

He stayed awake even when the rest of his crewmates eventually drifted off to sleep.

And he was still awake, lying there silently, when one of them woke up and walked away from camp.

-

Roth struggled to control his breath as he slightly turned his head, trying to catch sight of who it was moving around. Their camp was packed pretty tightly, but in utter darkness beneath the hanging trees, he couldn't figure out who it was.

Holl was just to my left, and Bindon was to my right… I didn't notice either of them moving…

Roth's eyes failed to strain through the darkness. Just as he was about to shift around to try to see his campmates, the young man heard more movement.

"So cold…"

A whisper like the silenced wail of a ghost echoed over the campsite, and Roth froze. He unconsciously pulled his coarse wool blanket closer, shrinking closer to where his crewmates were resting. A dark shadow emerged from the same spot Roth had previously seen his teammate disappear from, its shoulders swaying as it walked back to the campsite and settled down.

Ah. I think Cundy just went to have a piss.

The sounds of movement faded away, replaced with just the soft breathing of the four crew members. His hand moved away from where he'd been reaching for his belt, and he released his tight grip on the blanket. Just when Roth's heart rate was finally calming back down, he caught sight of another figure moving slowly through the forest, right where Cundy had just arrived from.

What… what the hell is that?

The shape looked to be about as tall as a man and had a similar width to Cundy, whom he'd just seen walk back to camp.

The new shadow's shoulders swayed slightly as it followed in the exact same path, walking steadily toward camp.

Shit! This thing is heading right for us!

Roth stealthily reached under the blanket again, his gloved hands grasping onto an old hunting knife he kept in his belt. After thinking for a moment, he grabbed onto his dented metal spyglass as well, silently pulling both of them out of his belt's loops. The shadow didn't pause at all as it headed for the camp, heading directly for the opposite side of the tree, right where Cundy was resting.

Damn it, why did he fall asleep so quickly?!

The shadow was only a meter away.

"Everyone, get up! There's an attacker!"

Roth shouted out as he leaped to his feet, nearly tripping over his own backpack as he brandished his weapons at the approaching shadow.

Both Bindon and Holl reacted instantly, their own knives out and at the ready before they were even fully awake.

"Hey, relax! I just went to take a leak!"

The shadowy figure took another step forward, and Roth could finally make out its face. It was Cundy.

"But, I saw you return already…"

Roth glanced down at the spot the fourth crew member had been sleeping in. It was empty, waiting for the sailor to return.

"I definitely saw you come back already."

Holl followed Roth's gaze, focusing on the empty spot of their fourth crew member.

"Well, he's not here already. Kid…"

The captain was about to admonish Roth for waking them up in the dead of night, but even with how dark it was under the hanging trees, he could still see the unfiltered terror in the young man's eyes.

"Whatever you saw isn't in camp right now, right?"

Holl kept his knife at the ready as he started lifting up the layers of blankets lying around camp. Nothing looked out of place.

There was nowhere in their small campsite where a fully-grown man could hide unnoticed. Even their backpacks looked untouched.

"I know I saw something come here, and it didn't leave. It stopped right there, across the tree from me."

"Alright."

Even when they swept over the campsite again, there was nothing to be found. When he finally felt confident that the area was safe after a few more searches, Holl raised his hand and had them stop looking.

"I think we're okay, but keep an eye out."

Holl looked around the group.

"For the rest of the night, if you've gotta piss, you do it right here, and wake me first. There is something off about this island, and I don't intend to die before we can discover what it is."

The captain started pulling their blankets closer together.

"Who wants to take first watch?"

When he saw Roth start to raise his hand, Holl shook his head.

"Kid, get some sleep. It's been a rough day, and you need some rest if you're going to stay functional. I'll keep watch for a while. Bindon, I'll pass it off to you afterward."

Holl made the group gather closer together as they settled back down, making sure to keep in physical contact with everyone. The moment there was anything suspicious, he would be able to react and wake them all in an instant.

Even while having more experienced and capable people keeping watch, Roth couldn't shake the creeping feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach.

The first 'Cundy' that approached had been too real to be some kind of hallucination. The breathing, the sway when he walked… it was the exact same as what he knew from the sailor. It was the exact same as the second 'Cundy' who was now sleeping right by his side.

The young man's hand stayed clenched around his dagger, but his eyes eventually drifted shut.

Deep into the night, Roth finally fell asleep, leaving just Holl awake to watch over camp.

It went peacefully.

There were no more incidents for the remainder of the night.

Just five quiet sets of breathing steadily together.