Amy's Story

Amy moves to her knees on the sand and shakes her head to clear it. What happened? She looks around herself, trying to get oriented, willing her memory to come into focus. She sees the remains of her ship nearby. That's right, she thinks. She'd been on her way to visit an old friend--using boat, because why not?--when a freak storm had risen out of nowhere, running the ship aground out here in the middle of nowhere.

Instantly, Amy panics. She's been traveling totally alone. In fact, she didn't tell anyone she was leaving on her trip--not even the friend she was going to visit. She's been living alone for years, checking in with her parents by phone once a week or so. Often over the years she's often had that thought that were something to happen to her, it would be days or even weeks before anyone noticed. How would she get help all the way out here? All of her belongings were gone, including her phone. Unlikely that there was cell service here anyway.

She put a hand on her forehead, covering her eyes, and took some deep breaths, conscious of how quickly her heart was beating. The panic was rising. She had to do something

Amy stood, putting one shaky foot in front of the other, and decided that the best thing she could do was explore her surroundings. Maybe there was a ranger station or some way she could get back to civilization. She started walking.

Amy listens, but hears only the ocean and the wind. Maybe a bird. Some sort of warthog grunting. A low growl. Nothing concerni---

Wait, what? She freezes, panic welling up again. She's not a runner. In fact, she always used to joke that if she and another person were being chased by a lion, she'd take one for the team. She never intended that joke to become reality.

She holds completely still, listening hard. There are, in fact, a lot of strange sounds coming through the air from all directions, but none seem close to her. She closes her eyes, breathes deeply for five counts, and then decides this must be relatively normal for a jungle island, and sets off walking again.

After what seems like eternity--walking in sand is HARD! And it's hot, and holy cow the mosquitos are big--Amy crests the hill at the top of the beach. She stops to catch her breath and looks around. To the north, the jungle looks impassibly thick, but to the south, it looks like---

Could it be? Or is it just a mirage? Amy squints, hating her contacts and glad she always keeps her glasses on her, so those, at least, weren't lost in the shipwreck. Still, she can't put them on until she can take out her contacts, which she can't do here. So squinting it is. Stupid prescription. It'd be nice if she had, like, a billion eyes, so if one went bad the others would be fine. She smiles at the thought.

Yes, it is. A building in the distance to the south. Feeling her spirits boosted by the possibility of safety--and a bathroom--Amy sets off with renewed speed in the direction of the facility.

Amy is so happy about finding what looks like civilization that she stops paying attention to her feet. Suddenly, she trips over...something? She falls heavily, cracking her head against the ground hard enough to black out.

When she wakes up, she's in a sterile hospital room. Her left arm hurts like it has been jabbed with something. She hopes she didn't get some sort of jungle vaccine---she's always reacted poorly to vaccines. She rubs her arm, feeling nervous, and looks around for someone to explain this place.