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)
“What are we going to do?” Mari asks, her voice shaking.
“Hey, don’t worry. We’ve got this. We’ll just keep walking until we get to the stream, and then we’ll be on the trail again.”
Mari glances up at the sky. The setting sun has me worried, too, but I don’t say that aloud. I don’t need Mari to worry any more than she already is.
“Okay. Let’s figure this out. We got a little turned around, but we can get back on track. Where did we go off track?”
“The stream,” Mari mutters.
I laugh. “That’s technically true, but you know that isn’t what I meant.”
“I know. But it’s just not possible for us to figure this out.”
“Come on, Mari, have faith. We’re academics!”
She rolls her eyes. “I know, but what I’m saying is, the ground is completely dry. Our footprints aren’t showing up, so we can’t retrace our steps. We have no idea where we came from or where we’re going.”
I can’t let Mari go down a hopeless rabbit hole. If she starts to panic, we’ll all be in trouble.
“Easy, Mari. Trust me. We’ll be fine. Let’s just keep walking. We’re bound to reach the water eventually.”
Mari looks hesitant, but she follows me anyway. I understand her hesitation. I’m not feeling the most confident right now.
“This would be easier if all of the trees didn’t look the same,” Mari complains.
“Don’t take it out on the trees.”
Mari laughs. “You’re right. It’s not their fault. And hey, we may be lost, but at least it’s still beautiful out here.”
She has a point. The setting sun is putting a new, warm glow over the land.
As we continue to walk, I try to focus on the nature we’re passing and not on the fact that we’re lost. How big is this forest? We’re bound to get out eventually.
Hopefully, eventually is soon. I don’t want to be lost in the woods anymore.
Then again, I don’t want to be on a plane to New York, either. This last week has been fantastic. I knew it would be fun to escape the city for a while, but I didn’t realize how badly I would want to stay.
Mari surprised me, too. I thought she was a city girl through and through. Her Earth Mother traits came as a shock to me.
I can tell she doesn’t want to leave as badly as me. Mark is in the same boat. We’re enjoying ourselves too much to return to reality.
The problem is, we have to go back. Mari has school, I have to teach, and Mark has to finish his PhD. Yet a part of me keeps trying to figure out ways for us to stay.
Right now, I need to focus on how to get us out of the woods. We won’t be leaving Alaska if we die in here.
But that’s not going to happen. The concierge knew we were coming out here. He’ll alert the authorities if we take too long to return.
The problem is, how long is too long? We’ll likely be out here a while longer.
“I still don’t hear the water,” Mari points out. “Are we going the right way?”
“We’re going in the right direction,” I say. “We’ll get there. Trust me.”
Mari does, which is both reassuring and terrifying because I have no idea if we’re going the right way.
I share a nervous look with Mark. We’re both trying to keep calm for Mari’s sake, but I think we’re both freaking out inside.
Mari suddenly stops in her tracks. “What about bears?”
“We saw some already, remember?” Mark replies.
Mari grabs his arm. “That’s what I’m worried about!”
“Oh,” Mark says, realizing what she’s saying. “I don’t know… I mean, we should be fine, right?”
I didn’t even think about the bears. I’ve been too busy trying to get us out of the forest to worry about any creatures that might be hiding in the shadows.
The bear issue I can diffuse, though.
“Don’t worry about the bears. They won’t attack humans unless they feel threatened.”
“Isn’t walking around their territory threatening to them?”
“Not inherently. As long as we just keep moving, we should be fine. They won’t bother us if we don’t bother them.”
“Like spiders,” Mari jokes. Her face is still pale in the dwindling sunlight. My bear facts obviously haven’t reassured her enough.
“Exactly like spiders. And if we do encounter a bear, we just have to make ourselves appear big and make a lot of noise. If we do that, the bears will be scared away. If we see bear cubs, we steer clear. Got it?”
“Got it,” Mari replies. “I really hope we don’t see any bears.”
“Me, too,” Mark adds. “I don’t feel like fighting with a bear today.”
“We wouldn’t be fighting…” I sigh. They can joke all they want, I guess. It’s better than having them freak out.
Honestly, bears are the least of my worries right now. I’m more concerned with the limited sunlight and our lack of resources.