Three hours later-or something like that because how do you even measure hours without a clock?-I was totally not fine. Yeah, and maybe I’ll find a unicorn that lets me ride on its back all the way to Disneyland. Maybe I’d even come upon an empty house with a full pantry. That would also be an excellent way to look for food. If I kept going east I could find a good camping spot and make markers so that I could explore the area until I found the road again. The sun hadn’t yet crested the tops of the trees, but it was clearly visible through the branches. Scanning the forests, my eyes found a faint glimmer of light. I was mostly certain the sun rose in the east. I instinctively fingered the back pocket of my jeans where my cell phone used to sit. Or was it the west? Darn, where was Google when you needed it? With no road, how was I supposed to get to eastern Washington if I didn’t know which way was east?ĭuh! Oh. I never found much in terms of supplies, but those few bags of potato chips and soggy fig bars were my saving grace. The only reason I managed to make it this far without getting totally lost in the wilderness was following the road. “Don’t panic, Liv.” I ordered my very much panicking self.

I tried to backtrack to the tree I slept beneath but I must have been wrong about which direction I came from because another twenty minutes had me standing among totally unfamiliar surroundings. Either way, twenty minutes into my search for any kind of edible berry or dandelion-one of the few wild plants I knew I could eat-I realized that I couldn’t see the road. Or maybe in my exhausted haze yesterday I wandered further from the road than I thought. Fortunately, I was able to get up and move around without passing out-always a good sign when you’re low on sustenance-but the telltale shake in my hands made it clear I needed to make food my biggest priority. My back was stiff from sleeping in a fetal position and an all too familiar ache in my joints told me I overdid it yesterday.

No one was prepared for the end of the world.

The right person would put the right plan in place and boom, no more power outage. We had infrastructure and a big, rich government. We actually had competitions to see who could come up with the best first world-problem. The four other people I ended up sharing a tent with back at camp joined me in a daily whine-fest, listing all of the foods they never tried, places they never travelled, and the expensive shoes they wished they’d bought. What if I actually do like sushi and now I’ll never know? I don’t think I even like sushi but when you can’t have everyday things, all that stupid stuff you didn’t give a chance becomes appealing. While I slept, my brain created a glorious dream of a brightly lit restaurant where I sat eating tray after tray of sushi. I fell into a deep sleep for short but blissful hours. Please God, don’t let me starve to death.

Moonshine by kat bostick