Day 1: Battery operated. (Liam Dunbar)
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You told yourself you'd only be going out for a few hours. Told your parents that you'd be back before eight.
You had to collect data on fireflies for a school project, thus having to go out at night. So, with your school book and some pens in your backpack and a battery operated flashlight in hand you headed out into the woods.
Things were fine for a while, happily taking down the necessary information on the flying bugs until you noticed you'd wandered off the path and into an unfamiliar part of the woods. Nothing was recognisable, and although trees typically looked like any other tree you really don't think you've ever seen the trees you were currently surrounded by.
You tried to remain calm, but still found yourself panicking when you failed to find the path you were previously on. Rethinking your decision, you figured bringing a friend would have been a better idea, but it was too late now. You were here. You got yourself lost, so you were going to have to get yourself unlost.
With your flashlight creating a dimly lit orange glow, you ventured further into the woods; weaving through trees and around bushes. The fireflies had disappeared, making it even harder for you to find your way back.
You fished your phone out of your pocket, suddenly remembering you had the device. In an attempt to call your parents, no signal flashed on the screen. You sighed, your anxiety only growing as you stuffed the rectangular object back into your pocket and kept walking.
You were really lost now. The quietness of the surrounding area would be soothing on any other day but right now it was too quiet. It made you uneasy, more hyperaware of the sounds you made with each step, the hooting of nearby birds.
Just when you thought your situation couldn't get any worse, your flashlight began to falter. The light was disappearing and reappearing again, only to disappear once more. You hit the light against your hand a couple of times in desperation to get it work again, but to no avail it refused to turn back on.
"You've got to be kidding me," You muttered.
Now, with no light at all you were forced to carry on in pitch darkness. Looking up, you squinted into the darkness in front of you. Once your eyes adjusted, you made cautious steps in the direction you hoped would lead you back towards home.
You would have had to of been walking for at least ten more minutes when suddenly you got your foot caught in a tree root, sending you tumbling to the ground and down a steep drop.
Somewhere along the way down you bumped your head on a hard object, leaving you bleary eyed and dizzy for a brief period before you finally passed out.
-
When you regained consciousness some time later, it took you a moment to realise that you were being carried by someone. Their strong arms were cradling you to their body, holding you securely bridal style to ensure they didn't drop you.
You glanced up at the person, your throbbing head making it hard to focus but you manage to notice it was a boy.
"Hey," He spoke gently, looking down at you with a small smile while he continued to walk.
You frowned at him, eyebrows drawn in tightly, "Who are you?"
"Liam," He simply answered. "Found you at the bottom of a ditch. You must've hit your head, and I didn't want to leave you out here on your own."
"Where are we going?"
"You wandered pretty far into the woods, the exit is at least a twenty minute walk away. I have a friend who lives out here, only a couple of minutes away. He'll fix you up and we can catch a ride back into town with him. He won't mind."
