30 Days in Spring

Story

He woke up. He couldn't remember where he was or how he got there. He couldn't even remember who he was. He was just there. In the middle of nowhere. He was absolutely befuddled as he slowly stood up and tried to observe the view around him. As his mind cleared, he saw approximately eighty other people walking around in the place that he was standing in. Some of them were panicking. Some of them were crying. Some of them wanted to look tough but were really feeling frightened and hopeless. And some of them were futilely screaming for help.

He rubbed his eyes and thought back. He suddenly remembered. It was March 1, 2018. He was going on a field trip with all the middle and high schoolers in his school district. They were going to explore a supposedly lost city. But on the way there, there was an accident on the highway. The teachers were separated from the students, and the students were left in the woods in an uncharted area. He thought further and remembered his name. It was Ryan Rhodes. He was an eighteen year old senior.

"We are going to die!" Ryan heard someone yelling. His head was spinning, so he strode up to a log and sat down. As he rubbed his forehead, a teenage boy walked up and sat next to him. The boy had brown hair, green eyes, fair skin, a varsity jacket, ripped jeans, and worn out sneakers.

"This is so fucked up," said the kid.

"Well, duh," Ryan replied. "Even that is a bit of an understatement. Who knows there aren't lions and bears around who can eat us anytime? Who knows there isn't any poison that can make us gruesomely cough out blood and die if we so much as touch it?"

"Yeah. I'm George, by the way."

"Okay?"

"Uh, yeah, so what's your name?"

"Not sure why you want to know, but it's Ryan..."

Another teenage kid sat down on the log next to Ryan. That kid had blond hair, blue eyes, leather shoes, and brown trousers. "Hey, er, I'm Gavin."

"Why are so many kids randomly introducing themselves to me?" Ryan complained under his breath. He put on a very cheesy smile. "I'm Ryan."

"No need to be rude, you know," Gavin responded.

"Whatever, if you're so desperate to crowd me, then go ahead. I don't give a shit," Ryan curtly answered.

Before Gavin could reply, another kid sat down on the log. That kid was younger than Ryan, George and Gavin. He had jet black hair, brown eyes, a leather jacket, and boots.

"Hey there, who might you be?" George asked.

"I'm Aaron," the kid said. "Who are you guys?"

"I'm George, this is Gavin, and that's Ryan."

Ryan rolled his eyes and groaned.

"What's wrong with him?" Aaron asked, pointing at Ryan.

"I don't know, I guess he's just cranky," Gavin said.

"This has nothing to do with being cranky. I just don't like it when people barge into my face like you're doing right now. That's all," Ryan said.

"Okay, geez," Aaron said. "So, do any of you guys know how and where to get food?"

"What kind of a stupid question is that?" Ryan snapped. "If we knew where the food was, we would be stuffing our faces right now. Are you just finding excuses to talk to me? Because if you are, then you've come to the wrong place."

"Chill, all I did was ask a question," said Aaron. "I'm not finding excuses for anything."

"Well, good, then," Ryan said in a rough tone. He got up and started walking away.