The Thicket

Disoriented and foggy, Rel opened her eyes to the current reality. Her head pounded and she could tell by the cotton mouth that she was severely dehydrated. The sun set in the distance. Rel tried to piece together the last 24 hours. Her last solid memory dated back to nightfall and her heart raced as she wondered how she had lost nearly an entire day. She sat up slowly. Her skull throbbed just below her ear; she winced as her fingers grazed a tender gash. Dry brush tangled deeply into her mane of curls. Rel noticed the lack of civilization within eyesight. Her wrists ached and she recognized the lacerations. Small burns wrapped the base of her hands and the memory of tightened ropes seeped back into her brain. She stood a bit too quickly, fighting to keep her balance. Nothing but dirt and desert plants surrounded her. No road in sight. There was no evidence as to how she stumbled into this situation. It was warm, but Rel could feel a breeze begin to pick up with force. This did not bode well for her considering the sun was sinking lower and deeper. She made her descent down the hillside she found herself slipping down. Her sandals became a magnet for twigs and small plants as she struggled to gain a solid footing. She searched frantically for any sign of her phone or wallet with no luck. Her imagination began exploring all the worst-case scenarios; the possibilities were terrifying and endless. It was time to move as quickly and directly as possible. There was no telling what kind of wildlife nightfall would bring. The faster Rel moved the taller the shrubs became. She was surrounded with no clear path to guide her to safety. The hillside was steep and with gravity’s help she found herself hurrying down it clumsily, being pushed into the soil. With every step her feet screamed and her toes were ripped at. She finally arrived at a plateau which felt like a miracle. The sky turned a burnt orange. Rel knew if she was going to make it out she had to cover quite a bit of ground. The bushes and branches were finally low enough to see over. She picked a direction and started making her way with fervor. She pushed dead clumps of nature out of the way becoming frantic. The quicker she moved the more it hurt. She shoved through the thicket of brush violently. Every move allowed her bare thighs to be whipped by branches. Thorns hidden by the foliage tore into her shins with ease. Blood began to drip down her legs and slowly over the welts. Tears swelled, threatening to flow over the rim of her eyes and interrupt her already blurred vision. With every step, Rel felt her body sink with anguish. She was so overcome with helplessness that she almost didn’t notice the clearing she had happened upon. Relief overwhelmed her as a small dirt path stretched discreetly past the piles of dead tree. She fell to her knees. She kneeled there, silently crying in gratitude. A few moments went by before she recognized tire tracks etched into the hard, dusty earth. The moon grew larger and Rel acknowledged that she was running out of time. She moved quickly, beginning to run. She followed the tracks like a treasure map, ignoring any physical obstacles that intervened. Bits of gravel became more and more prevalent until she could finally see an old SUV in the distance. Rel bolted. She had never covered so much distance so quickly. She leapt towards the truck with desperate relief. As she grew nearer the reverse lights began to glow. It wasn’t until she made contact with the eyes in the rear-view mirror that she realized the dark desert was safer.