About[]
"Jay Didn't Drown" is the first tale in the twenty-first episode of the seventeenth season of the Nosleep Podcast. In it, two boy scouts get lost on a river. Written by Zachary Joesph, it has a runtime of 15:55 and was performed by Mike DelGaudio, Graham Rowat, and David Cummings. It is the 2269th tale overall on the podcast.
Summary[]
Barry and Jay grow up together in the boy scouts and eventually fall in love. However, by the time of their senior year in high school, they are the only two left in their troop. At the end of summer vacation, they decide to go on one last camping trip in the woods. Jay's father, Mr. Moore, accompanies them.
That night at the campfire, Mr. Moore tells them campfire stories, including one where he supposedly saw a line of canoes traveling down a river without anyone in them. The next morning, the boys decide to get up early and go on a canoe trip. As they set off, Mr. Moore reminds them to use the flare gun in the tackle box in case of an emergency.
Soon after they set off, Barry and Jay abandon rowing and begin making out. Barry questions what their relationship will be like when they head off to different colleges. However, he is distracted by a sudden thick fog that has sprung up on the river, making them unable to see either shore. Jay notes its dampness and ability to cover everything.
Barry looks up at the sun and notices it has taken on a strange golden color through the haze. It grows bigger and yellow tendrils begin making their way down towards the boat. They realize it is not the sun at all, but some kind of strange creature. The two boys begin paddling towards the shore, but find they are stuck in place. As the tendrils get closer, Barry fires the flare into the center of the golden entity, but it fizzles out and has no effect. The fog continues to grow thicker.
In a last-ditch effort, Barry overturns the boat into the water. He is struck by Mr. Moore's story of empty boats traveling down the river unmanned. He surfaces beneath the upturned canoe, with Jay beside him. Jay complains of a pain in his leg. Looking down, Barry is horrified to see one of the golden tendrils has pierced his ankle.
More tendrils pierce bigger parts of Jay's body. The two resurface as he begins to be pulled back into the creature. Barry tries to hold onto him but loses his grip. Jay is pulled screaming into the golden entity as the fog clears and everything disappears, leaving the river as normal.
Barry rows back to camp and he tells his story of the being to the police, but no one believes him. Weeks later, when Jay's burnt, melted corpse is found miles downstream in a gully, Mr. Moore finally accepts the story and the two share a hug, weeping at their loss.
Cast[]
Mike DelGaudio as Barry
Graham Rowat as Jay
David Cummings as Mr. Moore