Achievement Hunter: The Broken

A Single Mistake

Steffie's long walk through the desert had taken nearly a week. Thankfully, she had enough supplies with her to build a couple makeshift shelters to survive. She had begun hunting a lot of rabbits, slowly getting used to them as her only food source, and the desert has tons of them. Steffie had tied her jacket around her head as a sorry attempt to keep the sun out of her eyes. She had the worst sunburn of her life on her shoulders, but she kept walking. She wasn't letting herself give up this easily. Not now.
At first, she thought she'd only walk at night due to the scorching sun, yet the amount of zombies in the desert at night was astronomical, so she made the tough call of walking in the heat of the day. But it wasn't like the sand was easy to walk on either, she had rolled her ankles multiple times trying to climb over the uneven dunes. Plus, the wind blowing sand in her eyes wasn't much aid to the situation either.
After what feels like forever, she spots some green in the distance. Maybe Steffie was hallucinating. Maybe her brain was finally giving up on her. Steffie sighs, but she keeps walking towards the green. Where else was she supposed to go? Despite this thought, the mirage did not disappear. Steffie realizes she was, in fact, heading towards a forest. Trees were providing enough shade from the blistering heat. If she had the energy to sprint, she would've. But she does nearly collapse as she reaches the cool green grass beneath her. Although, she knew she needed to keep moving if she wanted to find everyone else. But for now, Steffie enjoyed the shade, finally letting her skin cool off. She was relieved to be out of the desert, but she wasn't safe just yet. She knew that. She still had to find the others. She had to find home. A longing feeling washes over her, realizing just how much she truly misses her friends.
She remembers getting up in the morning, in her house, and watching TV before work... God, she misses TV. The thought of television led her thoughts to movies and she remembers movie nights with her friends. Geoff would always try to pick the movie, but no one would ever let him. Jack picked the movie once, but he ended up picking a dumb musical no one had heard off, and was promptly banned from choosing. Steffie smiles at the simple memory.
Suddenly, she notices a small lake, which pulls her out of her thoughts. She rushes over to the water, drinking as much as she could with one breath. After taking several gulps of water, Steffie lifts her head and notices it got significantly darker, then finally notices the sun heading beneath the horizon. She looks around for somewhere to build another temporary hut, but she quickly realizes there is no room on the floor, coated with trees and bushes and she was too weak to fight any monsters in her condition.
"Oh God..." Steffie mumbles, looking around frantically. She was too far into the forest to make it out to the desert in time. She suddenly looks at a nearby tree that appears climbable. "I guess I'm sleeping in a tree tonight." She sighs.
Steffie leaves most of her stuff at the bottom of the tree, making for an easier climb and begins hoisting herself up, using what little strength she had left for the climb. Steffie practically collapses upon reaching the top, lays down, and gazes at the shining stars in the inky sky, wondering how the others are holding up without her. Maybe they've moved on from their newly made house. Maybe they found other survivors and gave up on her. Maybe they're still looking for her. Steffie hopes they're all okay. Maybe Lindsay's little sap of life finally grew. She hopes Geoff's not pushing himself but wonders how Alfredo's back is doing.
As her mind goes into every possible scenario, the sky pours rain down on her, drenching her. As she rolls her eyes in annoyance, she notices a light out of the corner of his eye. Some light from the top of another, nearby tree.
"What..." Steffie sits up and squints her eyes, trying to see clearly. Her eyes try to focus, but everything appears blurry. She tries blinking away the blurriness.
Eventually, her vision manages to clear enough. It can't be...Steffie's heart skips a beat upon making out Jeremy, Michael, and Gavin illuminated by the light of a flashlight.
"Guys? Guys!" Steffie's cries fall on deaf ears. The lads are too far to hear her scream for them, and Steffie's far too exhausted to project herself properly. She attempts to stand, briefly forgetting she's in a tree. Her footing slips, and she feels a pressure on her ankle, stopping her from falling any further.
Steffie yelps as she looks down, noticing her leg is trapped between two branches. She tries lifting her leg, but the branch won't let go. She tugs on the branches as hard as she is able to, but her leg won't budge. She begins panicking, her breathing quickening. She looks at the lads, trying to call out to them one more time, but they don't hear. She looks for something to signal to them, but with the wet bark, he has no way of starting a fire.
She nearly gives up, but Steffie remembers she still has her quiver and arrows, and comes up with a plan.
She doesn't get their attention in the night, but once the sun comes up, she tries again.
The next thing she knows, Gavin is plummeting out of the tree.
Steffie freezes in place. Her heart pounds in her ears, her stomach drops. She's so overcome with emotion and adrenaline, that she allows herself to rip her leg from the tree's grasp, most likely spraining it, but she doesn't care about that now.
She practically runs down the tree, to where she saw Gavin fall.