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Minnesota sat back, pride evident on his face. Before him was a hole cut into the ice. “I told you that it’d only take a few minutes. We don’t need a fancy ice drill when a good old hand saw will do the trick.”
Wisconsin chuckled, “Sure, if you want to do more work, be my guest.”
Minnesota rolled his eyes before turning back to their tackle box.
Wisconsin shivered as he pulled his scarf up over his mouth. While it was a yearly tradition that Minnesota and Wisconsin went hunting during the winter months, and ice fishing was one of their usual activities, it had been a few years since it had been this cold. He supposed that La Niña could be blamed for that.
He stared out across the frozen lake. The wind picked up drifts of snow, causing the visibility to drop over the Minnesotan lake. It wasn’t really an issue for them, as their main goal was to catch a couple of fish, and they didn’t need to see that far to do that. Speaking of fish, he turned back to their small fishing hole.
Minnesota handed Wisconsin a line with a hook on the end that he had prepared. The North Star state gestured towards the hole, “I did the hard part, go ahead.”
Wisconsin nodded in thanks before dropping the hook into the hole. He watched the hook sink beneath the water slowly. Hopefully, they’d be successful in their hunt today. Minnesota offered to cook up any fish they caught, and he was an amazing cook. Wisconsin would never turn down Minnesota’s cooking.
Minnesota cracked open two beers before handing one to Wisconsin. “Man, this really takes me back. Remember when we used to ice fish like this just to eat?”
Wisconsin snorted, thinking back to those days. Back when they had been territories, they were often forced to fend for themselves, as they had no source of income. “Yeah, I remember we’d always volunteer for the ice fishing, and Michigan would complain about it, since he wanted to come with us.”
Minnesota laughed out at that, “And then Indiana or Ohio would drag him off to hunt for deer and squirrels with them. Do you remember that one time Illinois offered to let him go foraging with him?”
Wisconsin shook his head, “How could I forget? Michigan scaled a cliff because he thought he found a bush of untouched berries, and Illinois got so worried about him that he tried to follow and ended up falling and twisting his ankle.”
“Indiana was beside himself with worry when they didn’t return by sundown and forced us to send out a search party.”
“Michigan had to carry him, and when they arrived two hours late, Illinois was so apologetic,” Wisconsin snickered to himself as he recalled that day. At the time, they had been beside themselves with worry, as they thought they had lost the two young territories. Looking back nearly 250 years later, it was something they could laugh about.
Minnesota hadn’t reacted to Wisconsin’s last statement. He was instead staring off at the dark woods that surrounded them with a furrowed brow.
“Minnie?” Wisconsin asked, trying to get the other state’s attention.
Minnesota still didn’t react, staring intensely into the dark.
“Minnesota!” Wisconsin exclaimed, shaking the state in question’s shoulder.
“Huh?” Minnesota said distractedly, before shaking his head and turning his attention back toward the Badger state.
“Are you okay? You looked pretty distracted there…”
Minnesota frowned, glancing warily back toward the woods that had captured his attention, “You betcha… it’s just…” he trailed off.
“Minn, if something is bothering you, all you need to do is tell me.”
Minnesota sighed, “It’s just… something isn’t right. Something feels wrong.”
“What kind of something?” Wisconsin asked, looking back at the woods, searching desperately for what his companion was so worried about.
“It feels like something is watching us,” Minnesota confessed, “It’s almost as if… it’s been tracking us since we arrived in the area.”
Wisconsin frowned, “Are you sure? I mean… do you have any sort of evidence? It could just be your nerves.”
Minnesota shook his head vehemently, “No, it’s definitely not nerves. There’s something in the woods, I’m telling you.”
Just then, the wind picked up even more, howling as it passed through the dense trees around them. The snowfall picked up until Wisconsin could barely see his hands in front of his face. It was definitely whiteout conditions.
Minnesota jumped up in alarm. “I don’t know where it went!” He exclaimed.
Wisconsin tried to soothe his friend, “Calm down. We might not be able to see it, but it can’t see us either in these conditions. Look, do you want us to pack up? We can head back to the truck if it’d help.”
Minnesota grabbed Wisconsin’s hands, desperation clear on his face, “I don’t think we have time to pack up. Just leave the stuff here. Let’s go!”
Minnesota took off running. Wisconsin called out in alarm as his friend vanished almost instantly. “Minnesota! Wait up!”
He took off jogging after him. He hated physical activity. Minnesota knew that, too!
Cursing under his breath, he jogged in the direction that he thought the other state had run in.
He heard a yelp of fear in front of him, which confirmed his suspicions. But, he felt dread pool in his gut. What could cause Minnesota to react with fear like that? “Minnie?” He called, picking up his pace.
Then, he heard a creaking noise. A noise that was the worst thing to hear when you were out on the ice. “No,” Wisconsin whispered in horror.
Then, a crack sounded through the air. It was followed by a loud splash.
“No!” Wisconsin cried out. He skidded along the ice, his search for the other state increasing in desperation. His mind flashed with all the things that could happen if you fell into the ice: hypothermia, getting stuck under the ice, drowning. He had to find Minnesota, and quickly.
The snow let up a little, and Wisconsin caught sight of the hole that Minnesota must have fallen into. He dropped onto his stomach and crawled his way over to the hole. He could see the bright purple jacket that Minnesota had insisted on buying sinking down into the water. “Minnesota!” Wisconsin called, trying to get the other state’s attention. The other state continued to sink.
He couldn’t just sit by and let the other state drown. Wisconsin didn’t hesitate before kicking off his boots and stripping off his heavy camo jacket. It’d be easier to swim without them on. Then, with a deep breath, he dove into the frigid water.
Though he knew the water was going to be cold, he didn’t expect just how cold the water was. He almost let all his air escape him in shock as the cold seeped into his system. He didn’t have time to waste, though. He had a friend to save.
He swam down into the depths, where Minnesota was sinking. His eyes were closed. He must have fallen unconscious, Wisconsin reasoned.
He hooked his arms around the other state before swimming their way to the surface. When he breached the surface, he gasped in the cold air. He had to get them out of the water, and quickly. With all his strength, he lifted Minnesota so that most of his weight was on the ice, and no longer in the water. Wisconsin hauled himself out, too, once the other state was secure.
He knew that the ice would be fragile here, as it hadn’t been able to support Minnesota’s weight when it had collapsed in on itself earlier. Staying on his stomach, he dragged both himself and his neighbor over to the tree line.
Minnesota still didn’t wake up. In fact, Wisconsin wasn’t sure if the other state was even breathing. There must be water trapped in Minnesota’s lungs, Wisconsin thought in dismay. He carefully unzipped the other state’s jacket before starting chest compressions on his friend.
It wasn’t long before Minnesota choked out the water and gasped for air. “Minnie!” Wisconsin cried out in relief, helping his friend sit up, “Are you okay?”
Minnesota shivered uncontrollably, trying to gather his bearings. “I think I’m knocking on the door of hypothermia, dontcha know.”
Wisconsin laughed in relief, “I’m not much better, over here. What do you say, why don’t we head back for the truck and get ourselves warmed up?”
Minnesota nodded in agreement, letting himself get hauled to his feet. Together, the two of them stumbled their way back to Minnesota’s beat-up truck. What they didn’t see was two yellow eyes staring out at them from the depths of the woods.