Survival

"I think we should try to find habitat before it gets dark" Joseph insisted placing a hand on my shoulder. I stood there, eyes still fixated on the invisible wall that entrapped us.

"Where? Where is there to go?" I turned around as I asked the question.

He released a deep breath peering out into the distance.

"That way" he pointed out in the direction of the trees.

"The woods? What if there is another wall? How far do you think we'll even get?"

"There's only one way to find out."

I couldn't argue with that. What else was there to even do?

" I have a knife and a box of matches in my pocket, maybe you have something in yours that could be useful" he inquired and then proceeded to take out the knife I'd seen just moments ago.

I shoved my hands into the leather satchel that I wore. I pulled out a large knife, a cooking pot, and a small medical kit.

I placed the medical kit on the ground and began rummaging through it. Inside there were bandaids, bandages, and alcohol.

Why would they give us all of this? For what?

What was all of this for..?

I flipped the satchel upside down to see if there was anything more in the bag. A couple boxes of tampons fell out along with two bottles of prescription pills.

"This is great, now we just need to find shelter and a sustainable water source" Joseph insisted further.

"Why would they give us all these supplies and then dump us in the middle of nowhere?" I asked In confusion.

It was obvious they wanted us to live but why? This didn't make sense to me at all. Who would go out of their way to abduct two people and place them in a wilderness prison with supplies to survive.

"Listen.." Joseph started as he bend down to help me place the items back into my satchel ".. I don't know how long we're going to be here or even why were here for that matter, but I think if we're going to survive we need to work together" he responded.

I nodded my head in agreement. Even though we didn't know each other and I wasn't quite sure if I could trust him, all we had was one another, and there was nothing I can do to change that fact.

I rolled the pill bottles in my hand as I read over the labels.

Tylenol was the first bottle and it had a capacity of 50 tablets 500 mg each tablet. OK pain medicine this is good. I was a bit shocked when I read over the second bottle.

Plan B.

"What's wrong? Is everything ok?" Joseph asked in a concerned voice.

"Ah yea sure" I answered back slowly.

" Do you mind if I take a look?"

I look down at the prescriptions once more before handing them over to him. I Understood the Tylenol we needed that for medical reasons, but the birth control? Why would I possibly need that?

" I don't understand what is this?Plan B thing?" Joseph questioned handing both the bottles back over to me. I gave him a puzzled look. He seriously didn't know what a Plan B was?

I cleared my throat as I slung the satchel back over my shoulder. "It's a contraceptive to prevent pregnancy" muttered with a slight roll of my eyes.

"Wow um they must think we're gonna be...never mind" he stopped midsentence.

After that an awkward long silence fell between the two of us.

"Well we should get moving yea?" I advised breaking the tension.

He agreed and on we went. We walked for what felt like a mile before we finally reached the thicket of the trees. We proceeded into the woods and astonishingly weren't met with another wall.

Joseph turned to me with a smile as we continued forward. Heat rushed to my cheeks and I instantly looked away.

I inwardly scolded with myself. Joseph was good looking very good looking, but this wasn't the time nor the place for this.

"So how old are you anyway? you look pretty young" he proclaimed.

"I'm 18" I replied tucking a long strand of my brunette hair behind my ear as distraction.

His eyes widened suddenly and he looked at me with bewildered written across his features.

"This is fucked up who does this to a teenage girl?" He cursed through his teeth seemingly angry.

"Who does this to anybody" I added.

He shook his head in dismay.

"How old are you ?"

He cleared his throat before answering "32."

"Wow" I mumbled under my breath.

He turned his head sharply in my direction shooting a offended look.

"What? You think I'm old?" He asked with a smirk.

"No no-" I rejected " -you just look a lot younger than that."

Good grief he looked much younger than that.

"Well I'm flattered but yes I am 32 and Im a firefighter, what about you, what is it that you do?" He inquired.

I shrugged my shoulders In response and fixated my eyes toward the ground. Nothing about me was remarkable at all I was waitress struggling to get through college and pay bills at the same time, Meanwhile roomating with a literal stripper bless her soul. I blocked the images of that early morning from my thoughts. Seeing Alexa shoot down like that was something I'd never forget. Something so terrible so horrible.

"I'm just a waitress" I scuffed brushing past him.

"Well what about high school? Did you graduate?" He pressed further.

"Why are you asking all of this? Why do care?" I snapped turning around to face him.

Did this guy think that we would be friends.

I had enough going through my mind right now and the last thing I wanted to do was indulge in small talk.

"Listen, I'm sorry I wasn't trying to upset you I was just fuck-" Joseph suddenly tripped up on a large root that stuck out from the ground and he fell to the dirt.

By instinct I bend down and reached out to offer my assistance.

He got up disregarding my help and began brushing the leaves and dirt off of my clothes.

"Like I was saying.." he continued on " I'm just trying to make the situation a little less shitty than what it already is" Joseph finished with distaste, His features contorted in aggravation.

We didn't talk much after that and I was thankful I needed the silence so I could think. I needed to think about what I was going to do, how I was going to get out of this situation, or even why I was even in this situation at all.

Within a few hours the bright blue sky turned into a muddy orange as night approached.

By this point my limbs were weak and I was very tired , exhausted , and not to mention extremely thirsty. I hadn't had a drink of water in god knows how long, so you can imagine the relief I felt when we approached a small but beautiful waterfall that poured down into a pound.

We both ran up to the pound and began buckling handfuls of water into our dry mouths. The cold liquid brought relief to my beckoning thirst. After I'd gotten my fill I splashed my face and my arms, washing away the sweat and dirt.

"Look over there I think it's a cabin!" Joseph exhumed with glee. I stood up and looked in the direction he was pointing to. Through the trees I could easily make out a wooden cabin, camping style.

"Holy shit" I bellowed feeling a gleam of hope restored.

We treaded through the trees until the cabin was in full view. It was old and run down looking from the outside.

Joseph led the way inside the cabin. Miraculously the door was unlocked and we were able to brisk right in. It was very small on the inside ,nothing more than a chimney ,a dusty futon couch, and a door that led to a separate room that had a full size bed covered in thick duvets. They were clean enough and all I wanted to do was to collapse onto the bed and fall asleep.

"Do you think anyone lives here?" I asked Joesph as I traced my fingertips along the soft blanket.

"I don't think so" he responded.

"Why?"

"Because I think it was made just for us."