Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 94155 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 471(@200wpm)___ 377(@250wpm)___ 314(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94155 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 471(@200wpm)___ 377(@250wpm)___ 314(@300wpm)
We brought water bottles with us when we left the hotel. Mine is still mostly full, and I don’t think Mark and Mari have drank much more than me. We don’t have any food, though. Or blankets. And it’s going to get awfully cold when the sun goes all the way down.
I look at the sky for the millionth time. We have maybe an hour left of sunlight, if we’re lucky. It’s already hard to see where we’re going.
There’s an added danger when trying to walk around in the dark – we might not be able to see branches, roots, or holes in the ground. If Mari gets injured, Mark and I could handle it. But if Mark or I twist an ankle, we’d be screwed. Mari couldn’t help carry us. She’s half our size.
Mark and I share another look. He’s probably on the same page as me right now. We need to get out of here, and soon.
As we continue to walk, our chances of escape seem smaller and smaller. For tonight, at least. I don’t think we’ll be trapped in these woods forever, but it’s getting more and more likely we’ll be stuck here overnight. I do not want that to happen. It gets cold at night in Alaska, and none of us are dressed for this.
“We’re not cut out for the woods,” Mari states. “We’re city folk.”
She sounds defeated. I hate hearing the sadness in her voice.
“We’re just new at this. Over time, we’ll learn to navigate better.”
“That doesn’t help us right now,” she says. “What are we going to do?”
I pull her against me in a tight hug. “We’ll figure it out. Don’t worry.”
“But I am worried!” she cries, burying her head against my chest. “I don’t want to be in the woods anymore.”
“We’ll get out, I promise. We’re only temporarily lost.”
“It’s dark, John.”
“I know. I think we need to set up camp.”
Mari gasps. “Absolutely not! I’m not sleeping out here. We have no supplies. No blankets. We won’t survive.”
“It’s cold, but it’s not dangerously cold. We’ll survive.”
“I know I said I wanted to go camping, but this is not what I meant.”
I laugh. “I know. I’m sorry I got us lost.”
She scrunches her brow. “You didn’t get us lost. We got lost together.”
That may be true, but it feels like I lead them into danger. I’m the one who suggested we cross the stream. If we’d just stayed on the trail, none of this would’ve happened. We would have gone for our walk and gotten back in plenty of time to get to the airport.
A part of me is glad we missed our flight. The other part of me hates that I’ve caused Mari so much distress.
She kisses my cheek. “You’re carrying guilt. Stop that. This isn’t your fault. We’re clearly bad at directions. We should’ve made sure we knew where we were going before we went off trail.”
“True. Now we know better for next time.”
“Exactly, and like you said, we’re learning. Maybe eventually, we’ll be able to get around easily without worry. For now, we should keep walking. I still think we can make it back to the hotel.”
Mari steps forward, but I grab her arm. “I’m sorry, Mari, but we can’t keep going. It’s too dark. I don’t want to put you into more danger.”
“Mark, talk some sense into him.”
But Mark shakes his head. “I agree with John. We should sleep out here tonight. It’ll be safer than trying to get back in the dark. We’ll start out again in daylight. I’m sure we’ll find our way when the sun is up.”
Mari looks from Mark to me, and then back again. Finally, she sighs. “Okay, fine. I guess we’re staying out here. But if I get eaten by a bear or freeze to death, I’m haunting both of you.”
“I won’t let anything happen to you,” I promise.
We find a nice patch of underbrush and settle in. I’d love to make a fire, but the trees are too dry and close together around here. It wouldn’t be safe.
“This sucks,” Mari announces. “But…I kind of like it at the same time.”
“I know what you mean.”
Mari lies back on the ground and looks up at the stars. They’re mostly covered by trees, but we can see a few of them through the branches.
I lie down next to Mari and put my arm over her. She curls up against my side, and I bend down to kiss her head. Mari tilts her head up so I can kiss her lips instead.
What I intended to be a quick pre-sleep kiss turns into a sweet make-out session. As we kiss, I roll so that Mari is on top of me.
She grins down at me. “You know, one good thing could come out of this predicament.”
“Yeah?” Mark asks. “What’s that?”
“I’ve always wondered what it would be like to have sex outside.”