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Authors: Susanne Winnacker
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going to make it.
We couldn’t work beside each other because the tunnel was too narrow, so in the end Tyler had to do most of the work. Laboriously, he shifted the earth to the side. Rachel then moved it toward me and I moved it to Joshua.
63 minutes until the passage was free of debris.
88 minutes since we entered the tunnel.
5,280 seconds of endless darkness.
In the distance a beam of light alerted us to the end of the tunnel. Eager to get out of the dark, we all crawled faster.
Rachel and Tyler disappeared into the light, which seemed to scorch my eyeballs with its brightness. I squeezed my eyes shut and collapsed on the hot ground. Within seconds the mud covering my clothes and skin dried. It felt like my skin was a size too small. I opened my eyes, blinking against the stabbing pain. I thought being beyond the fence would feel different but it didn’t. Dried bushes stood on the parched earth before us. The buzz of the fence was like a distant tingling under our skin.
“We need to find a place to stop,” Tyler said. “We shouldn’t be wandering around. They might send helicopters out. We should hide until dark.” Tyler’s gaze found Rachel who lay on the ground, eyes closed and skin sickly pale beneath the layer of mud.
“Let’s move over there,” Joshua said, gesturing toward a small patch of waist-high shrubs. Their half-dried leaves gave us little shelter. We waited until dusk turned our surroundings a murky grey before we set out to search for a place to wash the grime off and find something to eat. Our water bottles were almost empty – though Rachel had refused to drink – and the growls of our stomachs could be heard over the chirping of the crickets.
Suddenly, a buzz sounded in the sky. A helicopter! We dashed for cover under a bush, its thorns scraping my face and arms. The buzzing got louder as the copter approached and with it the pounding in my ears. Last time a helicopter had flown over us we’d been excited, but now there was only dread.
Tyler’s knees were pressed against my lower back and Rachel’s head rested on my shoulder. Their body heat made me feel like I was going to combust.
As the whirring of the blades faded, Joshua peeked out of the bush, searching the sky. “The helicopters are leaving.” He stood. “It’s okay.”
I patted my clothes, sending sprinklings of dried mud flying.
“Are you sure we’re heading in the right direction?” Joshua asked.
Tyler scanned our surroundings. There was nothing to help him get his bearings; bushes, dried earth, and the never ending sky. Nothing else for miles. “I — I’m not sure,” he said as he helped Rachel up.
“I can’t —” She gasped and she sank to her knees. Tyler tried to lift her to her feet but she hung limply in his grasp.
I touched her forehead and flinched from the heat of her skin. She was burning up. “We need to stop.”
“But there’s nowhere we can hide.” Joshua looked around. There was nothing here except for shrubs, parched trees and a burnt down house. Joshua’s eyes met mine and the look in them twisted my insides.
Tyler propped Rachel’s head up on his lap, wiping away the sweat and dirt from her face with his sleeves. She opened her eyes and gave him a weak smile. They deserved some privacy.
“We should look for something to eat,” I said to Joshua, taking his hand. My voice caught in my throat but I covered it with a cough.
“What’s happening to her?” I asked when we were out of earshot. Joshua’s fingers tensed around mine, and the moonlight illuminated the hard lines of his face. “It’s the rabies, right?”
“I guess. She must have been infected during her captivity like your dad. I’ve watched so many people die. I just can’t stand it any more.” He stopped and pulled me against him. I buried my face in the crook of his neck. He was shaking, the cracks starting to show in the tough face he presented to the world. Seeing Joshua afraid scared me to my
We couldn’t work beside each other because the tunnel was too narrow, so in the end Tyler had to do most of the work. Laboriously, he shifted the earth to the side. Rachel then moved it toward me and I moved it to Joshua.
63 minutes until the passage was free of debris.
88 minutes since we entered the tunnel.
5,280 seconds of endless darkness.
In the distance a beam of light alerted us to the end of the tunnel. Eager to get out of the dark, we all crawled faster.
Rachel and Tyler disappeared into the light, which seemed to scorch my eyeballs with its brightness. I squeezed my eyes shut and collapsed on the hot ground. Within seconds the mud covering my clothes and skin dried. It felt like my skin was a size too small. I opened my eyes, blinking against the stabbing pain. I thought being beyond the fence would feel different but it didn’t. Dried bushes stood on the parched earth before us. The buzz of the fence was like a distant tingling under our skin.
“We need to find a place to stop,” Tyler said. “We shouldn’t be wandering around. They might send helicopters out. We should hide until dark.” Tyler’s gaze found Rachel who lay on the ground, eyes closed and skin sickly pale beneath the layer of mud.
“Let’s move over there,” Joshua said, gesturing toward a small patch of waist-high shrubs. Their half-dried leaves gave us little shelter. We waited until dusk turned our surroundings a murky grey before we set out to search for a place to wash the grime off and find something to eat. Our water bottles were almost empty – though Rachel had refused to drink – and the growls of our stomachs could be heard over the chirping of the crickets.
Suddenly, a buzz sounded in the sky. A helicopter! We dashed for cover under a bush, its thorns scraping my face and arms. The buzzing got louder as the copter approached and with it the pounding in my ears. Last time a helicopter had flown over us we’d been excited, but now there was only dread.
Tyler’s knees were pressed against my lower back and Rachel’s head rested on my shoulder. Their body heat made me feel like I was going to combust.
As the whirring of the blades faded, Joshua peeked out of the bush, searching the sky. “The helicopters are leaving.” He stood. “It’s okay.”
I patted my clothes, sending sprinklings of dried mud flying.
“Are you sure we’re heading in the right direction?” Joshua asked.
Tyler scanned our surroundings. There was nothing to help him get his bearings; bushes, dried earth, and the never ending sky. Nothing else for miles. “I — I’m not sure,” he said as he helped Rachel up.
“I can’t —” She gasped and she sank to her knees. Tyler tried to lift her to her feet but she hung limply in his grasp.
I touched her forehead and flinched from the heat of her skin. She was burning up. “We need to stop.”
“But there’s nowhere we can hide.” Joshua looked around. There was nothing here except for shrubs, parched trees and a burnt down house. Joshua’s eyes met mine and the look in them twisted my insides.
Tyler propped Rachel’s head up on his lap, wiping away the sweat and dirt from her face with his sleeves. She opened her eyes and gave him a weak smile. They deserved some privacy.
“We should look for something to eat,” I said to Joshua, taking his hand. My voice caught in my throat but I covered it with a cough.
“What’s happening to her?” I asked when we were out of earshot. Joshua’s fingers tensed around mine, and the moonlight illuminated the hard lines of his face. “It’s the rabies, right?”
“I guess. She must have been infected during her captivity like your dad. I’ve watched so many people die. I just can’t stand it any more.” He stopped and pulled me against him. I buried my face in the crook of his neck. He was shaking, the cracks starting to show in the tough face he presented to the world. Seeing Joshua afraid scared me to my
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