Three

4

June and I set out on our search for fresh water. We entered the forest, but before we got too far I stopped.

"What is it?" June asked me.

"We should leave a trail; we don't want to get lost."

"Good idea. What do we make it out of?"

"Ummm..," I trailed off, trying to think of an answer for that. "Oh, I know." I bent down and found a sharp stick on the ground. I poked a hole in the sleeve of my shirt with it and used that as a start to tear a strip off. I tore off an even smaller strip and tied it to a branch of a tree, where I wouldn't miss it. "Alright, we'll do this every so often so we won't get stuck in here."

June and I walked and walked (and walked), with me tying a piece of the fabric to trees once in a while. I had no good gauge for time, but the sun was right above us, so I knew it must have been around noon. The more we walked, the dryer my mouth felt. The feeling of sweat made me think of the water my body was losing, just making me more aware of my thirst.

June paused and stood still.

"What is it?" I questioned.

"Listen."

I did as she said. I heard, though very faint, the sound of running water. "Oh, thank God!" I exclaimed.

June giggled a little. "It's coming from that way!" she said as she pointed to the left of us. I smiled and hurried to tie one of the strips to a tree branch.

We quickened our pace and headed in the direction June had pointed. We arrived at a small creek. Both of us immediately bent down, cupped our hands, dipped them in the water, and brought them up to our mouths to drink.

June started, "This is hea-" but she stopped talking abruptly.

"I looked over at her and frowned. "What-" I began, but then my eyes landed on what hers were locked on.

I slowly placed my hand on her shoulder, then whispered in her ear, "Run."