The Decameron 2.0

Day 3.8 Fear - NOT GOING TO DIE Jennifer_L_Oliver

This is THE stupidest idea I've ever had.

Well, there was that one time... No, no, that still doesn't beat this. My teeth chatter so hard I'm sure I'm going to chip one. Or all of them.

"Ss-so ss-stupid!!" I say it aloud. Not that anyone can hear me. But maybe if I give voice to my frustration it will help keep my blood pumping. Keep me warm. Keep me walking, at least.

If only I could've made it to Syracuse before the snowstorm hit. But no. That's not how my luck runs. Instead, detours took me and several other travelers to the middle of nowhere. I had no clue where I was, much less where I was heading.

After the car in front of me lost control, hit the railing and flipped over to block the road, we were all stuck. We couldn't move the vehicle, and no one had cell service. Waiting in the car wasn't an option either. Not after that truck came.

We thought they were there to help. You always hear how humanity comes together in times of crisis. Not this time. No, the dregs of the human race were what found us. These guys were like snow pirates, taking advantage of an opportunity to pillage and plunder. They pulled up in their big jacked-up truck with chains on the tires. Then proceeded to rob everyone at gunpoint. It was dumb luck I wasn't right there with the others. I'd been headed to my car to warm up. And when the guns came out, I ducked down. They demanded wallets, jewelry, cell phones. It took everything I had to not scream when I heard the shots ring out, the thump of the bodies hitting the snow.

After the truck left, taking the murdering pirates with it, I sat in the snow for... I don't know how long. Tears had frozen in tracks down my cheeks. I was in shock but had enough logic left in my brain to get back in my car. I cried and cursed and cried some more. I think I may have even slept for a bit. Then I noticed the car had run out of gas. That meant no more heat. I wasn't about to wait for more pirates to find me. Better to find shelter. So I took off on foot. And now here I am, in snow up to my knees.

I shiver. One of those whole body shakes that starts in the middle and travels to my toes and my head simultaneously. It knocks me off balance. I stumble and sidestep. Then lose my footing completely and go face first into the wet sticky snow. But I don't stop there. I roll and slide, then roll some more. My head smacks something hard and I see stars. Never knew that was a real thing until now.

I finally come to a stop, but I don't move. I'm in that moment where I don't feel a thing. You know the one that happens right before excruciating pain radiates throughout every part of your body. Yeah, I'm just going to lay here. But if I don't move soon, I'll freeze to death.

Then it hits. Throbbing, pounding. Like my head is a bass drum for some reggae band. And what's that... warmth down the side of my face? I find the energy to move my gloved hand to the spot. It comes away bloodied.

Lovely. Just what I need to make this trek even better - a cracked head. I sigh. I'm so tired. I don't know how long I've been walking and I've no idea where I'm going. I'm freaking numb from the cold, the sun has gone down, and my cell has no signal. No one knows I'm out here. And I'm just tired.

No. No. NO! I can't sleep. I am so not dying in a blizzard. Not gonna happen. I have to get up, keep going. I'll find a store or something. There will be people there and they'll help me.

I roll over and push myself up. Fireworks go off behind my eyes and I groan. I stand, breathe. In and out. In and out. Squinting against the frigid wind, I adjust my scarf and hood again, and then brave a step forward. All good so far. Either I didn't hurt anything else or I'm too cold to realize it.

I try to get a sense of my surroundings, but all I see is white. The snow is coming down hard and fast. I'm stuck in a whiteout outside a city I've never been before, with a bleeding head, and most likely a concussion considering I believe I just fell down the side of an overpass.