Stranded

Chapter 2

I wake up to a bright sun, shining into my eyes. I can feel the warmth as the sun beats down on my Subaru. It must be mid-afternoon, because that's when the heat is the worst in California. I turn on my car to check the time anyway. 2:38 p.m. Wow. I must have been more exhausted than I thought. I turn off my car and step outside. It doesn't look like anyone passed by at all. In fact I had no idea until yesterday that there were any dirt roads in California. It looks like nobody has ever driven in the other lane. I'm guessing I'm the only one who has ever driven in my lane.

The air smells fresh and the sun makes me extremely happy every time I see it. But right now is survival. I haven't eaten anything in almost 24 hours. I remember that I wasn't feeling well yesterday and refused to eat for a good portion of the day. It used to happen all the time a few years ago. But it was my sister, Adria, who  used to buy me my favorite snacks to munch on until I felt 100%. I miss her so much right now. Had I been stranded with Adria instead of Cole, things would've been a lot better. First off, Adria is just an awesome person to be around. There is never a dull moment hanging out with her. So even if we died of starvation or dehydration, at least we could enjoy our last few days together having the time of our lives. But I don't think we would even get to that point. Adria is so resourceful and would've come up with a plan within 20 minutes and we would've been out of this mess. But even if she couldn't find us a way home, she would've come prepared with snacks and water that would last us a long time. By then my parents would come searching for us because Adria always says she will text them whenever she leaves or arrives somewhere. They would be worried. 

I'm hopeful that they will come searching for me. Just like the day when Adria went missing. Don't even go down that road. Just shut up. I can't help it. I'm always thinking about how different my life would be if Adria was still around. But my mind is easily taken away from those thoughts right now because of how loud my stomach is grumbling. I feel like I'm going to pass out. 

What would Adria do? That's the simple question I ask myself almost every single day and it always leads me down the right path. I knew Adria better than anyone else after all. Right now Adria would most likely go searching for food in the woods. But never in a million years would she hunt any animal no matter how hungry she was. She was a strict vegan. All Adria ever ate was tofu, rice, fruits, and vegetables. So that's exactly what I'll look for. I think to myself, although I will definitely no be finding tofu and rice, but I am hoping that I will find a fruit tree of some sort in those woods. Maybe even a plant that was available for me to eat. 

I can only imagine what Cole is doing right now, stranded in the woods all by himself. But I realize that I need to be smart about this. Cole didn't have anything with him other than his wallet, and what was he going to do with that in the middle of the woods anyways? So I open up the door behind the driver's seat and pull out a draw-string bag off of the backseat. It is my just-in-case bag for emergencies. I guess this qualifies. In it contains a canteen of water, a bag of Doritos, trail mix, and bug spray and sunscreen. The canteen holds at least a gallon of ice cold water that I filled up yesterday before driving to a bar an hour out of town. I always repack it every time I leave the house for long periods of time, so it's all fresh. First, I spray myself with the bug spray and sunscreen. I burn easy, and not even the trees stop that from happening, so sunscreen is always a must-have. I apply bug-spray just for the sake of going into the woods. I would eat the two snacks I have right now, but I want that to be saved for worst case-scenarios. As of right now, I want to be able to find fruit or vegetables that I can live off of for a while just in case I never find help. I'll be saving the trail mix and Doritos as a last resort. 

"What else is in here?" I'm thinking out loud now. I'm sure I have other emergency supplies in the trunk of my car. But I don't go driving often and can't recall what I keep in here other than my just-in-case bag.