Survival Mission - Chapter 5

"I'm being absolutely ridiculous.” Annoyed at not managing her nighttime fluid intake better, Valerie muttered and kicked her way out of the lightweight sleeping bag and sat up. Her head hit the top of the small, one-person tent, as it always did. The minimal frame didn’t hurt, but reminded her that she wasn’t in her bed, with her bathroom steps away to provide the relief her bladder demanded.

She was going to have to go in the woods. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t ever peed in the woods before, and unlike Trevor, she had a decent supply of biodegradable toilet paper on hand.

Trevor. He’d occupied way too much space in her head since she’d watched him disappear into the woods. And wondered if they’d met at a martini or coffee bar, or were introduced by mutual friends, if they’d—

“Stoooop.” She barely whispered the command, cognizant that there were several other hikers—all male, she’d observed—camping on the lakeshore tonight, and she didn’t want to wake them. Her phone indicated it was three o’clock. At least she’d have a couple of more hours of solid sleep before dawn. If she stopped procrastinating and went outside to do her business, that is.

Getting out of the tent was the easy part. Zipping it back up—she didn’t want to return to any nocturnal creatures dozing in her tiny abode—took some fumbling in the dark, but she managed it and stood straight up. She saw the stars first, sparkling against the night sky by an unseen cosmic airbrush. Only after she stared at the incredible sight did she notice how deeply blue, almost black, the sky appeared behind the glowing diamond lights. She could stand here forever, soaking up the starlight. Her bladder begged to differ.

Taking one quick glance down the gravel beach—yes, Trevor’s tent was still there, the farthest one out—she counted three larger tents. Two were closer to the woods and one was right near the water. Closer to her tent than she remembered it being last night. Her internal alarms began to sound but she stopped, sucked in a deep breath.

It’s middle of the night and you’re half awake. Besides, depth perception was grossly affected by lighting, or lack thereof.

Using her pocket nighttime penlight, she illuminated the ground in front of her with the red light, keeping her night vision intact and making herself less of a target for any hungry bears. Not that she was worried about bears; she kept a can of bear spray accessible in her side pocket and had scared off several during her years of camping.

Once she was far enough in the woods for adequate modesty, she found a small space that didn’t have any underbrush, turned off her light and held it with her teeth, and took care of business. She stood, pulled her cargo pants back up—

Snap.

She froze mid-zip. Valerie had never felt more vulnerable in her life.