"We're lost"
After hours of wandering in the forest the kids were back to where they had camped. They have been wandering round the forest from afternoon till dusk. It was at this point I dawned on them that they were lost.
After a stressful college session, the four students had decided to go camping just to unwind from the school stress. Chloe being a lover of nature brought up the idea. She picked the spot for the camping, stating that it was her regular spot with her grandpa who also was a lover of nature. She opined that they leave all the technological gadgets behind. According to her, the world is so occupied with technology and gadgets these days that nobody notices that the world is gradually dying. The other trio had been against her decision, especially Mirabelle.
Mirabelle was an Instagram influencer and as such was addicted to her phone and picture. She thought it wasn't nice leaving her phones behind when she could come along with it and get nice pictures with nature and as such gain more likes. But when she heard Tony, her long-time crush, was coming, she agreed to her friend's decision. She was gonna use that opportunity to make Tony notice her and probably fall in love.
Now they were lost in the heart of the forest. In the dark with no help or phone to call for help. Chloe tried reading the map she had with her with a flashlight but all attempts were futile.
"How could you lie to us?" Mirabelle yelled at her. " How can you be camping here regularly with your grandpa but yet can't find us a way outta here. My body aches"
"I'm sorry, okay, I might have lied. It's was only one time I camped with him"
"Only one time?!," Mirabelle continued yelling, clearly frustrated now. Getting closer to Chloe she pushed her hard " Do you know you've just put us all in danger for your stupid lie"
Jack quickly pulled her back "enough both of you. This isn't the time to shout at each other but to think of what to do ''. Jack was Chloe's boyfriend and the oldest amongst them. So clearly he was more mature In reasoning." Mirabelle I Know you're angry right now and you have every right to be''
"Of Course I have the right" Mirabelle muttered.
" But you've got to hold it together and let Chloe read the map. We all are gonna get out of here. Trust me".
"Shhh. What was that?."Tony asked, shushing them.
"What?"
"Listen" he replied putting a finger over his mouth. Indicating the keep quiet and listen.
The sound came again. It was the sounds of gunshots accompanied with screams and heavy vehicles. With bright lights that shone in the dark. Not even a squirrel can hide from the light. It wasn't just one but hundreds of them. The sound was getting closer and it was heading their way.
"What do we do?" Chloe asked as she quickly folded the map.
"We hide"
"Hide?, Where exactly?. Need I remind you that the place we just camped at is surrounded by shrubs and not huge trees" Mirabelle replied crying already.
"There's no need to panic, we don't know what it is yet?" Tony tried calming them.
"With that sound, and such headlights" pointing to the direction the sound was coming from "I don't think I wanna stand here to know what it is" Mirabelle exclaimed.
"Then we run, head straight south there is a river there, possibly we could find a boulder to hide" Chloe advised.
And with that they all ran south. As fast as their legs could carry them. No matter the cut from trees and shrubs they didn't stop. Nobody dared to look back. They were all running for survival. Like a deer chased by a Lion. They noise too, not stopping trailing them fast behind.
"Over there!" Chloe pointed to a big boulder surrounded by little rocks as they got to the river. They all hid at the back of it and waited for their adversaries to appear from behind. Their hearts raced fast. Body shaking and breath increasing.
And there they were. Emerging from the bushes a pack of ATV riders. All dressed in black t-shirts with camouflage pants and a scarf tied round their heads. They had rifles in their hands and were screaming. One had a huge game tied to his bike. They gently rode by the bank of the river in a single file as the river bank was too narrow to accommodate more than one. Until they were lost in sight.
" Wait a minute," Chloe announced as the pack was long gone and the sound faded away. Spreading the map she read it again. "If we walk down this path straight to the end of this river there is a small town". She looked at the others. Who were still trying to recover from what they just experienced.
"We aren't lost after all," Jack said.