The road to the Cashoutin Reserve Park was a long and lacklustre stretch of vehicle compressed dirt, spotted with potholes in various degrees of tyre-popping potential. The optimist might suggest that the surrounding scenery was enough to overrule the seemingly endless drive, but in truth the evergreen trees in a dullish shade of green didn’t hold the imagination for as long as the optimist might have hoped.

Whether the optimist was right or not, it didn’t matter since Blaine had every intention to sleep for the entire duration of the journey. Phillip was a capable driver and navigated the dilapidated country road with enough finesse as to not jolt the Jeep, save for the occasional bump. That was a good thing - Blaine didn’t want to be in a situation where he was forced to make conversation with his fiancé. Fiancé, yes – even though Phillip had never proposed formally, nor offered a ring as symbol of commitment. He simply started introducing Blaine to his colleagues as his fiancé a little over a year earlier. Only later would Blaine learn - through tell-tales and gossip served up as questions thick with implication in polite conversations - that Phillip had announced his engagement shortly before Scarborough Government Natural Resources had to cut two members from each team due to the recession. Coincidence maybe - probably. Of course. Lately this had come to bother Blaine more frequently. At the time, Blaine was delighted, even if a little confused, by the sudden onslaught of a love declaration. He had known Phillip for almost five months at the time – mostly though company co-operations and sponsored functions. The smooth-mouthed analytic veterinarian working at Scarborough filled his gut with the much-longed warm feelings. Thus, he didn’t protest the supposed engagement even if he had to let go of his romantic ideas in exchange for a ringless finger and a small part in the joint ownership of an apartment in the city.

To Blaine, the engagement itself felt more like a partnership – factual and almost clinical. Phillip had lost his position as one of the on-sight veterinarian practitioners and had to accept the offer to be part of the research and investigative team sent out to collect blood samples and do routine headcounts of the animals in the reservation. Blaine had come along, firstly because it seemed proper and secondly because it provided the ideal opportunity for him to do the research required for his master’s degree in lepidopterology. The Reserve was said to be inhabited by various types of indigenous insect species, specifically those of the butterfly and moth family. His studies were sponsored by the Dalton Research and Database Institute where he worked and it seemed too good an opportunity to pass up. A win-win situation it would seem.

While Blaine stared out the window at the landscape misty in the midmorning sun, his breath fogged up the glass, condensing to little droplets which would cascade down the surface. Angrily, he wiped the condensation away when one of the drops ran too close from below her eye’s reflection. He was definitely not crying, and neither would his reflection. This is what he wanted, he had to remind himself – time to do his project and spend time with his fiancé. Maybe during their time alone, there will be talk of marriage - or a ring at least. Maybe.

“Almost there,” Phillip announced an undeterminable time later. “elfwood.comFifteen miles.”

Blaine sat up just in time to see the road sign pass them and noticed that the landscape had changed somewhat – a bit greener and denser vegetation. Obviously they were already within the protective boundaries of the reserve. He ran his hand up the back of his neck while yawning at the stretch.

“That’s good,” he commented.

“Yeah,” was Phillip’s only reply.

The fog seemed to grow denser – high humidity, Blaine’s mind provided – and the road rougher as they continued to the small wooden cabin where the dirt road faded to grass and no path further through the woods could be seen. Phillip brought the Jeep to a sudden stop in front of the cabin and promptly stepped out of the car. Blaine followed, craning his neck to take in all of the scenery. Without a doubt it was beautiful. Tall trees of deep green and the fog clinging to the tops of the trees like cotton wool provided a sense of beauty untouched by the cruel hands of man.

“Ah, Mister Willis, it is?” Blaine heard Phillip say and he spun around to see that a man in his late forties had stepped onto the porch.

“That’s me,” the man answered, tipping his hat in acknowledgement. “You must be the guys from Scarborough. Ya’ll are brave in coming here this time of year – gets quite cold out here.”

“Do you live here, Sir?” Blaine heard himself asking. “Oh, sorry. Blaine Anderson,” he introduced himself.

‘Call me Will.” The man laughed humourlessly. “Would have loved to, m’boy. But the last fella who lived here got killed by a bear. I wouldn’t want to make them used to the taste of human flesh, ya’know.”

Blaine chuckled at the man’s attempt at humour and shifted uncomfortably.

“There are wild bears here?” Phillip asked, seemingly nervous.

“Isn’t that why you guys are here? To see what type of animals live in these woods?”

“Uh, yeah,” Blaine responded. “We just didn’t know they were so… aggressive.”

“Yeah well, unfortunate fella,” Will answered, signalling the end of that conversation. The rest of the morning and the largest part of the early afternoon was spent inside the cabin, discussing details about how and where to pitch their tents and where they would most likely be able to spot various species of animals. Will also explained how the generator worked and what safety measure should be taken.

When the three men finally loaded and secured the small generator onto the trailer, Blaine noticed that what had been a chill that morning had become a bite by afternoon.

“Good luck, boys. Ye’re welcome to call me if you need something. I live about half an hour from here.” Will shook each of their hands and smacked the rear of the car in farewell as they drove off. Blaine could see Phillip suppressing a sneer and he quietly smiled at himself. 

It was no easy task to navigate the woods with a Jeep and a trailer. More than once, Blaine had thought that the exhaust must have fallen off because of the laboured sound of the vehicle. Finally they found the river will had spoken of and they followed the lazy curve of the water further into the dense shrubbery until the Jeep could go no further. They had to retrace a bit, but finally found a clearing that is a suitable distance from the river. By the time they pulled out the shovels from the back of the Jeep, the sun was already hanging low in the sky, shimmering through the film of mist.

It took the better part of two hours for the men to clear enough space for their tent, having to replant each piece of shrubbery as to not disturb the environment. There was just enough time to pitch the electric wire fence around the clearing where the jeep was parked before it got too dark and too cold to continue. They settled for eating the leftovers from the trip and making themselves comfortable inside the Jeep for the night.

When Blaine heard Phillip’s first soft snores, he stuffed his earphones in his ears and lost himself behind his eyelids – thinking of the beautiful woods they journeyed through that day and he felt a giddy sort of excitement at the idea of exploring them soon.

Like when he went down to the edge of the river that day to wash his hands – he thought he might have seen something slip into the water just as he turned to leave. His professor was going to be so pleased with this project and he’ll be getting that degree in no time.

No time at all.